Review : GAZA – “He Is Never Coming Back”

Gaza – He Is Never Coming Back
released November 10, 2009 on Blackmarket Activities

Fun fact about Gaza: they’re the only band whose debut album sports a sticker on the jewel case that I’m okay with.  It aptly reads: ‘Terrifying and abrasive sludge/grind!’  And while that was more the case, musically, on I Don’t Care Where I Go When I Die, they continue, thematically, to be emphatic opponents of the decidedly un-metal Mormon environment from which they hail.  In the words of frontman Jon Parkin, HINCB is “a call to utilize the same logic and reason applied in every other aspect of our lives in the assessment of theology”.

Musically, it leans more toward the slower side for much of the first half of the album, but just wait until they kick “Canine Disposal Unit” into full throttle (though they do ramp it back to conclude).  Much like label president Guy Kowalcyk’s band The Red Chord, they explore moods and tones in addition to experiments with speed and odd patterns.

Curious are the instrumental tracks (4, 8, 10, 12).  “The Biologist” and “The Anthropologist” are mostly mellow guitar strums, bridging the harsher waters well.  “The Astronomer” is decidedly heavier and emulates Pelican, “The Historian”, which sounds like a veritable reprise of “How It Is. How It’s Going To Be”. All four are named after professions that study humans and their place in the grand scheme, in one way or another.

There is a hidden track as well. It’s slow and atmospheric, with some person eventually—and unintelligibly—talking in the background. Around 8’33”, the heaviness returns and they fully earn the “influenced by Neurosis” tag.  Though admittedly, it’s for art’s sake, and I don’t see returning to it anytime soon.  The rest of the album is a different story.  If this is the direction the young band has chosen, I say get behind them.  They may blaze some adventurous trails.

FCC: 2
Try 1, 3, 6, 9

01. How It Is. How It’s Going To Be.
02. The Kicking Legs
03. Bishop
04. The Biologist
05. Windowless House
06. He Is Never Coming Back
07. Canine Disposal Unit
08. The Anthropologist
09. The Meat Of A Leg Joint
10. The Astronomer
11. Tombless
12. The Historian
13. Carnivore
14. (Hidden Track)

Rating: