The First Purge

Purge is intended as a continuation of the concepts of Pure, Godflesh's second album, which they performed at the 2013 Roadburn Festival and released as Pure: Live in 2022. Recognized as one of the first post-metal releases, 1992's Pure expanded on the bleak, drum machine-driven sound of earlier records like the mighty Streetcleaner, adding breakbeats and samples, resulting in a mutated form of industrial hip-hop which would give rise to nu-metal later in the decade. Purge is heavier on breaks and electronics than Pure, and it feels more sudden and immediate, forgoing the older album's dark ambient experimentation and extended track lengths. Justin Broadrick, who has been diagnosed with autism and PTSD, has felt like an outsider his entire life, and creating music as part of Godflesh serves as a form of therapeutic release for him…

Tallis lived during a time of tremendous religious upheaval. The succession from Henry VIII to Edward VI, Edward to Mary Tudor and Mary to Elizabeth meant changes from Catholic to Protestant, and back again with Mary, before Elizabeth’s “third way” – a more accepting and moderate form of Protestantism.