When listening to Gaza mix grindcore with the more epic side of hardcore, don't just get consumed with the guttural low end. The Salt Lake City band's new album has something just as important skittering over the stifling battery of "Not With All the Hope in the World" and the fatalistic slog of closer "Routine and Then Death."
It's Michael Mason's guitar, ringing out with trebly figures that pinch notes together in dissonant but deceptively precise intervals. No Absolutes in Human Suffering also gives vocalist Jon Parkin more chances to prove himself than did 2009's He Is Never Coming Back. From the panicked start, "Mostly Hair and Bone Now," the band's sound opens up just enough to let Parkin do the rhythmic shoving that's so important for a heavy record of any stripe.
