AlbumsNovember 29, 201117,871 views

Gaza He Is Never Coming Back


He Is Never Coming Back
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
2009 Black Market Activities
Our score 8

by Nick
11/19/2009

There are three things you need to know about the dudes that make up Gaza. Number one: they're skillful purveyors of dissonant metalcore. Number two: they're staunch atheists with an aesthetic and outspoken mentality to match. And most importantly, number three: as good as I Don't Care Where I Go When I Die was, He Is Never Coming Back blows it away. Gaza's progression seems to mirror that of their peers in fellow Black Market Activities band The_Network, both in execution and time frame. The bands released their full-length debuts within a few months of each other in late '06/early '07, and both have returned with a more fine-tuned, cohesive follow-up, blissfully exceeding expectations. But to use a word like "blissfully" within fifty feet of Gaza is the definition of paradoxical. The reason He Is Never Coming Back is such a strong record lies in the band's decision to drive their sound into a darker, more cacophonous hole, stripping it of any and all melody in the process. This is burly, brazen, and simply more disillusioned than most records to have hit the market this year. However, the catch here is that He Is Never Coming Back is probably more inaccessible than their last release (and yes, I do realize that calling I Don't Care. accessible is yet another paradoxical statement for the books). But after making it through a few rounds of the record's discordant one-string riffs, churning bass rhythms, and pounding drums, their take on that late '90s/early 2000s noisy hardcore sound becomes blatantly intelligent. Yes, their sound can still be traced back to the standard Deadguy, Coalesce, Botch, and Burnt by the Sun prerequisites, but by stripping away all of the catchy grooves and subtle melody from the aforementioned list, they've actually managed to create something more memorable than their previous album. Feedback, massive breakdowns, and a wall of incessant growls always have been Gaza's mark, but this record drives that point home twice as hard. Any metal/hardcore listener into this genre's classics needs a spot on their CD rack for this stripped down, painfully abrasive work of dissonant metalcore art (as long as "metalcore art" isn't paradox number three). Bottom Line: Putting words like discordant, cacophonous, and dissonant to use is about as much as any so-called music journalist can do to accurately describe Gaza's He Is Never Coming back. But vocabulary will only take us so far -- if a coarse, desolate take on the Deadguy/Coalesce/Botch/BBTS sound seems like it's up your alley, it probably is. And no amount of thesaurus consulting will represent this record's aesthetic as accurately as it deserves.

33 comments

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virus_ 11/19/2009 4:16:22 PM

first post, no care

ballsballsballsneenuballs_ 11/19/2009 4:21:16 PM

sorry, he's totally coming back.

deadflag_ 11/19/2009 4:22:37 PM

review is pretty spot on; album is merciless

gollum_ 11/19/2009 4:49:01 PM

it's not an 8 but it's not bad.

zachshallperish_ 11/19/2009 5:25:59 PM

Best band to ever come out of Utah.

Natas-101_ 11/19/2009 6:37:51 PM

Sloppy drumming brings it dowwwwwnnnnn

anonymous_shithead_ 11/19/2009 7:04:52 PM

shit band, shit album, artwork is kinda cool.

Fur_Beach11_ 11/19/2009 7:16:09 PM

Drumming is probably best part..silly goose. go riffs!

killemo_ 11/19/2009 8:13:38 PM

shitty band.

notalentassclown_ 11/19/2009 8:16:14 PM

back market

thereapersson_ 11/20/2009 1:42:55 AM

Oh look, another gay metalcore band with a penchant for extreme atheism and religion hate. How f*cking edgy and original!

niceone!_ 11/20/2009 2:38:16 PM

Oh look! Another smart ass internet gay talking shit on lambgoat! How Trite!

SHIT_ 11/20/2009 3:45:47 PM

THE WHOLE THING I THINK IS SICK THE WHOLE THING I THINK IS SICK THE WHOLE THING I THINK IS SICK THE WHOLE THING I THINK IS SICK THE WHOLE THING I THINK IS SICK THE WHOLE THING I THINK IS SICK THE WHOLE THING I THINK IS SICK THE WHOLE THING I THINK IS SICK THE WHOLE THING I THINK IS SICK THE WHOLE THING I THINK IS SICK THE WHOLE THING I THINK IS SICK THE WHOLE THING I THINK IS SICK THE WHOLE THING I THINK IS SICK THE WHOLE THING I THINK IS SICK THE WHOLE THING I THINK IS SICK THE WHOLE THING I TH

Jayson_ 11/20/2009 7:28:14 PM

10/10 music

Godfather_ 11/20/2009 10:06:04 PM

Am I honestly the only one that hears BM in this? Desalvo weigh in please.

thereapersson_ 11/21/2009 8:25:58 AM

Oh look! Another smart ass internet gay talking shit on lambgoat! How Trite! <----- Your tears are delicious!

yeah_ 11/21/2009 4:09:01 PM

i do hear some bowel movement in this, good catch dude

anonymous 11/21/2009 8:39:49 PM

Best album in a lonnnnnggggg f*cking time. Haters can go cry with the new Converge. This shit is too raw for you.

duder_ 11/22/2009 3:22:02 PM

This record is the best thing since "I don't care...." it deserves 10/10. I wish people would open there mind and not look for bullshit solos & good ballads. This band is here to f*cking take on the world & there going to do it. This band has that feeling, that feeling you cant describe but besides that no other band can really scratch that surface.

Fur_Beach11_ 11/22/2009 7:46:06 PM

Duder=broship idiot...

Fur_Beach11_ 11/22/2009 7:47:03 PM

also learn the dif between their, they're, and there..silly twat

ionesco_ 11/23/2009 12:54:17 PM

"Best album in a lonnnnnggggg f*cking time. Haters can go cry with the new Converge. This shit is too raw for you." !

Brett__ 11/24/2009 1:31:21 PM

Gazadox - Paradox is Never Paraduxin' the Pah-Ducks.

DaveClinch_ 11/26/2009 12:07:11 AM

This record is the best thing since "I don't care...." it deserves 10/10. I wish people would open there mind and not look for bullshit solos & good ballads. This band is here to f*cking take on the world & there going to do it. This band has that feeling, that feeling you cant describe but besides that no other band can really scratch that surface. :::: This post, the end result of bands responding to their more obsessive fan(s) on myspace.

Dillon_ 11/28/2009 1:20:39 PM

This album seems alot more sludggeeeeeeeyyyyyyy and gloomy. But the instrumental tracks are really something. GAZA really needs to f*cking tour.

anonymous 11/29/2009 5:56:13 PM

horribly written

gazaluke_ 11/29/2009 6:17:48 PM

shit sucks

Fat_guy_eater_ 12/3/2009 10:40:25 PM

"Solace" still kicks the shit out of anything these guys have ever produced. In fact, so does BII. If you don't know what I'm talking about you don't know anything about intense music. HALO MANASH.

Fat_guy_eater_ 12/3/2009 10:42:03 PM

And that cover art is just Norma Jean.

wittyname_ 12/6/2009 1:47:43 AM

Meh. I don't hear any Burnt by the Sun...

diarrhea diaries_ 12/26/2009 6:08:28 PM

brutalcore

bitchmover_ 1/29/2010 12:21:08 PM

this shit is sick!!!!!!!!!

mmmTech_ 2/3/2010 10:58:05 AM

i dun't curr whur i go when i dye!!! gay.