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GIO, the gothic rock project of Georgia-based singer-songwriter Blake Carpenter, released the double A-side single “I Am Crying / Holy War” on 1 July 2026 through Morella Records, with streaming from 2 July. The single precedes the second album “Sanctified Hunger”, set for 17 July 2026 on the same label.

The release carries two tracks, “Holy War” and “I Am Crying”, written from opposing vantage points on religious violence. Carpenter describes them as “two perspectives on the same wound”: “Holy War” as the account of the project’s immortal narrator, and “I Am Crying” voiced from the position of the figure whose name recurs across centuries of conflict. Carpenter builds the songs on guitar-driven, atmospheric goth rock under Carpenter’s production.

GIO’s ‘I Am Crying / Holy War’ leads into ‘Sanctified Hunger’

The double A-side sets up “Sanctified Hunger”, a twelve-track concept album that Morella Records describes as taking an anti-religion position across a three-act structure. It follows the debut album “The Geometry of Ruin”, released on 22 May 2026, and arrives on digital, CD and Deluxe CD on 17 July 2026, with a pre-order on Bandcamp. Morella Records, the independent label Carpenter founded in Georgia, releases goth rock, deathrock, darkwave and post-punk; Side-Line recently covered label-mate Vampire Valentine set second single ‘Cutting Ties’ for July 10 on Morella Records.

About GIO

GIO is the project of Blake Carpenter, a singer, songwriter, musician and producer based in Georgia, USA, and the founder of Morella Records. The project is built around the fictional character Giordano Paulo Orsini, an immortal narrator used as a vessel for songs about systems of faith and civilizational cycles. Carpenter launched the project under the GIO name in November 2025, having previously worked in The Minstrel’s Ghost, Max Nova and Voice of the Enslaved.

The project issued four singles in late 2021 – “Fallen Angel”, “Dark Roads”, “Embrace the Darkness” and “Buried” – and returned with “Hate Love” on 3 October 2025. The first single of the Morella Records era, “Vex Velour”, followed on 27 February 2026, ahead of “Black Sun Rising” on 24 April 2026. The debut album “The Geometry of Ruin”, a twelve-track concept record produced and mastered by Carpenter, appeared on 22 May 2026. “I Am Crying / Holy War” is the lead double A-side from the follow-up album “Sanctified Hunger”, released on 1 July 2026.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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