GENEVA Turns Frustration Into a Rallying Cry on “Hand Of God”

Photo by C

Seattle-based rock-fusion band GENEVA channels anger, accountability, and the urgency for change into “Hand Of God,” a confrontational track that challenges listeners to examine the distance between what they believe and how they actually live.

Led by vocalist Lea “Eve” Anderson alongside co-writer and lead guitarist Angelina Daly, GENEVA has built a distinctive sound by colliding camp rock with jazz fusion and high-energy performance. Founded in 2023, the band emerged from Boston’s rock scene before touring the West Coast and eventually relocating to Seattle, where GENEVA has continued building a dedicated DIY following.

Despite its title, “Hand Of God” is far from a straightforward Christian-rock anthem. Lea “Eve” Anderson initially developed the song as a poem written from a place of frustration surrounding ethical decline, religious nationalism, and the weaponization of religion. As the concept developed, the focus expanded toward a broader criticism of complicity and the contradictions that can exist between advocating for change and participating in the very systems being criticized.

That tension gives “Hand Of God” its bite. GENEVA avoids directing all of the song’s anger toward one convenient target, instead turning the lens toward complacency, comfort, and the need for greater self-awareness.

After receiving the original lyrics and early chord ideas, Angelina Daly developed the infectious guitar riff that helped establish the song’s direction. The result is a driving, aggressive, and atmospheric instrumental that gives Lea “Eve” Anderson’s words an appropriately forceful backdrop.

Completed by Brandon Bosch on rhythm guitar, Ethan Horn on drums, and Alexander James “AJ” Marto on bass, “Hand Of God” is designed to provoke as much as it is designed to hit hard. GENEVA wants listeners to headbang, but the larger goal is attention, mobilization, and creating an anthem for voices that have yet to feel heard.

What was the moment that turned the original poem behind “Hand Of God” into something you knew needed to become a GENEVA song? The poem wasn't something everyone could relate to, but feelings I wish everyone would try to understand. Not everyone pays attention to lyrics, but I knew we could back them with an instrumental that told the same story. Everyone in the band is happy to relay that message through music. Though it's hilarious to me that some far-left punk bands have plenty of right-wing fans who have no idea that the band's lyrics challenge their entire ideology, I make sure to precede the song with a very clear contextual foreword every time we perform it live.

“Hand Of God” challenges complicity rather than pointing the finger at one obvious target. Why was it important to turn some of that criticism inward?

Complicity takes the place of a friend, a family member, or someone you thought you could trust through vulnerability.  In my eyes, that's the biggest heartbreak when change brings harm to anything and anyone.

People who preach their anger towards systems, legislation, and constructs but are hopeless when it comes to acting against them come off as insincere and dishonest. We see it everywhere, from a situation where someone embraces ignorance to protect their peace, to forgiving or forgetting the most horrible, unspeakable crimes. Almost every woman and those in ethnic communities and LGBTQ+ communities know this pattern way too well. 

Angelina Daly’s guitar riff helped transform the original lyrics into the aggressive track we hear now. How did the rest of GENEVA build around that riff and shape the final sound?

When Angelina and I brought this to the rest of the band, they picked up on the vibe right away. We'd never created a song so aggressive and punchy, so telling them to get loud was like opening a floodgate. Ethan, our drummer, found a slow groove that felt somewhere between Tool and Pearl Jam, and AJ, our bassist, almost plays a driving pedal tone on his lowest note, with some room for tasteful embellishments.

Our previous rhythm guitarist, Brandon, found his part in the atmosphere, transforming sections from overdriven, moody washes to bare-bones nothing. Everyone left plenty of space for the lyrics to be heard loud and clear, highlighting the message. They did a great job.

You want “Hand Of God” to encourage attention and mobilization, but music can only go so far. What would meaningful action from listeners actually look like to GENEVA?

The biggest thing that I'd love to see from our listeners in exchange is to inform themselves. Form their own opinions based on their own research, ask their diverse friends how they're doing right now, and hopefully, get inspired to create change the same way we do. Everyone is extremely capable of influence, whether it's boycotting, creating art, publishing, or just having a talk with someone they disagree with.

GENEVA has never seemed interested in making comfortable music. As the band’s audience grows, how do you protect that willingness to be confrontational without softening the message for broader appeal?

As far as I'm concerned, we need our audience far more than they need us. We're only a handful of people who could be targeted for our identities and the movement we preach. Anyone who is made uncomfortable at a show, if unwilling to change their beliefs, could be motivated to challenge or harm us. But every single person in our audience who joins our movement makes us one person stronger and one person safer.