Industrial metal pioneers Godflesh have unveiled “Master And Slave”, the pulverising opener to their forthcoming album Decay, arriving 25 September via Relapse Records.

Across nearly four decades, Godflesh have remained one of metal’s most uncompromising forces — a band that effectively carved out its own genre. From the seismic impact of Streetcleaner in 1989 through the cold mechanical brutality of Pure, Hymns, and the landmark EPs Slavestate and Messiah, their work reshaped the boundaries of heaviness and electronic extremity.

After a lengthy hiatus, the duo of Justin Broadrick and Ben Green reignited Godflesh in the mid‑2010s with the EP Decline & Fall, the feral full‑length A World Lit Only By Fire, and the more textural, introspective Post Self. Broadrick briefly stepped away again, believing the project had said all it needed — until the isolation of 2020 sparked a renewed creative fire, culminating in the crushing 2023 album Purge.

Now, Godflesh return with their tenth and penultimate record, Decay — a work described as their bleakest and boldest in years. The newly released “Master And Slave” sets the tone immediately: hostile, hypnotic, and mechanically relentless, a reminder of why Godflesh remain unmatched in their ability to fuse industrial abrasion with existential weight. Link