Gospel is an American

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

band. The band was formed in 2003 in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

by guitarist/vocalist Adam Dooling, bassist Sean Miller and drummer Vincent Roseboom, with keyboardist/guitarist Johnathan Pastir joining the band in 2004. Gospel's debut album, '' The Moon Is a Dead World'', was released in 2005 to positive reviews, though the band later broke up in late 2006 due to conflicts over the band's creative direction. The band reformed briefly in 2009 and attempted to work on new material, but disbanded again a year later. In 2018, the band reformed for a third time, and have since released a new studio album, ''

The Loser ''The Loser'' is a novel by Thomas Bernhard, originally published in German in 1983. Plot introduction The novel does not take place at the time of the events recounted, but at the time its narrator recalls them. There are three main characters ...

'', in 2022. Gospel have received notability and acclaim for their unique fusion of

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

and hardcore music, and ''The Moon Is a Dead World'' has retrospectively been seen as one of the greatest screamo albums of all time.

History

Formation (2003–2004)

Gospel was formed in 2003 by Adam Dooling, Sean Miller and Vincent Roseboom, who were

natives from working class backgrounds, and had lived together on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

. The three members had been originally playing together in a late 1990s

screamo Screamo (also referred to as skramz) is an aggressive subgenre of emo that emerged in the early 1990s and emphasizes "willfully experimental dissonance and dynamics".Jason Heller, "Feast of Reason". ''Denver Westword'', June 20, 2002Access date: ...

band called Helen of Troy. Compared to Helen of Troy's material, the band's song writing was more expansive, expanding beyond hardcore music and into progressive music. In order to help execute the stylistic changes in the band, Johnathan Pastir (also from

) was added to the line-up in 2004 to play

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

; Pastir had to learn how to play keyboards from scratch.

''The Moon Is a Dead World'' and breakup (2004–2006)

Gospel recorded their debut album, '' The Moon Is a Dead World'' (named after a plaque found in the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

), with Kurt Ballou in March 2005, and the album was released in May 2005 on

Level Plane Records Level Plane was an American independent record label based in New York City that was founded in early 1997 by Greg Drudy for the release of Saetia's first 7". Drudy ran the label until it ceased to exist in 2009. It released records in a variet ...

, the record label owned by Saetia's

Greg Drudy Greg Drudy is an American musician, primarily known for playing drums in several indie rock and screamo bands in the 1990s and 2000s. Career Drudy started his career on drums practicing with the defunct band Quid Pro Quo in a Tampa warehouse nex ...

. Upon its release, the album received positive reviews; the album has since been seen as a defining release in the

genre. Gospel toured heavily around the

East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...

of the United States alongside

Meneguar Meneguar was an indie rock band whose members had previously played under different arrangements and names, but which reached its current form in 2004 in Brooklyn, New York. The group released the albums ''I Was Born at Night'' and ''Strangers ...

in support of the album, creating a

buzz Buzz may refer to: People *Buzz (nickname), a list of people *J. Buzz Von Ornsteiner (born 1967; aka ''Dr. Buzz''), American forensic psychologist and journalist Fictional characters *Buzz, a character in the 1987 American comedy movie '' Reve ...

for the band within Level Plane and the music industry. The band gained notoriety for their violent and dramatic live shows; most notably, they were banned from The Owl Music Parlour after a large fire broke out following a performance. Gospel also embarked on a successful tour with Converge in late 2006, which increased the band's mainstream exposure. After the tour with Converge ended, the band attempted to record several projects, including a studio-recorded version of "The Magic Volume of Dark Matter", a 23-minute long song which they were writing (and had been played live once) in 2006, but none of these projects materialised. Owing to exhaustion, conflicts and infighting between the band members as well as disputes over the band's musical direction, Gospel announced their breakup in late 2006, but did not disclose the reason why at the time. As summarized by Johnathan Pastir, "The unwavering visions everyone had for the band really destroyed the band".

Brief reunion (2009–2010)

In 2009, it was announced that Gospel had reunited. The band had written an album's worth of material, and originally planned on quietly releasing the album. However, the band changed plans and performed a benefit show for Matty "No Times" Messina, a

tattoo artist A tattoo artist (also tattooer or tattooist) is an individual who applies permanent decorative tattoos, often in an established business called a "tattoo shop", "tattoo studio" or "tattoo parlour". Tattoo artists usually learn their craft via an ...

and former Gospel roadie, who was in need of financial support to cover the medical costs of a liver transplant, on January 29, 2010. The band also revealed they were no longer signed to Level Plane, and that they were planning to release new music in March 2010. The band also released ''LIVIDII'', a compilation of live performances of songs from 2004 to 2006, at the show. Another benefit show was played on April 24, 2010. The band also released a new single, "Tango", on June 14, 2010. The band attempted to work on an

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

, though this was never completed and the band split again, as, according to Adam Dooling, "We still weren't ready yet".

Second reunion (2018–2021)

Gospel decided to reunite in 2018 after reconnecting with each other again at the wedding of Matty "No Times" Messina in New York, and with some encouragement from Roseboom's father. They initially planned to finish "The Magic Volume of Dark Matter", but instead ended up writing new material. In January 2019, ''The Moon Is a Dead World'' was remastered by Josh Bontai and reissued on double vinyl, along with updated artwork, by Repeater Records. Later that August, Gospel announced they would be reuniting for a one-off performance at the

Saint Vitus Bar Saint Vitus is a bar and music venue located in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Opened in April 2011, the venue is known for its heavy metal atmosphere. Some notable metal bands that have played there include Pentagram and B ...

in Brooklyn in September, which sold out. The band also played some highly anticipated new songs at the show.

''The Loser'' and ''MVDM'' (2021–present)

In November 2021, Gospel announced their first album in 17 years, ''

'', having already released the single "S.R.O." in October 2021. The song was produced by Kurt Ballou and features him playing the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

. ''The Loser'' was given a release date of May 13, 2022. The band performed a benefit show in Brooklyn on January 16, 2022, for Vincent Roseboom's daughter, Alina, who had been diagnosed with

pediatric cancer Childhood cancer is cancer in a child. About 80% of childhood cancer cases can be successfully treated thanks to modern medical treatments and optimal patient care. However, only about 10% of children diagnosed with cancer reside in high-income cou ...

. On April 20, 2022, the band released another single for the album, "Deerghost". Upon its release, ''The Loser'' received positive reviews. On July 11, 2022, Gospel finally released "The Magic Volume of Dark Matter" under the name ''MVDM: The Magical Volumes Vol.1: The Magick Volume of Dark Madder''.

Musical style and influences

Gospel has been described by critics as

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. G ...

, and

. They have also been described as "prog-punk" and "progressive hardcore". Adam Dooling described their music to ''Decibel'' as a combination of all of the member's influences and styles without any compromise; "If you were to give Vinny a nice suggestion about what to play, you’d be received with nothing but animosity. But we do have respect for each other. Everybody has a specific style that I don't think would work if we were playing with other musicians." The band members have listed

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

, the 1970

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

rock opera, Team Dresch,

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Joy Division,

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...

, Yanni, Silverchair,

Racebannon Racebannon was an American noise punk band from Bloomington, Indiana. The band, formed in September 1996, have cited influence ranging from Antioch Arrow to the Melvins, and have also stated that they're heavily influenced by hardcore, hip-hop, ...

, Envy,

Jane's Addiction Jane's Addiction is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985. The band consists of vocalist Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery. Jane's Addiction was one of the first bands from t ...

, the

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

and Primus as musical influences. The band are also fans of

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

-era

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

, with Roseboom calling them "the most underrated band ever", and the members have cited the band's 1974 album '' The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway'' as a musical influence. The band rejected modern musical tropes of the time; "We’re bored with modern music. If you look through our CD collections, it's like looking through your parents’ collection. Basically, Gospel's sound is the result of four people living under a rock." Gospel also rejected scene culture, especially in the screamo genre they had come out of, with Dooling referring to it as "that sing-scream, white belt and stupid hair shit".

Band members

* Adam Edward Dooling –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

(2003–2006, 2009–2010, 2018–present) * Sean Edward Miller –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

(2003–2006, 2009–2010, 2018–present) * Vincent Walter Roseboom –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(2003–2006, 2009–2010, 2018–present) * Johnathan Andrew Pastir –

/guitar (2004–2006, 2009–2010, 2018–present)

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Live albums

Split releases

Singles

External links

Level Plane Records website (Wayback Machine)

Gospel's Discogs page

References

{{reflist

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

Screamo musical groups American screamo musical groups Hardcore punk groups American hardcore punk groups Level Plane Records artists Musical groups established in 2003 Musical groups from Brooklyn Musical groups from New York City 2003 establishments in New York City Musical quartets Musical groups disestablished in 2006 Musical groups reestablished in 2009 Musical groups disestablished in 2010 Musical groups reestablished in 2018