Review Fix Exclusive: Gnostic Gorilla’s Dean Mason Talks Goals for 2019 And More

February 28, 2019 Patrick Hickey Jr. Music 1

BReview Fix chats with Gnostic Gorilla’s Dean Mason, who discusses his influences, goals and scaring people with his music.

Review Fix: How did the project start?

Dean Mason: Before â€œGnostic Gorilla” there was â€œThe Lonely Ghost Project”. Dean Mason first recorded a single way back titled â€œDark Hallway” with â€œGolgotha” as the B-Side. I (Dean Mason) eventually began experimenting with more electronic/industrial music and eventually named the project â€œGnostic Gorilla” because there was band named â€œThe Lonely Ghost Parade”and I did not want there to be any confusion, even though â€œThe Lonely Ghost Project”has existed for years. One of my songs, which is now titled â€œEye for a Lie” was called Gnostic Gorilla and so decided to go with that.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Mason: I began usually with either beats of riffs or synth sounds. I usually have a vague idea what kind of song I want to do, but often, after adding layers of sounds and FX and atmosphere the track comes alive in it’s own unique way. Then when all the music is finished, I write lyrics and record vocals. After that I do the final mix. Believe it or not, I find that last part of the process most difficult because matching a vocal style with the music is not always easy and it’s also quite tricky mixing the vocals. Frustrating actually.  I am not an engineer so I can only do my best.

Review Fix: What’s your standout song? How was it written?

Mason: Oh man. One of my favourite tracks is â€œWomb to the Tomb.” It has a classic rock feel (sort of like Morrison/Doors) mixed with a kick ass industrial sound. That said, I think â€˜Winter’s Mourning is one of the best songs I’ve done and that’s for personal reasons.

Review Fix: What are your goals for 2019?

Mason: I want to continue promoting â€œSt. Basil’s Asylum” with Cleopatra Records while at the same time promoting other releases. I plan on doing some work with other artists.

Review Fix: How do you want your music to affect people?

Mason: I want my music to scare the absolute shit out of people. Hahahahahahaha.  Just kidding. I hope my stuff  inspires people to escape while at the same time pondering some of the deeper questions.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Mason: Really don’t know. I think it is best to leave it at that. I just don’t know. One day at a time man.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13858 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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