Band: GOSPEL
Genres: Punk / Rock / Hardcore / Post-Hardcore / Screamo / Experimental / Stoner Rock / Space Rock / Prog Rock / Psychedelic RockRelated artists: Cobra Kai and Helen Of Troy.Country: New York, USA
Years Active: 2004-2006 and 2009
Song: "Paper Tigon"
Album: "The Moon Is A Dead World"
Year: 2005
Label(s): Level Plane Records / Neon Boombox / The Support Group / Fuck It Tapes / Self Released
This post's artist is from the June 2014 Mix. This is track #2.
You can download the July Mix#7 right here or get the new August Mix#8 here.
For fans of: Congratulations, The Caution Children, Helen Of Troy, Edhochuli, City Of Caterpillar, Old Soul, Kodan Armada, Gillian Carter, Who Calls So Loud..., The Catalyst, And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead..., Mogwai, Mono, Bright Calm Blue, King Crimson, Coma Regalia and Funeral Diner aka PROPER Screamo.
GOSPEL is kind of a musical enigma for me. When I was really immersed in screamo during the early 2000s I happened to come across the band in passing due to my love of Kodan Armada. The band played a nearly unparalleled mix of screamy, ambient hardcore with eerie/supernatural soundscapes (I'm not joking, and it works!), keyboards and some sweet, almost black-metal riffs. Oh, and the drums are unreal.
Their crowning achievement was the stellar 'The Moon Is A Dead World' 8-track full length that was released on Level Plane Records in 2005. The listener is served up classic GOSPEL from the get go, as "Congratulations...You've Hit Rock Bottom" starts with a bass riff that'll get the most depressed alcoholic moving and brings an atmospheric and chaotic version of Tool to mind. The anguished dual vocals screaming back and forth amid eerie keyboards that, thank god, are gently incorporated at the right times and volume, thus enabling it to work with the music as opposed to against it, as so many keyboards do when paired with hard rock, hardcore or metal.
Track 4, entitled "Paper Tigon" is the penultimate GOSPEL song, in my opinion. The spastic drums and swirling guitars are matched with more passionate screaming as it bobs and weaves through some intricate sounds before coming back to those sweet, sweet riffs at the 1:45-mark. My new muse Congratulations (the band from Ontario) is the only other band that have really been able to create this juxtaposed amalgamation of catchy melodies, speed and aggressiveness. If you love this song check out Congratulations' new song here, which I have dubbed the "Gospel Song", as it includes a wailing ambient riff that anchors the rest of the chaos. Both bands are so good at this.
"What Means Of Witchery" is the band's epic number at track number 7. The beginning of the song is a slow, atmospheric dream that brings Bright Calm Blue and Botch's "Afghamistam" to mind. At the 2-minute mark the songs picks up and shifts into Funeral Diner/Who Calls So Loud... territory as it builds instrument-by-instrument until 3:07 when the song nestles into its comfort zone. The song almost disintegrates around 5 minutes in and at 5:43 the vocalist wails the track back into the the eerie windmill bass riff that bounces around in the darkness alongside the ghostly guitars. This should have been the soundtrack to a few scenes in Army Of Darkness! Expansive soundscapes are built up to be torn down again. Speaking of those soundscapes, they could be likened to a hardcore version of spacey Cave In material mixed with City Of Caterpillar, Mogwai and Mono, especially on "Opium".
The Kodan Armada and GOSPEL split isn't really worth getting, in my opinion. Kodan Armada's tracks can be found on their discography and 2 of the 3 GOSPEL songs are demos that were rerecorded for the LP (and sound much better, I might add). If you're a collector and must have the 10", I found 2 available on discogs.com but they're $25+.
Their crowning achievement was the stellar 'The Moon Is A Dead World' 8-track full length that was released on Level Plane Records in 2005. The listener is served up classic GOSPEL from the get go, as "Congratulations...You've Hit Rock Bottom" starts with a bass riff that'll get the most depressed alcoholic moving and brings an atmospheric and chaotic version of Tool to mind. The anguished dual vocals screaming back and forth amid eerie keyboards that, thank god, are gently incorporated at the right times and volume, thus enabling it to work with the music as opposed to against it, as so many keyboards do when paired with hard rock, hardcore or metal.
Track 4, entitled "Paper Tigon" is the penultimate GOSPEL song, in my opinion. The spastic drums and swirling guitars are matched with more passionate screaming as it bobs and weaves through some intricate sounds before coming back to those sweet, sweet riffs at the 1:45-mark. My new muse Congratulations (the band from Ontario) is the only other band that have really been able to create this juxtaposed amalgamation of catchy melodies, speed and aggressiveness. If you love this song check out Congratulations' new song here, which I have dubbed the "Gospel Song", as it includes a wailing ambient riff that anchors the rest of the chaos. Both bands are so good at this.
"What Means Of Witchery" is the band's epic number at track number 7. The beginning of the song is a slow, atmospheric dream that brings Bright Calm Blue and Botch's "Afghamistam" to mind. At the 2-minute mark the songs picks up and shifts into Funeral Diner/Who Calls So Loud... territory as it builds instrument-by-instrument until 3:07 when the song nestles into its comfort zone. The song almost disintegrates around 5 minutes in and at 5:43 the vocalist wails the track back into the the eerie windmill bass riff that bounces around in the darkness alongside the ghostly guitars. This should have been the soundtrack to a few scenes in Army Of Darkness! Expansive soundscapes are built up to be torn down again. Speaking of those soundscapes, they could be likened to a hardcore version of spacey Cave In material mixed with City Of Caterpillar, Mogwai and Mono, especially on "Opium".
The Kodan Armada and GOSPEL split isn't really worth getting, in my opinion. Kodan Armada's tracks can be found on their discography and 2 of the 3 GOSPEL songs are demos that were rerecorded for the LP (and sound much better, I might add). If you're a collector and must have the 10", I found 2 available on discogs.com but they're $25+.
I honestly can't say enough good things about this band. Download the discography (I've only included the split and LP) or I will always hold it against you. And trust me, I hold grudges. Forever.
Weird side-notes;
-every time I look at the art for 'The Moon Is A Dead World' my mind sees a fish crossed with a heart at the bottom of the ocean
-the band reformed in 2009 in order to record a new LP 'The Magic Volume Of Dark Matter', but disbanded shortly thereafter (I have included a 23-minute live version of the songs that were going to put on said album)
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DISCOGRAPHY
Click )==>here<==( to download the band's (almost) complete discography in mp3 form.
2004 - Kodan Armada split 10"EP
2004 - Lived cassetteEP
2005 - The Moon Is A Dead World cd/12"LP
2006 - The Magic Volume Of Dark Matter live (not a proper album as it was never recorded)
2010 - LIVIDII cassetteEP (this is the only release not included in the download, but you can get "Tango" from the their bandcamp page linked below)
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(2005) GOSPEL - "Paper Tigon" (from 'The Moon Is A Dead World')
(2005) GOSPEL - "Congratulations...You've Hit Rock Bottom" (from 'The Moon Is A Dead World')
(2005) GOSPEL - "What Means of Witchery" (from 'The Moon Is A Dead World')
(2006) GOSPEL - "Part 1" (from 'The Magic Volume Of Dark Matter' demo)
(2006) GOSPEL - "Part 2" (from 'The Magic Volume Of Dark Matter' demo)
(2006) GOSPEL - "Part 3" (from 'The Magic Volume Of Dark Matter' demo)
(2006) GOSPEL - "Paper Tigon" live video
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GOSPEL out-of-print discography mp3 download / additional links
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Hey, you familiar with Gas Chamber? It's the first thing in ages that reminded me of Gospel's progrock/screamo thing, although it's more grindy. Anyway: http://ironlungpv.bandcamp.com/album/hemorrhaging-light-lp
ReplyDeleteI had not heard of them. Pretty crazy stuff. I don't really hear the Gospel progrock/screamo thing so much as screamo/grind - but then again I've only listened to it once so far. It's good so I'll definitely be listening again. Thanks!
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