In the midst of this mixed resurgence arrives a monolithic new record from Justin Broadrick, B.C. Green and their peerless drum machine. Godflesh itself has a mixed past, with _Pure_, _Hymns_ and the hallowed _Streetcleaner_ buoying dubious mid-period efforts like _Us and Them_ and _Love and Hate in Dub_. And now, more than a decade after the boys dissolved Godflesh and Broadrick spaced out with projects like Final and Jesu, we have _A World Lit Only by Fire_.

Surely there were some eager fans hoping to hear some of Broadrick's experimental or updated electronic tendencies mixed in with the mechanical pounding we all knew was coming; fans of the older Swans-indebted bleakness were dreading the same thing. What Godflesh have concocted is adamantly old-school, bearing all the familiar markers that made the Birmingham duo's early work so indelible. The packaging sports blurry visuals adorned with stoic crosses and uncomplicated block lettering stamping out downer lines like, "You're alone, you're a cog in their machine, you won't make a difference." We know where this is headed.

Despite the band's measured tempos and stubborn refusal to change direction midsong, Godflesh has always maintained ferocity through tone. Green's bass is consistently tuned to chop heads, Broadrick's guitar lines churn through the queasy steel of their own shit refinery, and the man's heavily processed vocals roar monstrous cynicisms within their meticulous cadences. Anyone surprised by this record has never listened to Godflesh before. Anyone disappointed by it was never really a fan to begin with. _A World Lit Only by Fire_ is a solid addition to the Godflesh canon, and now Godflesh deserves recognition beside the other triumphant returns of this decade.