Downfall Of Gaia
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Downfall of Gaia are a German
extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...
band formed in 2008 by Dominik Goncalves dos Reis (vocals, guitar) and Anton Lisovoj (vocals, bass). Their current lineup is completed by drummer Michael Kadnar and guitarist Peter Wolff. They have released six studio albums, transforming their initial
crust punk Crust punk (also known as stenchcore or simply crust) is a fusion genre of anarcho-punk and extreme metal that originated in the early to mid-1980s in England. Originally, the genre was primarily mid-tempo, making use of metal riffs in a stri ...
sound through the incorporation of
black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...
,
doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...
, and
post-rock Post-rock is a subgenre of experimental rock that emphasizes Texture (music), texture, atmosphere, and non-traditional song structures over conventional rock techniques. Post-rock artists often combine rock instrumentation and rock stylings wit ...
influences.


History


Formation, early releases, and ''Suffocating in the Swarm of Cranes'' (2006–2013)

Dominik Goncalves dos Reis and Anton Lisovoj, who knew each other from their area, started writing music together in 2006, focused on
d-beat D-beat (also known as Discore, kängpunk, Discrust, and crust-beat) is a style of hardcore punk, developed in the early 1980s by imitators of Discharge, after whom the genre is named, as well as a drum beat characteristic of this subgenre. D- ...
and
crust punk Crust punk (also known as stenchcore or simply crust) is a fusion genre of anarcho-punk and extreme metal that originated in the early to mid-1980s in England. Originally, the genre was primarily mid-tempo, making use of metal riffs in a stri ...
. In 2008, they shifted towards writing longer, "epic" songs with the ambition to make more "serious" music and changed their name to Downfall of Gaia to mark a transition cemented with the addition of a second guitarist, Peter Wolff, whom they had met that year. They chose the name, which refers to
Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia (; , a poetic form of ('), meaning 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea (), is the personification of Earth. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenogenic—of all life. She is the mother of Uranus (S ...
, the goddess that personifies the Earth in Greek mythology, to correspond with "the lyrics and the atmosphere" of their music. The band's first drummer was replaced by Sven, who in turn was replaced in 2010 by Hannes. They released one demo, ''The Downfall of Gaia'', in 2008, followed in 2009 by a split tape with French band
Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...
and the tour EP ''Salvation in Darkness''. Their debut studio album, ''Epos'', was released in 2010 with the help of several
independent record labels An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...
, and was described by Goncalves as incorporating more
doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...
and
post-rock Post-rock is a subgenre of experimental rock that emphasizes Texture (music), texture, atmosphere, and non-traditional song structures over conventional rock techniques. Post-rock artists often combine rock instrumentation and rock stylings wit ...
influences. In 2011, their split LP with Swedish band In the Hearts of Emperors came out on Alerta Antifascista Records, Moment of Collapse and Shove Records. The band began performing more extensively that year, touring the
East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coast, coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean; it has always pla ...
with Vestiges, besides Europe in October. Downfall of Gaia finished writing for their sophomore album ''Suffocating in the Swarm of Cranes'' in early 2012 and were contacted by
Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records (often shortened to Metal Blade) is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982 based in the U.S. state of California. The label primarily focuses on heavy metal. History Metal Blade Records was ...
a few weeks before they were scheduled to record it; they parted ways with the independent labels and signed to Metal Blade, who released the album on 10 September 2012 in the US and 8 October in Europe. It was recorded with Christoph Scheideldorf at '79 Sound Studio in
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
, mixed by Jack Shirley of Atomic Garden Studio in the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
and mastered by James Plotkin. ''Suffocating in the Swarm of Cranes'' is a
concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
about a man suffering from depression and
insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder where people have difficulty sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep for as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low ene ...
and his gradual descend into insanity. Hannes described its style as "mixed", with "influences from
sludge Sludge (possibly , or some dialect related to slush) is a semi-solid slurry that can be produced from a range of industrial processes, from water treatment, wastewater treatment or on-site sanitation systems. It can be produced as a settled sus ...
,
black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...
,
hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...
or even
screamo Screamo (also referred to as skramz) is a 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, 2002 Access date: June 15, 2 ...
parts or post rock parts", while Kim Kelly wrote in a ''Pitchfork'' review that compared to their older work, the album "relies far more heavily on
Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...
-inspired
post-metal Post-metal is a music genre rooted in heavy metal music, heavy metal but exploring approaches beyond metal conventions. It emerged in the 1990s with bands such as Neurosis (band), Neurosis and Godflesh, who transformed metal texture (music), te ...
and mournful, cathartic black metal for inspiration" while retaining shades of
Amebix Amebix were an English punk rock band from Tavistock, Devon. A pioneer of the crust punk genre, Amebix's merger of anarcho-punk and post-punk with elements of heavy metal music, heavy metal, particularly early extreme metal, inspired musicians ...
-style crust punk. The band toured Europe with Vestiges in the summer of 2012 and returned to the US in 2013, a year in which they did more than 100 concerts. In 2014, they performed with bands such as
Neurosis Neurosis (: neuroses) is a term mainly used today by followers of Freudian thinking to describe mental disorders caused by past anxiety, often that has been repressed. In recent history, the term has been used to refer to anxiety-related con ...
,
Toxic Holocaust Toxic Holocaust is an American thrash metal band from Portland, Oregon. History Joel Grind founded Toxic Holocaust in 1999. He originally wrote and recorded all of the band's music himself, and after a couple of demo releases (''Radiation S ...
and Black Tusk as well as at
Hellfest Hellfest (), also known as Hellfest Summer Open Air, is a rock festival focusing on heavy metal music, held annually in June in Clisson, France. Its high attendance makes it the French music festival with the largest turnover. It is also one o ...
2014, an appearance which Goncalves that year described, along with getting signed to Metal Blade, as a highlight of their career.


''Aeon Unveils the Thrones of Decay'', ''Atrophy'', and ''Ethic of Radical Finitude'' (2014–present)

Downfall of Gaia's third studio album, ''Aeon Unveils the Thrones of Decay'', was released on 11 November 2014 through Metal Blade. The songs were mostly created in two weeks of rehearsing and writing after the band's new drummer, Michael Kadnar from
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
who recently replaced Hannes, flew to Germany in March, while vocals were added a month later after Goncalves wrote the lyrics. The final version was recorded at '79 Sound Studio, mixed at Atomic Garden Studio and mastered at Audiosiege Studio in
Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...
. Describing the record, Goncalves stated that it "is a concept album about time and all of its relentless sides ... deal ngwith the darker sides of life and the struggles everyone has to fight on a day to day asis and while "songs on he band'sprevious records grew slowly and things took their time, this time
hey Hey, HEY, or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the ...
tried to focus on pretty straight, fast and aggressive song structures." In support of the album, they toured the East Coast and the
Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...
of the US in January/February 2015. and Europe with fellow German
extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...
band Der Weg einer Freiheit in March/April 2015. Further tours followed, including through Japan and Australia, only ending towards the end of the year when the band began working on their next album. Wolff quit Downfall of Gaia in early 2016 to focus on new projects and private life and was replaced after a few auditions by Marco Mazzola from
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
in April. The band's fourth studio album, ''Atrophy'', was recorded in June 2016 at Hidden Planet Studio Berlin and mixed and mastered at Atomic Garden Studio. It was released through Metal Blade on 11 November 2016. On 8 February 2019, the band followed it up with their fifth, ''Ethic of Radical Finitude'', through the same label.


Musical style and influences

Downfall of Gaia's style, initially firmly rooted in
crust punk Crust punk (also known as stenchcore or simply crust) is a fusion genre of anarcho-punk and extreme metal that originated in the early to mid-1980s in England. Originally, the genre was primarily mid-tempo, making use of metal riffs in a stri ...
, and then increasingly characterised by "longer, more grandiose, back-and-forth sweeping songs" has evolved over the course of their career. Following the 2014 release of ''Aeon Unveils the Thrones of Decay'', it has been described as "
experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...
,
sludge Sludge (possibly , or some dialect related to slush) is a semi-solid slurry that can be produced from a range of industrial processes, from water treatment, wastewater treatment or on-site sanitation systems. It can be produced as a settled sus ...
-infused
black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...
... mixing second-wave black metal influences with progressive and
atmospheric An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...
elements", as well as a "blend of
post-metal Post-metal is a music genre rooted in heavy metal music, heavy metal but exploring approaches beyond metal conventions. It emerged in the 1990s with bands such as Neurosis (band), Neurosis and Godflesh, who transformed metal texture (music), te ...
riffs and black metal intensity" and "a mix of black metal, crusty
grind A blade's grind is its cross-sectional shape in a plane normal to the edge. Grind differs from Blade#Knife blade profiles .28Patterns.29, blade profile, which is the blade's cross-sectional shape in the plane containing the blade's edge and ...
bursts, sludge, and sprawling, sometimes doomy, post-metal". The band has been compared to Fall of Efrafa,
Altar of Plagues Altar of Plagues were an Irish black metal band, founded in Cork by James Kelly. After gaining attention in the metal community with a series of self recorded demos and EPs, the band released their first studio album, '' White Tomb'', in April ...
and
Agrimonia ''Agrimonia'' (from the Greek ), commonly known as agrimony, is a genus of 12–15 species of perennial herbaceous flowering plants in the family Rosaceae, native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with one species also in Afr ...
. Around the same time, Dominik Goncalves dos Reis described the band as influenced initially by
d-beat D-beat (also known as Discore, kängpunk, Discrust, and crust-beat) is a style of hardcore punk, developed in the early 1980s by imitators of Discharge, after whom the genre is named, as well as a drum beat characteristic of this subgenre. D- ...
and crust punk and later mostly by doom metal, sludge metal and black metal, naming
Agalloch Agalloch () is an American extreme metal band from Portland, Oregon. Formed in 1995 by frontman John Haughm, they released five full-length albums, four EPs, two singles, one split single, two demos, four compilation albums and one live video a ...
,
Neurosis Neurosis (: neuroses) is a term mainly used today by followers of Freudian thinking to describe mental disorders caused by past anxiety, often that has been repressed. In recent history, the term has been used to refer to anxiety-related con ...
, YOB,
Electric Wizard Electric Wizard are an English stoner metal, stoner/doom metal band from Dorset. Formed in 1988 under the name Lord of Putrefaction, the band have recorded nine studio albums, two of which have been considered genre landmarks: ''Come My Fanati ...
and
Wolves in the Throne Room Wolves in the Throne Room is an American black metal band formed in 2002 in Olympia, Washington, by brothers Aaron and Nathan Weaver. They have released seven full-length albums, two live albums, and two EPs to date. They have stated one of the ...
as personal favorites, and Altar of Plagues,
Watain Watain is a Swedish black metal band, formed in 1998.Eduardo Rivadavia: ''Watain Biography'' Allmusic, Macrovision Corporation. The band's name is taken from an early recording by the American black metal group Von.Ronald Ziegler''Merchandise w ...
, Thy Light and early
Ulver Ulver (Norwegian for "wolves") is a Norwegian Experimental electronic music, experimental electronica band founded in 1993, by vocalist Kristoffer Rygg. Their early works, such as debut album ''Bergtatt – Et eeventyr i 5 capitler, Bergtatt'', ...
(besides Wolves in the Throne Room and Agalloch) as the band's black metal influences. In 2012, he stated that
Cult of Luna Cult of Luna is a Swedish post-metal band from Umeå founded in 1998. Their style of music is similar to contemporary bands Neurosis and Isis. Cult of Luna was signed to Earache Records in the early 2000s and released five albums, including th ...
,
Rosetta Rosetta ( ) or Rashid (, ; ) is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate. The Rosetta Stone was discovered there in 1799. Founded around the 9th century on the site of the ancient town of Bolbitine, R ...
, Altar of Plagues, Neurosis and
Mono Mono may refer to: Biology * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monocyte, a type of leukocyte (white blood cell) * Monodactylidae, members of which are referred to as monos Technology and computing * Mono (audio), single-c ...
were among their biggest influences. However, he noted on both occasions that they enjoy a wide variety of music genres, "from
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...
to electro to
indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media *Independent media, media free of influence by government or corporate interests *Indie art, fine arts made by artists independent of commer ...
", one of his all-time favorite albums besides ''
The Eye of Every Storm ''The Eye of Every Storm'' is the eighth studio album by American post-metal band Neurosis. Style It tones down the strong folk music influences that were prominent on the band's previous album, '' A Sun That Never Sets'', while incorporating ...
'' by Neurosis being '' Untrue'' by electronic musician
Burial Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
.


Members

;Current * Dominik Goncalves dos Reis – vocals, guitar (2008–present) * Anton Lisovoj – bass, vocals (2008–present) * Peter Wolff – guitar, vocals (2008–2016, 2020–present) * Michael Kadnar – drums (2014–present) ;Former * Sven – drums (2014) * Johannes "Hannes" Stoltenburg – drums (2008–2014) * Marco Mazzola – guitar (2016–2020) Timeline


Discography

;Studio albums *''Epos'' (2010) *''Suffocating in the Swarm of Cranes'' (2012) *''Aeon Unveils the Thrones of Decay'' (2014) *''Atrophy'' (2016) *''Ethic of Radical Finitude'' (2019) *''Silhouettes of Disgust'' (2023) ;EPs *''The Downfall of Gaia'' (2008 demo) *''Salvation in Darkness'' (2009) ;Splits *''Downfall of Gaia / Kazan'' (2009) *''Downfall of Gaia / In the Hearts of Emperors'' (2011) ;Compilations *''Downfall of Gaia'' (2013)


References


External links

*
Downfall of Gaia
on
Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...
*
Downfall of Gaia
on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
{{Authority control German black metal musical groups Post-metal musical groups Sludge metal musical groups Crust and d-beat groups German post-rock groups German doom metal musical groups German hardcore punk groups 2008 establishments in Germany Musical groups established in 2008 Metal Blade Records artists German musical quartets