Holy Money

Holy Money
Studio album by Swans
Released	1986
Recorded	June 1985 – January 1986 at Intergalactic Studios, New York City, United States
Genre	Noise rock, no wave, industrial
Length	36:00
Label	K.422
Producer	Michael Gira, Jorgé Estabon
Swans chronology
Greed (1986) Holy Money (1986) Children of God (1987)

Holy Money is the fourth studio album by American post-punk band Swans. It was released in 1986, through record label K.422. The album was recorded in the same sessions as A Screw and Greed.

Background

The album had a direct influence on modern sludge and drone music. Bands such as Godflesh, Khanate, Sunn O))) and Tool have all cited this album's importance.^[1]

The first CD issue contained the A Screw EP as bonus tracks. A later compilation released in 1992, Greed / Holy Money, combined Holy Money (barring "A Screw (Holy Money)", though "A Screw (Holy Money) (Mix)" was listed as this) and Greed (barring "Fool" and "Money Is Flesh", however "Fool (#2)" and "Money Is Flesh (#2)" were listed as these, respectively), as well as the entirety of the A Screw EP and an abridged version of "Time Is Money (Bastard) (Mix)" (listed as "Time Is Money (Bastard)") from the Time Is Money (Bastard) EP. This compilation, with its entirely re-organized tracklist, saw re-issue in 1999 in the double-disc set Cop/Young God / Greed/Holy Money, which included the Cop album and Young God EP.

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"A Hanging"	5:48
2.	"You Need Me"	1:23
3.	"Fool (#2)"	5:54
4.	"A Screw (Holy Money)"	5:00
5.	"Another You"	7:43
6.	"Money Is Flesh (#2)"	5:02
7.	"Coward"	5:10

Bonus tracks (A Screw)
No.	Title	Length
8.	"A Screw"	5:41
9.	"Blackmail"	4:54
10.	"A Screw (Holy Money) (Mix)"	5:00

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]

AllMusic commented that Holy Money "well documents the continuing transformation of Swans into a more complex, intriguing beast."^[2] Trouser Press called it "more or less a twin to Greed; virtually identical in cover art and musical approach".^[3]

Re-issue

It was later reissued on CD with the tracks from the A Screw single at the end, and then once again with Greed, Cop and Young God.

Personnel

• Michael Gira – vocals, piano, sampler, production
• Norman Westberg – guitar
• Harry Crosby – bass guitar on tracks A3, B1 and B3
• Algis Kizys – bass guitar on tracks A1 and A4
• Jarboe – vocals on tracks A1 and A2
• Ronaldo Gonzalez – drums on tracks A1 and B1–B3
• Ted Parsons – drums on tracks A1 and A4
• Ivan Nahem – drums on track A3

Technical

• Jorgé Estabon – engineering, production assistance

Charts

Chart (1986)	Peak position
UK Indie Chart[4]	6

References

1. Oliver, Lane (December 2, 2011). "Album of the Week: Swans' "Holy Money": American Aftermath". aftericanaftermath.net. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
2. Raggett, Ned. "Holy Money – Swans : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
3. Leland, John; Sheridan, David; Kenny, Glenn; Frampton, Scott. "trouserpress.com :: Swans". trouserpress.com. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
4. Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980-1989. Cherry Red Books. Retrieved September 5, 2014.

External links

• Holy Money at Discogs (list of releases)