The Glowing Man
by Swans
- Type: Album
- Released: 17 June 2016
- Label: Young God, Mute
- Country: United States
- Length: 1:58:23
- Community rating: 4.38/5 from 34 ratings
Artists on this release: Norman Westberg, Bill Rieflin, Kristof Hahn, Thor Harris, Phil Puleo, Michael Gira, Christopher Pravdica
Album Notes & Community Reviews
'The Glowing Man' serves as the concluding installment of the trilogy that began with 'The Seer', cementing the final statement for this incarnation of the experimental rock group. The album is defined by its two-hour runtime, featuring immense compositions built on hypnotic repetition, gradual crescendos, and sections of both ambient drone and percussive intensity. Michael Gira鈥檚 chants and incantations are supported by a vast sonic palette, incorporating a dual-drummer foundation, lap steel, hammered dulcimer, and orchestral strings to create a sound that is simultaneously transcendental and physically demanding.
Genres
Descriptors: atmospheric, repetitive, ritualistic, male vocalist, death, rhythmic, avant-garde, choral, NOISY, progressive, existential, violence, maximalist, conceptual
Tracklist
- Cloud of Forgetting (12:43)
- Cloud of Unknowing (25:12)
- The World Looks Red / The World Looks Black (14:27)
- People Like Us (04:32)
- Frankie M (20:58)
- When Will I Return (05:26)
- The Glowing Man (28:50)
- Finally, Peace (06:15)
Credits
- Michael Gira - vocals, electric and acoustic guitar, producer, art direction, design
- Kristof Hahn - lap steel guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Thor Harris - percussion, vibes and bells, hammered dulcimer
- Christopher Pravdica - bass guitar, vocals
- Phil Puleo - drums, hammered dulcimer, vocals, artwork, layout
- Norman Westberg - electric guitar, vocals
- Bill Rieflin - drums, piano, synth, mellotron, bass guitar, electric guitar, vocals (credited as "hitman and 7th swan")
- Jennifer Gira - lead vocals on "when will i return?", double vocal on "finally, peace."
- Okkyung Lee - cello on "cloud of unknowing"
- Bach Norwood - double bass
- Kaela Sinclair - backing vocals
- Katrina Cain - backing vocals
- Buffi Jacobs - cello
- Daniel Hart - violin
- Gerald Jones - mandolin, banjo
- Stuart Mack - trumpet
- Joakim Toftgaard - trombone
- Rachel Woolf - flute
- John Congleton - recorded by, waterphone
- Don Gunn - additional recording
- Ingo Krauss - additional recording, mixed by
- Doug Henderson - additional recording, mixed by, mastered by
- Jen Turner - additional recording
- Martin Bisi - additional recording
- Charles Godfrey - second engineer and fantastic logistics at sonic ranch