Godspeed You! Black Emperor

Godspeed You! Black Emperor was formed in 1994 in Montreal, Quebec, by Efrim Menuck (guitar), Mike Moya (guitar), and Mauro Pezzente (bass).{{cite web|url=http://www.brainwashed.com/godspeed/wire.html|title=Interview in The Wire|year=1998|author=David Keenan|access-date=May 27, 2011|archive-date=April 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417150659/http://www.brainwashed.com/godspeed/wire.html|url-status=live}}Colin Larkin. [https://books.google.com/books?id=_NNmFiUnSmUC&pg=PA1439 The Encyclopedia of Popular Music] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004150344/https://books.google.com/books?id=_NNmFiUnSmUC&pg=PA1439#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=October 4, 2023 }}. Omnibus Press; 27 May 2011. {{ISBN|978-0-85712-595-8}}. p. 1439. The band took its name from God Speed You! Black Emperor, a 1976 Japanese black-and-white documentary by director Mitsuo Yanagimachi, which follows the exploits of a Japanese biker gang, the Black Emperors. The band initially assembled after being offered a supporting act for another local band named Steak 72.{{cite web|url=http://brainwashed.com/godspeed/wire2.html|title=Godspeed You Black Emperor! interview with The Wire|access-date=February 24, 2009|year=2000|author=Keenan, David|work=brainwashed.com|archive-date=April 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419174954/http://www.brainwashed.com/godspeed/wire2.html|url-status=live}} Thereafter, the trio performed live on a few separate occasions. Previously, the name "God Speed You Black Emperor!" had been used by Menuck on a limited cassette entitled All Lights Fucked on the Hairy Amp Drooling that had been recorded the year prior, with limited contributions by Pezzente on bass, although it would not be until 1994 that the actual band formed.

The band expanded and continued to perform live. According to Menuck, joining the group was simple: "It was like if anyone knew anybody who played an instrument and seemed like an okay person, they would sort of join up."{{cite web|url=http://brainwashed.com/godspeed/deadmetheney/interviews/amazeine.htm|title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor interview with aMAZEzine!|access-date=February 14, 2009|year=1998|author=St-Jacques, Marie-Douche|work=aMAZEzine|archive-date=March 9, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090309193447/http://www.brainwashed.com/godspeed/deadmetheney/interviews/amazeine.htm|url-status=live}} The group's number of members frequently changed during this time. Local musicians would often join the band for a handful of performances, then depart. The revolving door nature of the group's membership frequently caused it strain before the release of F♯ A♯ ∞. After that release, the group stabilized around a nine-person lineup with Menuck, Moya and David Bryant on guitars, Pezzente and Thierry Amar on bass guitars, Aidan Girt and Bruce Cawdron on drums, and Sophie Trudeau and Norsola Johnson on violin and cello respectively. Moya would depart in 1998 to focus on HṚṢṬA, being replaced by Roger Tellier-Craig of Fly Pan Am.{{cite web|title=Godspeed You ! Black Emperor en concert en France : Tournée 2015|url=https://www.evous.fr/Godspeed-You-Black-Emperor-en-concert-en-France-1135503.html|website=evous|date=April 23, 2015|access-date=October 31, 2017|archive-date=November 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107005644/https://www.evous.fr/Godspeed-You-Black-Emperor-en-concert-en-France-1135503.html|url-status=live}} Tellier-Craig left in 2004 to devote more time to Fly Pan Am.{{cite web |date=August 23, 2012 |title=Former Godspeed You! Black Emperor guitarist preps new cassette |url=http://www.factmag.com/2012/08/23/former-godspeed-you-black-emperor-guitarist-preps-new-cassette/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170529093656/http://www.factmag.com/2012/08/23/former-godspeed-you-black-emperor-guitarist-preps-new-cassette/ |archive-date=May 29, 2017 |access-date=October 31, 2017 |website=Fact Mag}} In 2002, the band released their third album Yanqui U.X.O., which was recorded in Chicago and engineered by Steve Albini.{{Cite web |last=Richardson |first=Mark |date=2010-04-23 |title=Back on the Rails: Seven Thoughts on the Return of Godspeed You! Black Emperor |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/resonant-frequency/7796-resonant-frequency-69/ |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}

The group was once misconstrued as being a band of terrorists.{{cite web|url=http://cstrecords.com/cst_images/gybeimages_web.jpg |title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor Collage |access-date=November 26, 2006 |author=Biehr, Steve, Marion Bornas, and Stefan Claudius |format=jpg |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927191401/http://cstrecords.com/cst_images/gybeimages_web.jpg |archive-date=September 27, 2007 }}{{cite news|url=http://ardmoreite.com/stories/031603/loc_band_release.shtml |title=Band Members Released After Terrorist Report|access-date=November 26, 2006|newspaper=The Daily Ardmoreite|author=Biehr, Steve |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050208194407/http://ardmoreite.com/stories/031603/loc_band_release.shtml |archive-date = February 8, 2005}} After stopping at a local gas station for fuel in the town of Ardmore, Oklahoma, during their 2003 tour of the United States, the station attendant working that day believed the group of Canadians to be terrorists. She quickly passed a note to another customer asking them to call the police. When the local police appeared, the group was held until it could be questioned by the FBI. Although the police were suspicious of the band's anti-government documents and some photos it had (such as those of oil rigs), they found no incriminating evidence. After background checks were run, the ensemble was released from custody and continued on its way to its next show in Saint Louis. Efrim Menuck later spoke to the crowd during their appearance in Missouri about what happened to them and speculated that their origin was a motive for being released quickly ("It's a good thing we're nice white kids from Canada").{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/gybe2003-03-16.shn|title=Godspeed You Black Emperor! at Mississippi Nights (2003-03-16)|access-date=December 24, 2006|publisher=Internet Archive|year=2003|author=Godspeed You Black Emperor!|work=Live Music Archive|format=shn}} The incident was mentioned in Michael Moore's book Dude, Where's My Country?.{{cite web|title=Five Noteworthy Facts You May Not Know About Godspeed You! Black Emperor|url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/five_noteworthy_facts_you_may_not_know_about_godspeed_you_black_emperor|website=Exclaim|date=April 23, 2015|access-date=October 31, 2017|archive-date=November 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107014517/http://exclaim.ca/music/article/five_noteworthy_facts_you_may_not_know_about_godspeed_you_black_emperor|url-status=live}}

In July 2003, Constellation Records posted a note on their website reading: "godspeed will be on hiatus for the better part of a year, while the band members work on their many other projects".

On April 9, 2010, the band announced it was reuniting for an All Tomorrow's Parties music event in the UK as well as further US dates.{{Cite web |title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor to curate Nightmare Before Christmas, December 2010! - On Sale Now |url=https://www.atpfestival.com/recordings/news/view/1004090900 |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=All Tomorrow's Parties |language=en}} "after a decade’s retreat, god’s pee has decided to roll again", read the statement.{{Cite web |title=Godspeed You ! Black Emperor to curate The Nightmare Before Christmas |url=https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/latest-news/godspeed-you-black-emperor-to-curate-the-nightmare-before-christmas-27294 |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=The Line of Best Fit |language=en-US}} Mike Moya re-joined the band for the reunion, while original cellist Norsola Johnson declined to participate. The band played a full North American and European tour in 2011, and more dates in the UK including an appearance at the ATP 'I'll Be Your Mirror' music festival in London.

The following year, the band appeared at the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago, Coachella in California, and the All Tomorrow's Parties I'll Be Your Mirror festival in New York.{{cite web |url=http://www.atpfestival.com/events/ibymusa2012.php |title=I'll Be Your Mirror USA 2012 curated by Greg Dulli & ATP – All Tomorrow's Parties |publisher=Atpfestival.com |access-date=April 18, 2014 |archive-date=April 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140412165414/http://www.atpfestival.com/events/ibymusa2012.php |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Pelly |first=Jenn |date=2012-01-09 |title=Coachella Announces Lineup |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/44978-coachella-announces-lineup/ |access-date=2024-02-28 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}} Drummer Timothy Herzog began touring with the band after the departure of Bruce Cawdron.

{{quote box |align=right |salign=right |width=33% |author=– Godspeed You! Black Emperor, in response to winning the 2013 Polaris Music Prize{{cite web|title=Statement from Godspeed You! Black Emperor on Polaris|url=http://cstrecords.com/statement-from-godspeed-you-black-emperor-on-polaris/|publisher=Constellation Records|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925144621/http://cstrecords.com/statement-from-godspeed-you-black-emperor-on-polaris/|archive-date=September 25, 2013|df=mdy-all}} |quote="3 quick bullet-points that almost anybody could agree on maybe=

-holding a gala during a time of austerity and normalized decline is a weird thing to do.

-organizing a gala just so musicians can compete against each other for a novelty-sized cheque doesn’t serve the cause of righteous music at all.

-asking the toyota motor company to help cover the tab for that gala, during a summer where the melting northern ice caps are live-streaming on the internet, IS FUCKING INSANE, and comes across as tone-deaf to the current horrifying malaise."}}

In 2013, the band won the Polaris Music Prize for their fourth album 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!, but it criticized the cost of the ceremony during the time of austerity, stating, "Maybe the next celebration should happen in a cruddier hall, without the corporate banners and culture overlords."{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24231672 |title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor criticise Polaris prize |access-date=September 25, 2013 |newspaper=BBC News |date=September 24, 2013 |archive-date=September 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130924191414/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24231672 |url-status=live }} The band's fifth album Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress was released on March 31, 2015, and the sixth album Luciferian Towers came out on September 22, 2017.

In August 2019, the band played new songs tentatively titled "Glaciers" and "Cliff".{{Cite web |date=2019-08-26 |title=Concert Review: Godspeed You! Black Emperor/Marisa Anderson |url=https://spectrumculture.com/2019/08/25/concert-review-godspeed-you-black-emperor-marisa-anderson/ |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=Spectrum Culture |language=en-US}} They would appear on the band's seventh album G_d's Pee at State's End!, which was released on April 2, 2021.{{Cite web |title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor – G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END! |url=http://cstrecords.com/products/godspeed-you-black-emperor-g_d-s-pee-at-state-s-end/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303155137/http://cstrecords.com/products/godspeed-you-black-emperor-g_d-s-pee-at-state-s-end/ |archive-date=March 3, 2021 |access-date=2021-03-03 |website=Constellation |language=en-US}}

In February 2022, a copy of All Lights Fucked on the Hairy Amp Drooling was posted to 4chan's music board, /mu/.{{Cite web |last=Bobkin |first=Matt |date=February 4, 2022 |title=Did Godspeed You! Black Emperor's Long-Lost Cassette Finally Leak? |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/godspeed_you_black_emperor_all_lights_fucked_hairy_amp_drooling_2022_leak |access-date=February 4, 2022 |website=Exclaim! |archive-date=February 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220204234222/https://exclaim.ca/music/article/godspeed_you_black_emperor_all_lights_fucked_hairy_amp_drooling_2022_leak |url-status=live }}{{Cite web|date=2022-02-05|title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor's Lost Debut Album Appears To Surface Online After 27 Years|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2175137/godspeed-you-black-emperors-lost-debut-album-appears-to-surface-online-after-27-years/news/|access-date=2022-02-06|website=Stereogum|language=en|archive-date=August 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801223716/https://www.stereogum.com/2175137/godspeed-you-black-emperors-lost-debut-album-appears-to-surface-online-after-27-years/news/|url-status=live}} The band eventually uploaded the full audio of the tape to its official Bandcamp page on February 14.{{Cite web | url=https://godspeedyoublackemperor.bandcamp.com/album/all-lights-fucked-on-the-hairy-amp-drooling | title=All lights fucked on the hairy amp drooling, by Godspeed You! Black Emperor | access-date=February 14, 2022 | archive-date=February 15, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215003528/https://godspeedyoublackemperor.bandcamp.com/album/all-lights-fucked-on-the-hairy-amp-drooling | url-status=live }}

On February 24, 2024, the band debuted three new untitled songs at the Knockdown Center in New York City.{{Cite web |last=Pearis |first=Bill |title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor debuted 3 new songs at tour kickoff at Knockdown Center (listen ++ pics, 2024 dates) |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/godspeed-you-black-emperor-debuted-3-new-songs-at-tour-kickoff-at-knockdown-center-listen-pics-2024-dates/ |access-date=2024-02-28 |website=BrooklynVegan |language=en-US}} On August 28, 2024, the band announced its eighth album, No Title as of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead, supported by the lead single "Grey Rubble – Green Shoots".{{Cite web |last=Strauss |first=Matthew |date=2024-08-28 |title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor Announce New Album "No Title As of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead", Share Song |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/godspeed-you-black-emperor-announce-new-album-no-title-as-of-13-february-2024-28340-dead-share-song-listen/ |access-date=2024-09-02 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}} Its title references the death toll of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war at the time of the album's conception.{{cite web |last1=LaPierre |first1=Megan |title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor Announce New Album '"NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD"' |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/there-appears-to-be-a-new-godspeed-you-black-emperor-album |website=Exclaim |access-date=28 August 2024}}{{Cite web |last=Berman |first=Stuart |title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor: "NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD" |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/godspeed-you-black-emperor-no-title-as-of-13-february-2024/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}

File:Godspeed You Black Emperor! - London Nov 20003.jpg

Film loop projections are an important aspect of the group's live performances, explained by Efrim Menuck as "[putting] the whole into context".{{cite web|url=http://brainwashed.com/godspeed/oor.html|title=Interview with Godspeed You Black Emperor!|access-date=December 24, 2006|publisher=OOR|year=2001|author=Visser, Menno|work=OOR Magazine|archive-date=December 12, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061212043959/http://www.brainwashed.com/godspeed/oor.html|url-status=live}}

The band is taper-friendly; they allow audience members to record their live performances, and fans often release new material before the band makes an official recording.{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/gybe2003-05-14.shnf|title=Godspeed You Black Emperor! at L'Olympic (2003-05-14)|access-date=December 17, 2006|publisher=Internet Archive|year=2003|author=Godspeed You Black Emperor!|work=Live Music Archive|format=shnf}}

The band toured Australia and New Zealand for the first time in February 2013, including a performance at the All Tomorrow's Parties I'll Be Your Mirror festival in Melbourne. They toured China for the first time in April 2013, giving performances in Shanghai and Beijing,{{cite web|title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor China Tour|url=http://www.spli-t.com/gybe/en/|website=Spli-t|date=April 1, 2013|access-date=October 31, 2017|archive-date=March 8, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150308004827/http://www.spli-t.com/gybe/en/|url-status=live}} and revisited China in March 2016.{{cite web |title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor |url=http://www.smartshanghai.com/wire/music/incoming-godspeed-you-black-emperor |website=Smart Shanghai |date=December 7, 2015 |access-date=October 31, 2017 |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107022920/http://www.smartshanghai.com/wire/music/incoming-godspeed-you-black-emperor |url-status=live }}

The band supported Nine Inch Nails on its Tension tour in October 2013.{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/51053-nine-inch-nails-announce-massive-tour-with-godspeed-you-black-emperor/|title=Nine Inch Nails Announce Massive Tour With Godspeed You! Black Emperor|access-date=June 6, 2013|year=2013|author=Minsker, Evan|work=Pitchfork|archive-date=June 8, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130608172439/http://pitchfork.com/news/51053-nine-inch-nails-announce-massive-tour-with-godspeed-you-black-emperor/|url-status=live}}

In 2015 and 2016, the band performed numerous concert and festival shows around the world.{{cite web|url=http://www.setlist.fm/setlists/godspeed-you-black-emperor-63d69a73.html|title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor Concert Setlists|website=setlist.fm|access-date=October 31, 2017|archive-date=August 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801195136/https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/godspeed-you-black-emperor-63d69a73.html|url-status=live}} Two new songs were previewed in many of the shows picking up the fan titles "Buildings" and "Railroads" from the projections that accompanied them. The band also lent live performances of their songs to a revival of the 2005 work "monumental" by Canadian dance troupe Holy Body Tattoo in 2016.{{cite web|url=http://www.bam.org/dance/2016/monumental|title=monumental|website=BAM.org|access-date=October 31, 2017|archive-date=August 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801113721/http://www.bam.org/dance/2016/monumental|url-status=live}}

The band is set to perform in ten countries across Europe and North America in 2024 and 2025.{{Cite web |title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor |url=https://cstrecords.com/pages/godspeed-you-black-emperor?shpxid=46b055c5-1d2f-4995-a72a-809517ab42b8 |access-date=2024-08-15 |website=Constellation |language=en}}

The Guardian wrote that Godspeed You! Black Emperor "don't simply espouse anti-capitalism but embody it, rejecting the selfish individualism at its core", pointing out how the band's operation as a collective challenges traditional notions of hierarchy. In a 2012 interview, Menuck said, "All music is political, right? You either make music that pleases the king and his court, or you make music for the serfs outside the walls ... We started making this noise together when we were young and broke. Whatever politics we had were born out of living through a time when the dominant narrative was that everything was fine."{{Cite news |last=Costa |first=Maddy |date=2012-10-11 |title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor: 'You make music for the king and his court, or for the serfs outside the walls' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/oct/11/godspeed-you-black-emperor-interview |access-date=2024-02-28 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} Several of its songs also incorporate voice samples which express political sentiments, most notably "The Dead Flag Blues" (on F♯ A♯ ∞) and "BBF3" (on Slow Riot for New Zerø Kanada).

In 2014 Menuck identified himself as an anarchist.{{cite web |last=Rubsam |first=Rob |date=April 2014 |title=The Rumpus Interview with Efrim Menuck |url=http://therumpus.net/2014/04/the-rumpus-interview-with-efrim-menuck/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140525232305/http://therumpus.net/2014/04/the-rumpus-interview-with-efrim-menuck/ |archive-date=May 25, 2014 |access-date=May 25, 2014 |publisher=The Rumpus}} This perspective has influenced the band's political activism.{{cite web |last=Richardson |first=Mark |title="Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend!" Review |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17283-allelujah-dont-bend-ascend/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520031951/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17283-allelujah-dont-bend-ascend/? |archive-date=May 20, 2014 |access-date=May 6, 2014 |publisher=Pitchfork.com}} The back cover of Yanqui U.X.O. depicts the relationships of several major record labels to the military–industrial complex.{{cite web |date=May 25, 2007 |title=EMI Defies Fate as Predicted on Godspeed You! Black Emperor's Yanqui U.X.O., Bought Out By Terra Firma for $4.7 Billion; Sorry Warner Music Group |url=https://www.tinymixtapes.com/news/emi-defies-fate-predicted-godspeed-you-black-emperors-yanqui-uxo-bought-out-te |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107012432/https://www.tinymixtapes.com/news/emi-defies-fate-predicted-godspeed-you-black-emperors-yanqui-uxo-bought-out-te |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |access-date=October 31, 2017 |website=Tiny Mix Tapes}} The liner notes of 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! criticize anti-environmentalist economic development and student protest suppression.

Menuck is a vocal critic of Israeli policy towards Palestinians.{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Christopher J. |title=Can There Be a Guernica for Gaza? |url=https://jacobin.com/2024/11/godspeed-you-black-emperor-gaza |access-date=2025-01-02 |website=Jacobin |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Mitchell |first=Paul |date=2008-03-06 |title=A Silver Mt. Zion: Hi, How Are You, Efrim Menuck? |url=https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/interviews/a-silver-mt-zion-hi-how-are-you-efrim-menuck |access-date=2025-01-02 |website=The Skinny |language=en}} The liner notes to Yanqui U.X.O. (2002) describe the song "09-15-00" as "Ariel Sharon surrounded by 1,000 Israeli soldiers marching on al-Haram Ash-Sharif & provoking another Intifada".{{cite web |date=June 25, 2013 |title=Godspeed You! Black Emperor, 'Yanqui U.X.O.' (Constellation) |url=https://www.spin.com/2003/06/godspeed-you-black-emperor-yanqui-uxo-constellation/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107022355/https://www.spin.com/2003/06/godspeed-you-black-emperor-yanqui-uxo-constellation/ |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |access-date=October 31, 2017 |website=Spin}} The title of No Title as of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead references the death toll of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during the Gaza war at the time of the album's conception. In 2021, the band joined more than 600 other musicians in pledging to boycott Israel until it ends its occupation of Palestinian territories.{{Cite web |date=2021-05-28 |title=More than 600 musicians sign letter pledging to boycott Israel |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-boycott-musicians-pledge-stand-solidarity-palestine |access-date=2025-01-02 |website=Middle East Eye |language=en}}{{Cite magazine |last= |first= |date=2021-05-27 |title=Questlove, Run the Jewels, Rage Against the Machine & More Urge Artists to Boycott Israel in Open Letter |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/israel-boycott-artists-open-letter-palestine-9579426/ |access-date=2025-01-02 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

Current

• Efrim Menuck – guitar, tape loops, keyboards {{small|(1994–2003, 2010–present)}}
• Mauro Pezzente – bass guitar {{small|(1994–2003, 2010–present)}}
• Mike Moya – guitar {{small|(1994–1998, 2010–present)}}
• Thierry Amar – double bass, bass guitar {{small|(1997–2003, 2010–present)}}
• David Bryant – guitar, tape loops {{small|(1997–2003, 2010–present)}}
• Aidan Girt – drums, percussion {{small|(1997–2003, 2010–present)}}
• Sophie Trudeau – violin {{small|(1997–2003, 2010–present)}}
• Karl Lemieux – film projections {{small|(2010–present)}}
• Timothy Herzog – drums, percussion {{small|(2012–present)}}
• Philippe Léonard – film projections {{small|(2015–present)}}

{{col-2}}

Former

• Thea Pratt – French horn {{small|(1995–1997)}}
• Dano LeBlanc – drums {{small|(1995; died 2023)}}{{cite web |title=Dano LeBlanc obituary |url=https://funerairepassagefuneral.ca/en/daniel-omer-dano-leblanc/ |website=Passage Funeral Cooperative |access-date=8 February 2025}}
• Jesse Pratt – violin {{small|(before 1997)}}
• Bruce Cawdron – drums, percussion {{small|(1997–2003, 2010–2012)}}
• Norsola Johnson – cello {{small|(1997–2003)}}
• Grayson Walker{{cite web |url=http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/2003/082103/music4.html |title=Easy Being Green: Frog Eyes Whip Up a Colourful Cabaret |access-date=April 8, 2009 |publisher=Montreal Mirror |year=2003 |author=Carpenter, Lorraine |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090816172436/http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/2003/082103/music4.html |archive-date=August 16, 2009 }} – accordion {{small|(1997)}}
• Christophe Comte – violin {{small|(1997; died 2023)}}{{cite web |title=Christophe Comte Obituary |url=https://mountroyalcem.com/obituary/10076-christophe-comte/#/ |website=Mount Royal Commemorative Services |access-date=8 February 2025}}
• Roger Tellier-Craig – guitar {{small|(1998–2003)}}
• Mark Littlefair – film projections {{small|(1998–2000)}}
• Jean-Sébastian Truchy – film projections {{small|(2000-2002)}}
• Fluffy Erskine – film projections {{small|(2003)}}

{{col-end}}

Timeline

{{Main|Godspeed You! Black Emperor discography}}

Studio albums

• F♯ A♯ ∞ (1997)
• Lift Your Skinny Fists like Antennas to Heaven (2000)
• Yanqui U.X.O. (2002)
• 'Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! (2012)
• Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress (2015)
• Luciferian Towers (2017)
• G_d's Pee at State's End! (2021)
• No Title as of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead (2024)

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• {{Official website}}
• [https://cstrecords.com/pages/godspeed-you-black-emperor Godspeed You! Black Emperor] on Constellation Records
• {{Allmusic}}
• {{Bandcamp}}
• {{Discogs artist}}
• {{MusicBrainz artist}}

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Category:Musical groups established in 1994

Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2003

Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2010

Category:Musical groups from Montreal

Category:Canadian post-rock groups

Category:Musical collectives

Category:Anti-corporate activism

Category:Constellation Records (Canada) artists

Category:Polaris Music Prize winners

Category:1994 establishments in Quebec

Category:Kranky (record label) artists