Filth
by Swans
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Swans bestography
Filth is ranked 8th best out of 40 albums by Swans on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Swans is To Be Kind which is ranked number 260 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 6,097.
(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).
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Filth track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 76 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Filth rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 3 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  AAL2014 | Swans/Gira: So Far.. | 19/31 | - |
| 2026 | OFarrio | Top 16 Music Albums of 1983 | 6/16 | 3 |
| 2026 | Untitled | Top 25 Music Albums of 1983 | 19/25 | 1 |
| 2026 |  ssteve | Top 27 Music Albums of 1983 | 13/27 | 3 |
| 2026 |  Helios | Top 90 Music Albums of 1983 | 86/90 | 0 |
| 2026 |  ExTeaSea | Top 75 Music Albums of 1983 | 57/75 | 1 |
| 2026 |  meccalecca | Top 49 Music Albums of 1983 | 35/49 | 2 |
| 2026 |  JMGL95 | Top 32 Music Albums of 1983 | 30/32 | 0 |
| 2026 |  Patman360 | Top 92 Music Albums of 1983 | 63/92 | 2 |
| 2026 | JamesMowbray | Top 99 Music Albums of 1983 | 2/99 | 5 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 148 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 603 | |||
Filth collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 54 members
Filth ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 3 ratings for this album. | Show all 263 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 05/07/2026 18:02 | Camo63 | 9 | 84/100 |
| ! | 04/29/2026 02:20 | oilnoilnoilnoil | 275 | 77/100 |
| ! | 03/04/2026 14:01 | Leginlists | 3,842 | 83/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)
This album is rated in the top 12% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 74.5/100, a mean average of 73.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 74.6/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.8.
Filth favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 19 members
Filth forum mentions
BestEverAlbums 07/16/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5375): By Elauqsapid BestEverAlbums 07/11/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5370): By Nagaiwolfwood
Mercury 11/27/2022 15:18 in Greatest Metal According to Gowi/LedZep/Repo/Rocky and I!Filth comments
Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
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I remember the first time listening to this and thinking it was repetitive and without skill. I frequently go on black/death metal kicks but this is by far the singular most oppressive thing I've ever heard. it's painful to listen to and makes me genuinely sick, makes my muscles ache. I feel like I need a massage and shower after listening to this, it just tenses me up so much.
the guitars are used solely to create ugly noises and the percussion is pounding, usually slow, and always brutal. every hit on the drums is powerful and violent. the vocals are tortured and only serve to repeat misanthropic, pessimistic, condemning mantras until they sink in. there's an art here in how "melodies," almost without melody, are displayed, using those ugly guitar noises and syncopated to a point where at first it sounds off, but matches the vocals/lyrics perfectly well with how broken it is. incredibly original. it might take a couple listens b4 you hear anything at all more than what sounds like random noise, but trust me it's only b/c you never heard "riffs" like this.
you want the true effects, blast it with loudspeakers and a subwoofer, it's worth the minor, temporary ear damage. this isn't supposed to be pleasant. Gira is an absolute genius, that's a fact. (Edited)
On paper, this is great. In practice, it's great.
Love the rhythms found here in amongst the raw noise. Sounds like a tape that could be played for indoctrination. Power for Power's is probably my favourite, if it's possible to have one with an album like this.
The oddly catchy mechanical rhythms, absurdly dissonant guitar, odd tape effects and dry bass sounds make for an indescribably intense experience, almost to the point of ridiculousness.
The defiantly shouted lyrical slogans (FLEX YOUR MUSCLES, BE STRONG, BE HARD, SATISFY THE DOG) sound like a perverse attempt at some sort of motivation, compared the complete dejection of Cop or gothic theatrics of Children of God.
There really is still nothing like Swans' early albums.
Amazing album, unflinching, raw, brutal. They softened up later but at this point they were a sledgehammer.
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