Riff Police! Pull Over! #30: Gaza Vs The Chariot!

In 2006 Gaza released their debut “I Don’t Care Where I Go When I Die” complete with a Ram on the cover and 6 minute 49 second closing track “Pork Finder”. It’s an album that has been described as “Art-Core”, fusing elements of Black Metal and Hardcore to create something that is gritty, raw and dirty in the ugliest sense. While other bands try hard to be “Extreme”, Gaza produce the sort of Noise Metal that is extreme by default, like a force of nature. Fortunately for them, Gaza have been able to build on their sound throughout their career and while they may never have quite found the balance that their debut had, they’ve had a lot of fun (as have we) while they’ve been trying.

It has to be said that album closer “Pork Finder” is painfully familiar. That’s because just 12 months before in 2005 came “Unsung”, an EP from The Chariot. The 116 second “Sargent Savage (Die Interviewer (Germanickly Speaking))” is where Gaza found their influence – and it’s so obvious because it’s got such an out there riff. Far from the straightforward, it’s one that works by using the kind of off-kilter timings that is often found in the Mathcore scene. Influenced? Copied? You could argue that the longer song simply works through and expands on what The Chariot have done. But you could also argue that Gaza should be ashamed of themselves for dropping something that is so blatantly something else!