GIGAN
The brainchild of left handed lead guitarist and founding member Eric Hersemann, GIGAN has been challenging the mortal laws of extreme music and creativity since early 2006. Forged around the simple notion that the imagination should be art's only limit, GIGAN's style of creative delivery has simultaneously invoked reactions of amazement, disbelief, shock, awe and ultimately- respect.
GIGAN's first official release was in January 2007 under the guise of the "Footsteps of GIGAN" ep. While originally recorded with the purpose of being a simple demo only, independent record label Index Entertainment thought so much of the recording that they signed GIGAN and released "Foosteps of GIGAN" upon the unsuspecting masses. "Footsteps..." captured the attentions of several major music magazines and websites that felt GIGAN was a force to be reckoned with and a new voice for a starving extreme music scene fraught with regurgitations and well marketed, "logo metal". Regional headlining shows and opening slots for other national acts followed while Eric began completing the music and lyrics for what would eventually be GIGAN's first full length album: "The Order of the False Eye".
Shortly after the release of "Footsteps..." Napalm Records approached GIGAN with the intent of releasing whatever the band did next. Contracts were signed and GIGAN was added to the Napalm Records roster of international heavy metal bands. Napalm knew GIGAN was on the forefront of extreme music, but had no idea what to expect from this new beast of theirs...
November 2007 saw GIGAN headed to Semaphore studios; in Eric's hometown of Chicago, IL, to work with longtime friend and ally Sanford Parker. Parker has been at the helm for several of modern metal's new masterpieces, and that expertise along with his history with Eric proved to be a excellent fit for the band. "The Order of the False Eye" became an incredible musical journey that saw the GIGAN sound expanding to fit a growing universe of detail and imagination. Combining elements of extreme metal, jazz, progressive and experimental industrial sounds with solid song structures and tinges of psychedelia-"The Order of the False Eye" was a veritable feast; and people responded to it with ravenous positivity!
"The Order of the False Eye" was released in July of 2008 and the media attention was prevalent and overwhelmingly positive. Thanks in part to the hard work of Napalm Records, "The Order of the False Eye" was featured prominently in nearly every relevent music print magazine and website through both interviews with Eric and record reviews. Worldwide interest and curiosity saw GIGAN receiving positive attention from everywhere. Decibel Magazine questioned: "has a new king returned to claim the extreme metal dementia throne?". Alternative Press magazine (AP) even featured GIGAN in their "100 bands you need to know" list(a huge feat considering that mag's readership)! All that positive energy within the media and internet sparked a huge amount of touring opportunities for GIGAN...
2008-2010 saw GIGAN touring relentlessly in support of "The Order of the False Eye" with several high profile tours and over one hundred-plus shows. GIGAN has toured and shared the stage with Cattle Decapitation, Vital Remains, Misery Index, Psyopus, Lightning Swords of Death, Valdur, Book of Black Earth, SWWAATS, Threat Signal, Lecherous Nocturne, The Destro, Bleed The Sky, Enfold Darkness, Intronaut, Mouth of the Architect, Minsk, Zoroaster, Goatwhore and more!
Early 2010 saw Eric beginning to finish off the first songs for GIGAN's forthcoming second opus..."Quasi-Hallucinogenic Sonic Landscapes". Tapping the legendary extreme metal label Willowtip records for the worldwide release of "Quasi-Hallucinogenic Sonic Landscapes", GIGAN will certainly be busy supporting what will be soon be the current pinnacle of the GIGAN musical movement. GIGAN will once again return to Semaphore studios and Sanford Parker to record this new monster. Song titles like "Mountains Perched Like Beasts Awaiting the Attack" and "Suspended in Cubes of Torment" suggest that the concepts on this album are reaching further and further into the GIGAN Universe. This release will also be the first time GIGAN's music will be formatted to vinyl lp's as well as cd's! Thus, finally allowing the listener to fully appreciate the nuances of the GIGAN Universe! Featuring the same boundary-pushing extremity but also some new elements, instruments and approaches to delivery, "Quasi-Hallucinogenic Sonic Landscapes" will surprise and delight both new and original GIGAN devotees...and the legacy continues...