Godflesh Premiere New Single "Living/Ending" From Upcoming Penultimate Album "Decay"

British industrial metal outfit Godflesh have announced “Decay” as the title of their tenth studio album. The record will arrive on September 25th via Relapse and is set to be the band’s penultimate studio release. This tenth full-length follows vocalist/guitarist/programmer Justin Broadrick‘s earlier announcement that he is retiring from touring with the band, a decision prompted by abdominal surgery. The band have shared the first single from the album, “Living/Ending“, streaming via YouTube and Spotify for you now below.

Broadrick recently discussed the record and its connection to the band’s 2023 album “Purge“:

“‘Decay‘ was born from the same sessions as ‘Purge‘. It was one huge pool of songs. I picked what I felt was appropriate for what I wanted to achieve with ‘Purge‘, with the intention of releasing the songs that didn’t fit as a new album within a year of ‘Purge‘ being released. Unfortunately, two years passed whilst considering external labels, so that I didn’t have to self-release Godflesh anymore, but it took an awful lot of time to establish a comfortable home for me. The recordings were done, but as usual for me, I did change a lot of stuff once I came back to it.”

Broadrick further explained:

“Fortunately, all of the recordings for ‘Decay‘ were completed long before the surgery, vocals included… although the back end of a couple of songs were recorded with the hernia itself, and that was a struggle. I was already aware that the Godflesh shout, so to speak, was exacerbating the hernia greatly, as was every Godflesh performance in the lead-up to the surgery once the hernia appeared, and the hernia was mostly caused by year upon year of shouting in Godflesh. The album was mixed post-surgery, and while I was still in some pain and considerable discomfort, but fortunately Godflesh is generally me expressing my pain, albeit [usually] mental, philosophical and existential, whereas this was physical pain.”

Broadrick also reflected on the impending conclusion of Godflesh as a studio project and the final album he has previously said will follow “Decay“. Speaking about the band as a creative outlet, he stated:

“It expresses my pain, and I’ve put my body and soul into this expression for the majority of my existence. I feel quite lucky, because Godflesh is now physically impossible for me, rendering it useless. I now wish to move out of its constraints, move on creatively with heavy/ugly music to new ground.”

“Decay” track list:

01 – “Master And Slave“
02 – “Living/Ending“
03 – “Feral Colony“
04 – “Fear Of Man“
05 – “Fodder“
06 – “Consume Me“

Speaking earlier this year about what remains ahead for Godflesh beyond “Decay“, Broadrick stated:

“I’ve had the final GODFLESH studio album written, for almost a year and half now, that will
be recorded and completed late 2026.

After that there will continue to be GODFLESH dub albums, live albums, and so on,
but no new studio releases nor performances.

In the near future, a new solo project will emerge, further exploring the parameters
of heavy/ugly music, featuring my guitars and electronics, and of course vocals, but
NOT shouted vocals!”