Industrial metal pioneers GODFLESH have announced their tenth and penultimate studio album, Decay, set for release September 25, 2026, via Relapse Records. The band have also unveiled the record’s first single, “Living/Ending.”
Arriving three years after Purge, Decay represents another chapter in the nearly four-decade partnership between mastermind Justin Broadrick and bassist Ben Green as GODFLESH begin moving toward the conclusion of their storied career.
“Music, for me, is rarely complete,” Broadrick explains, “but it has to reach a point where enough is enough. Creatively, there has to be self-discipline. One has to end it.”
The six tracks comprising Decay originated during the same creative sessions that produced Purge. According to Broadrick, the sessions generated a large pool of material from which he selected the songs that best fit the direction of that album, intending to release the remaining material as a separate record.
“Decay was born from the same sessions as Purge,” Broadrick says. “It was one huge pool of songs. I picked what I felt was appropriate for what I wanted to achieve with Purge, with the intention of releasing the songs that didn’t fit as a new album within a year of Purge being released.”
The process ultimately took longer as Broadrick searched for a new label home for GODFLESH, eventually joining forces with Relapse Records. Returning to the recordings also gave him an opportunity to reshape portions of the material before completing the album.
Decay arrives following major abdominal surgery Broadrick underwent earlier this year. The album’s recordings, including the vocals, had largely been completed beforehand, although Broadrick revealed that portions were recorded while he was already dealing with the hernia that eventually required surgery.
With GODFLESH now approaching the end of their active tenure, Broadrick says the physical demands of performing the band’s music have played a significant role in his decision to move forward creatively.
“It expresses my pain, and I’ve put my body and soul into this expression for the majority of my existence,” he says. “I now wish to move out of its constraints, move on creatively with heavy/ugly music to new ground.”
Formed in 1988, GODFLESH became one of the defining forces in industrial metal through landmark releases including Streetcleaner, Pure and Hymns. Following a lengthy hiatus, the band returned with the Decline & Fall EP in 2014 before releasing A World Lit Only By Fire, Post Self and, most recently, Purge.
Decay Track Listing
- “Master and Slave”
- “Living/Ending”
- “Feral Colony”
- “Fear of Man”
- “Fodder”
- “Consume Me”
Decay will be released September 25, 2026, via Relapse Records. The first single, “Living/Ending,” is available now. Pre-order