Mose Giganticus

Mose Giganticus is an American electropunk/heavy metal band founded in Bensalem, Pennsylvania in 1999, and currently based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Led by songwriter, vocalist, programmer, drummer, and keyboardist Matt Garfield, the band is augmented by an variable array of additional musicians for live performances. Stylistically, Mose Giganticus is most notable for the incorporation of vocoder and synthesizer into traditionally "guitar-centric" musical genres, as well as for Garfield's prominent use of a modified Roland AX-7 keytar in their live performances. The band has released three albums, most recently 'Gift Horse' in Summer 2010, and have toured Europe and North America, including the Yukon and Alaska, regions rarely visited by rock musicians. Since 2008, Mose Giganticus has toured North America in a waste vegetable oil-fueled tour bus assembled and maintained personally by Garfield.^[1]

History

Garfield, drummer in several Philadelphia-area hardcore punk rock bands, began the project as a solo electronic home-recording project in 1999, playing few occasional live performances. His focus on the band intensified years later, in 2005, with a significantly revamped sound rooted in hardcore punk, while still maintaining elements of electronic music.^[2] This culminated in the 2006 debut full-length album, The Invisible Hand, a concept record based around humanity's relationship with technology. Initially released on Richmond, Virginia-based Valiant Death Records, the record was followed by several US tours in 2007 with fellow electronic bands Abiku and The Emotron. During these early tours, Garfield performed solo, layering live vocals and keyboards over pre-recorded backing tracks. A compilation featuring remixes from 23 artists of the track My Machine off of The Invisible Hand was later completed and scheduled to be released on Valiant Death Records in early 2008, but failed to materialize when the label folded unexpectedly due to financial troubles.

In 2008, Mose Giganticus released its second record, the Commander! EP, as a split label release on Slanty Shanty Records and The Cottage Records, who had also reissued The Invisible Hand after the demise of Valiant Death Records. Based on Garfield's fascination with the work of Nikola Tesla, the story of the lyrics focuses on the betrayal of Tesla by fellow innovator and former employer, Thomas Edison, and their subsequent bitter rivalry. The record was extensively supported through touring, including trips that took the group and touring mates The Emotron into the far reaches of Northern Canada and Alaska.

The band's third record, the full-length Gift Horse, was recorded at Skylight Studios with Vince Ratti and released on July 22, 2010 on Relapse Records.^[3][4] Gift Horse displays a decidedly heavier sound than previous releases and centers on the topic of Christian mythology. The record's content features lyrics written from the perspective of the Old Testament Christian God and the deposed angel Lucifer addressing one another in the mounting tension of the impending Battle of Armageddon.

In late 2011, start-up label, Imminent Threat Records lead a successful Kickstarter campaign to release Gift Horse on vinyl after negotiating licensing rights from Relapse Records. In April 2012, Mose Giganticus completed their first European tour with Norwegian noise-rock band Årabrot which included performances in Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Italy, and the Netherlands. Currently, it is rumored that Garfield is working on new material that will be a sequel to Gift Horse.

Discography

• The Invisible Hand CD (2006, Valiant Death Records, reissued by The Cottage Records)
• The Invisible Touch DVD (2007, Valiant Death Records)
• Commander! CD-EP/7" Vinyl (2008, Slanty Shanty Records/The Cottage Records)
• Gift Horse CD (2010, Relapse Records)
• Gift Horse 12" Vinyl (2012, Imminent Threat Records)

References

External links

• Official website