Swans announce remastered reissue of their Top 40 radio breakthrough 1995 album The Great Annihilator

Let’s face it: back in 1995, everyone was far too emotionally handicapped by the fear, panic, and sheer terror that were the hallmarks of the Bill Clinton presidential administration to properly appreciate fine art. Now that it’s 2017, though, and the United States and world at-large have finally achieved total social harmony and a new cultural renaissance is safely flourishing, it’s finally time to shine for Swans’ ninth studio album, 1995’s The Great Annihilator.

As such, this exquisite, 22-year-old relic — featuring the line-up of Michael Gira, Jarboe, Bill Rieflin, Algis Kizys, Norman Westberg, Clinton Steele, and Ted Parsons, and described (however radically) at the time as a “majestic symphony of haunting melodies and shifting moods” by a “newspaper” called the San Francisco Bay Guardian — is getting re-released by Young God/Mute on April 28 as a double vinyl and 2xCD set. Both versions will also include Michael Gira’s solo debut Drainland, which was recorded at the same time and which also went overlooked during the 90s’ Orwellian dystopia.

In preparation for its big re-reveal, the album was entirely remastered by Doug Henderson, but only after “honorary Swan forever” Bill Rieflin managed to track down some old “DATs and cassettes” that contained (in addition to some killer Seinfeld and episodes pirated from network TV) unmastered mixes from the sessions. Gira describes this discovery as “a revelation of great sonic effect” (and presumably thought the sitcoms were “excellent”). Concerning the experience of actually making The Great Annihilator, Gira says “I lived in a tent in a mosquito infested studio right next to Cabrini Green in Chicago for, what (?), something like 3 months, rarely leaving. Band members and Jarboe and Bill Rieflin etc came and went, and somehow we crafted this thing into what it became.” See? Dark-ass time those 1990s were, I tell ya. Glad we’re finally out of that tailspin.

Pre-order the album now at Young God’s site, and, if you live basically anywhere on planet earth, check out the current Swans incarnation live in a clean, gleaming, peaceful city near you.

The Great Annihilator tracklisting:

01. In
02. I Am the Sun
03. She Lives!
04. Celebrity Lifestyle
05. Mother/Father
06. Blood Promise
07. Mind/Body/Light/Sound
08. My Buried Child
09. Warm
10. Alcohol the Seed
11. Killing for Company
12. Mother’s Milk
13. Where Does a Body End?
14. Telepathy
15. The Great Annihilator
16. Out

Swans Over The World, 2017:

03.03.17 - Athens, GR - Gagarin 205
03.04.17 - Thessaloniki, GR - Block 33
03.06.17 - Helsinki, FI - Tavastia
03.08.17 - Oslo, NO - Rockefeller *
03.09.17 - Stockholm, SE - Kraken Sthlm*
03.11.17 - Copenhagen, DK - Grey Hall*
03.12.17 - Aarhus, DK - VoxHall*
03.14.17 - Brno, CZ - Fleda Club*
03.15.17 - Kosice, SK - Taba Ka Kulturfabrik*
03.17.17 - Vilnius, LT - Legendos Klubas*
03.19.17 - Kiev, UA - Sentrum*
03.22.17 - Cluj-Napoca, RO - FORM Space Club*
03.23.17 - Bucharest, RO - Control Club*
03.24.17 - Skopje, MK - MKC*
03.25.17 - Belgrade, RS - Dom Omladine*
03.27.17 - Rijeka, HR - Pogon Kulture*
03.28.17 - Zürich, CH - Rote Fabrik Ziegel oh Lac*
03.29.17 - Dortmund, DE - FZW*
03.30.17 - Ghent, BE - Kompass Klub*
03.31 .17 - Amsterdam, NL - Paradiso Music Hall*
04.01.17 - The Hague, NL - Rewire Festival
05.16.17 - Istanbul, TR - Zorlu Performing Arts Center
05.18.17 - Glasgow, UK - Oran Mor*
05.19.17 - Aberdeen, UK - The Lemon Tree*
05.20.17 - Leeds, Stylus, UK - Leeds University Union*
05.21.17 - Sheffield, UK - The Plug*
05.24.17 - Birmingham, UK - The Asylum*
05.26.17 - Bristol, UK - Trinity Community Arts*
05.27.17 - London, UK - Roundhouse*
05.28.17 - Manchester, UK - Victoria Warehouse*
05.30.17 - St Petersburg, RU - Kosmonavt*
06.01.17 - Moscow, RU - Red Club*
06.02.17 - Barcelona, ES - Primavera Sound Festival
06.04.17 - Biarritz, FR - Atabal*
06.06.17 - Angoulême, FR - La Nef*
06.07 .17 - Rouen, FR - Le 106*
06.09.17 - Porto, Portugal - NOS Primavera Sound Festival
08.02.17 - Milan, Italy - Magnolia Club Outside Summer stage
08.18.17 - Las Vegas, NV - Psycho Festival
08.20.17 - Las Vegas, NV - Psycho Festival

* Little Annie

More about: Michael Gira, Swans