The Young Gods ‎– T.V. Sky

In a conscious shift of aesthetics, the very European Gods turned their eyes on America with the band's fourth album, producing its most 'rock' record to date, a consistently strong smash. Opening with "Our House," it all seems (powerful) business as usual - odd sonic loops, rhythm patterns suddenly exploding into mass drum/riff combinations. But the difference here lies with the lyrics - discounting earlier covers, Treichler for the first time sings in English here and throughout, a conscious audience targeting which he addressed in contemporaneous interviews. "Gasoline Man" turns out to be the big shift, revamping what sounds like an old ZZ Top riff into as classic an American rock song as any - blues lyrical structure, loving the road and the motor - yet with the Gods' unique sonic signature present, revamping and re-stitching the past into a cleaner, newer form that avoids sounding just like another bar band. Underground hit single "Skinflowers" marries a powerful pulse and razor-sharp feedback stabs with a perversely catchy lyric; other tracks like "TV Sky" and the wickedly Guns n' Roses-quoting "The Night Dance" pile on the sound and space in equally gripping measure. "Summer Eyes," an intentional Doors tribute done after numerous Jim Morrison/Treichler comparisons in the past, even has a mid-song Manzarek-style organ break, but ends the album on a disturbing note, slow riff trudge samples fading out under Treichler's dark, sly take on America. In sum, a wonderful album that never got its proper due.

The Young Gods - L'Eau Rouge

The Red Water; what a charming reference to menstruation. Now I have no idea why it has taken so long for me to come back around to posting more Young Gods…L’Eau Rouge the second studio album by The Young Gods was released in September 1989. It is usually referred to as their masterpiece and was included in “1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die” in 2005. Everything snaps into focus on L’Eau Rouge which is far more assured and coherent but still just as shocking as the debut. Thundering guitars dominate many tracks (Treichler has not inaccurately referred to the album as “metal cabaret”) but the group also brings in crazed Shostakovich samples, the whipcrack grind of “L’Amourir” and some quaintly sinister Kurt Weill-isms (???) "La Fille de la Mort" begins this album so perfectly that it becomes immediately clear how much more striking the already powerful band had become; beginning with a simple boulevardier melody and lyric (even though, as the title indicates, it's about the daughter of Death!), it slowly but relentlessly builds over the course of eight minutes, suddenly bursting into a beautiful orchestral sample loop that is then staggered and distorted, punctuated by sharp drums and finally concluding with guitar pulses on top of that. It's a stunning, unique way to start, and the album easily lives up to that opening promise. Tracks like the fast-paced roar "Longue Route" and the title song maintain a fierce, sharp tension between rock rhythms (new drummer Use Hiestand shows much more flexibility than his predecessor), huge riffs and classical stabs, all with Treichler's powerful, gravelly voice invoking any number of striking natural and elemental images, putting the lie to the claim that rock can't happen in French. There's even time for more traditional French cabaret tunes like "Charlotte," while "Les Enfants" takes the classical bombast to an even higher level. Originally available only as a single, "L'Amourir" remains the album's and the band's high point, a brilliantly arranged and performed combination of guitar riff samples and powerful drumming, accentuated by a snaky bass pulse/snort throughout and Treichler's climactic roar over a wailing guitar loop.

The Young Gods

Even if the uniqueness of the Young Gods' sample-based compositional and playing method of heavy rock wasn't a question, the band's debut would still have caught many a discerning ear. While not consistently strong throughout, this self-titled effort has far more hits than misses to its overall credit. Admittedly, things start off a touch underwhelmingly while a dark mood is immediately established with "Nous De La Lune," with low tolling bell sounds, brutal drumming, riff slabs and Treichler's harsh barking of French lyrics, fans of Einsturzende Neubaten and the Swans both would have found much on offer fairly obvious (certainly the fact that ex-Swans member Roli Mosimann has consistently worked with the band throughout its career as producer and collaborator forced the comparison early on, as did the fact the Young Gods named themselves after a Swans song and album). "Jusqu'au About" takes a far catchier, though hardly poppier turn, and from then on occasional musical cul-de-sacs are shadowed by a series of raging, fierce numbers, with classical and metal guitar samples firing off at each other over stiff drumming throughout. Total standouts include "Jimmy," "Feu," "Si Tu Gardes" and the band's definitive early tune, "Envoye," a barely two-minute-long explosion of percussion, gunshots, a roughly abbreviated hair metal riff and an amazing rant from Treichler. The joker in the pack: a string-sample led version of Gary Glitter's "Did You Miss Me?," aka "Hello Hello (It's Good to be Back)."

The Young Gods – Skinflowers

Keen adopters of sampling technology, the Young Gods early - and most influential - work is dark, dingy and mechanical. Switzerland’s Young Gods are nothing if not ambitious. The missing link between Suicide and Nine Inch Nails, The Young Gods were one of the most revolutionary and forward thinking rock bands of the 80s. Grafting rock, classical and electronic influences, and the group’s unusual vocals/sampler/drums configuration reconstructs rock from the ground up, producing a fiery collage of roaring guitars, blistering rhythms and Wagnerian orchestras, all presided over by Franz Treichler’s leering, guttural voice. Irreverent, abrasive and years ahead of its time, the group’s music has sometimes worked better in theory than practice. From the very beginning, however, the Young Gods have rocked their technology every bit as hard as Public Enemy did theirs. Although the Young Gods owe more than just their name to Swans, the trio has used the influence to its own ends, sharing only some sturm und drang samples and a flair for the melodramatic. T.V. Sky, the first Young Gods album to be sung entirely in English, dispenses with the orchestras, showing a tasteful dance influx (the grinding “Skinflowers”) and even further refined riff technology.