Article By: Leanne Ridgeway
Born in Northwest Italy in 2003, GUNASH was formed out of an idea from guitarist, singer, and composer Ivano ‘Zor’ Zorgniotti and drummer, percussionist, and pianist Danilo Abaldo (aka Pannico).
They composed an original rock-alternative repertoire, with punk, metal, grunge, stoner, and prog-rock influences, with main inspiration sprouting from the ’90s Seattle Sound, but also Foo Fighters and Queens Of The Stone Age. The band’s name is a twist between Ganesh and the words ‘gun’ + ‘ash’, which have equal phonetics. A fusion between spirituality and the gloomy contradiction of the two terms, reveals a concept that contains its opposite.
In 2005, Gunash released a self-titled debut, featuring six original tracks and seven revisited covers of King Crimson, Nirvana, Placebo, and Jeff Buckley, among others. They collaborated with cellist Marco ‘Cactus’ Allocco, an orchestral player in several editions of Pavarotti & Friends. When the sophomore album was still a work in progress in 2012, the band started a new collaboration with musician and producer Rami Jaffee, keyboardist for Foo Fighters, founding member with Jakob Dylan of The Wallflowers, and winner of nine Grammy Awards with various musical projects. Jaffe recorded keyboards and Hammond B3 organ for several tracks at his Fonogenic Studios in Los Angeles. That second album also again featured cellist Marco Allocco.
GUNASH signed with dynamic Italian record label Go Down Records for the second album, entitled ‘Same Old Nightmare‘, released in May 2014. In the summer of 2016, the third album ‘Great Expectations‘ was recorded and then released in early 2017. Luca Negro then joined on as the new bass player of the threesome in 2018, and the new lineup toured internationally in support of their releases.
Fast forward to the second half of 2021, when the band entered Morphing Studio in Bologna, Italy, to record their fourth album. The upcoming release is called ‘All You Can Hit‘ and features the extraordinary participation of the legendary musician Derek Sherinian (formerly of Dream Theater, Billy Idol, Alice Cooper, and a founding member of Sons Of Apollo) on keyboards and piano, the vocals of stoner rock icon Nick Oliveri (ex-Queens Of The Stone Age, Kyuss, Mondo Generator), the cello of Marco Allocco (Pavarotti & Friends, The Berliner, Quintettango), and the harmonica of Tom Harp Newton.
Once again working with Go Down Records, GUNASH also signed with the label Golden Robot Entertainment Group for the digital edition of the album. Today we have a premiere of their new video single from the ‘All You Can Hit‘ album…. scroll down and open your ears to enjoy!
‘All You Can Hit‘ Tracklist:
SIDE A
01. Revenge
02. B.J. Quinn
03. The Sea Is Full Of Dreamscapes / The Kraken (feat. Derek Sherinian)
04. Emerald City
05. House Of Sand (A Bad Dream)
SIDE B
01. Winter Wind
02. Crimson Tentacles (feat. D. Sherinian)
03. The Graveyard-Keeper (feat. D. Sherinian)
04. Predators (feat. Nick Oliveri)
05. No More Promises (feat. D. Sherinian)
Bonus track: Predators — original version
The album title ‘All You Can Hit‘ is intended as an ironic joke against the trend of recent years in many restaurants, which GUNASH sees as one of the many examples of our society’s overwhelming and endless consumerism. The choice of showing pictures of inedible food explains the band’s statement on this matter. They want to send out a strong message with ‘EAT’ that turns into ‘HIT’, that is, hitting everyone’s conscience. The lyrics talk about relationships between people, the concept of ‘possessing’ someone else, and how difficult it is to keep our status as human beings, as well as the one of being humans.
With artwork by Ivano ‘Zor’ Zorgniotti and Ale Martone, the ‘All You Can Hit‘ album was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Fausto De Bellis at Muxland Studio and Morphing Studio in Bologna, Italy. Words, concept, and songwriting by Ivano Zorgniotti, and music by Gunash, the album features guest musicians Nick Oliveri (vocals on “Predators“), Marco Allocco (cello on “The Sea Is Full Of Dreamscapes / The Kraken”), Tom Harp Newton (harmonica on “No More Promises“), and Derek Sherinian on keyboards, synthesizers, acoustic piano on multiple tracks.
The band shared some insight into the new single:
“It’s the transcription of a dream, a perfect allegory about the necessary care to set up house with the beloved woman and about the troubles arising if the couple is not well-assorted.”
Check out the new single below via YouTube, then grab the upcoming ‘All You Can Hit‘ album from GUNASH at either Go Down Records (LP or CD) or Golden Robot Records (Digital). The album is due out on Friday, April 29th, 2022.
GUNASH:
Ivano ‘Zor’ Zorgniotti – Lead Vocals, Guitars
Danny Abaldo ‘Pannico’ – Drums, Percussion, Screams, Noises
Luca Negro – Bass, Backing Vocals
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