Few artists can properly channel the honesty and intensity of hardcore into metals intricacy and virtuosity. However, veterans of seminal hardcore acts Earth Crisis, Shelter, and Merauder, have successfully managed to do so with God Is I, a violently cathartic monolith of metal. God Is I infuse a hardcore aesthetic into Bay Area thrash riffs for a metallic combo punch. During cuts like "Never Surrender" and "End You", technical guitars slam at a breakneck speed, while gruff hardcore screams simply decimate. During any of these tracks, you can feel the moshpits already erupting. The rhythms crush and breakdown with an unbridled fury that few can match or best these days. From this sonic assault, a bludgeoning blend of both metal and hardcore emerges. However, the integrity and brutality of both genres remains in tact and crossover may never be the same.
Bassist Franklin Rhi provides a deep insight into God Is I. He comments, "My roots are definitely in the New York hardcore scene. I grew up as a New York hardcore kid and Ive always played in hardcore bands. However, I wanted to follow a more metal direction, musically. I can speak for the rest of the band because weve come to the conclusion that were really a hybrid of both metal and hardcore." This hybrid possesses a ferocity and a vitality that few young acts can tap into. Each member of the band has his own illustrious history, which has only primed them further to hit the road with a bang. Guitarist Scott Crouse was in Earth Crisis and co-guitarist Ben Read served a stint with that legendary outfit as well. Vocalist Jorge Rosado fronts Merauder, while Franklin Rhi comes from the much lauded Shelter.
In essence, history and a reverence for each members respective past remain integral to this band. Franklin continues, "The four of us have played in established hardcore bands. With that history, I think the hardcore kids that know about us will come and check us out regardless of what kind of bill we play or what kind of venue. At the same time, this is very exciting new territory for us, since we have never really played to the metal community."Thunderous riffs abound during "Your Forgotten Children" and once the searing guitar lead kicks in, its apparent that metal has been beckoning these individuals all along. Jorge delves into "Never Surrender", saying, "Its about standing up for our music scene, no more bullshit bands. Its saying that we're here to overthrow these fake bands because the kids of today are in need of real icons with real songs. Also labels are feeding kids crap because theres no originality anymore. Were here to put balls back into rock and roll!" This new venture has reinvigorated a passion for heavy music and channeled each members talent into every facet of theses songs causing all of the musical elements to crush equally.
Ben further evinces, "We put this unit together to make a mark on todays heavy music scene. I think we bring something unique to the genre. We arent dressing up in rock star attire or wearing make-up. We are real people playing real music - no tricks, no gimmicks, no eyeliner." With an immense drive, God Is I stand destined to become an unstoppable force in both hardcore and metal.
