@111sparkle111 Here ya go and sorry if this has been answered for you already: M Gira-vocals Jarboe-sampler N Westberg-guitar A Kizys-bass Ted Parsons-drums Ronaldo Gonzales-drums.
@deathtrapdeath well said and i totally agree. i get the sense that this style has untapped potential. the problem is (and what makes this music so amazing to me) is that i just don't think anyone can replicate the sincerity.
Incredible performance. Trying to put words on this feels wrong somehow. I'm deeply moved by such a profound level of artistery. Very few artists have this kind of deep sensibility to create such a convincing portrayal.
Gira doesn't even look uneasy after his part is done, but amazingly relieved. Fantastic.
They still scare the shit out of me and i'm 42 and known them since A Screw came out of my radio in 1986. They don't come any heavier than this. And i've seen quite a lot. Neurosis fan nowadays, go figure, they are big fan of Swans/Joy Divison/Black Sabbath. There is no way back once you open this door. If it is not your thing, you probably hate it.
I don´t really like their music, I mean, to the date, I´m not able to understand their music (and I wish I could). But Michael Gira is a fucking beast.
@theinmortal6 That is the kind of honest opinion we need to see more of if people dislike a certain band. Thank you for not blurting out in the childish manner of "this sucks".
@Atraiterm Some bands are pretty easy to see if they are pretty bad or not. But Swans is an experimental band, it takes time to listen to their music. But you can see they are pretty interesting, anyway.
@theinmortal6 Swans have always interested me from the first listen, a very challenging sonic experience, ranging from one extreme to another in the opposite direction. When I saw them live not too long ago, they simply just blew me away.
THESE HIDEOUS, TRIBAL HEATHENS ARE THE LIVING PROOF THAT THE WORLD IS FALLING APART!!! YOUTUBE SHOULD NOT ALLOW SUCH EVIL TO BE SPREAD AROUND THIS WEBSITE!!! THIS IS SOMETHING MY CHILDREN WERE WATCHING THE OTHER DAY FOR GOD'S SAKE!
I was watching their internet history, because I suspected porn viewing, but I found something much worse, and it is this video: the satanic sounds of unborn children being murdered, pure evil and destruction! how can anyone find this to be entertainment! YOU HOUNDS!
@Iamcola65 got to click the play button on the vid first and then make the judgement call the "the satanic sounds of unborn children being murdered, pure evil and destruction" could easily be mistaken for a passing truck or perhaps intercourse
I don't think this is quite THE type of brutal music every "close-minded" fuckhead appreciates.Opposed to the more straight forward delivery the music brutality craving kiddos value as nothing but sheer aggression, Swans focus very much on harmonies and atmosphere.These guys proved themselves to be remarkable artists leaning their musical development towards their progression as personalities across their lives
I read that the band got alot of hate from close-minded "scary/brutal music" loving fuckheads when they changed/altered their style. Come on, Gira and Jarboe couldn't just do the same aggressive music forever, it is good that they expanded their horizions and experimented.
I have seen Swans live recently, and they are INTENSE, not to mention LOUD, even when they are playing a ballad.
@Atraiterm It's easy to say that today with 20/20 hindsight. If you had been around back then and was a fan during their early period, it's likely you wouldn't have embraced their new sound either. Even the few people who did like it, generally speaking it took them time to come around. If you just like everything instantly, then you have no filter. Some of my all time favorite bands and records, I really *hated* them the first time I heard them. They had to grow on me.
@anaemiabag what bass is it?? way too dark for me to tell but the headstock looks familiar. someone claimed it was a ripper bass but i know it's not that..
@youknowyourrite1 well it looks very similar to my aria pro ii csb-380.... but its pick ups are different....
so its most likely a westone. many of the aria pro ii and westone models from the early/mid 80's have almost identical headstocks and body shapes. seen alot of them in punk and underground bands cause they were decently made but affordable.
Awesome. This is easy to dismiss watching on a computer screen. I cannot imagine this would've been possible seeing this at a live show for the first time. Too loud and repetitively punishing to be ignored.
most people in the 85/86/87 concerts fled the halls because it was too intense and loud. still have one live-tape from a 86 concert but it doesn't reveal half of the energy that has been there in reality. simply breath- and braintaking.
Swans are really very unpleasant music but fascinating. Sort of like a bird that's been run over, it's horrible but you still want to go over and look at how bad it's mangled.
I'd have more liking for them if they utilised actual heavy riffs but the music was geared I guess to crush you rather than make you more aggressive....and Godflesh were pretty much the metal answer to Swans so that ground's been covered nicely : )
I first saw them in University of London student union. Our jeans were buzzing on our legs, our pints had ripples. Also saw them at Kentish Town, where the plug got pulled before the end of the gig, all got a bit scary.
This period of Swans blow ANY metal band out of the water. They're heavier, and scarier and they don't have to have silly names and wear makeup, or pretend to worship the devil. They make them look like children's music. Metal guys are nothing but hairy macho tools, and Swans make them look like pussies....because they are.
@rorydragula LOL come on. Metals just a big barrel of dark fun. Like Halloween. You'd have to be one miserable and gay motherfucker not appreciate any. Plus children's music? please...there's tons of technical ability and different moods expressed with skill in metal. I respect swans but it's music a FUCKING 2 YEAR OLD COULD MAKE and do make!
i don't know why,but i'm just drawn to these vids.i watch them every day...i can't even believe i went 20 years without hearing this band once.they are everything i've ever dreamed of and i feel like i could name a plethora of bands that sound like they are influenced by swans even though they never claimed to be.at first they were kind of scary to me, just cause i didn't know what they were going to do next..and being high didn't help.but i'm hooked now,i wish i was there on stage with them...
@spuffchops70 Yeah, it's not as potent as this was but I love the way he plays. Plus Ted Parsons was drumming with them for awhile so, y'know...they have their moments.
@steinber I'm not a Prong fan, but Ted Parsons is a knockout drummer. I seem to recall reading an interview where he said he'd really enjoyed playing in Swans. He was with them on the tours from which the material on 'Public Castration' & 'Feel Good Now' were culled, no? I didn't know Michael Gira's partner Siobhan was in God is My Co-Pilot....
@spuffchops70 I was never into Prong either but certainly Parsons' rocked Swans during those years. Apparently he toured with Godflesh once, which I'd like to have seen. I didn't know Gira actually had a partner (!) but I think I saw her with Angels of Light years back, if that was her...
@steinber Unlikely as it may seem, it appears that he does! I recently read somewhere that he's married to Siobhan Duffy and they moved out of NY to the Catskills. They have a young daughter who sings on one track on the current album. Cute, huh?
But I wanted to hold a candle for Napalm Death. they are a great band, and they always took huge influence from the Swans. Fact is, they're plying live with the Swans and Godflesh at the Supersonic Fest in Brimhingham (funnier still: all 3 bands are from the area, they all redefined extreme music and Broadrick founded Napalm Death before moving to Godflesh!)
I have seen and heard alot of bands. But out of all of them SWANS is the most intense band to ever put out music. They are a band that uses all emotions but avoids happiness, and they find that makeing their music more aggressive reaches people. And it reached me enough to buy all thier records!! Praise SWANS, the best noise industrial band!!
@jesuscat29 They arent really industrial anymore, or very much noise. But I think Soundtracks for the Blind (the best album) really diversifies and shows you what they are seriously capable of. And it's great. I personally think Jarboe has an amazing voice, and it compliments the often grim tone/lyrics within the music.
@NightRanger77 Yes I agree with you, they definitely changed when ever they put out "White Light". But I feel the most intense time for them is when ever albums such as "Holy Money" where released. But then again SWANS never seize to amaze me with anything. And Jarboe is a hell of a singer, like on the track "In my Garden" she sounds like a siren hah.
@lukevertiis "horrifying" that you dont see this as music, in my opinion.
I must admit that I find this grueling and harsh and a bit too far on the hard side for me, but I definitely embrace it as being both art and music. To each their own.
I saw them at the Roxy in L.A. in '86, probably this tour. LOUDEST band I ever experienced! Every chord felt like being slugged in the gut-hard! After we walked at 30 minutes (not because I didn't like it, but because my ears could take no more), the girl I was with and I walked down Sunset Blvd. silently. After a few minutes, and without looking at each other, we said the same word at the same time-"F*CK!!!"
What are you talking about dude? Swans is as punishingly heavy as it gets! They're addictive torture, and the greatest band of all time. How much heavier can it get? It can't.
God damn... goatambush, youre right, but... holy shit though. This is like the moment after ejaculation-murder everyone-where is that god damn sound-on tape... this song rules.
I saw this tour back when I was in high school. Right up by the stage. He nearly kicked my friend right in the face with his bare feet. Heaviest show I ever saw, by far. It felt like the stage was in flames.
Swans is raw. Visceral. I love metal, but it is very musical in comparison. Swans from this era is a rhythmic bloodletting. Love it. I wish more people were inspired by this and would carry the torch. I would empty my bank account and punch someone in the neck to be able to see this show live.
@ChadRullman FUCK YEAH!!! With every fucking beat Gira tries to exorcise his demons . . . Pure hatred . . . . rage . . . despair . . . I'd club a baby fucking harp seal to have been able to see them live back then!!!!
Because Metal *CAN* be brutal. I am a fan of both metal and this, and it's diffeent means to achieve the same goal. Assuming of course we're not talking about some of the extremely cartoonish metal that exists.
I guess I was just thinking of my own personal definition. When someone says brutal, I think of this. I didn't mean to offend, or to act dismissive of all metal. It's admittedly an expansive genre I don't know much about, aside from working with a bunch of metal heads for several years. They liked mostly the cartoonish stuff though.
Oh, as a metal fan I can agree with you, on the most part. Many metal fans are, to put it nicely, uneducated and closed to other styles of music. But that said, metal has absorbed a lot of Swans's influence. Listen to Neurosis (Enemy of the Sun/Through Silver in Blood in particular), or Bands like Evoken, Esoteric and Deathspell Omega. Or Cobalt, which have Jarboe (who's being pretty involved with metal lately) as regular guest.
(as an aside, Ted Parsons played in numerous metal projects, and Neurosis, at around 94/95 were being considered as a choice of "back up" session band for Swans. They DID record an album with Jarboe in 2001, though)
welcome to those who are hearing this for the first time. I've been into this recording for decades and it simply never loses its power or edge. ever. for those with the ears for this, welcome.
Never heard anything like this....Everybody's music can always be related to some other band and can be put in some catergory or genre. But this shit is like no other. Its funny how alot of death metal bands try coming up with the most evilest names complete with the growls and yelling, yet doesnt hold a candle to this band. This shit is scary without all the black metal anti- christian satanic dramatics......Just naturally horrorfying..without even trying.
You are so right. The names "Stupid Child" and "Take Advantage" are far more fucked up than "Raped in the back of a van" and "The taste of menstruating maggots"
@Monarch730 funny thing, this is where the term "grind" in grindcore came from. Speed it up and add cookie monster vocals and you basically get napalm death
@Monarch730 Somewhat. I think that you are categorizing a bit too much there. Maybe generalizing. I have found some obscure metal bands that are very horrifying, probably moreso then even this.
First comment ive agreed with. Theres no comparison to a band thats playing for themselves before the audience. This band obviously is in their own world, one that your can become a part of if you choose. i play this at work all the time. the people i respect ask who it is. those i dont ask "what the f^(* is this?" with real fear in their eyes. thank you swans.
@Monarch730 Yes . . . this is because 99% of the death metal bands out there are trying so hard to be shocking and controversial . . . The Swans . . . they HAD to make this music . . . if they didn't they would have put a fucking bullet through their fucked up heads . . . That is what is so terrifying and beautiful about this . . . this IS who they are . . . this is a glimpse of the interior of the Swans . . . dark . . . hateful . . . angry . . . full of rage and malice. Pure.
@GEETARS3 I don't doubt you . . . If you could make some suggestions . . . I would love to listen to some good Death Metal . . . I was only speaking from my own experience, which is not extensive in the Death Metal genre. All I know is that what I have heard up til now cannot come close to the Swans . . . nothing I have ever heard has come close . . . I would love to hear anything even half as intense as this . . . so please do send some my way
@Monarch730 When I first saw this, I was thinking the same thing. I had already been a fan of SWANS work, but hadn't really seen a live performance. this really was intense to watch. The screams and yells of pure pain and hatred. every time I watch it it gives me chills
@Monarch730 When I first saw this, I was thinking the same thing. I had already been a fan of SWANS work, but hadn't really seen a live performance. this really was intense to watch. The screams and yells of pure pain and hatred. every time I watch this, it gives me chills
i think it may be true, i think it was the sheer amount of air blowing out of the bass speakers and the PA, and that air was being pushed into peoples lungs as they breathed, causing nausea, they would have to be pretty damn loud to achieve that.
I read on wikipedia about vomiting (don't ask why) and it said that pain could make one vomit. If they were really loud that would really make your ears hurt.
It's not the pain. While I do not know about the vomitting part, such high sound levels can make you feel sick and nauseated. I guess it's related to the inner ear and balance. Then you might have this chest pounding bass. From my own experience, very high sound levels can feel suffocating and make it hard to breath. If you get motion sickness easily...
bedreigend en beklemmend! oerdrift, dit voelt heel diep!! geniaal!!!
moltonuniverse74 1 month ago
WTF ??
sehrat54000 1 month ago
brilliant!!!!
parsonsid1 2 months ago
Amazing- always.
thelittlematchstickg 2 months ago
This is fucking terrifying.
cornishpastie9 2 months ago
a how to video on crushing them all
pilotesseJ 3 months ago
remember seeing Swans at the Town & Country in 1984...thought my lungs would burst from the volume.
efllib 3 months ago
Algis kizys is my GOD!!
111sparkle111 3 months ago
"DON'T THRASH YOUR FUCKING HEAD"
HelloNewYorkCity 3 months ago
now i see where maynard got his moves from
albundie3 4 months ago
ah, saw this in the seventh grade and my life was changed forever.
jesus god damn if I hadn't found the appeal of music being terrifying, I would still listen to fucking pink floyd religiously. urgh.
reinventanimals 5 months ago 5
@reinventanimals that aint no shit.
alucardisdumb 1 month ago
Awesome. Musician Credits for this Video?
111sparkle111 5 months ago
@111sparkle111 Here ya go and sorry if this has been answered for you already: M Gira-vocals Jarboe-sampler N Westberg-guitar A Kizys-bass Ted Parsons-drums Ronaldo Gonzales-drums.
googalunga 3 months ago
Mankind was at the brink of discovering something here.
Brave is he who dear to continue the direction of this work.
deathtrapdeath 5 months ago 15
@deathtrapdeath well said and i totally agree. i get the sense that this style has untapped potential. the problem is (and what makes this music so amazing to me) is that i just don't think anyone can replicate the sincerity.
greedholymoney 2 months ago
@greedholymoney Making music like this bravely and not looking like a Swans rip-off that is.
MirrorballJack 1 week ago
I'm fucking squashed.
MirrorballJack 5 months ago
The Music's ok, but I don't get why they show off that much. This is not a performance, guys, this is a concert.
RitualeSatanas 7 months ago
@RitualeSatanas
performance [pəˈfɔːməns]
1. The act of performing or the state of being performed.
2. The act or style of performing a work or role before an audience.
3. A presentation, especially a theatrical one, before an audience.
So yes, this is indeed an Performance.
faultandfracture 7 months ago
@RitualeSatanas drown in blood.
sybs99 4 months ago
this is the scariest music ever created
fourges1 7 months ago 3
7:20 That's what beauty looks like, children.
moosikerin 7 months ago 4
This has been flagged as spam show
You either love it or hate it. With Swans, there's no middle ground.
spunkets 7 months ago
Incredible performance. Trying to put words on this feels wrong somehow. I'm deeply moved by such a profound level of artistery. Very few artists have this kind of deep sensibility to create such a convincing portrayal.
Gira doesn't even look uneasy after his part is done, but amazingly relieved. Fantastic.
staticAcid 8 months ago 2
They still scare the shit out of me and i'm 42 and known them since A Screw came out of my radio in 1986. They don't come any heavier than this. And i've seen quite a lot. Neurosis fan nowadays, go figure, they are big fan of Swans/Joy Divison/Black Sabbath. There is no way back once you open this door. If it is not your thing, you probably hate it.
neurotic4ever 8 months ago 4
Performances such as these are not so much a concert as so much performance art, in my eyes. Huge respect for Swans.
Arloest85 9 months ago
I don´t really like their music, I mean, to the date, I´m not able to understand their music (and I wish I could). But Michael Gira is a fucking beast.
theinmortal6 9 months ago
@theinmortal6 That is the kind of honest opinion we need to see more of if people dislike a certain band. Thank you for not blurting out in the childish manner of "this sucks".
Atraiterm 9 months ago 4
@Atraiterm Some bands are pretty easy to see if they are pretty bad or not. But Swans is an experimental band, it takes time to listen to their music. But you can see they are pretty interesting, anyway.
theinmortal6 9 months ago
@theinmortal6 Swans have always interested me from the first listen, a very challenging sonic experience, ranging from one extreme to another in the opposite direction. When I saw them live not too long ago, they simply just blew me away.
Atraiterm 9 months ago
God, I hate the video effects on this. They should have just kept the raw video and released that.
alexsweeley 9 months ago
I think I need to throw up now. I love Swans.
thewalking 9 months ago 3
5 people are cowards
singularity515 9 months ago
best band ever
MawoRinnGun 9 months ago
They're giving it their all. This is one of the most impressive performances I've seen.
Blogdoovian 10 months ago
This song broke my brain, in a good way. New fan.
LowVibe75 10 months ago 3
THESE HIDEOUS, TRIBAL HEATHENS ARE THE LIVING PROOF THAT THE WORLD IS FALLING APART!!! YOUTUBE SHOULD NOT ALLOW SUCH EVIL TO BE SPREAD AROUND THIS WEBSITE!!! THIS IS SOMETHING MY CHILDREN WERE WATCHING THE OTHER DAY FOR GOD'S SAKE!
I was watching their internet history, because I suspected porn viewing, but I found something much worse, and it is this video: the satanic sounds of unborn children being murdered, pure evil and destruction! how can anyone find this to be entertainment! YOU HOUNDS!
Iamcola65 10 months ago
@Iamcola65 GOD BLESS AMURRIKA
silverhawk79 10 months ago
@Iamcola65 wow hahah. there is no way your really some religious freak/soccer mom..
youknowyourrite1 10 months ago
@Iamcola65 haha, i wouldn't expect to be taken seriously here if you don't already know that..
youknowyourrite1 10 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@Iamcola65
pretty cool huh?
cigarcough 9 months ago
@Iamcola65 got to click the play button on the vid first and then make the judgement call the "the satanic sounds of unborn children being murdered, pure evil and destruction" could easily be mistaken for a passing truck or perhaps intercourse
incrediblehulk180 9 months ago
@Iamcola65 Sometimes Christians are just as evil as those they condem. Judge not lest ye be judged. Get a net nanny.
kitsune2323 8 months ago
I don't think this is quite THE type of brutal music every "close-minded" fuckhead appreciates.Opposed to the more straight forward delivery the music brutality craving kiddos value as nothing but sheer aggression, Swans focus very much on harmonies and atmosphere.These guys proved themselves to be remarkable artists leaning their musical development towards their progression as personalities across their lives
bloodyrockfire 10 months ago 2
What amps did the guitarist/bassist use back then to get that deafening sound?
TheForgottenFlesh 10 months ago
I read that the band got alot of hate from close-minded "scary/brutal music" loving fuckheads when they changed/altered their style. Come on, Gira and Jarboe couldn't just do the same aggressive music forever, it is good that they expanded their horizions and experimented.
I have seen Swans live recently, and they are INTENSE, not to mention LOUD, even when they are playing a ballad.
Atraiterm 11 months ago 2
@Atraiterm It's easy to say that today with 20/20 hindsight. If you had been around back then and was a fan during their early period, it's likely you wouldn't have embraced their new sound either. Even the few people who did like it, generally speaking it took them time to come around. If you just like everything instantly, then you have no filter. Some of my all time favorite bands and records, I really *hated* them the first time I heard them. They had to grow on me.
Druffmaul 10 months ago
i had problems moving my bowels. my dr. recommended this song...
greedholymoney 1 year ago 3
damn the bassist has the black version of my old bass. i want!
anaemiabag 1 year ago
@anaemiabag what bass is it?? way too dark for me to tell but the headstock looks familiar. someone claimed it was a ripper bass but i know it's not that..
youknowyourrite1 1 year ago
@youknowyourrite1 well it looks very similar to my aria pro ii csb-380.... but its pick ups are different....
so its most likely a westone. many of the aria pro ii and westone models from the early/mid 80's have almost identical headstocks and body shapes. seen alot of them in punk and underground bands cause they were decently made but affordable.
anaemiabag 1 year ago
this is sooo great. its real catharsis and exorcism thru music. pure fucking raw
anaemiabag 1 year ago
I am glad gira found music and writing as a release. Met him once or twice at shows and he is one of the most intense people I have ever encountered.
He has a 'i can exorcise t he crap in my head by playing music or breaking open your head' vibe to hin.
ljdankov 1 year ago
@ljdankov How long ago did you meet?
industrymonkey 1 year ago
flex yr mussles be hard
voidshirt 1 year ago
They are on tour now. Find them.
Timpanicmembrane1 1 year ago
Awesome. This is easy to dismiss watching on a computer screen. I cannot imagine this would've been possible seeing this at a live show for the first time. Too loud and repetitively punishing to be ignored.
schwarzblatt 1 year ago
@schwarzblatt
most people in the 85/86/87 concerts fled the halls because it was too intense and loud. still have one live-tape from a 86 concert but it doesn't reveal half of the energy that has been there in reality. simply breath- and braintaking.
23schiller 1 year ago
Swans are really very unpleasant music but fascinating. Sort of like a bird that's been run over, it's horrible but you still want to go over and look at how bad it's mangled.
I'd have more liking for them if they utilised actual heavy riffs but the music was geared I guess to crush you rather than make you more aggressive....and Godflesh were pretty much the metal answer to Swans so that ground's been covered nicely : )
GeoffSkates 1 year ago
I first saw them in University of London student union. Our jeans were buzzing on our legs, our pints had ripples. Also saw them at Kentish Town, where the plug got pulled before the end of the gig, all got a bit scary.
PinkFairy108 1 year ago
This period of Swans blow ANY metal band out of the water. They're heavier, and scarier and they don't have to have silly names and wear makeup, or pretend to worship the devil. They make them look like children's music. Metal guys are nothing but hairy macho tools, and Swans make them look like pussies....because they are.
rorydragula 1 year ago 2
@rorydragula LOL come on. Metals just a big barrel of dark fun. Like Halloween. You'd have to be one miserable and gay motherfucker not appreciate any. Plus children's music? please...there's tons of technical ability and different moods expressed with skill in metal. I respect swans but it's music a FUCKING 2 YEAR OLD COULD MAKE and do make!
GeoffSkates 1 year ago
@GeoffSkates Have you heard a single song Swans did post-Children of God?
ImaGoofyGooberYEAH 1 year ago
@ImaGoofyGooberYEAH Yes, very melodic and experimental. My opinion was on their early exteme stuff.
GeoffSkates 1 year ago
He puts the microphone his mouth: OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Scared the shit outta me...
Atraiterm 1 year ago
5 people had loved ones die after experiencing this song.
Mactastic87 1 year ago
I cannot even imagine the catharsis being experienced at this show.
grahamlaur 1 year ago 3
i don't know why,but i'm just drawn to these vids.i watch them every day...i can't even believe i went 20 years without hearing this band once.they are everything i've ever dreamed of and i feel like i could name a plethora of bands that sound like they are influenced by swans even though they never claimed to be.at first they were kind of scary to me, just cause i didn't know what they were going to do next..and being high didn't help.but i'm hooked now,i wish i was there on stage with them...
youknowyourrite1 1 year ago
I think music of hell sounds like this
Sstrikerful 1 year ago 2
Can anybody tell me who is playing bass here?
spuffchops70 1 year ago
@spuffchops70 Algis Kizys who was in Of Cabbages and Kings, among other things.
steinber 1 year ago
@steinber Cool. Bad name, but I'll check them out.
spuffchops70 1 year ago
@spuffchops70 Yeah, it's not as potent as this was but I love the way he plays. Plus Ted Parsons was drumming with them for awhile so, y'know...they have their moments.
steinber 1 year ago
@steinber I'm not a Prong fan, but Ted Parsons is a knockout drummer. I seem to recall reading an interview where he said he'd really enjoyed playing in Swans. He was with them on the tours from which the material on 'Public Castration' & 'Feel Good Now' were culled, no? I didn't know Michael Gira's partner Siobhan was in God is My Co-Pilot....
spuffchops70 1 year ago
@spuffchops70 I was never into Prong either but certainly Parsons' rocked Swans during those years. Apparently he toured with Godflesh once, which I'd like to have seen. I didn't know Gira actually had a partner (!) but I think I saw her with Angels of Light years back, if that was her...
steinber 1 year ago
@steinber Unlikely as it may seem, it appears that he does! I recently read somewhere that he's married to Siobhan Duffy and they moved out of NY to the Catskills. They have a young daughter who sings on one track on the current album. Cute, huh?
spuffchops70 1 year ago
@spuffchops70 they moved out of NYC you mean?? haha, cause the catskills are also in NY..
youknowyourrite1 1 year ago
@spuffchops70 algis kizys..
youknowyourrite1 1 year ago
Amazing footage from an amazing band.
spuffchops70 1 year ago
Dinosaurus, ploughing his way through the Swamp.
Me so lucky, they play in Groningen tonight!
tonbuchele 1 year ago
Just watching this video, I fell like i've been beaten up. Punishing.
industrymonkey 1 year ago
I shut my eyes. what do i see? ancient executions and crucifixion scenes.
jesuscat29 1 year ago
Comment removed
falloutjosh184 1 year ago
this is angry power beyond comprehension! so beautiful! and angry!
gofuserect 1 year ago
...$...
luckyphilster 1 year ago
no one stares down an audience like gira
steinber 1 year ago 3
M. Gira is a brilliant lyricist. Check out his book: "The Consumer".
beelzabubba 1 year ago
does anyone have/know where to watch a video of this entire concert?
HammarHeart 1 year ago
But I wanted to hold a candle for Napalm Death. they are a great band, and they always took huge influence from the Swans. Fact is, they're plying live with the Swans and Godflesh at the Supersonic Fest in Brimhingham (funnier still: all 3 bands are from the area, they all redefined extreme music and Broadrick founded Napalm Death before moving to Godflesh!)
THEMANOUTOFTHECAVE 1 year ago
I pretty much agree with all the metal comments.
As a fan of heavy metal I see that there is a lot of rubbish around trying to sound scary and evil and failing.
this on the other hande is BRILLIANT.
THEMANOUTOFTHECAVE 1 year ago
I'm a coward....put your knife in me...
655treefrog 1 year ago
worthless useless stick your knife in me
gofuserect 1 year ago
The pressing question is: Did he eat, or blow, the microphone? <3 MG
Dextear 1 year ago
Fucking genius! You don't get any heavier than this! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
tullybowen 1 year ago
I have seen and heard alot of bands. But out of all of them SWANS is the most intense band to ever put out music. They are a band that uses all emotions but avoids happiness, and they find that makeing their music more aggressive reaches people. And it reached me enough to buy all thier records!! Praise SWANS, the best noise industrial band!!
:)
jesuscat29 1 year ago
@jesuscat29 They arent really industrial anymore, or very much noise. But I think Soundtracks for the Blind (the best album) really diversifies and shows you what they are seriously capable of. And it's great. I personally think Jarboe has an amazing voice, and it compliments the often grim tone/lyrics within the music.
NightRanger77 1 year ago
@NightRanger77 Yes I agree with you, they definitely changed when ever they put out "White Light". But I feel the most intense time for them is when ever albums such as "Holy Money" where released. But then again SWANS never seize to amaze me with anything. And Jarboe is a hell of a singer, like on the track "In my Garden" she sounds like a siren hah.
jesuscat29 1 year ago
@jesuscat29 Oh my, In My Garden is enchanting and haunting at the same time. Mesmerizing!
NightRanger77 1 year ago
@NightRanger77 Yes it is, its so relaxing.. I just like how they can go from something as intense as "Coward", to something like "In my garden".
jesuscat29 1 year ago
@jesuscat29 I hope they don't seize you either. It's just music, after all.
err0r 1 year ago
is he biting the microphone? Awesome.
Megamaniac610 1 year ago
I'll bet most of you have no idea this is more great art that resulted from LSD.
nondor13 1 year ago 2
@nondor13 Yeah. But also as these other artists did it for me I can just morph their drug-induced imaginations into my own without doing drugs myself.
Or maybe you have to be a bit odd to begin with to do that... I don't know.
stickydisgust 1 year ago
Hard to believe this is 25 years old!!! Wonderful!!!!
denverjohncdalby 1 year ago
OH MAN! This just change my life!
FLEAisGODpsps 1 year ago
@lukevertiis "horrifying" that you dont see this as music, in my opinion.
I must admit that I find this grueling and harsh and a bit too far on the hard side for me, but I definitely embrace it as being both art and music. To each their own.
machinate 1 year ago 2
still the best. im waiting for the Swans recarnation soon
kuipertje1 1 year ago 4
I saw them at the Roxy in L.A. in '86, probably this tour. LOUDEST band I ever experienced! Every chord felt like being slugged in the gut-hard! After we walked at 30 minutes (not because I didn't like it, but because my ears could take no more), the girl I was with and I walked down Sunset Blvd. silently. After a few minutes, and without looking at each other, we said the same word at the same time-"F*CK!!!"
ilenciosay 1 year ago
What are you talking about dude? Swans is as punishingly heavy as it gets! They're addictive torture, and the greatest band of all time. How much heavier can it get? It can't.
SummerLandMan 1 year ago 4
God damn... goatambush, youre right, but... holy shit though. This is like the moment after ejaculation-murder everyone-where is that god damn sound-on tape... this song rules.
Doc4orUgs 2 years ago
what more is there to say?
goatambush 2 years ago
They couldn't have picked a better name: Swans. Beautiful and Pure
ryanh206 2 years ago 18
but with really nasty temperaments
nikagandofacho 2 years ago 13
I saw this tour back when I was in high school. Right up by the stage. He nearly kicked my friend right in the face with his bare feet. Heaviest show I ever saw, by far. It felt like the stage was in flames.
Funny, I used to nap to this album after school!
kirkak9 2 years ago 2
Swans in this era = pounding disgust and catharsis. No one else sounds like this, or their later albums. Brilliant.
nasalscarecrow 2 years ago
Swans is raw. Visceral. I love metal, but it is very musical in comparison. Swans from this era is a rhythmic bloodletting. Love it. I wish more people were inspired by this and would carry the torch. I would empty my bank account and punch someone in the neck to be able to see this show live.
ChadRullman 2 years ago 9
@ChadRullman FUCK YEAH!!! With every fucking beat Gira tries to exorcise his demons . . . Pure hatred . . . . rage . . . despair . . . I'd club a baby fucking harp seal to have been able to see them live back then!!!!
jubjub2112 2 years ago
I like the "rythmic bloodletting" line, but honestly this video alone, I just need something more punishingly heavy.
goatambush 2 years ago
I have nightmares about Michael Gira.
alejandro15187 2 years ago 4
Micheal Gira causes me to have nightmares about myself.
Lortagreb 2 years ago 8
hahahahahahahahahahahaahhah
hungry4stink 2 years ago
@alejandro15187 So does Michael Gira.
MrNobody425 1 year ago
I never understood why people refer to metal as being brutal. This is far more relentless and overwhelming.
Stimutacbob 2 years ago 3
Because Metal *CAN* be brutal. I am a fan of both metal and this, and it's diffeent means to achieve the same goal. Assuming of course we're not talking about some of the extremely cartoonish metal that exists.
thegrimner 2 years ago
I guess I was just thinking of my own personal definition. When someone says brutal, I think of this. I didn't mean to offend, or to act dismissive of all metal. It's admittedly an expansive genre I don't know much about, aside from working with a bunch of metal heads for several years. They liked mostly the cartoonish stuff though.
Stimutacbob 2 years ago
Oh, as a metal fan I can agree with you, on the most part. Many metal fans are, to put it nicely, uneducated and closed to other styles of music. But that said, metal has absorbed a lot of Swans's influence. Listen to Neurosis (Enemy of the Sun/Through Silver in Blood in particular), or Bands like Evoken, Esoteric and Deathspell Omega. Or Cobalt, which have Jarboe (who's being pretty involved with metal lately) as regular guest.
thegrimner 2 years ago
that album she did with neurosis is fucking awesome. Opening track is scary as hell.
alejandro15187 2 years ago 2
(as an aside, Ted Parsons played in numerous metal projects, and Neurosis, at around 94/95 were being considered as a choice of "back up" session band for Swans. They DID record an album with Jarboe in 2001, though)
thegrimner 2 years ago 3
Well I like a lot of metal to, but you're absolute right about this being more overwhelming. Violent in a totally different, more honest, way. :)
bajsmannen418 2 years ago 2
welcome to those who are hearing this for the first time. I've been into this recording for decades and it simply never loses its power or edge. ever. for those with the ears for this, welcome.
steinber 2 years ago 4
INTENSE! :)
jesuscat29 2 years ago
Heaviest. Song. Ever.
gabeuop79 2 years ago 3
holy shit, this is even more heavier than the album version! it's slower and much deeper. almost coming near drone metal.
INSECTIREALICIDE 2 years ago
Never heard anything like this....Everybody's music can always be related to some other band and can be put in some catergory or genre. But this shit is like no other. Its funny how alot of death metal bands try coming up with the most evilest names complete with the growls and yelling, yet doesnt hold a candle to this band. This shit is scary without all the black metal anti- christian satanic dramatics......Just naturally horrorfying..without even trying.
Monarch730 2 years ago 86
You are so right. The names "Stupid Child" and "Take Advantage" are far more fucked up than "Raped in the back of a van" and "The taste of menstruating maggots"
wordupassholes 2 years ago 4
@Monarch730 funny thing, this is where the term "grind" in grindcore came from. Speed it up and add cookie monster vocals and you basically get napalm death
Megamaniac610 1 year ago
@Monarch730 Unique. The sound of a man losing his mind (lyrics to this song). Never will there be music like this ever again.
PlazaMoon 1 year ago
@Monarch730 Somewhat. I think that you are categorizing a bit too much there. Maybe generalizing. I have found some obscure metal bands that are very horrifying, probably moreso then even this.
NightRanger77 1 year ago
@Monarch730
First comment ive agreed with. Theres no comparison to a band thats playing for themselves before the audience. This band obviously is in their own world, one that your can become a part of if you choose. i play this at work all the time. the people i respect ask who it is. those i dont ask "what the f^(* is this?" with real fear in their eyes. thank you swans.
kellan14 1 year ago 8
@Monarch730 Yes . . . this is because 99% of the death metal bands out there are trying so hard to be shocking and controversial . . . The Swans . . . they HAD to make this music . . . if they didn't they would have put a fucking bullet through their fucked up heads . . . That is what is so terrifying and beautiful about this . . . this IS who they are . . . this is a glimpse of the interior of the Swans . . . dark . . . hateful . . . angry . . . full of rage and malice. Pure.
jubjub2112 1 year ago
@jubjub2112
alot of great Death Metal bands don't do that.
GEETARS3 1 year ago
@GEETARS3 I don't doubt you . . . If you could make some suggestions . . . I would love to listen to some good Death Metal . . . I was only speaking from my own experience, which is not extensive in the Death Metal genre. All I know is that what I have heard up til now cannot come close to the Swans . . . nothing I have ever heard has come close . . . I would love to hear anything even half as intense as this . . . so please do send some my way
jubjub2112 1 year ago
@jubjub2112
You sound like a retarded teenager.
beowulven 1 year ago
@beowulven What a coincidence beowulven! I AM a retarded teenager!
jubjub2112 1 year ago
@jubjub2112
Welcome to the club.
beowulven 1 year ago
@Monarch730
not a big metal fan?
MrCUNTSCRAPE 1 year ago
@Monarch730
you don't like metal much?
GEETARS3 1 year ago
@Monarch730 When I first saw this, I was thinking the same thing. I had already been a fan of SWANS work, but hadn't really seen a live performance. this really was intense to watch. The screams and yells of pure pain and hatred. every time I watch it it gives me chills
jesuscat29 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@Monarch730 When I first saw this, I was thinking the same thing. I had already been a fan of SWANS work, but hadn't really seen a live performance. this really was intense to watch. The screams and yells of pure pain and hatred. every time I watch this, it gives me chills
jesuscat29 1 year ago
@Monarch730 There's a pretty good chance you're not listening to the right death metal. Opeth blows everyone out of the water. Period.
SillySantaHat 1 year ago
@SillySantaHat Opeth is barely even death metal. It's prog with growling. They're good, but they're overrated.
HammarHeart 1 year ago
@HammarHeart That's too bad.
SillySantaHat 1 year ago
Brings back a lot of memories. The origin of grunge. Is this video currently available?
Thanks for posting it!!!
robb3566 2 years ago
Yes, this is another song I want to play at a pathetic school disco. Put them into total submission. Along with some Whitehouse
wordupassholes 2 years ago 9
amazing
dcaebo 2 years ago 2
Gira looks insane or intoxicated. Probably is both.
bajsmannen418 2 years ago 5
iti rupe capu
coafe 2 years ago
Pagan Ritual
freudastaire 2 years ago 3
Fucking incredible.
Mekakakaka 2 years ago 4
Holy fuck 5:13
temporaryguy 2 years ago 7
This is sooo damn good! Wish I was there! Noone sounds this raw today...
robboten 2 years ago 4
i feel so worthless now, thanks guys!
braindamagehurts44 2 years ago 10
Damn those drums sound like the ultimate drums signaling the beginning of the end of the world!
Shockheadd45 2 years ago 9
I need to work out more.
HamburgerMartyr 2 years ago 32
Is it true that they used to have such volume that people would vomit on their concerts? Casue if, these guys will have my respect
wordupassholes 2 years ago
i think it may be true, i think it was the sheer amount of air blowing out of the bass speakers and the PA, and that air was being pushed into peoples lungs as they breathed, causing nausea, they would have to be pretty damn loud to achieve that.
Putyourknifinme 2 years ago
I read on wikipedia about vomiting (don't ask why) and it said that pain could make one vomit. If they were really loud that would really make your ears hurt.
wordupassholes 2 years ago 2
It's not the pain. While I do not know about the vomitting part, such high sound levels can make you feel sick and nauseated. I guess it's related to the inner ear and balance. Then you might have this chest pounding bass. From my own experience, very high sound levels can feel suffocating and make it hard to breath. If you get motion sickness easily...
grisflyt 2 years ago 4