Artist description A mesmerizing collision of old-school Goth Rock and heavy club-influenced groove, the music of Bitter Grace is a deep, dark descent, riddled with a fierce array of haunting melodies, heavy guitars and floor-pounding beats that will move you. Blazing keyboards backed by textured soundscapes add a beautiful, hypnotic soulful electronica effect. Supported by a thunderous rhythm section, soul-rending vocals drip with equal amounts of passion and rage, while heart wrenching lyrics lead us back into that place which we all have come to fear. These key elements have kept Bitter Grace on the cutting-edge of the dark sound movement and have established them as one of the top "hard-liners" of the New York City music scene.

Music Style A mesmerizing aftermath of Old School Goth colliding with Heavy Club Influenced Groove.

Musical Influences Bowie, 80's wave, Doom, Goth, Club Synthpop

Similar Artists Bowie, Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, VNV, Psych Furs

Artist History Bitter Grace has shared the stage with many renowned artists, including Sunshine Blind, Black Tape for a Blue Girl, Gene Loves Jezebel, Otto's Daughter, Voltaire, Mors Syphilitica, Judith, Sofia Run, Bella Morte, cut.rate.box and Cruxshadows. Bitter Grace appears on Delinquent Records' compilations "The Pink And The Black", as well as "More Black Than Black" featuring nationally recognized artists. The band has performed at various venues throughout the Northeast and nationally, including well-known festivals such as Danse Macabre II (Boston) and Endless Nights (New Orleans). Bitter Grace's debut album entitled God And The Abyss, currently distributed by Delinquent Records, Middle Pillar Distribution, CD Baby, NightBreed Records (UK) and Fortuna, has sold worldwide to as far as China, England, Greece, England, Romania and Sweden. God And The Abyss spawned three club singles, "Precious", "Burning Kisses" and "Fever", all hitting top 10 on mp3.com's Darkwave Charts, and still heard at such NYC club nights as Albion Batcave, Alchemy, Contempt and Pyramid. A Deeper Kiss, the long awaited follow-up to God And The Abyss, is in production with a release date for Fall 2003. Pre-released tracks from A Deeper Kiss have already received club and internet radio play, including "Really Something", which has already hit #1 on the MP3.COM Darkwave Charts. Bitter Grace is intoxicating music that will bleed your soul.

Group Members Gustavo Lapis Ahumad, Vicki Aubin, & Chris Clarke

Instruments Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Live Drums, & ripping soundscapes

Press Reviews "..truly, ...God And the Abyss is one of the finest Goth releases around, whether major or independent". ...Delinquent "... Bitter Grace is amazing. Dark and powerful and not the least bit pretentious...Classic Gothic rock, but never derivative or overblown." ...Columbine - PHOENIX PRODUCTIONS "The excellent debut full length release from this underground NYC Goth act strikes an heavy emotional chord with old school guitar Goth charm." -- Hot Pick Of The Month, Oct - Dec 97 ... Middle Pillar Distribution " Rarely have I come across such passion and rage, kicking!" --Hot Pick Of The Month. Nov 97 - May 98. ...Fortuna Bitter Grace: "God and the Abyss" (distributed) - The perfect balance between hardrock & Goth!! Great!! Definitely Nancy's pick hit this month!! --Hot Pick Of The Month. Nov 97 - current. ... Delinquent Records ...And for the headlining act of the evening, 'Bitter Grace', I have only one think to say..."WOW!" I never expected after knowing them for so long that they would blow me away like they did. Lapis let his hair down (literally) and got down to business with hard hitting goth straight out of the old school. I haven't been this impressed with a band since, damn, well I don't know. But to make a jaded, pissed off New York City crowd drop everything and clear a space to start dancing in the middle of the room, is definitely impressive. Keep it goin guys! ...Goatlog " A really Good dark Album." ... Losing Today ...God And The Abyss 13 years in the making, with songs dating from 1985 to 1997, ...God And The Abyss is the first full-length disc from NYC's Bitter Grace. A powerful orchestration of guitar, drums, and keyboards, the band's sound is strongly reminiscent of such seminal Goth groups as Bauhaus and The Sisters of Mercy, though tinted at times with a harsher, punkier edge. Frontman Gustavo Lapis Ahumad's lyrics are the true cornerstone of this disc, and his verbal imagery drives the album forward. There's a fascinating obsession with binary opposition (beginning with the disc's cover design) and the cruelty of irony throughout, almost forming a leitmotif, and it's not an album to put on if you've something better to do than pay attention to the words; you'd be missing the point. These recurring themes are best exemplified in tracks like "Sane" ("Through the hate that binds us, Through the love that destroys..."), "Precious" ("Precious my sky you are the sane, And the one who holds the gun / You promise me ascension but You just keep dragging me down."), and "Ashes in the Rain" ("And every single day, I dare to remember, And every single night, I beg to forget..."). The military tongue-in-cheek on "Fever" is especially reminiscent of Andrew Eldritch's lyrics (this is a good thing), without being derivative, and the achingly gorgeous "Burning Kisses" deserves special mention. There's a lot of promise in ...God And The Abyss, and, hopefully, it won't be another thirteen years before the band's next release. ...Carpe Noctem God And The Abyss (Iconflux) Bitter Grace maraud around a similar musical wonderland as did Xian Death in their heyday - crashing guitars, catchy lyrics and more sex than you can shake your thing at - only Gustavo Lapis Ahamad's gang manage to do it in a slightly more tuneful, and less arty fashion. After the gentle introduction of the opening instrumental 'Beneath The Ocean Black', 'Special One' kicks things off at full pace and is almost Iggy-ish in it's urgency. 'Sane' continues the upward trajectory with a rapturous chorus, and excellent lyrics like: "She's gentle as a passing storm". Things are slowed down for the album's first ballad, 'Nothing Here', which excels thanks to the juxtaposed wah-wah guitar over the chorus and the steady building of the layers of guitars. There are a couple of near misses, 'Ashes In The Rain' is a bit limp and the vocals on 'Precious' sound a little hollow, but when you have storming tracks like 'The Very Last Good-bye' then you can afford to have weaker moments. The undisputed highlight of the album is 'Fever' which rampages over the same ground as 'Spiritual Cramp' with an energy all of its own, and is no less anthemic. The instrumental tracks may be nothing more than extended refrains from the other songs (for example 'Requiem' is just the harmony to 'Nothing Here'), but that doesn't really matter - because as soon as track 9 is under way you know that this is one album that you will come back to time and time again. "Fever, fever! Spit, spit love!" (PB) ...Deviation Bitter Grace God and the Abyss Iconflux, 1997 Old-school gothic rock that's centered around guitar, drums, and bass. Sometimes loud and mighty, and sometimes soft and somber--but always excellent. "Special One" and "Precious" are both standouts on this disc, as is the song "Burning Kisses." Some of you may be familiar with this song from the Delinquent Records compilation called "The Pink and the Black." The man behind Bitter Grace is Gustavo Lapis Ahumad and it's clear from the lyrics that this is his vision and a summary where he's been in life. His name may be long, but the description is still short: gothic rock at its finest. ...Dark Velvet This is a goth rock band that actually rocks and they do it better than most. There is energy in most of these songs combined with melody and catchy rhythms and beats. What I like about this band is that they are not trying to be weird or different to stand out, but instead just make good quality music that you will want to listen to. But as with most albums, not everything delivered here is great. Track one "Beneath The Ocean Black" is a dull, dreary and repetitive instrumental that I just am not able to sit through. The album really begins with track two "Special One". This song packs a powerful punch that you just can't resist. It's a guitar heavy goth rock song that is straight forward and structured with great male shouting. Track three "Sane" is a bit moodier, but still has a lot of energy to it with thrashy guitar riffs and deep male singing combined with female singing at times as well. Track four "Nothing Here" is a slower paced song with an orchestrated edge and dramatic male singing and beautiful female singing. Track five "Ashes In The Rain" is a rather basic song with the typical and traditional goth sound to it. It's well done, but a little too generic for me to really enjoy. Track six "Precious" is a straight forward rock song with a good melody and well delivered male vocals. Track seven "The Very Last Goodbye" is a slow and dreary song that basically puts me to sleep. I find it to be too mellow. Track eight "God And The Abyss" is just an ambient instrumental that I skip right past because it's so boring and seems like filler to me. Track nine "Fever" is a punk goth song packed with major energy, heavy rhythms and beats and shouting male vocals. Track ten "Burning Kisses" plays at a medium pace and has an orchestrated edge with beautiful keyboard melodies, acoustic guitar and passionate male singing. I would call it a love song and I feel that it's really well done. Track eleven "Requiem" is a dramatic and orchestrated instrumental that I myself find to be rather drab. This is a quality album that fans of old school goth music will really enjoy. I myself felt that a lot of the songs here had an 80's vibe to them that I just can't really get into these days. I am more into the current electro/industrial/goth crossover stuff myself. But as far as more standard and traditional goth rock music goes, this album has some of the best that I have heard in a while. I could have done without the boring instrumentals, but there are still enough good songs here to make this album worthy of purchase for gothic music fans out there. ...Wrapped in wire

Location New York City, NY - USA

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