Editing Swans (band) (section)

=== Stylistic shift (1986–1988) ===
1986's ''[[Greed (Swans album)|Greed]]'' was not as brutal or noisy as Swans' previous releases, while still being an extremely ominous and dark record. It also saw two new and significant musicians join the group. New bassist [[Algis Kizys]] would become a long-time, near-constant member, as would new vocalist/keyboardist Jarboe (who had joined the band a month before the release of the 1985 "[[Time Is Money (Bastard)]]" 12-inch, on which she had been credited simply with "scream"). 

''Greed'' was followed by its "twin" album, ''[[Holy Money]]'', the first to feature [[Jarboe]] contributing lead vocals (on "You Need Me"). Her presence began a slow thawing in the overt brutality and energy of Swans' early work, while ''Holy Money'' was also the first album by the group to incorporate acoustic elements: in particular, the eight-minute dirge "Another You", which starts with a [[blues]]y [[harmonica]] introduction. It also marks the introduction of religious themes in Swans records with the sacrificial ode "A Hanging", complete with gospel-like backing vocals from Jarboe. (Jarboe would also sing lead on "Blackmail", a B-side from the ''[[A Screw]]'' 12". Both tracks appeared on the original CD version of ''Holy Money'' and the ''Greed/Holy Money'' compilation, while a minimal version of the latter also appears on ''[[Children of God (Swans album)|Children of God]]''.) 

''[[Children of God (Swans album)|Children of God]]'' (1987) further expanded Jarboe's role, acting as a foil to Michael Gira's tales of suffering, torture and humiliation. The stories portrayed here, however, are ever the more unusual, given their juxtaposition—and admixture—with religious imagery. The intention was neither to mock nor embrace religion, but experiment with the power inherent in its messages and the hypocrisy of many of its leaders.<ref name="girainterview">{{cite web |url=http://www.webinfo.co.uk/crackedmachine/swans.htm |title=Swans |work=webinfo.co.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030304044336/http://www.webinfo.co.uk/crackedmachine/swans.htm |archive-date=March 4, 2003 |access-date=February 20, 2013}}</ref>

Some songs, such as "Beautiful Child", retain the vocal style of earlier days, but many are quite tame. The almost [[baroque music|baroque]] "In My Garden", for example, added an extra dimension with piano (used before on "Fool" and "Sealed in Skin" to far grimmer effect) and [[Steel-string guitar|acoustic guitar]]. In between the two poles, there are pieces like "Sex, God, Sex" (heavy metal-like bass riffs with blues and gospel-inspired singing), "Blood and Honey" (a [[murder ballad]] with early [[post-rock]] tendencies) and "Blind Love" (a lengthy song, alternating between intoned vocals and violent instrumental passages). Gira considers this to be the band's major turning point, saying by 1986/7 Swans "had run its course with the physical assault of sound that they had employed previously for the most part. I wanted to move on to other things and didn't want to get stuck in some style, which in our case had the potential of becoming cartoonish if we'd continued in that direction.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Children of God (2020 Remaster), by SWANS|url=https://swans.bandcamp.com/album/children-of-god-2020-remaster|access-date=2021-05-01|website=SWANS|author=[[Michael Gira]]}}</ref>