Mothra (song)

"Mothra", the second track on 1992's Pure, is a weighty industrial metal song. Ned Raggett of AllMusic described the track as "surprisingly commercial for the band" and highlighted its "memorable main riff and drumming" as pleasingly listenable; he selected the song as one of his favourites from Pure.{{cite web|last=Raggett|first=Ned|title=Godflesh – Pure|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/pure-mw0000078001|publisher=AllMusic|accessdate=10 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613045323/https://www.allmusic.com/album/pure-mw0000078001#|archive-date=13 June 2018|url-status=live}} Joseph Schafer of Decibel agreed with Raggett, considering "Mothra" one of Godflesh frontman Justin Broadrick's most accessible songs, but added that "it still sounds like getting crushed by a ton of lead".{{cite web |last=Schafer |first=Joseph |title=Top Ten Kaiju Metal Crossovers |url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2017/10/02/top-ten-kaiju-metal-crossovers/ |work=Decibel |date=2 October 2017 |accessdate=17 November 2018}} Mike Gitter of Spin and RIP Magazine described hearing "Mothra" by writing, "It's as if your whole body is made to serve as a giant ear, as you are beaten upon by a low-level shock wave. You lose all defenses and filters against the world". He also wrote that the song is "the sound of rock taken to its bleakest and slowest extremes".{{cite journal|last=Gitter|first=Mike|title=Godflesh – Pure (Earache/Relativity)|journal=Spin|date=June 1992|volume=8|pages=78}}

As is the case with most Godflesh songs, "Mothra" was recorded with a drum machine, which, according to Shawn Macomber of Decibel, "really hammers the [Steve] Albini vibe" in allusion to the band Big Black.{{cite web |last=Macomber |first=Shawn |title=Czar Issues Decree: Top Five Godflesh Songs |url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2014/04/15/czar-issues-decree-top-five-godflesh-songs/ |work=Decibel |date=15 April 2014 |accessdate=17 November 2018}} Macomber also recognised "Mothra" as a fan favourite song. Writing for Melody Maker, Sharon O'Connell also noted the song's grinding, deliberate repetition in a favourable light.{{cite journal|last=O'Connell|first=Sharon|title=Godflesh – Pure (Earache)|journal=Melody Maker|date=February 1992|volume=68|pages=32}} The Quietus' Noel Gardner wrote that the various machine, guitar and bass elements of "Mothra" seem incongruous from a distance, but in practice they work well.{{cite web | url=http://thequietus.com/articles/02546-godflesh-slavestate-pure-cold-world-reissue-album-reviews | title=Godflesh – Slavestate, Pure, Cold World Reissues | work=The Quietus | date=21 August 2009 | accessdate=21 January 2013 | author=Gardner, Noel}} In their book The Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock, Ira A. Robbins and David Sprague characterise "Mothra" as having a memorable and definite groove.{{cite book|last1=Robbins|first1=Ira A.|last2=Sprague|first2=David|title=The Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock|date=7 March 1997|publisher=Fireside Books|isbn=0684814374|pages=302|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nH9oejneZtQC&q=Mothra}}

"Mothra" derives its title from Ishirō Honda's 1961 film Mothra, which features the fictional giant monster Mothra.{{cite journal |last1=Gitter |first1=Mike |title=Godflesh – Noise² |journal=RIP Magazine |date=June 1992 |url=http://godflesh.com/articles/article1.html |accessdate=17 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304102957/http://godflesh.com/articles/article1.html# |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=live }} Some of the song's lyrics are borrowed from "Avalanche" by Leonard Cohen, a track off of his 1970 album Songs of Love and Hate (a title that Godflesh later borrowed).{{cite journal |title=Interview with Justin Broadrick of Godflesh |journal=Metal Maniacs |date=January 1995 |url=http://godflesh.com/articles/int4.html |accessdate=10 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120628101936/http://www.godflesh.com/articles/int4.html# |archive-date=28 June 2012 |url-status=live }}{{Cite AV media notes |title=Pure |type=CD liner notes |others=Godflesh |year=1992 |publisher=Earache Records |id=MOSH32}}{{Cite AV media notes |title=Songs of Love and Hate|type=Vinyl liner notes |others=Leonard Cohen|year=1971|publisher=Columbia Records |id=C 30103}}

"Mothra" released as a promotional maxi single in 1992. Though licensed from Earache Records (who, at the time, managed Godflesh), the promo was distributed by Relativity Records. Pure's introductory track, "Spite", it also included on the release as a B-side. "Mothra" is one of the few Godflesh songs to feature a music video. Directed by Barry Maguire in 1992, the video was described by the band as "a curious affair that mixed David Lynch-style cinematography and concepts with performance shots of Godflesh in a dodgy-looking disco".{{Cite AV media notes |title=In All Languages |type=DVD liner notes |others=Godflesh |year=2001|publisher=Earache Records |id=MOSH250}}

{{Track listing

| title1 = Mothra

| length1 = 4:31

| title2 = Spite

| length2 = 4:31

| total_length = 9:02

}}

Credits adapted from "Mothra" liner notes{{Cite AV media notes |title="Mothra" |type=CD liner notes |others=Godflesh |year=1992 |publisher=Relativity Records |id=RPROCD-0152}}

• Justin Broadrick – guitar, vocals, engineering, production, rhythm programming
• G. C. Green – bass, engineering, production
• Robert Hampson – guitar (track 2)

{{Reflist}}

{{Godflesh}}

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Category:1992 songs

Category:Godflesh songs

Category:Songs written by Justin Broadrick