Gus McArthur Watches, in Times of Conflict, from the Shadows; You Rock Out, from this Premiere, to Their Soaring EP

Gus is among us. 

Or, at least, so the California quartet Gus McArthur informs us. As their story goes, the man (the legend) appears in times of turmoil; sightings include the trenches during WWI, the skies above Britain in WWII and rumored appearances in Iraq and Afghanistan (no mention of the rise of nu metal. Hopefully he was behind the scenes scoffing at turntables). The metal/rock/neo-classical/etc. group that utilize the name of Gus channel him by wearing his mask, bringing his message to open-minded metalheads.

What? Hey, team dB was skeptical as well. Is that mask they reference soaked in peyote? How much does this have to do with the homeless guy behind the Seven Eleven that the band mentions on their Facebook?  How does all this add up to their Freddie-Mercury-meets-Faith-No-More-meets-renaissance-fair-meets-’80s-thrash-meets-lyrics-of-underground-hip-hop?. (No turntables were involved, as far as we know). We certainly have no explanation. The band offered the following:

Hysterics is a window on our times created to reflect the rising pitch of a strident world. Gus showed us the way, to listen intently and make the point that we have not changed and will not while the Hysterics take us down the same road over and over again. 

“I am the watcher, observing through an unknown lens, the ravings of the Hysterics.” – Gus McArthur from The Book Of Gus, Chapter 1, Hysterics

Perhaps not quite the answer anyone was looking for. Whatever. Stream Chapter 1: Hysterics From The Book Of Gus below, which fortunately (or unfortunately?) ties a lot of this together. The closing track, “Final Prayer,” in particular dons the aforementioned mask of Gus to bring together the myriad elements influencing the band, forming a powerful, cohesive and enjoyable whole. 

Pre-order the self-released debut EP here (out 7/22), and keep up with the band via their homepage, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.