Galás is known for being a fiercely confrontational avant-garde performer and is noted for her wailing, four-octave vocal range. Galás was the daughter of Greek Orthodox parents and her singing was roundly discouraged, although her prowess as a classical pianist was nurtured; ultimately, her strict upbringing resulted in a reckless, drug-fueled youth prior to her entrance into the University of California's music and visual arts program. Galás made her performing debut in 1979 at France's Festival d'Avignon, which led to an invitation to assume the lead role in composer Vinko Globokar's politically charged opera Un Jour Comme un Autre. In subsequent solo performance art pieces like Wild Women with Steak Knives and Tragouthia Apo to Aima Exon Fonos, Galás further honed her unique, shattering vocal style, inspired by the Schrei ("shriek") opera of German expressionism (a form employing a system of four microphones and a series of echoes and delays).
She worked with many avant-garde composers including Phillip Glass, Terry Riley, John Zorn, Iannis Xenakis and Vinko Globokar. She made her performance debut at the Festival d'Avignon in France as the lead in Globokar's opera, Un Jour Comme Une Autre which deals with the death by torture of a Turkish woman. The work was sponsored by Amnesty International. She also contributed her voice to Francis Ford Coppola's film Dracula (1992) and appeared on the film's soundtrack.
Her work first garnered widespread attention with the controversial 1991 live recording of the album "Plague Mass" in the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York. With it, Galás attacked the Catholic Church for its indifference to AIDS using biblical texts. In the words of Terrorizor Magazine, "The church was made to burn with sound, not fire." Plague Mass was a live rendition of excerpts from her same-titled trilogy which began as a response/homage/indictment to the multitudinous effects of AIDS upon the silent class - of which her brother was a member. During the period of these recordings, Galás had "We are all HIV+" tattooed upon her knuckles; an artistic expression of disillusionment and disgust with the ignorance and apathy surrounding the AIDS epidemic. Her brother, who died during the trilogy's final production, reportedly appreciated her efforts.
Susan McClary (1991) writes that Galás, "heralds a new moment in the history of musical representation," after describing her thus: "Galás emerged within the post-modern performance art scene in the seventies...protesting...the treatment of victims of the junta, attitudes towards victims of AIDS...Her pieces are constructed from the ululation of traditional Mediterranean keening...whispers, shrieks, and moans."
In 1994, Galás collaborated with Led Zeppelin bass guitarist John Paul Jones. The resultant record, "The Sporting Life", while containing much of Galás's trademark vocal gymnastics, is probably the closest she has ever come to rock music.
Galás also performs as a blues artist interpreting a wide range of songs into her unique piano and vocal styles. This aspect of her work is perhaps best represented by her 1992 album, "The Singer" where she covered the likes of Willie Dixon, Roy Acuff, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins while accompaning herself on piano. For that album, she also recorded several traditional songs as well as the rarely heard Desmond Carter-penned version of Gloomy Sunday. Many of her selections both within and outside of blues repertoire have sometimes been categorized as 'homicidal love songs'. She also focuses on the death penalty. One program of songs, "Frenzy", has been dedicated to Aileen Wuornos and features the work of Phil Ochs and Hank Williams Sr.
Her latest song cycle is an interpretation of songs by Edith Piaf and Marlene Dietrich.
Official Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/songsofexile
Judgement Day
Diamanda Galás Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dead souls rising
hear our crying
to the Jailers of the Dying,
You shall hang on Judgment Day.
On that Day
Wandering flesh shall all surround thee
To seal your fate on Judgment Day.
Let us call the guilty forward
Hang the sinner, Brand the coward
Let them burn on Judgment Day.
Run, you liars
Fate awaits thee
When your Faces shall expose thee
None can hide on Judgment Day.
Join the Paradise of Torture
While we pluck your tongues of murder
Hear our laughter Judgment Day.
Blood of sinners
Hear our shrieking
Blood of sinners all beseeching;
We shall drink you Judgment Day.
AMAN
AMAN
AMAN
AMAN
AMAN
AMAN
AMAN
AMAN
Join the Carnival of Feasting
While the worms your Flesh are waiting
Yes! We shall eat you Judgment Day.
Death defying
Let us gather
Praise the Warrior and Master
HAIL OUR SAINTS ON JUDGMENT DAY.
The lyrics to Diamanda Galás's song Judgement Day carry a solemn tone that invokes a sense of fear and trepidation. The song seems to be an invocation to the saints of New York City, living and dead, to rise and deliver judgment on the wicked. The song speaks of dead souls rising and crying out to the Jailers of the Dying, declaring that they shall hang on Judgment Day. The day in question is one where the dead shall wake, and wandering flesh shall surround the guilty, sealing their fate. The lyrics speak of calling the guilty forward, and hanging the sinner and branding the coward, setting them alight to burn on Judgment Day.
Additionally, the song speaks of liars trying to run, only to find that they cannot escape their fate. They will be exposed on Judgment Day, where none can hide. The Paradise of Torture will welcome them, and their tongues of murder will be plucked while the saints laugh. The blood of sinners will be heard shrieking and all beseeching, and the saints will drink them on Judgment Day. Finally, the song implores the dead to join the Carnival of Feasting, while the worms patiently wait for their flesh, which will be consumed by the gathered community.
Line by Line Meaning
Dead souls rising
The souls of the deceased are returning to the living world
hear our crying
Please listen to our lamentations
to the Jailers of the Dying,
This message is intended for the authority figures responsible for those who are sick
You shall hang on Judgment Day.
You will be punished on the day of reckoning
On that Day
When Judgment Day arrives
The Dead shall wake thee
The dead will rise to face judgment
Wandering flesh shall all surround thee
The wandering spirits and flesh of the living will encircle you
To seal your fate on Judgment Day.
This will finalize your destiny on the day of judgment
Let us call the guilty forward
Bring the wrongdoers to justice
Hang the sinner, Brand the coward
Punish the guilty with hanging and mark the coward with a brand
Let them burn on Judgment Day.
They will be tormented with fire on the day of judgment
Run, you liars
Liars should run away and hide
Fate awaits thee
Their destiny will soon catch up with them
When your Faces shall expose thee
Their true nature and guilt will be revealed
None can hide on Judgment Day.
No one can escape punishment on the day of judgment
Join the Paradise of Torture
Join the group that enjoys inflicting pain on sinners
While we pluck your tongues of murder
They will remove the tongues of murderers
Hear our laughter Judgment Day.
The group will enjoy their victory on the day of judgment
Blood of sinners
The blood of those who have sinned
Hear our shrieking
Hear the group's screams of joy and pain
Blood of sinners all beseeching;
The blood of sinners begging for mercy
We shall drink you Judgment Day.
The group will consume the sinners on the day of judgment
AMAN
A word meaning 'amen' or 'so be it'
Join the Carnival of Feasting
Join the group that enjoys eating the flesh of the dead
While the worms your Flesh are waiting
While the worms wait for their meal of flesh
Yes! We shall eat you Judgment Day.
The group will consume the sinners on the day of judgment
Death defying
Defying death and living forever
Let us gather
It's time to come together
Praise the Warrior and Master
Show reverence to the powerful and successful
HAIL OUR SAINTS ON JUDGMENT DAY.
The group honors their saints on the day of judgment
Contributed by Carter G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
J C P
Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau twins and Diamanda Galas are the most creative singers of the history. Both voices are pretty awesome. Their birthday is on the same day, 29th of August...coincidence?
5jerry1
Regrettably, I have only known of Diamanda Galas for a little over a year. But where I can understand someone not liking her, I find her performances enthralling, and I think her vocal ability is astonishing.
fullhousewilson
She is one of an elite & far between class of musicians who are sung by their songs. Almost as if they'd be performing whether they wanted to, or not. I've yet to hear her "calling it in" when she plays & sings. Very emotional, very mysterious.
Grow In 360°
fullhousewilson YES. I only saw that during a Bowie and two of her concerts. She can project her spirit.. hard to describe. She is fluent and utterly transparent when she performs.. she makes herself a vessel for the cosm. In a very focussed way. Thats why she was told by some African tribe that she would be a high level shaman there.
Theresa Karacsony
Absolutely amazing! Diamanda galas has the most beautiful vocal range of any female artist!
I do my healing work listening to her!
💕💕💕
Tres Hombres No Trumpets
I saw her this week in Ghent...; 23 year later than this recording... still relevant and impressive
Theresa Karacsony
You are absolutely lucky......💕💕💕
César
She's beyond gothic, dark, metal or anything. She's alone in a mountain. I bet she barely tolerates this hell we call Earth
Trembi Fartwell
Diamanda is such an inspiration. Not everything she does is fantastic, but she is unlike any other. Truely unique in her approach to music.
Eva Larsen
Wow... I'm blown away... This is amazing!