Filth cover

Filth

Swans · 1983

134 min · 27 tracks · alternative rock · progressive rock · post-punk

A brutal onslaught of distorted noise and haunting vocals, challenging the very limits of rock music's emotional and sonic boundaries.

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Is this for you?

Good fit if you like

  • wave-like emotional intensity
  • brutal sonic confrontations
  • haunting vocals with raw power
  • dynamic ebb and flow
  • immersive long-form listening

Maybe skip if you want

  • seeking light, uplifting sounds
  • prefer short, catchy tracks

Where this album fits

Career context
Released in 1983, 'Filth' was Swans' debut studio album, emerging from the New York City no wave scene. At this point, frontman Michael Gira was establishing his artistic vision after the band's initial EPs, setting a dark, confrontational tone that would define their sound in subsequent works.

Tracklist

Best experienced from track one — press play and let it unfold.

Disc 1

  • 1 Stay Here 5:36
  • 2 Big Strong Boss 3:02
  • 3 Blackout 3:47
  • 4 Power for Power 5:52
  • 5 Freak 1:13
  • 6 Right Wrong 4:43
  • 7 Thank You 3:52
  • 8 Weakling 5:20
  • 9 Gang 3:24
  • 10 Live at the Kitchen, N.Y.C. 1982/3: Strip/Burn / Heatsheet / Blackout / Clay Man / Stay Here / Weakling 24:18

Disc 2

  • 1 I’ll Cry for You 5:41
  • 2 Red Sheet 3:11
  • 3 Loop 33 0:59
  • 4 Your Game 3:57
  • 5 Seal It Over 3:48
  • 6 Whore 3:56
  • 7 We’ll Hang for That 3:55
  • 8 Half Life 3:57
  • 9 Loop 21 1:26
  • 10 Get Out 3:31
  • 11 Job 5:40
  • 12 Loop 1 1:01
  • 13 Mother, My Body Disgusts Me 4:53
  • 14 Cop 5:56
  • 15 Only I Can Hear, Only I Can Touch 2:41
  • 16 Thug 9:44
  • 17 Raping a Slave (live Berlin 1984) 9:02

What to play next

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Full Swans discography Artists like Swans
alternative rock post-punk progressive rock

Reference: Wikipedia · MusicBrainz · Wikidata