Crush My Soul

Music and critical reception

Richard Fontenoy, a contributor to Rough Guide to Rock, stated in the book that "Godflesh's breakthrough into metal acceptance has a tendency towards mechanical, headbanging sameness, though the excellent 'Crush My Soul' is based around an asthmatically weaving sample loop." Ned Raggett of Allmusic wrote, "Songs like 'Anything Is Mine' and 'Crush My Soul', the latter infused with a strange breathing rhythm loop, or so it sounds, capture this version of major-label Godflesh pretty well, both unpleasant enough to keep the wimps away and accessible enough to win over the more open-minded." Ira A. Robbins of Trouser Press wrote, "the screaming 'Crush My Soul' demonstrate[s] an incipient sense of melody".

On the "Ultramix" version of the song, The Wire wrote, "Even the rather ponderous industrial menace of Godflesh is transformed in their 'Ultramix' of 'Crush My Soul', although...it's too long."

Music video

A music video for the song was directed by photographer Andres Serrano, who was known for his controversial 1987 photograph Piss Christ. The video, which was Serrano's debut music video, featured the band playing, along with clips of cockfighting and religion-like blasphemy. Performance artist Bob Flanagan was also featured in the video, portraying an upside down Christ-figure hoisted up on a ceiling.

Controversy

Due to its content, the video stirred up an obscenity controversy. It was subsequently rejected from being aired by MTV, whose acquisitions group felt that "musically there wasn't a home for it at the current time." As a result of the rejection, Earache and Columbia Records changed their strategies into distributing the clip to regional video shows and to The Box, which aired content that MTV found objectionable.

Promotional single

1. "Crush My Soul" - 4:27
2. "Crush My Soul" (Remix) - 14:58

CD

1. "Crush My Soul" – 4:26
2. "Crush My Soul" (Ultramix) – 15:01
3. "Xnoybis" (Psychofuckdub) – 17:26

Personnel