Swans - The Great Annihilator (1995)

A dark, intense and emotional album, The Great Annihilator is a quite a puzzle to wrap one's head around. It's so eclectic and non-linear in its approach that one will have great difficulty in deriving any sort of musical consistency. However, I think that is what makes this album and the band in general their distinctive, uncomprising sound. Songs the apocalyptic She Lives and the industrial atmospheric number Mind/Body/Light/Sound demonstrate the band's knack for diversity and drama. Unlike this year's The Seer (which I'll review later), this album is relatively accessible and a good introduction, at least to me, to the band's discography.
8.5/10