(1) Attrition are pioneers in a darker electronica. Formed in 1980 in Coven… Read Full Bio ↴(1) Attrition are pioneers in a darker electronica. Formed in 1980 in Coventry, England
(2) Attrition was also a short lived US Hardcore band from Washington DC
(3) Attrition is also a Canadian war metal band formed in 2017.

1. Attrition are pioneers in a darker electronica. Formed in 1980 in Coventry, England, influenced by a mix of punk ideology and experimental art aesthetics, they emerged as part of the early '80's UK Industrial scene alongside contemporaries Coil, Test Department, Legendary Pink Dots, In The Nursery, Portion Control et al.
Founder Martin Bowes has steered the band through a 25 year career, fueled by a succession of critically acclaimed albums...
The band has regularly toured Europe, North America and Mexico, appeared at major festivals and had their music included on a number of film soundtracks.... (most recently two of their songs are included on the US cult film “Mint in box” alongside the Pogues…)
Through their career Attrition have worked with musicians as diverse as psychedelic veterans The Legendary Pink Dot’s to punk legend TV Smith to Franck Dematteis of the Paris Opera.

Attrition’s music has featured on countless releases - from 1984’s “Bullshit detector” on Crass records to the hugely successful “Animal liberation” album alongside Siouxsie & the Banshees, The Smiths, Nina Hagen & Lene Lovich etc…
Recently their song “Acid Tongue” featured on KTEL’s Industrial story CD - a who’s who of industrial music with Cabaret Voltaire, Throbbing Gristle, Ministry, Nitzer Ebb, Neubauten et al…
In Germany Orkus magazine’s Best of the 90’s collection featured their darkwave classic “A girl called harmony”…
Attrition’s work been remixed by underground artists from an eclectic mix of genres including Chris n Cosey, Martin Atkins, Dance or Die and UK drum n bass act Rascal & Klone…(featured on the first Grand Theft Auto game soundtrack..)
Martin’s increasing studio production work has included mixes for The Damage Manual (Martin Atkins, Jah Wobble, Geordie Walker, Chris Connelly et al…), Die Form, In the Nursery, Black tape for a blue girl, Emilie Autumn and more…
He has contributed a song for the new Pigface album and is recording the narrators voice to an upcoming US horror film, “C for Chaos”…
2012... Invocation is the bands first full length film score...composed for US cult horror movie G.H.O.S.T.
2013... The Unraveller of Angels is the all new album...

(2) Attrition was also a short lived US Hardcore band from Washington DC

2. They existed from January 2005 - May 2007 and played a progressive style of emotionally charged, metallic hardcore influenced equally by screamo bands such as pg. 99 and Majority Rule, noisecore bands such as Converge and Botch, and more straight-forward hardcore bands. Their lyrical content approached issues such as anarchism, feminism, straightedge and veganism (an interesting similarity to their UK counterpart), but from a personal, anecdotal perspective, focusing more on alienation and frustration than on prescriptive politics. They toured the US once (partially with North Carolina crust band Requiem) and the East Coast once with Philadelphia vegan straightedge hardcore band Kingdom and self-released two CDEP's named, respectively, "Preface" and "Chapter One: We Are Fucking Serious". "Purist", from the second EP, was featured on "Open The Cages: SHAC 7 Benefit" on Catalyst Records and the previously unreleased "No Control" appeared only on "Keep Singing", an animal-rights benefit CD released by Exotic Fever Records. Their entire discography is available for free download at attrition.dead-city.org/.

The Head of Gabriel
Attrition Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Bring on your acolytes
Pre-madonna sybarites
I sacked the shamanite
- give me Gabriel's head
- give me Gabriel's head

on a dit
Donnez-moi

La tete de Gabrielle

I met the suffer-gent
Pre-medicated diplomat
Disturbed insomniac
- give me Gabriel's head
- give me Gabriel's head

il a dit
Emportez
L'Ã¢me de Gabrielle

Outsold the sacrifice!
Re-dedicated autocrat
Saturated serpent's eye
- give me Gabriel's head
- give me Gabriel's head

tu a dit

Apportez-moi
La vie de Gabrielle

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Attrition's song "The Head of Gabriel" seem to be a commentary on humanity's obsession with power, control, and manipulation. The repeated phrase "give me Gabriel's head" is a metaphorical request for the power and knowledge of those who hold the keys to societal control. The mention of "acolytes" and "pre-madonna sybarites" suggests that these are people who are vying for power but are not necessarily worthy of it, while the "suffer-gent" and "pre-medicated diplomat" are more calculated and dangerous in their pursuit of power. The line "Outsold the sacrifice!" seems to speak to the idea that anything can be bought and sold, even the sacred, and that those who hold the keys to power will do whatever it takes to maintain their control.

Line by Line Meaning

Bring on your acolytes
Bring all your followers and supporters

Pre-madonna sybarites
People who are overly demanding and seeking pleasure and comfort without worshipping anyone

I sacked the shamanite
I defeated the spiritual guide

- give me Gabriel's head
I want Gabriel's head

I met the suffer-gent
I encountered a person who endures pain in a proper and gentlemanly manner

Pre-medicated diplomat
A diplomat who is drugged in advance to control emotions or reactions

Disturbed insomniac
A person with mental disorders who has trouble sleeping and staying asleep

- give me Gabriel's head
I want Gabriel's head

Outsold the sacrifice!
Sacrificial offering was beaten by something else

Re-dedicated autocrat
A ruler who reaffirmed power with great force

Saturated serpent's eye
Snake's eye that is full of poison