Megaphone angled at a swelling crowd, he already knows the answer:  a whole lot of them. Show after show, night after night, always a whole lot of them.

It’s COVID isolation. It’s the planet in the flames of never-ending wars and police brutality. It’s the billionaire with his fingers in the till. A drug-addled America goose-stepping her way toward tragedy. This is the soil from which HE WAS A GOD took final shape in summer 2021. Benjamin Curns is the fifth and ultimate addition to the New Haven, CT metal outfit — brainchild of guitarist, keyboardist, and backing vocalist Tony Pellino. Chris Densky (drums), Dan Perrone (bass), and Ray Zvovushe (lead guitars) cap a lineup of musicians who grew up performing together on stages across the New York City tristate area.

Under their new banner, He Was A God made its live debut in December 2021, commencing a run of performances in Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts with the likes of veteran acts Life of Agony, Goatwhore, and (hed)P.E. Through their live shows, wrote Karen Ponzio in the New Haven Independent, the band “unleashes a torrent of charismatic heavy metal with a message … as fun as it is furious.” Their EP, The Smile & The Scar, recorded in fall 2021, received steady acclaim. From Headbangers Lifestyle: “The debut fires on all engines with ferocious riffing and tenacious melodies…fused with a downright genius timing for emotion and sheer agony.”

In 2023, following a run of live performances that included support for Goatwhore and Katatonia, the band enlisted renowned engineer Ryan Boesch (Melvins, Helmet, Norma Jean) to craft its debut album. The result is MUCKRAKER, an 11-track canon of aggression, hope, rage, and optimism. Slated for a February 23, 2024 release, Muckraker swaps the personal tragedies of The Smile & The Scar for social and political grievances common to us all. Its punk contrarianism, heavy riffs, and harmonious progressions are wholly He Was A God.

The band knows the value of a hungry, curious audience. Forty-five minutes later, when the room is brighter and quieter, HE WAS A GOD is already looking to win over the next crowd that’s sick and tired.