Swans – Children Of God (2xLP)

Children of God by Swans, released in 1987, marks a crucial turning point in the band’s evolution from brutal, industrial noise toward a more melodic, textural, and spiritual direction. The album introduces elements of gothic folk, darkwave, and neoclassical music while retaining the band’s punishing intensity. Jarboe’s vocals provide a haunting counterpoint to Michael Gira’s deep proclamations, and the expanded sonic palette gives the music a ritualistic and transcendent quality.

Thematically, Children of God explores religion, power, innocence, and transcendence, contrasting apocalyptic imagery with moments of fragile beauty. The result is a work that feels both terrifying and redemptive, situating Swans as one of the most ambitious and uncompromising acts of the late ’80s underground. Its influence has extended far beyond its era, laying the groundwork for the band’s later epics and shaping experimental and post-industrial music for decades to come.

Reviews

“Children of God is perhaps the most brilliant album in Swans' rock solid discography, and that's really saying something.” – Sputnikmusic

“Children of God, one of the band's strongest releases, established Gira as an Old Testament tyrant obsessed with the nature of love, human frailty, and the midnight beauty of black orchids.” – Young God Records

“An ear-shattering, spine-chilling, breathtaking opus that truly has few equals in history.” – ReGen Magazine

“Children of God is the point where the dissonance between their earlier and later work collides and meshes together into one cohesive whole.” – Sputnikmusic

“On Children of God, Gira's brief lyrical declarations have also begun to evolve into a larger sense of storytelling.” – Pitchfork