Handheld Demise by Gonemage
US Tapes on WereGnome Records (weregnomerecords.bandcamp.com/album/handheld-demise-wgr100)
EU Tapes on Xenoglossy Productions (xenoglossyproductions.bandcamp.com/album/handheld-demise)
VINYL preorder live on Fiadh Productions (fiadh.bandcamp.com/album/handheld-demise)
Handheld Demise is the third piece to a trilogy by Gonemage, following Sudden Deluge and Mystical Extraction.
Handheld Demise portrays Galimgim's brief reconnection with The Curator and a deeper look into the purgatory-like dream realm known as Delirium. 'Disdainful Stroke' begins with him finding her tending to this realm where lost souls have become stuck in their dreams, suffering recurring nightmares and completely unaware they are stuck. Despite his well-intentioned reunion, she quickly senses a profound change in him, disappointed that the mystical paintbrush has corrupted him with power. She attempts to retrieve the brush, but his grip and unwavering attachment has grown too strong. From this power struggle, she impetuously resorts to casting a banishing spell on him to focus on her mission in Delirium, wistfully knowing this may come back to haunt her.
The rest of Handheld Demise is inspired by old survival horror games, handheld RPGs, and what's known as a "monster of the week" format typically depicted in horror and sci-fi series. These songs are based on recurring nightmares that were submitted to me for adaptation, with some songs containing multiple nightmare sequences. Each one is adapted within the confinements of Delirium as manifestations while The Curator attempts to fight them off and subdue them in her bag of holding.
Meanwhile, Galimgim finds himself in a forgotten and neglected realm (for the next album) in Astral Corridors.
Tracklist
Credits
Galimgim - Guitars, Bass, Drums, Vocals, Synth, Sampling, Production, Cover Layout
Mastered by Angel Marcloid @ Angel Hair Audio
1-bit Pixel Art Cover by BlindCherub
All songs written & produced between December 2021 - February 2022.
Nightmare Sprites (Guests):
Alec A. Head - Backing clean vocals on 2, 3, 5, & 10. (ghostbound.bandcamp.com)
Armando Puente Jr. - Backing falsetto vocals on 1 & 12.
AV Kid - Backing clean vocals on 4.
B. Elkins - Backing low vocals on 4. (transylvaniantapes.bandcamp.com/album/an-evening-redness)
Bob Dzrunkel - Backing vocals on 1, 2, 3, 10, 11, 12, & 13.
Brendan Sloan - Backing vocals on 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 10. (altarsdeath.bandcamp.com)
Cameron Davis - Backing vocals on 5, 6, 9, & 10. (bluebedroomrecords.bandcamp.com)
claire.computer - Noise outro/outro lyrics on 7 & 9. (burntfeathers.bandcamp.com)
Cuticult - Chiptune composition/instruments on 8. (cuticult.bandcamp.com)
Danae Lelina - Lead chorus clean vocals on 6.
Dave Petersen - Bitcrushed/Digitized vocals on 2 &10. (hallucinogenicbulb.bandcamp.com)
Deedee - Backing vocals on 2 & 3. (mspainthattiesburg.bandcamp.com)
Déhà - Backing clean/harsh vocals on 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, & 11. (deha.bandcamp.com)
Espi - Backing vocals on 2, 5, 9, & 13. (bandcamp.com/espikvlt 18+ only)
Fire-Toolz - Backing vocals on 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, & 13. (fire-toolz.bandcamp.com)
G.E.F. - Backing low vocals on 2, 4, 9, & 10. (thecodontion.bandcamp.com)
Gene Hex - Backing clean and harsh vocals on 5 & 12. (eveningoflight.bandcamp.com/album/helical-birth)
Greg Kennelty - Ambient outro on 5, Ambient intro on 11 (chalkportraits.bandcamp.com)
Grotesque Misalignment - Backing vocals on 11. (grotesquemisalignment.bandcamp.com)
Ivan Belcic - Backing vocals on 2 & 13. (kosmogyr.bandcamp.com)
Jay Spurcăciune - Backing low vocals on 3. (coldbrats.bandcamp.com - vocals recorded/edited OsimetriC Music Productions)
John Kerr - Backing vocals on 1, 2, 3, & 4. Aux percussion on 3 & 4. (pyrithe.bandcamp.com)
Lorenzo Vincenzo - Lead falsetto vocals on 12.
Lunar Cult - Chiptune/DS Outro on 13. (lunarcult.bandcamp.com)
Matthew Giniat - Backing vocals on 2 & 10. (4th Time’s the Charm Podcast)
Melora Cayce - Backing vocals on 5 & 10. (woundlicker.bandcamp.com)
McMansion - Backing vocals on 4. (mcmansionnoise.bandcamp.com)
Michael Alan Prince III - Backing vocals on 1. (lorddealwithit)
Mirai Kawashima - Lead vocals on 4. (peaceville.bandcamp.com/album/shiki)
Misandr - Backing vocals on 3, 10, & 11. Noise intro on 13. (misandr.bandcamp.com)
Nicholas Hertzberg - Backing vocals on 1 & 10. (alloftheblood.bandcamp.com)
Ophelia Jocelyn - Lead/backing clean vocals on 2, 5, & 13. (opheliac.bandcamp.com/album/anthesis)
Rail/Slave - Intro/sampling on 9. (railslave.bandcamp.com)
Ria Wigley - Backing vocals on 12. (karnstein.bandcamp.com)
Rich Loren Balling - Backing/lead clean vocals on 2, 5, 6, & 7. (pyramids-hhr.bandcamp.com)
Ryan Harper - Backing vocals on 3 & 4. (tumultuousruin.bandcamp.com)
Saidan - Backing vocals on 1, 2, 5, & 11. (saidanusbm.bandcamp.com)
Sammy Gurule - Backing/lead shrieking vocals on 4, 5, & 13. (warrenofohms.bandcamp.com)
Sofia Schmidt - Clean choir vocals on 2, 10, & 13. (Ethereal Kingdoms)
Stilgar - Backing clean vocals on 2, 5, 6, & 12. (thecodontion.bandcamp.com)
Winterquilt - Chiptune outro on 2 & 11. (winterquilt.bandcamp.com)
Yin Shyen - Lead clean vocals on 7.
Zach Jenckes - Backing vocals on 1. (the-holloway-tape.bandcamp.com)
Zooey "Räudig" Klamma - Additional falsetto vocals on 1 & 11. (chainmailac.bandcamp.com)
Bonus PDF includes pixel art pieces made for each song.
"Gonemage is an exercise in contrast and contradiction: synthetic but organic, tangled in lore but immediately accessible, collaborative but the result of a singular vision, cerebral but punk, obscure but pop, collagic but of a whole. This tension results in some genuinely exciting music. Steeped in wonder, nostalgia, and emotion, Handheld Demise is a delightfully surreal, rollicking rabbit hole of a record." - Rob T. (No Clean Singing)
“Handheld Demise is yet another concentrated dose of the sort of chaotic madness that could only come from the mind of Garry Brents. It’s a blast to listen to and its multilayered, constantly morphing soundworld rewards multiple return trips to its hallucinatory 8-bit world.” - Kep. (Noobheavy)
