May 2023 Feature Release - The Revolution Edition

So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.

This month's feature release for The Revolution, nominated by me (Shadowdoom9 (Andi)), is the 2009 sophomore album by Utah-based mathcore/sludge metal band Gaza, He Is Never Coming Back. Two and a half years after their debut album was a feature release, it's time for this album to take the throne. It's a solid blend of mathcore and sludge metal, and I would certainly recommend it to those who enjoy that combo. Though Gaza is never coming back, their music is gonna stay with us in this site.

https://metal.academy/releases/1836

I did my review, here's its summary:

Black Market Activities and Deathwish Inc. are two of the most excellent extreme metal/hardcore record labels around. With Gaza signed to the former, they've added in elements of fellow bands of the label such as Cancer Bats and The Red Chord into their sound. And holy sh*t, this offering is so stellar yet monstrous! Gaza has the chaotic rage of mathcore and dark dread of sludge metal with pieces of post-metal and grindcore, all in crushing devastation. You can expect an alternating balance between slow doomy sludge and dissonant grind-ish mathcore. There are also 4 short interludes, the first two with beautiful ambience and the last two being dark heavy post-metal. And you should definitely stick around for the hidden 15-minute progressive post-sludge Crusade (you know the reference). He Is Never Coming Back may not stand out as much as the band's debut, but it really shows how well they've achieved. Elements of grindcore, post-metal, and doom are added to the mathcore/sludge sound in a lyrical battle against organization. The only soft parts of the entire album are the first two interludes and that 15-minute hidden track. Everything else is bulldozing chaos! For those interested in this kind of sound, I highly recommend this offering to you all....

4/5

Recommended tracks: "How It Is. How It Is Going to Be.", "The Kicking Legs", "He Is Never Coming Back", "Canine Disposal Unit", "Tombless", "Carnivore", "Hidden Track"

For fans of: Coalesce, Knut, Neurosis (for the sludgy parts)

I've been getting a bit lackadaisical of late with feature releases and have only been listening to those from my chosen clans, so I have vowed to start listening to them all, even if I don't review all of them and first up is this month's Revolution representative, Gaza's second album He Is Never Coming Back. I did check out their debut, I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die, when it was a feature release a couple of years back and I fucking hated it. Consequently, this didn't fill me with a huge amount of enthusiasm for the sophomore and I can't lie, I nearly always struggle with The Revolution and it's metal/mathcore content. That said, I did get much more out of this than I expected to. I still struggle with the vocals as they (in common with so many whatever-core releases) often sound like a toddler having a temper tantrum in Tesco's (a steroid-fuelled, 220lb toddler admittedly, but still!) I did enjoy a large proportion of the musical content however, maybe because the sludge component is more prevalent here than on the debut, or maybe because it feels a bit more accomplished than the earlier release. Whichever way, I wouldn't go out of my way to obtain a copy, but if it was on I wouldn't switch it off either and I think I would enjoy it a whole lot more with a less shout-y vocalist (but I guess that is what The Revolution is all about). A couple of tracks grabbed my attention - the main riff of The Meat of a Leg Joint is brilliant and the epic-sounding, although short, instrumental piece that follows it, The Astronomer, is a gorgeous and portentious-sounding piece. The lengthy, unnamed closer, or hidden track if you will, appeals to my Fallen sensibilities with it's serene and measured build-up and is reminiscent of the likes of Neurosis, proving that Gaza don't have to be super-intense all the time, which is no bad thing (and it has no vocals). Overall, He Is Never Coming Back had some really good moments and I like the overarching structure with the instrumental interludes breaking up the super-intensity of the main tracks, so this is probably as good as it gets for me and The Revolution and as such I would probably have to call it a success.

On a side note, does anyone know if this is this a concept album with the connecting instrumental tracks having intellectual/scientific occupation names?

3.5/5