GIAA’s first album came out in 2002, during the third wave of post rock. This is the point when post rock began to solidify into what we think of when we talk about the genre today. Delay pedals, military tattoos on the snare drum and the over reliance on the crescendo. However, GIAA were one of the few bands in this group to have created an original sound for themselves.
They were the first post rock band I heard that combined electronics with their guitars (Their debut was a year before 65daysofstatic released their first album) and the debut album highlight, Route 666, sounded like post rock Orbital to me. So I was very excited for the second album.
And to begin with I was disappointed. All is Violent is a far more guitar based record, but after a few listens it became very clear that this is one of the best post rock albums ever recorded.
I always use widescreen to describe GIAA’s music and I’m not sure if that’s the music itself or that the visuals they use live made me think that. They’ve always used Apollo missions, starscapes and other incredibly beautiful images to backdrop them with the odd of nuclear testing when things get heavy.
GIAA are more keyboard based than most other post rock bands, which probably helps with that widescreen, cinematic feel. They’re also the only band I know with backing vocals while not having any main vocals. Torstian sings wordless vocal melodies along with the songs, which adds a really unique texture to the music.
The Opener, Fragile, is a song that sets up the album perfectly, gentle guitar, mixed with the wordless vocal gently welcomes you into the album and even when it goes loud, it’s never aggressive.
That’s not to say that GIAA hasn’t got a lot of muscle when needed. When the title track kicks off, it has a fast paced guitar attack that embraces the band’s metal influences. (They will come to embrace this metal sound more on their later albums). Along with 65days, GIAA are one of the few bands that put the rock in post rock. This isn’t your Mogwai sludge fest, this is breakneck stuff. You’d not mosh to it, but if you’re listening to it in your car, you will have to worry about speeding.
For me, the album highlight is Suicide by Star, one of the most wide screen pieces of music ever recorded. When it kicks off, when the pulsing double kick drums come in, they don’t pause, there’s no warning, it just goes for it. I have no idea how it’s never been used as a needle drop in a sci-fi film, this is crying out to be used in a space battle in something like the Expanse. Or something trippy, like the end of the Black Hole.
There’s been a few great post rock bands from Ireland but GIAA are the last band standing from the 2000’s and I’m pretty sure it’s down to the mix of great songwriting and stunning live shows. Twenty years later, All is Violent, All is Bright, still sounds as fresh as when I first heard it.
https://lynkify.in/album/all-is-violent-all-is-bright-2011-remastered-edition/V38xuGIT
The ways of exile 