YOUNG GOD

There's a flicker of tension and pensiveness about the slow doomy dirges on Swans' Young God. Whereas Cop came across as outraged, furious, but ultimately dead and rotting, somewhere deep within Young God something sinister is gradually coming to life. Complementing its parent album interesting - the two releases are usually conjoined on CD reissues - Young God is another important signpost in the early evolution of Swans and sounds even less like traditional doom metal than Cop. Fans of Burning Witch in particular might find this work an intriguing precedent for Witch's own particular brand of "how sickly can I make this riff sound?" doom, though at the same time it does seem like the various compositions largely outstay their welcome, exhausting the ideas behind them by the halfway point. Worth a listen, but maybe not a keeper.