The Holy Gasp is a multi-genre music and performance ensemble led by poet, composer, and vocalist Benjamin Hackman. Listeners will surely enjoy The Holy Gasp’s signature style of theatrical lyrics and luscious orchestration. The group’s first album, The Last Generation of Love, was regarded as “a future cult-classic debut” by The Toronto Star, as “undoubtedly one of the best Canadian albums of the year” by Grayowl Point, and as “one of the best albums to come out of Toronto in 2015” by Toronto Music Reviews. Their sophomore record, The Love Songs of Oedipus Rex, reached #1 on the Earshot Campus Radio Charts in Windsor and Detroit and was the subject of a CBC Short Doc by director Luke Sargent on the process of turning trauma into art. Sacred Exile described the album as “an immediately captivating mix of genres, anchored by a powerful vocal performance… ultimately unlike anything you have heard before,” and to quote Dominionated: “From the most painful and precarious of predicaments, The Love Songs of Oedipus Rex rises as a creative masterpiece.”

Their newest album, … And the Lord Hath Taken Away, composed for an orchestra of 45 musicians and vocalists, is a tour de force, deriving its themes from The Book of Job, and grappling with the age-old question of why people suffer, a reoccurring theme in all faith movements, and one which is discussed and debated worldwide by religionists and secularists alike.

The album’s story is a man’s search for meaning in the face of misfortune. Calling upon an enormous orchestra and employing various disparate musical genres, listeners are invited to search for meaning within themselves alongside The Holy Gasp. With so many styles of music fused onto one album–including jazz, folk, rock, gospel, country, classical and musical theatre–this limited-edition double vinyl is sure to offer every fan of intelligent music and storytelling a unique theatrical experience.

The cover of the album is a portrait simply called Job,  painted by French artist Léon Bonnat in 1880. This Masterpiece is owned by la Musée d’Orsay, in Paris, where it was last on display in 2013.  In early 2023, Roar Records Inc. purchased the rights to this image.

…And the Lord Hath Taken Away is now available to download and stream across all digital platforms.

A special limited edition double LP on clear and gold vinyl, packaged in a beautiful full-colour jacket and replete with orchestra photos and complete lyrics, is available for purchase – a must for any record collection. Go to our vinyl section on our shop page to get yours before they sell out.

Composer, lyricist and vocalist Benjamin Hackman is pleased to autograph each album. If you would like your album dedicated to yourself or somebody else, please indicate the person’s name to whom the dedication should be made.