Unholy. Godless. Unforgiving. Who would be better experts than 4 guys from Utah? Back in the mid-90's Victory Records released albums by a band called Bloodlet. In a time when metal and hardcore were being fused, reviewers were quick to combine just about anything with the "-core" suffix and create a new genre like other bands were soon to follow. Using smart dark lyrics laced with biblical references and a new brooding take on metallic hardcore Bloodlet got tagged with "evilcore." Some 10+ years later a worthy disciple has finally come along to carry on the moniker.
OK, before things get too serious, I don't really think "evilcore" is a legitimate genre, nor would I say Gaza or its members are evil. However, Gaza does have a dark and astute take on religion, life, death, and politics. With album titles like I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die and He Is Never Coming Back (it's a reference to Jesus, get it?) you really don't have to delve into the music to know where these guys are going with their beliefs. You should want to, though, because, like I said, it's been almost 15 years since a band has been accomplishing this brand of dark ugly metal with such a cultivated clever rationale. Gaza play sludgy metal/hardcore with elements of doom and grind. It's grimy, it's dirty, it's caustic, and it's really good.
Similar to Bloodlet's mid-paced style, Gaza have that off beat drumming that I had never heard until picking up my first Bloodlet record, but it's very similar to Coalesce's James Dewees' never-stop-moving-your-arms-no-matter-what-the-pace-of-the-song method. However, drummer Casey Hensen is far more innovative and wildly unpredictable. Even if guitarist Mike Mason and bassist Tino Lucero are playing the same droney riff for 3+ minutes (the end of "Hospital Fat Bags") Casey will never play the same fills. The guitars aren't all drone, though. Gaza use quite a bit of finger-tapping, but contrary to how most bands use finger-tapping for neat sounding solos, Gaza's uses of it are generally for the more groove oriented parts of the songs. Lastly is Jon Parkin's roar as he cuts through the rest of the band's earth shaking heaviness with the more tongue-in-cheek lyrics from IDCWIGWID ("They used you to clean up tears after a Thrice show.") to the more straight forward bellows on HINCB ("He is never coming back. Armies of the half dead with their arms to the sky"). Add in that, unless you're a pro-basketball player, Parkin will tower over you as his snarl tears holes through your entire belief system and it's a pretty intimidating experience. His screams sound slightly similar to The Chariot's Josh Scoggin, but exceedingly more ferocious. Ironic considering their complete opposite views. Both bands do have some similarities actually, but much like how Gabriel and Lucifer were both Archangels.
www.facebook.com/GAZAMUSIC
Where they started: 2004's East EP
Where you should start: I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die is the more structured and better produced release. It has a lot more groove and the lyrics contain an air of humor. He Is Never Coming Back is grimier and the lyrics are not only shorter and more to the point, but angrier and have a lot more bite.
Essential Song:
Essential Live Video:
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