Godflesh was formed in 1988 in Birmingham, England by Justin Broadrick (guitar, vocals, and programming) and Ben Green (bass). They mixed industrial drum machine beats with discordant guitar and depth-charge bass. Although much of their work is inspired by the music of Swans, Big Black, Black Sabbath and, to a lesser extent, Throbbing Gristle, they were one of the first bands to pioneer the sound of industrial rock, influencing the other well known industrial rock bands Ministry, Pitchshifter and Fear Factory. Their music also influenced bands in the sludge scene, most prominently Isis.

Their name was established in underground music by albums such as Streetcleaner and Pure, which mastered the effectiveness of lo-fi production values in core music. A brief flirtation with major label Columbia Records in 1994 for Merciless EP and Selfless saw the duo take on a more high-end production approach. After a solid return to form in 1996 with Songs of Love and Hate, the group seemed to flounder for the remainder of the nineties, sounding uninspired and toying with minimalist electronics. However, in 2001 Godflesh released the double album retrospective In All Languages and an album of new material, Hymns, that managed to bring the band back to its slow and rock roots.

Godflesh disbanded in 2002, but still released a remastered version of their extremely rare 1994 [EP] Messiah in 2003, which was doubled in length with all new remixes as a sort of parting gift.