Godsticks

Godsticks are a progressive rock group from Cardiff, United Kingdom. The band forms in 2006 and is active from 2006 to the present. The current members are Darran Charles, Dan Nelson and Steve Roberts.

Style and development

The band develops a reputation for a distinctive sound that sits within progressive rock while also drawing on pop, heavier rock and metal influences. They describe themselves as a progressive rock/pop act and are often difficult to categorise. Their music grows from a wish to write the kind of arrangements they want to hear but do not find in the music that influences them.

After the band begins writing and refining its approach, it releases a self-titled EP at the beginning of 2009. That release receives strong reviews and is often described as imaginative and original. In July 2010 the band issues its debut album, Spiral Vendetta, after nearly two years of writing and recording. The album is widely praised for combining technical ability, emotion, musicality and concise songwriting.

Recordings and live work

On the strength of Spiral Vendetta, Godsticks secure worldwide distribution and undertake short tours and festival appearances. They support acts including The Pineapple Thief. In March 2012 they support The Aristocrats, featuring Guthrie Govan, on a five-date UK tour, which brings them to a wider audience.

After that tour, the band records The Envisage Conundrum, its second studio album. The album contains 12 new tracks and reflects the effect of recent live work on the writing. The material is heavier and more guitar-driven than before, while still retaining the band’s focus on originality and a broader range of musical ideas.