Waiting For The End

Godspeed You! Black Emperor “First of the Last Glaciers”

For a long time Godspeed You! Black Emperor specialized in compositions that evoked a crushing sense of dread and a certainty that the world was moving towards an unavoidable apocalypse in the near future. Their most recent work – 2017’s Luciferian Towers and the brand new G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END – mark an interesting tonal shift, presenting a more hopeful sound as the world becomes more overtly dystopian. To be clear, it’s not a hope that terrible things will not come, but rather than that now is the time for people to fight back against the powerful figures who have broken the world. I think these are meant to be inspirational works, grandiose compositions that respect an apocalyptic negativity but ask the listener not to give up or give in on the assumption that all is lost. The band has stated that the new album is about us all “waiting for the end,” but this time it’s not the end of all things. We’re waiting for the end of the things that are crushing humanity, waiting for a crash that can lead to something new.

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