| The Great Annihilator | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | January 23, 1995 | |||
| Recorded | February 1993 – June 1994 | |||
| Studio | Various
| |||
| 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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The Great Annihilator is the ninth studio album by Americanexperimental rock bandSwans. It was released on January 23, 1995, through frontmanMichael Gira's own record label,Young God. The album has been described by Gira as a companion album to his solo albumDrainland (1995); the two were remastered and re-released together in April 2017.[3]
The album features a shift towards more prominent melodies and cleaner production than Swans' earlier work. Lyrical subjects includedeath and thehuman condition.[4] Music critic Saby Reyes-Kulkarni, writing forPitchfork, describing band leader Michael Gira's singing style on much of the album says "[Gira] leers as if doing a self-consciously evil take onJohnny 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 andJarboe alternating on vocals over an instrumental with a "manic drive".[5] The song featurestempo changes and "careful" spaces of quiet between "blasts" of instrumentation.[6]
Louder Sound's Dom Lawson describes the song "Celebrity Lifestyle" as a "weirdly catchyno-wavehoedown".[7] Lyrically, the song features the topic of romanticization ofcelebrities.[6]
The song "Killing For Company" is based on the crimes of the Scottish serial killerDennis 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?" fromDrainland, linking the two "companion albums" together.[5]
| 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]
All lyrics are written byMichael Gira; all music is composed by Gira, except tracks 8 and 16 (which are also composed byJarboe)
| 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 | |
Credits adapted fromThe Great Annihilator liner notes.[15][16]
Swans
Additional musicians
| Technical personnel
|
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