GIO EPK

GIO RELEASES DEBUT ALBUM "THE GEOMETRY OF RUIN"

Albany, Georgia - May 22, 2026 - GIO, the goth rock project of Blake Carpenter, releases the concept album "The Geometry of Ruin" via Morella Records on World Goth Day. Following the February 2026 single "Vex Velour" and the foundational 1988 track "Hate Love," the album marks GIO's first full-length statement and the culmination of decades of solo songwriting channeled through an immortal character's perspective. Lead single "Black Sun Rising" preceded the album on April 24, 2026.

"The Geometry of Ruin is an immortal's chronicle of modern civilization's collapse. Giordano Paulo Orsini was born in 1458, raised in Renaissance Florence, and has witnessed empires rise and fall for over five centuries. He knows the pattern. He knows what comes next. This album maps the architecture of societal ruin through his eyes: perfect systems fracturing, truth shattered by misinformation, humanity dissolving into circuitry, nature falling silent, authoritarian ascent, and finally rebirth from devastation. I've been writing these songs for years, but the character of GIO gave them the context they needed. This is not background music. This is prophecy delivered with centuries of authority." - Blake Carpenter / GIO

"The Geometry of Ruin" spans 78 minutes across twelve tracks, structured as a complete artistic statement examining modern collapse from multiple angles. The sound channels anthemic darkwave in the tradition of The Mission and The Cult, sweeping minor-key melodies over cold pulsing rhythms and atmospheric guitars. Thematically, the album moves from "The Architect's Dream" (systems built too perfectly to survive) through digital dissolution, consumer culture gorging on illusions, economic collapse, environmental silence, and the rise of authoritarian power in "Black Sun Rising," before arriving at the reckoning in "Ashes of Tomorrow" and rebirth in "Children of the Ember."

The project emerged from Blake Carpenter's SCA persona Giordano Paulo Orsini, rooted in his actual Orsini family ancestry through his grandmother. GIO exists as both fictional character and vessel for exploring themes of loss, observation, and the cyclical nature of civilization's self-destruction across deep time.

TRACKLIST:

1. The Architect's Dream (5:34)
2. Neon Dust (6:10)
3. The Tower and the Mirror (6:56)
4. Crown of Wires (6:20)
5. Static Saints (5:32)
6. The Quiet Machine (7:33)
7. The Feast of Ghosts (8:52)
8. Paper Kingdoms (7:02)
9. The Orchard Sleeps (7:20)
10. Black Sun Rising (4:52)
11. Ashes of Tomorrow (6:36)
12. Children of the Ember (5:04)

Total Runtime: 77:53

"The Geometry of Ruin" is available digitally via Bandcamp and streaming on all major platforms May 22, 2026. Recorded at Dragon's Blood Studios (Retromatic Studios). Produced and mastered by Blake Carpenter.

For fans of: The Sisters of Mercy, The Mission, The Cult, Bauhaus, Nick Cave

GIO

GIO is the artistic creation of Blake Carpenter, founder of Georgia-based independent label Morella Records. The project centers on Giordano Paulo Orsini, a fictional immortal character born in 1458 in Renaissance-era Umbria, used as a narrative lens to examine modern society through the eyes of someone who has witnessed five centuries of civilization's rise and fall.

Raised in Florence during the Renaissance, the character traveled East and returned mysteriously unchanged, drifting through European history as poet, musician, and observer. From Victorian occult salons to the birth of post-punk, GIO has moved through every era that shaped gothic music's DNA, making him the perfect vessel to deliver darkwave prophecy with centuries of weight behind it.

Musically, GIO channels classic goth rock and post-punk: Sisters of Mercy's cynicism meets The Cult's anthemic sweep, filtered through The Cure's atmospheric melancholy and contemporary production. The result is darkwave that carries the authority of an eternal witness documenting patterns that repeat across history.

After early singles in 2021 and "Hate Love" (2025), GIO emerges fully formed with "Vex Velour" (February 2026), a Sisters-influenced goth rock statement—followed by The Geometry of Ruin (May 22, 2026, World Goth Day), a 78-minute concept album chronicling modern collapse through an immortal's perspective.

Through GIO, Carpenter explores authoritarian cycles, technological dissolution, environmental neglect, and humanity's resilience, themes the character has witnessed repeat across empires. The immortal speaks. The wheel turns. The testimony begins.

STREAMING PLATFORMS

Bandcamp: 
https://giop.bandcamp.com/

Spotify: 
https://morella.short.gy/bLpBwe

Apple Music: 
https://morella.short.gy/XpYO3g

Amazon Music: https://morella.short.gy/hmQESN

Tidal: 
https://tidal.com/artist/76143835

SOCIAL MEDIA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giogoth1458/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61584574481875

Bluesky: 
https://bsky.app/profile/giogoth1458.bsky.social

TikTok: 
https://www.tiktok.com/@gio1458gio

VIDEOS

YouTube Channel: 
https://www.youtube.com/@GIO-GOTH

Individual video links can be added here as they become available.

LABEL

Morella Records Website: morellarecords.com

Morella Records Instagram: instagram.com/morellarecords

Morella Records Bandcamp: morellarecords.bandcamp.com

CONTACT:

Media: info@morellarecords.com

Band: gio@gio.morellarecords.com