The Spirit That Guides Us

INNOCENT BLOOD – the fourth full-length studio album by the spirit that guides us- will see the light of day on the 3rd of october, 2011. what you will find in your hands reflects a world of impressions that does not wash off easily – a world of injustice, oppression and modern slavery.

as you probably know, the spirit that guides us was never about the band or the band members but always about something bigger. INNOCENT BLOOD testifies to a unity of purpose that is matched only by our urge to get it out. the last couple of years the band (consisting of mostly the same members for many years now) literally got sick of so much injustice and evil that goes around in this world. tstgu wanted to make a change, shake the listener up and shout out for those whose voices have been silenced – from young boy soldiers in liberia to little girl prostitutes in asia. tstgu wants to shout out for change and proclaim to every self-exalting oppressor that justice will rise and hunt them down.

musically, a change was on, too. the band wanted to bring back the noisy shoegazer sound of 'the sand, the barrier', retain the catchiness of 'north and south' but make it as brutal as 'don't shoot, let us burn'. the result is the ultimate mixture of shoegazer and hardcore, called 'hardgazer' – the synthesis of all that was implicit in tstgu before. no compromise but all elements sharpened into full focus – from the heart-wrenching whispers of loss in 'rip out your heart' to the scorched earth hardcore of 'third world war', with the hardcore grunting more prominent than ever. in between, you will find in your hands a collection of brutal riffs, true shoegazer-like wall’s of sound, killer choruses and an over-the-top mix (by martijn groeneveld of mailmen). the album as a whole sounds as urgent and massive as its message – light shines in the darkest places.

like before, the first 1000 copies come as a limited editions all jewel-cases and are all covered with (fake-) blood (added by the bandmembers), and the first 50 come in a bloodred tray to remind the buyer of the fact that no one goes free. though by buying this album one does start to make a difference as the band donates to organizations such as 'stop the traffik', 'international justice mission' and one organization we cannot name as revealing their identity might endanger their valuable work in asia. a portion of all the proceedings will go directly to these organizations, as will all the money made on legal downloads in the first few months before the release (more exact information can be found at www.tstgu.com).

until the release tstgu will use their social media sites intensively as the band will upload short films by the different organizations, a making-off INNOCENT BLOOD and the band’s first video. In the fall of this year, tstgu will do an album promotion tour through the netherlands, belgium and germany.