Signed to Los Angeles-based Prosthetic Records (Yatra, ACxDC, Pupil Slicer, Vile Creature) Richmond, Virginia six-piece .GIFFROMGOD bring you their latest release, an EP by the name of Digital Red. It sees the band’s first recorded output since 2019’s full-length debut Approximation of a Human.
The EP is purported to include even more musical variety, which the accompanying promo-notes state “sees the band incorporating further electronic elements in the form of acid and noise”. While known for their harsher Grind/Screamo sound, it will be interesting to hear what they come up with this time around. The group are known for having both a somewhat wry sense of humour (the band name presumably a reference to the bitmap image format created in the late 1980s) as well as a passion for social justice causes such as the Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project.
The gruesomely and unambiguously titled ‘knife goes in, guts come out’ combines unrestrained, unpredictable mathcore (with its trademark numerous signature changes) and screamo. An excitingly chaotic mix of bands like The Red Chord and Poison The Well, at least to my ears seeing as I hardly have my fingers on the musical pulse when it comes to these genres. ‘a kiss for every hornet’ is a little longer and perhaps somewhat more developed as a result.
The heavier moments recall New York Hardcore legends Vision of Disorder‘s self-titled album with the riffing making it surprisingly ‘melodic’ by the band’s own standards. This is not a criticism, in fact, the variety offered is welcome more than anything. The track twists and turns but feels cohesive, hanging together particularly well as a result. The quirkily titled ‘the cow’s meow’ is a further example of the band’s somewhat absurdist sense of humour and if Salvador Dali‘s paintings were given a soundtrack this would be it. The longest track on the EP at nearly five minutes, as with the aforementioned Dali it is particularly hard to pin down.
There are times when you are reminded of the late, great Dillinger Escape Plan what with the dizzying array of styles and speeds, and this makes for one of the more intriguing numbers on the record. It definitely requires repeated listening in order to fully appreciate, but patience and time bring with its own rewards as evidenced here.
At a mere 1:53 minutes ‘youth medium child psychic’ is the shortest track and sees the band’s first headfirst dive into the world of electronics. I love it when artists stray outside their comfort zone, unconcerned with musical conventions and determined to do their own thing regardless of elitists’ opinions; this number is a shining example of that. Musically it reminds you of the amazing Petbrick, Igor Cavalera‘s essential noise project that everyone with taste should be familiar with. ‘meat_man meets man’ is a little more death metal-orientated but of the considered/ experimental variety ala Gorguts; and for someone like myself who isn’t particularly enamoured with that genre makes for far more enjoyable listening.
‘dream features’ feels like a continuation of the preceding track with yet more crushing death metal but with the band’s own finely honed mathcore and grind thrown into the mix. A savage and effective way to conclude proceedings.
So my first exposure to GIFFROMGOD then was certainly an interesting one. After a brief hiatus, the band have thrown caution to the wind and taken some musical risks much as Dillinger did with Miss Machine. It would have been easy for them to have replicated Approximation of a Human, but thankfully for us, they have decided not to do so.
Buy the album here:
https://giffromgod.bandcamp.com/album/digital-red
8 / 10
REZA MILLS