November 2020 Feature Release - The Revolution Edition

It's now November 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 is the highly regarded "I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die" debut album from Salt Lake City mathcore outfit Gaza. I'll be interested to see how you think this release competes with the heavy-weights of the metalcore spectrum.

https://metal.academy/releases/1835

It's hard to explain this album and I'm pretty confident that that most people who read my review for it will will be thrown off by how disjointed it was. Even looking back on it a day later and I'm wondering what the hell was I talking about! So allow me for a brief redo.

This record is not good. And it highlights pretty much all of my dissent towards math/grindcore over the years. The frantic passages are so quick and plentiful that none of them are given ample amounts of time to resonate beyond some howling vocals and unconventional guitar techniques. This also carries on for far too long. In addition, when the record transitions into the more tuneful, sludgy breakdown passages, they feel so short and added as an afterthought. They don't develop nearly enough to warrant their extended appearances, especially on the extended tunes "Hospital Fat Bags" and "Pork Finder".

What it all boils down to is a mosh fest album that I can respect in a mosh pit. It's heavy, aggressive and relentless. But, outside of a mosh pit, there is nothing of memorable value on display on I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die. The compositions are painfully run of the mill, and with the benefit of hindsight, we can see this brand of nihilistic math/grindcore can be executed well, such as Daughters. Gaza is not that, and it disappoints me that more modern mathcore bands use this as their framework instead of bands like Dillinger Escape Plan and Daughters.

4/10

Unlike saxy, I have to admit that Gaza are right up my alley. I guess I just get it. I first heard their 2012 album "No Absolutes in Human Suffering" at the time of release & it totally blew me away. Strangely, I hadn't explored their earlier releases until just now but I'm very glad I did because the band came out of the blocks at the top of their game in my opinion. "I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die" is a swarming beast of violence & complexity &, despite it's undeniably haphazard & jerky format, it never seems to falter in its consistency. The vicious performance of front man Jon Parkin is absolutely savage & a genuine highlight for me. When he really gets going he achieves some of the more searing & brutal moments the mathcore subgenre has to offer.

Instrumentally, this is an enormously interesting release too. Not all of the material hits directly on my sweet spot but I can't help but maintain my intrigue nonetheless. The more expansive works are where you'll inevitably find the true highlights with tracks like "Hospital Fat Bags" & "Pork Finder" representing major peaks for metalcore overall. The sludge metal component cannot be overstated & it's during the sludgier moments that Gaza are at their very best with some truly crushing riffs on offer. The only negative comment I have is that the production is noticeably lacking in brightness which sees the material losing a little bit of its edge. The fact that I've still rated it as highly as I have is a statement on just how strong an example of extreme music this album is.

4.5/5

I finished my review, here's its summary:

I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die is an intense, dissonant, and unpleasant album...for some people. But for me, this is awesome! This 2006 release contains some crazy brutal music but in a way that blesses my ears and has got me hooked. Now I plan on fetching their other two albums, and maybe they would cause destructive chaos just like this one did. For this album, after two short grindcore tracks, the album charges through 8 more mathcore songs of brutal chaos and wild intensity with occasional melodic sludge sections. I don't care if people think this album sucks garbage because it's too intense for them, I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die passes this mathcore/grindcore test for finding what I think is the right balance of enjoyment. Hello, Gaza!

5/5