Teitanblood.

Filthy, disgusting, downtuned to hell, fast as hell most of the time but with doomy moments, and a crushing, oppressive atmosphere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzgKvRp5yso

Didn't know about this band, thanks for mentioning them! They sound pretty nice.

This is the correct answer, particularly the live recordings such as "Public Castration is a Good Idea". It doesn't get heavier or more brutal/extreme than that.

Not trying to be a dick (really), but how is this even remotely "heavy?" There's nothing going on in this song. Like at all.

I'd personally say that Swans can be considered a heavy band, but not really heavy in terms of extreme music. Certainly like sonically intense and harsh, but for its own standards. The amalgamation of those lugubrious vocals with a noise sound on the background, always accompanied by the cymbals is surely a good combination to conceive such a punishive atmosphere. This song is pretty elucidative on that regard:



It's pretty much for that way that either Swans or drone doom bands are considered heavy and extreme. Surely a dense experience for its specific standards, but not really brutal extreme music. This wouldn't be the first thing one would think about when a random non-rock music listener asked you to show him/her the heaviest band/song you know.

In that regard, I'd vote for Demolition Hammer. Other thrash bands, like Dark Angel, Kreator, Morbid Saint, Gammacide, Bio-Cancer and early Slayer would be just behind.

In terms of noise/experimental music, there's a bunch of them, Utarm, Masonna, Merzbow, The Sodality and so on would take the cake.

Swans (at least in the earliest incarnation) were heavy, brutal and extreme.

This sparked my curiosity, can you share a song by them that you would consider to be extreme, heavy and brutal?

You gotta fucking throw in old Obituary into the discussion, I'm actually starting to wonder if Obituary is underrated

I was going to write it but someone told it before me and I'm glad someone did. Obituary is fucking heavy!

Just wanna add something real quick about the term "heavy" given that you guys are talking about what is heavy: https://www.academia.edu/36429759/What_ ... etal_Heavy

This is the first and only academic study about the heaviness of heavy metal that I ever saw - at leats in philosophy.

You can also check some earlier version of it here too: https://aestheticsforbirds.com/2018/04/ ... tal-heavy/

I can totally get not liking early Swans. I'm not a fan of that era either except for the Young God EP. But claiming they weren't heavy? And then mentioning Enya? What the fuck is wrong with this forum?

I can totally get not liking early Swans. I'm not a fan of that era either except for the Young God EP. But claiming they weren't heavy? And then mentioning Enya? What the fuck is wrong with this forum?

In what way are they heavy? The guy above you didn't answer, he just said he can't explain it. I'm not trying to knock it, honestly, I just think "heavy" is an absurd adjective to describe that song. Now, the band might have other songs that are actually heavy - I wouldn't know because I don't listen to them - but I'm just speaking on that particular song which was posted. Oh and the Enya comment is totally valid - Enya brings some people to tears because it's so emotionally "heavy." I actually like some of her stuff, especially for long drives on a stretch of highway at night.

I revisited "Cop" today on the back of this thread. I've not heard it for a while. The whole album is even more brutalising, unsettling and unpleasant than I remember it being.
Much more so than any metal I've heard.
It is heavy too of course (even heavier than Enya).

Lol you’re doubling down on Enya comparisons. This has to be a troll job at this point. You keep harping on about emotional heaviness, but Swans we’re sonically heavy as well. Strange and useless comparison.

You’ve made your point. You’re cool. Early Swans is as heavy as Enya. Amazing forum this is.

I'm a pretty big Swans fan...so yeah, I acknowledge my bias, but I genuinely don't know how you can listen to any Swans up through Children of God and not come away with this stuff is incredibly menacing, crushing, and intense. If you want to use the terms brutal and extreme, fine. Term it however you'd like. Whether it is metal or not is inconsequential to my interpretation of what the music is and how it makes you feel. I can definitely see why people wouldn't like it, but to not recognize common qualities is odd. The sound is so absolutely huge. Even in a home setting without the insane volume levels of their live shows, the music gives every molecule in a room an unsettling, thick energy. You aren't going to put on a Swans record and not be affected by it.

Swans didn't really grab me until Children of God. When I heard that album, it all clicked, and then I worked backwards. Wrongly or not, it connected the power of 4AD bands like Dead Can Dance and This Mortal Coil with true industrial music. If you're into bands like Neurosis, I would think Children of God could be the gateway into Swans.

Pretty much agree with all of this.
I think "Children of God" is the key album in their discography - from there you can work backwards to the early brutalism or forwards to the more majestic sounds. It's all good.
I can't think of anything else from 1984 that sounds as crushing as "Cop". If anyone knows of anything, let me know!
I think the band's influence on metal is subtle but solid. Early Godflesh of course ("Streetcleaner" being another contender for heaviest record of all time), and Sin NYC (from the Spine Wrench split). Can't think of many other metal bands who directly homage Swans. Neurosis is a good shout on their indirect influence.