Godflesh’s 10th and supposedly penultimate album, Decay, is presented as a powerful farewell to the band’s distinctive blend of industrial, techno and sludge metal. Its significance is heightened by Justin Broadrick’s serious hernia injury, which means doctors have warned him never to growl again, making these recordings potentially his final performances in that style.

Recorded alongside 2023’s Purge, the 42-minute album contains fewer than 150 words of vocals, delivered through whispers, shouts and growls. Unlike Purge’s immediate heaviness, Decay emphasises experimentation and emotional intensity across six dense tracks, including the slowly unfolding “Master and Slave”, the punishing “Fear of Man” and the 12-minute closing descent “Consume Me”. Godflesh’s planned final album, The End, is expected to be more avant-garde and will not require Broadrick to yell.