Zer0

I suppose the best way to describe Filth is like being severely beaten down a dark, dirty alleyway by a junkie... and enjoying it. The album has a very dark and aggressive feel throughout, but rather than being like an aggressive outburst it's more like controlled aggression. It's certainly an album that fits the theme well as you can't help but feel nothing but anger and disdain for humanity from this record. Even though the instrumentation on the album is very simple and repetitive it creates this intense atmosphere really well and maintains it throughout. In comparison to later Swans albums however this feels monotonous at times and lacks the variety and depth of albums like Children Of God, The Great Annihilator and Soundtracks For The Blind. It does make up for it somewhat by being more intense and aggressive that their later albums but it certainly isn't my favourite Swans album.

The artwork is striking and you can sense the darkness, aggression and menace just by looking at it, it certainly fits the music. The only other nominations I've heard are This Is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About by Modest Mouse and The First Four Years by Black Flag, which was also my nomination. This Is a Long Drive... has that Pixies-esque quite-loud dynamic where the weariness and anger simmering underneath sometimes spills over the edge while The First Four Years is just a constant outburst of frustration for the most part and gives you that adrenaline rush. Filth is a lot more controlled than those two albums and as a result sounds a lot more menacing and aggressive. Interestingly enough by 1983 a lot of bands that were going for a more aggressive and heavier sound did so by speeding things up, such as the emergence of thrash metal bands like Slayer and Metallica, and you also had a lot of hardcore punk bands around at the time. Swans went against this by slowing down the tempo, increasing the volume and creating an intonal racket influenced somewhat by no-wave. It was something that seemed to set them apart at the time.

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