They may have named themselves after one of Spiderman's old flames, but there's nothing cartoonish about Gwen Stacy.
The Indianapolis experimental Christian metalcore band write serious, tumultuous tunes about inspiration and salvation, but with enough angst and volume to appeal to fans of secular metal. Sinners and saints alike will be able to judge the band's merits when it drops its full-length debut, The Life I Know, on February 5.
"It's a really, really passionate album," drummer T.J. Sego told MTVnews.com's Metal File. "There are entire songs in there that just flat-out explain my life. This album is our hearts on tape. We love to play and hang with our fans, and we love our Lord and Savior, and that's basically what the album is all about." Of course, as with most bands of faith -- from Underoath to Demon Hunter -- Gwen Stacy have taken flack for being so outspoken about their religious beliefs. And while they strive to appeal to believers and nonbelievers alike, they harbor no ill feelings about those who judge them not for their music, but for their beliefs.
"We have a little 15-second thing that we throw into our set each night, which lets kids know our stance — that we play because we love Jesus," explained Sego. "But we're not about to judge them if they don't believe the same thing. We make sure that kids know that we're not there to ram our beliefs down their throats. We have our beliefs, and anyone who wants to know about them, we are more than prepared to share what we believe, but we won't look down at them if they don't."
The gospel of Gwen Stacy will likely become more clear when they drop The Life I Know, on February 5 and the band will elucidate their message on a tour with Haste the Day, Scary Kids Scaring Kids and Drop Dead Gorgeous, which runs through February 17 in Gwen's home town.
For the complete interview with Gwen Stacy and more metal than you can fit in a really large garbage bin, check out this week's Metal File.
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