The anonymous progressive metal titan GOD (GodEl Rigna) is gearing up for their sixth album, Sin, Part II, which is planned to be released before the end of 2025.
Today, I am taking you way back to my music journalism roots. In early 2020, I was scrolling through my Facebook feed when a post from an anonymous instrumental metal project simply known as GOD popped up. There were many comments, and once I read the post, I could see why. They were offering fans the chance to listen to and review a handful of tracks from their then unreleased album, God IV: Revelation. I chose the track "Lucifer" and sent my review over, and they quickly pulled me aside and requested that I review the entire twenty-two-track album that was scheduled to come out later that same year. I had never written anything creative before and was unsure how to proceed. Fast forward five years later, I have published countless articles and found a deep passion for writing of all kinds. Without the encouragement from this artist to pursue this unknown path, I wouldn't be where I am today, and my life would be far less interesting.
As said before, GOD (GodEl Rigna) is an instrumental and anonymous progressive metal project dedicated to sharing the concept of God and spirituality through one's personal interpretation of music. Consume it in your own way. Nothing is forced or expected. In August of 2016, they produced their first record, GOD I - God, the first of over thirty-plus albums planned to be written and released before the artist's death. Literal dedication to one's craft. If you are familiar with bands such as Meshuggah, then you are in the right place. Unlike many musicians today, GOD only uses guitars and drums for all of the sounds heard within their music. Finding ways to layer, manipulate, and distort in ways completely unheard of in music today. Overcomplicated? Perhaps, but innovation is the key to a genre's growth and staying fresh. I'd also like to say, while I am not a religious person, I appreciate this artist's open-minded approach to life and spirituality.
I have had the chance to listen to a handful of tracks from the upcoming album and am thoroughly impressed by the growth that they exhibit. As mentioned before, the use of layering dozens of guitar and drum tracks on top of each other for ambient and atmospheric purposes and to beef up the mix is not lost on the new material. I'd even go as far as to say it has been perfected or at least refined and feels less experimental and more confident. If you are in need of some new tunes for the gym, gaming, or in general to add to your playlist, then look no further; the utter heaviness and groove that many of these songs offer is gnarly. That goes for their older material too, especially on Revelation and Sin, Part I. While I do not have any new songs to share with you today, I would recommend checking out some of my favorite tracks from previous releases, which I will leave linked below. Keep your eyes out for a full album review that I will be publishing later this year!
FFO: Meshuggah, Living Sacrifice, Cilice, A Life Once Lost
