Photo by: Sarmistha Talukdar
Official press release:
Prosthetic Records is thrilled to announce the signing of Richmond, Virginia metalcore ensemble .gif from god – and the impending release of their upcoming album approximation_of_a_human. The first track track titled “sassafras manassas ass” is available to listen to now via Bandcamp, and will stream through all digital services from tomorrow. Click HERE to pre-order approximation_of_a_human – the album will be released on September 27.
Of the first single, vocalist, Mitchie comments:
“The song is about running through darkness. More directly it’s about how hopeless and cyclical it feels to move through the world with debilitating anxiety that goes unaddressed; moving forward with no direction or intentionality. How can one hope to overcome their demons or circumstances without acknowledging the reality that they are faced with? Without others affirming that their reality is real and valid?”
Bassist, Sofia, adds:
“’sassafras‘ is a re-recording and modification of one of the first songs .gif ever recorded. I wasn’t in the band at the time but it was the first song I was taught after I joined. We never felt like it was done proper justice, and we’ve changed so much as a band since it was first written and initially released that it sounds wildly different now. We want to show people who’ve never heard of us before a song that still remains important to us, while hinting to our current fans how much we’ve changed before releasing material that bears almost no resemblance to previous .gif from god releases.”
Having been long-time participants in Richmond’s thriving DIY and screamo scene as well as ardent local activists, it may come as no surprise that .gif from god use their calculating blend of grind and metalcore as a vehicle for their ominous propaganda. On their upcoming Prosthetic debut, the Virginians demonstrate a surgical command of their ruthless and chaotic sound. The album was recorded and mixed at Viva Studios by Matt Michel, and mastered by Lance Koehler at Minimum Wage Recording.
On signing to the label, the band says:
“We feel like Prosthetic is a cool fit for us, a lot of us are big fans of artists from the label’s past and current roster. We’re really excited to be labelmates with our friends and peers in Amygdala and Meth., among others. Prosthetic’s history in supporting out-spoken artists and outsider talent is encouraging and let’s us feel like we have no constraints or limits on our expression or autonomy as a band. We’re looking forward to really challenging ourselves with their support behind us.”
Prosthetic’s EJ Johantgen adds:
“We always have our eye on bands that are innovative and proactive in their approach to creating music – .gif from god fit the bill on both counts. There’s no doubt they do things their own way, and they’ll fit right in on our roster. Welcome to the Prosthetic family.”
approximation_of_a_human will be available on digital, CD, and on vinyl including on the following formats: yellow (250 copies – EU via Holy Roar, in stores, Amazon), clear with crimson blood swirl (150 copies), dark blue with black and white swirl (100 copies – Bandcamp only). Click HERE for ordering options.
Stay tuned for more information and more encrypted messages of social injustice and impending collapse.
approximation_of_a_human track listing:
- “[creature_moans_in_pain]”
- “mandoorhandhookcardoor”
- “no dude…he STILL likes to spray”
- “possible futures in the minds of children”
- “kevin fell down the lube well…the perfect trap…gg kevin”
- “what’s the BP2BB?”
- “cincinnatically speaking…”
- “take the flesh, make it stretchy”
- “living off the corpse of the old world”
- “sassafras manassas ass”
- “when you yell at me, make sure it hurts my feelings”
- “40,000 jobs for a cowboy & counting”
