GEL pack not a punch, but an entire fist fight into their short, five-song EP Persona. All of the qualities present on the band’s revered 2023 album, Only Constant, reappear on Persona in an even more realized and raucous way. Their hardcore sound is steadfast with unrestrained vocals, gritty guitar distortion, and drums that expand any room tenfold, while new facets of their sound are exposed as they blaze trails towards a fully realized version of themselves.
“Mirage” opens up the EP with a riff packed with melodic aggression and vocalist Sami Kaiser’s familiarly unrestrained vocals. From the jump, the track displays the expansiveness of GEL’s sound with the addition of guitarist Anthony Webster on vocals and a slowed bridge that is only the first example of the variety of song structure and vocal styles on the release.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCeggU_uzSM
“Shame” follows with an even more melodic riff than the last, which pairs well with the production by Jon Markson that allows each musical element to shine through amidst the grit and intensity that we come to GEL to find. “Persona” underscores Kaiser’s ability to play around with other vocal styles, as their brash vocals take a more pointed and intentional tone and then quickly expose a more vulnerable and soft side on the bridge in the song that follows, “Martyr.”
The final track, “Vanity,” encapsulates the culmination of growth, both musically and artistically, that the band underwent while making Persona. At the end of the EP, it feels like a lifetime has passed. A lifetime where GEL went from being the up and coming hardcore band from New Jersey to the coolest band in the fucking world. On Persona, the band comes into their own as they make a triumphant next step in their ever evolving and exhilarating trajectory.
Buy and stream Persona here.
