The Great Annihilator

by Swans

The Great Annihilator cover art
  • Type: Album
  • Released: January 24, 1995
  • Label: Young God
  • Country: United States
  • Length: 1:14:00
  • Community rating: 4.32/5 from 31 ratings

Artists on this release: Bill Rieflin, Clinton Steele, Jarboe, Algis Kizys, Michael Gira, Norman Westberg

Album Notes & Community Reviews

'The Great Annihilator' represents a pivotal synthesis in the Swans discography, fusing the industrial force of their early work with more defined, atmospheric melodic structures. The production balances pummeling rhythms and sonic abrasion against moments of unsettling quiet, supporting lyrical explorations of mortality, power, and celebrity. Driven by Michael Gira’s sonorous baritone and Jarboe's dynamic vocal contributions, the album functions as a thematic companion piece to Gira's more stripped-down solo record, 'Drainland'.

Genres

Descriptors: bleak, percussive, atmospheric, ambitious, ritualistic, distorted, guitars, droning, industrial, repetitive

Tracklist

  1. In (02:28)
  2. I Am The Sun (03:24)
  3. She Lives (07:00)
  4. Celebrity Lifestyle (04:10)
  5. Mother_Father (04:08)
  6. Blood Promise (04:15)
  7. Mind/Body/Light/Sound (04:41)
  8. My Buried Child (02:58)
  9. Warm (04:54)
  10. Alcohol The Seed (03:30)
  11. Killing For Company (06:58)
  12. Mother's Milk (02:26)
  13. Where Does A Body End (03:44)
  14. Telepathy (06:13)
  15. The Great Annihilator (04:53)
  16. Out (02:31)
  17. I Am The Sun (Live At The Flesh Club) (05:47)

Credits

  • Michael Gira - vocals, guitars, sounds, art design, production
  • Jarboe - vocals, sounds, organ, keyboards
  • Bill Rieflin - drums, percussion, sounds, additional sequencing
  • Algis Kizys - bass
  • Norman Westberg - guitar
  • Clinton Steele - guitar
  • Ted Parsons - drums (tracks 3, 4, and 15)
  • John Sarfell - piano (track 9)
  • Nicky Skopelitis - guitar (track 9)
  • Larry Seven - engineering, double bass (track 16)
  • Martin Atkins - additional mastering, drums (tracks 8)
  • Martin Bisi - engineering, mixing
  • Bryce Goggin - engineering
  • Scott Ramsayer - engineering, additional sequencing
  • Fred Breitberg - engineering
  • Van Christie - engineering
  • Jay O'Rourke - mastering
  • Doug Henderson - remastering
  • Jim Marcus - additional sequencing
  • Mark Falls - layout
  • Phil Puleo - artwork

More from Swans: full discography