March 28, 2024

New Fury Media

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Gift Giver: The New Heavy?

Photo by Flashback Cinematic
Photo by Flashback Cinematic

“The heaviest fucking record of 2015” is how Justin Johnson proudly describes his band Gift Giver’s upcoming album “Shitlife.” And while staunch death metal elitists may scoff at Johnson’s bold statement, the two singles that have been released thus far, as well as the band’s back catalogue, exhibit enough oomph to imply that “Shitlife” will in fact leave “-core” fiends drooling.

Formed in 2012 and comprised of Johnson on the mic, guitarists Nick Miller and Eric Snapper, bassist Troy Wilson and drummer Jake O’Shaughnessy, the Detroit quintet self-released their debut EP “Daddy Issues” in early 2013. Then after roughly a year-and-a-half of small-scale tours with bands such as I The Breather, Barrier, and Villains, Gift Giver inked a deal with the world-famous metal label Century Media Records through which they will be releasing “Shitlife” on April 21st.

The band also just finished up a three-week East Coast run entitled the “Destress the U.S. Tour” alongside Barrier, Villains, Traitors and Adaliah. That lineup was considered stacked by many fans of the deathcore, metalcore and down-tempo genres.

“This is honestly the best tour that we’ve done so far,” Johnson said at the Albany stop of the tour on March 11th. “[The other bands] are all awesome and every night’s been really fun,” he said.

However, despite Gift Giver’s frequent tours with down-tempo bands such as Barrier and Villains, their sound is actually quite different.

“The music we play is way more technical. We’re not playing low and slow music,” he said.

He clarified that “there’s nothing bad about bands who play that kind of music” but that Gift Giver are simply going for a different type of sound.

“We’re playing a little bit more techy, nu-metal [stuff],” he said. “We’re taking things to another extreme and doing things that other people can’t do or don’t think to do.”

And with “Shitlife,” Johnson promised that their signature maniacal tone will be present but that it won’t just be another “Daddy Issues.”

“I don’t really ever want to put out the same record. I wanted to show that we’re growing as a band,” he said.

Whereas “Daddy Issues” sometimes felt like a hodgepodge of different riffs and sounds that lacked cohesion, Johnson said that “Shitlife” was more carefully crafted.

“Daddy Issues was a little bit more chaotic. The structure of the songs were a little bit less organized,” he said. “[“Shitlife”] is a lot more put-together. [But] it’s still pissed. It’s still our sound,” he added.

As for the provocative album title, Johnson had a simple reason as to why he chose to name his band’s debut album “Shitlife.”

“Our EP was called ‘Daddy Issues’ and if you have daddy issues then you’re probably gonna have a shit life,” he said. “I want to keep people’s attention… I wanted to do something really out there.”

The band has had no trouble in dealing with potential controversy in the past either. On their most notable song, the title track off of “Daddy Issues,” Johnson speaks the words “just kill yourself/just fucking kill yourself” as the song builds into a massive breakdown. However, Johnson said that his hostile lyrics are simply a way for him to vent his frustrations and to express himself.

“[“Shitlife”] talks a lot about things I’ve dealt with in my life and the way that I feel about myself and other people,” he said.

And although the band is aiming more toward providing moshpit fodder than lyrical poetry, (Johnson literally shouts, “Yo, if you feel like I feel, swing your motherfucking fists” right before the breakdown on “Loose Cannon”) there is one song on “Shitlife” that deals with a more sensitive subject.

“The title track on ‘Shitlife’ is about dealing with the passing of one of our original guitarists who recorded and produced the ‘Daddy Issues’ EP,” Johnson said.

When “Shitlife” is released Gift Giver will be nearing the end of their biggest tour to date as openers for Sworn In, The Plot In You, and I Declare War. However, they won’t be stopping there.

“Right after the record comes out our plans are to be as busy as possible,” Johnson said.

 

-Eli Enis

New Fury Media

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