“Metal Soul” by Gabriel Bruce

"Metal Soul" by Gabriel Bruce is Northern Transmissions' 'Song of the Day'.

Former Loverman member turned solo artist Gabriel Bruce has been absent for nearly three years. The disappearance was strange. His 2013 debut album Love in Arms had received generally positive reviews from most folks, comparisons with David Bowie to Nick Cave, Billy Idol to Leonard Cohen. He’d supported Sky Ferreira on tour and performed on Later With Jools Holland. He’d been photographed looking in equal parts glowering and smug in a monochrome campaign for The Kooples.

The depression that came with the breakdown of a relationship in the early part of 2104 that was amplified by a freak accident which came close to ending Bruce’s music career altogether. Whilst working in a warehouse for a dinosaur fossil dealer, a slab of marble crushed his hand. Despite an initial medical concerns that he’d need multiple amputations, the NHS were able to save all five fingers. But the accident left Gabriel with a sling, unable to use his hand for months, ‘so that put me out of action for a while’.

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