Justin Broadrick (of Jesu, JK Flesh, Final, Pale Sketcher) tends to stay pretty busy, so it makes sense that the 2010 live reunion of his industrial-metal project Godflesh has finally resulted in the release of new material. "Ringer" is the first taste from a forthcoming EP called Decline & Fall, and if you expect Broadrick to have chilled out in the 12 years he's spent shoegazing, "Ringer" will swiftly disabuse you of those notions. Straight out the gate with a blown-out drum machine and warped, harrowing guitar work, it picks up pretty much right where the duo left off back in 2001. That intensity is unrelenting over the track's four minutes, during which Broadrick comes out of his bleary-eyed metal hiatus for some craggy vocalizations that only underscore the track's harrowing atmosphere. It's certainly a good omen both for Decline & Fall (which is due June 2 in the UK and June 26th in the US) and for a rumored fall LP called A World Lit Only By Fire.
Stream: Godflesh, "Ringer"