If the initial contrast look didn't get your attention, then the vocals and lyrical content of Aaron Nordstrom will certainly do so. Much like groups such as Tool and Coheed & Cambria before them, Gemini Syndrome has used a large amount of visuals and cryptic symbols to entice listeners (or Synners as the group's fan base is called) and ultimately buy into their band. Sporting nu-metal sounds in a generation that considers it passe is not an easy sell. Thankfully, these guys have showcased themselves as more than a band simply playing some instruments on stage. Check out a newly released video from group featuring their single "Stardust":
Look at the wake
From the stardust pouring from your eyes
It’s no mistake
You are perfect
You are perfect in my mind
And you won’t fade away
OK, so you have a grasp on the concept now. As far as album art and direction goes I like to think that Alex Grey had some sort of influence when designing it. While it may not be a direct 'ripoff' of others bands such as Tool who have used Grey's work in the past, Gemini Syndrome have joined the ranks of abstract alt-bands that combine multiple elements and senses to give an all around sensual experience.
Funny enough that Gemini Syndrome was listed in the footnotes as the initial artist concepts. This gives me the feeling that this band wants total control over how their sound and look is produced...even if they are on a major label such as Warner Music.
The Los Angeles group Gemini Syndrome released their debut album, "LUX", on September 10th, 2013 via Warner Bros. Records. Editing & Engineering was handled by Kevin Churko (In This Moment, Rob Zombie, Five Finger Death Punch, Kobra and The Lotus, etc.) where mastering was handled by Brian "Big Bass" Gardner (Linkin Park, Big Wreck, Rush, Snoop Dogg, Michael Jackson, etc.). Both of which have quite a list of previous work.
Gemini Syndrome encapsulate both ends of the spectrum. The band conjures ethereal alternative melodies and then tempers them with gnashing, guttural distortion. "Gemini" in Zodiac represents "The Twins" and "Syndrome" which has meaning of a person's "innate condition" form together to represent the duality within all of us. There are bonds to everything at the end of the day-from the music to the message. Now, it's up to you to uncover the meaning for yourself. -Pure Grain Audio
I was rather surprised and happy that my favourite song on the album ("Mourning Star") was also looped into the end of the album, in their short outro "Lux". The last line of the album reads the best fitting for the group... "The enemy is everywhere". This lyrical content and well fitting sound has definitely got me hooked from the first chord.
For Lux, the band also employs a wide range of visual and lyrical imagery from legend, myth and history: for example, each of the twelve tracks is designated by a universal symbol, together representing the universal cycles of time – the clock, the calendar, and the Zodiac – on both a personal and cosmic scale. -Fearnet
Their debut music video for "Basement" hit the online world about 6 months ago, but is still getting decent play time. The video has reached over 100,000+ views since it's release. Check it out below.
Stranger than a massacre
This homicidal afterbirth.
I am not a stranger
To living with the anger.
I don't need a miracle
I just need a place to go.
Send me to the angels
And tell god I said goodbye.
Every critic who has come across Gemini Syndrome has made countless comparisons to Disturbed, Tool, A Perfect Circle, Godsmack, Korn, and many others. However, being that music is directly influenced by others before us, I like you to make you're own conclusions. I have even picked a few new influences myself such as Mudvayne, Staind, Shinedown, Orgy, etc. The generic but distinct sound of Gemini Syndrome will having you make comparisons until your finger is tired from pointing out different styles. I think All Music (below) captured what most of us felt when coming across the album. It's something we want to yawn and toss to the side, but the addictive choruses, riffs, and vocals will have you hitting repeat before hitting stop.
...what Lux lacks in originality, it certainly makes up for in execution, and if fat, earth-shaking arena anthems with beefy riffs, pained lyrics, and fist-pumping choruses that sound like the explosion-addled midpoint of every Michael Bay trailer gets your blood pumping, then this is the album that your weaponized SUV will be playing as it launches off of the last 12 feet of a crumbling suspension bridge and into the hull of a enemy UFO. -All Music
Now the real question fall back on you the reader. Is this a fresh take on something making it's comeback or simply reinventing the wheel and feeding the machine? While deciding, AFGM recommended tracks are:
"Pleasure and Pain" | "Basement"
"Mourning Star" | "Pay For This"
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