Gaza
I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die
Black Market Activities


The debut full length from yet another band trying to out-extreme and out-provoke all the others. I almost cursed myself for picking this one up... but all was not quite as it seemed. A potent and at times intricate mix of hardcore and metal subgenres - grind, sludge, death and doom to name just a few - sets this effort above the norm. When it slows, it's massively heavy (or melodic, or even ...ambient?). When things fire right up, it's downright intense. The vocals in particular twist from guttural or hardcore styled grunts into ear-piercing, nail-curling shrieks, while a persistently razor-sharp edge of feedback and distortion pulls the whole lot together in one gruesome little package.

To anyone thinking a combination of clean and rough vocal styles or the general addition of melody to brutality represents the vanguard of versatility, bands like Gaza will offer a rude shock. Some songs are so clamorous that accurately categorising their contents is difficult and perhaps a little pointless. At times many tracks might seem like little more than angry young men being angry for angriness' sake, but in the very next moment you're suddenly made equally aware of the members' obvious talent. When need be, the playing is as fast, technical and precise as any tech fan could hope, while the slower moments add a bit of atmosphere, providing brief periods of respite. There's a hint of maturity oft lacking amidst the throng of "extreme metal this" and "-core thats" which Gaza calls home.

With track titles like Hospital Fat Bags and Slutmaker, the band's not exactly out to woo and serenade. The music is every bit as repulsive and confronting as a fine horror movie and, in fact, you might say that this is the musical equivalent as violence, edginess and depravity take on aural form.

Mike Cross