Final Gasp

“There’s a lot of music out today that seems soulless. I can’t connect with it. But everyone seems to think almost every band is ‘good.’ Are they? They don’t seem like they’re talking about anything.” That’s FINAL GASP vocalist and guitarist Jake Murphy talking about a problem that his own band definitely doesn’t have. On their debut full-length, Mourning Moon, the Boston-based death rock dealers take on the weightiest of topics. “The whole record has to do with loss,” Murphy explains. “The title comes from that anxious feeling you have when you go to bed and you’re thinking about everything all at once. You’re regretting decisions you’ve made—or didn’t make—and you’re up all night thinking about it.”

A harrowing journey through all things Hardcore, Metal, and Goth, Mourning Moon drags the listener through the dark in 12 thrilling tracks, and drives a stake right into the heart of 2023’s most compelling releases. The foundation for Mourning Moon was built by two EPs—2019’s Baptism of Desire and 2021’s Haunting Whisper—both of which were born in the November-coming-fire of Glenn Danzig’s death rock legacy. In fact, Murphy and his bandmates—drummer Eric Lester, synth player Alex Consentino (a.k.a. dungeon synth overlord Ozeregroth), bassist Sean Rose, and guitar player James Forsythe—earned a reputation for drenching themselves in fake blood onstage.

“We’re obviously very influenced by Samhain,” Murphy acknowledges. “It really comes through on our earlier records, and it was fucking fun. It’s still fun. But with this album, we were just writing what felt right. There’re tons of different influences, like Killing Joke and Die Kreuzen, even Echo & The Bunnymen and SSD. But we’re not really thinking about other bands. We feel like we’ve tapped into something that’s our own.” Opener “Climax Infinity” sets the tone for what’s to come: the undeniable hardcore swagger of the Boston-based band is immediate as drums and guitars stomp and riff against one another, while Murphy howls – “watch as the way it falls, your loss of control, from whispered incantations, burnt down for your invocation!” Elsewhere, the hook-laden title track explodes out of the underground and aims straight for the stars. Lead single “Mourning Moon” is downright catchy. A song professing eternal love through a lens clad in black and morbid as ever, “Mourning Moon” somehow drips in melancholy while being propelled forward by a cavernous beat.

FINAL GASP recorded Mourning Moon in Philadelphia with famed producer Arthur Rizk (Ghostmane, Cavalera Conspiracy, Poison Ruin). “Eric and I took a bus at three in the morning from Boston to Philly and got there at like 8am,” Murphy recalls. “We basically tracked right off the bat. It was kind of a challenge to see if we could even get it done. But we did, and we love how it sounds. We’re all really proud of it.” Mourning Moon proves to be one of the most inventive journeys this side of the genre in recent times- now, FINAL GASP are ready to emerge from the shadows, and step into the forefront of extreme music’s new guard.