The Great Annihilator is the ninth studio album by American experimental rock band Swans. It was released on January 23, 1995, through frontman Michael Gira's own record label, Young God. The album has been described by Gira as a companion album to his solo album Drainland (1995); the two were remastered and re-released together in April 2017.[3]
| The Great Annihilator | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 23, 1995 | |||
| Recorded | February 1993 – June 1994 | |||
| Studio | Various
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 68:06 | |||
| Label | Young God | |||
| Producer | Michael Gira | |||
| Swans chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Great Annihilator | ||||
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Content
editThe album features a shift towards more prominent melodies and cleaner production than Swans' earlier work. Lyrical subjects include death and the human condition.[4] Music critic Saby Reyes-Kulkarni, writing for Pitchfork, describing band leader Michael Gira's singing style on much of the album says "[Gira] leers as if doing a self-consciously evil take on Johnny Cash".[5]
The album begins with an instrumental track with sounds of children's laughter and chanting. After this, the track "I Am The Sun" features Gira and Jarboe alternating on vocals over an instrumental with a "manic drive".[5] The song features tempo changes and "careful" spaces of quiet between "blasts" of instrumentation.[6]
Louder Sound's Dom Lawson describes the song "Celebrity Lifestyle" as a "weirdly catchy no-wave hoedown".[7] Lyrically, the song features the topic of romanticization of celebrities.[6]
The song "Killing For Company" is based on the crimes of the Scottish serial killer Dennis Nilsen, who claimed to have killed his victims due to loneliness.[8] Dom Lawson described the song as "an object lesson in sonic unease", and, alongside "Celebrity Lifestyle", one of the band's "most devastating moments".[7]
The song "Where Does A Body End?" has the same lyrics as the song "Where Does Your Body Begin?" from Drainland, linking the two "companion albums" together.[5]
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| Blurt | [9] |
| Classic Rock | [7] |
| CMJ New Music Monthly | favorable[10] |
| The Line of Best Fit | 9/10[4] |
| New Noise Magazine |  [1] |
| Pitchfork | 7.2/10[5] |
| PopMatters |   [11] |
| Spectrum Culture | 3.75/5[12] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10[13] |
The Great Annihilator received a generally positive reception from critics. AllMusic called the album "an epic, incredible work of art."[6] Trouser Press, on the other hand, wrote that the album "reveals [...] that the band is running out of ideas", commenting that is "unlikely to satisfy long-term followers. A more accessible Swans may also be a less cathartic one."[14]
Track listing
editAll lyrics are written by Michael Gira; all music is composed by Gira, except tracks 8 and 16 (which are also composed by Jarboe)
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "In" | 2:27 |
| 2. | "I Am the Sun" | 3:23 |
| 3. | "She Lives!" | 7:00 |
| 4. | "Celebrity Lifestyle" | 4:10 |
| 5. | "Mother/Father" | 4:07 |
| 6. | "Blood Promise" | 4:15 |
| 7. | "Mind/Body/Light/Sound" | 4:52 |
| 8. | "My Buried Child" | 2:58 |
| 9. | "Warm" | 4:54 |
| 10. | "Alcohol the Seed" | 3:29 |
| 11. | "Killing for Company" | 6:55 |
| 12. | "Mother's Milk" | 2:26 |
| 13. | "Where Does a Body End?" | 3:42 |
| 14. | "Telepathy" | 6:11 |
| 15. | "The Great Annihilator" | 4:53 |
| 16. | "Out" | 2:24 |
| Total length: | 68:06 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 17. | "I Am the Sun" (Live at the Flesh Club 1996) | 5:48 |
| Total length: | 73:54 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 17. | "You See Through Me" | 5:41 |
| 18. | "Where Does Your Body Begin?" | 3:04 |
| 19. | "I See Them All Lined Up" | 4:13 |
| 20. | "Unreal" | 4:48 |
| 21. | "Fan Letter" | 7:01 |
| 22. | "Your Naked Body" | 2:30 |
| 23. | "Low Life Form" | 3:41 |
| 24. | "If You..." | 4:41 |
| 25. | "Why I Ate My Wife" | 5:53 |
| 26. | "Blind" | 4:33 |
| Total length: | 46:05 | |
Personnel
editCredits adapted from The Great Annihilator liner notes.[15][16]
|
Swans
Additional musicians
|
Technical personnel
|
References
edit- ^ a b c Haugen, Tom (September 26, 2017). "Album Review: Swans – The Great Annihilator / Drainland". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
- ^ Terich, Jeff (September 26, 2013). "Beginner's Guide: Swans". Treblezine. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ Gira, Michael (2017). "Great Annihilator / Drainland (Remastered 2017)" (Press release). Young God Records. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
- ^ a b Cartledge, Luke (April 21, 2017). "Swans' The Great Annihilator Chews Us Up and Swallows Us Whole". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Reyes-Kulkarni, Saby (April 29, 2017). "Swans: The Great Annihilator". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Raggett, Ned. "The Great Annihilator – Swans : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
- ^ a b c Lawson, Dom (April 28, 2017). "Swans – The Great Annihilator Album Review". Classic Rock. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
- ^ "The classic Swans song about a serial killer". August 9, 2022. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
- ^ Mills, Fred (May 24, 2017). "SWANS - The Great Annihilator/Drainland". Blurt. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
- ^ Jarman, David (March 1995). "Reviews". CMJ. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
- ^ Schiller, Mike (June 28, 2017). "Swans: The Great Annihilator / Michael Gira: Drainland". PopMatters. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
- ^ Beaudoin, Jedd (May 11, 2017). "Swans / Michael Gira: The Great Annihilator / Drainland". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
- ^ Newman, Andy (1995). "Swans". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 390–391. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- ^ Leland, John; Sheridan, David; Kenny, Glenn; Frampton, Scott. "Trouserpress.com :: Swans". Trouser Press. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
- ^ The Great Annihilator (CD liner notes). Swans. Young God Records. 1995. YGCD 009.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ The Great Annihilator (2017 remaster) (CD liner notes). Swans. Young God Records. 2017. YG59.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)