Canadian post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor formed in Montreal, Quebec in 1994. The nine-piece ensemble combines indie rock with chamber music to create their dark and dramatic instrumental material. Although the line-up of GY!BE has shifted over the years, they are generally comprised of electric guitar and bass, drums, and strings. On record, they infuse their music with found sounds and taped interviews. Live, short films are the backdrop for their performances. Between 1997 and 2002, the group released three albums and one EP. In 2003, Godspeed went on hiatus, with no plans to reconvene.
The original, 1994 incarnation of Godspeed You! Black Emperor was as a three-piece, consisting of guitarist and leader Efrim Menuck, guitarist Mike Moya, and bassist Maura Pezzente. They named themselves after a 1976 Japanese documentary. That year, they band self-released All Lights Fucked On The Hairy Amp Drooling, which was limited to only 33 copies. Over the next few years, additional musician friends joined the band, including cellist Norsola Johnson, third guitarist David Bryant, second bassist Thierry Amar, and percussionists Aidan Girt and Bruce Cawdron.
Prior to the arrival of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, the loose and jazz-tinged sounds of Chicago band Tortoise led the post-rock scene. GY!BE broadened the genre's sound with their emphasis on slowly building drama and arrangements more typical of Classical music. The band released their official debut F#A#∞ on LP in 1997, limited to 500 copies on the Constellation label. In 1998, Kranky issued a re-recorded CD version of the album, which received a rave review from <i>NME</i>. 1999 saw the release of the Slow Riot For New Zero Kanada EP. This two-track release garnered the band further high praise.
Around this time, Roger Tellier-Craig replaced Moya on guitar, and violinist Sophie Trudeau was added to the line-up. On October 9, 2000, Godspeed You! Black Emperor released their two-disc masterpiece, Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven. The album received the best reviews yet for the ensemble and has inspired many newer Post-Rock bands since. The band released their third album, Yanqui U.X.O., in November, 2002. Produced by the legendary Steve Albini, the album elicited mixed reviews, although it is as uncompromising as the rest of the band's material and is rated highly by fans.
In 2003, following a tour which included the band being held on suspicion of terrorism, Godspeed You! Black Emperor went on indefinite hiatus so that its members could pursue other creative outlets, including Tellier-Craig's band Fly Pan Am and GY!BE off-shoot A Silver Mt. Zion. The latter features Godspeed members Menuck, Amar, and Trudeau. Although no plans have been announced for the reunion of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Menuck has claimed that they will record again.