Gemini Syndrome have set themselves up for the conclusion of their three-album arc, which thus far includes 2013’s Lux and 2016’s Memento Mori. While that third album has yet to be titled, the band has released three singles in as many months: “Reintegration,” “IDK,” and now “Die With Me.”
While the band has played with religious themes and iconography in past songs and albums, the video for “Die With Me,” directed by Brian Cox, leans into these themes heavily, with altars, candles, hooded figures, and sacred texts serving as the A-line of the video to the band performance B-line. The bridge of the song features a callback to “Pleasure and Pain,” one of the strongest offerings from Lux, and a persistent chant-along “whoa” that needs to get a reaction come time for live shows again.
On the use of the number 23, in the line “you and me equals 23,” vocalist Aaron Nordstrom had this to say:
“23, Shakespeare, The divine wedding of yin and yang… ‘Die With Me’ is an invitation for the listener to come along on the journey of self-discovery with us, which ultimately leads to the death of the lower self and the resurrection of the higher self. Lao Tzu said, ‘The one created the two, the two created the three, and then came the 10,000 things.’ 2 and 3 respectively correspond to the male and female energies. 2 being a single line and 3 being a triangle or vessel. Therefore 23 signifies the merging of the seemingly opposite energies of male and female.”
Drummer Brian Steele Medina adds to the conversation, noting:
“In our life we have many deaths, and many reincarnations, and these experiences transform us into a more complete version of our true self… Though while we’re going through it, it’s often uncomfortable, painful, and we tend to avoid these spiritual growth spurts because we’re more comfortable sitting in our pain and shit, than walking through it. So, after we’ve walked through enough of these challenges, we might seek out that person, or tribe whose combined experience could help each other traverse that path to transmutation.”
Sonically, the track has a very 2000s alt-metal vibe, in the vein of Breaking Benjamin or later-era Mudvayne. The guitar and bass tones are low and nasty, but the whole production has a smooth, sharp sound that makes for a beautiful sludge. No punches are pulled on “Die With Me,” and it may be the strongest of the three singles from the as-yet-unnamed new album.
Purchase the single here, and check out the music video for “Die With Me” below:
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