Drummer Mike Justian is out of The Red Chord… again. I guess in all fairness, it was never really clear if this founding member was re-joining the band on a permanent basis, or if he was just filling-in after Brad Fickeisen split with the group last year. Then again, Justian’s been back in TRC for over a year, which seems like a long-ass time to just be filling-in. And even as a massive fan of the band, it’s certainly funnier to think of Red Chord skinsmen in Spinal Tap terms, spontaneously combusting at random intervals.

But fuck do I know? A statement from the band certainly makes the split sound amicable:

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Well oh-KAY! Here’s a tour I can get behind. According to The PRP, The Red Chord will hit the road this march with Gaza and Trap them in tow.

If you read MS on a regular basis, you already know we’re huge fans of The Red Chord, and I’ve yet to see them give a bad performance. Gaza — who are signed to TRC front man Guy Kozowyk’s label, Black Market Activities — are also what the kids call “devastating” in the live arena. And while I seem to be one of five people who doesn’t cream his pants at the mere mention of Trap Them, I do enjoy their shows more than I do their records; in concert, they feel legitimately dangerous, like either a member of the band or a member of the audience could actually get hurt at any moment. (Just a few weeks ago, I saw TT vocalist/one-time MetalSucks contributor Ryan McKenney kick off a show by throwing his mic stand right into the crowd, hard; just a few songs later, he bashed himself in the skull with his mic, and spent the rest of the performance bleeding from the head.) And that’s an increasingly rare, and thus increasingly exhilarating, feeling.

So, yeah, these shows should take that lil’ critter you see above and just push a spike right through its guts. Take that, you huge-eared freak.

The PRP only has three dates right now, but says that the tour is scheduled to run through March 25, so sit tight for a complete itinerary. In the meantime, those initial dates are as follows:

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Gaza played the Cake Shop here in NYC back in November (as part of a show put on by our homies at 1000 Knives and Brooklyn Vegan), and the typically reliable Metal Injection was there to capture all the madness on video. And, what a stroke of luck!, the band unveiled a new, still-untitled song at the gig. Check it out below:

Presumably, this means we’re getting a new Gaza album this year, and presumably, that album will come out Black Market Activities like their last one did. But don’t quote me on any of that.

Metal Injection also has a bunch more live footage of Gaza from this same gig; you can check that shit out here.

-AR

Gaza? Guh-ZAH? GAY-zuh? What is the proper pronunciation??? Add it to the list.

Find out the answer to this burning question in Metal Injection’s NEMHF interview with Gaza, in which the Salt Lake City bruisers also talk some trash about fellow-SLC choreographed stage move specialists Chelsea Grin. Yay trash talk!

-VN

Originally, I had planned on livetweeting this year’s New England Metal and Hardcore Festival for the purposes of turning my pithy comments into some sort of proper show report. Looking back on some of those 140-characters-or-less entries, I realized that there was really no need to do so. Instead, below you’ll find a selection of my most poignant tweets from the two day weekender. Enjoy!

DAY ONE
So nice of @metalsucks to have this limo waiting for me at Union Station. My driver Tito has already taken a shine to me. #nemhf 12:42 PM Apr 23rd

My limo driver Tito and I stopped at Uno’s for a quick bite. I wonder if Rose Funeral refuse to eat here on principle. #nemhf 12:52 PM Apr 23rd

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SWEET.

MetalSucks Maniac “mankvill” directed us to this tweet from Coalesce, in which the band – or whomever runs their Twitter account at least – posted the above photo. Converge and Coalesce? And Gaza? I’m not really familiar with Lewd Acts or Black Breach – does that say Black Breach? – but on this bill, I’d be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

I haven’t seen this reported anywhere else yet, which makes me a little suspicious – but maybe Coalesce just let the cat out of the bag early. They above says they’re only on select dates, and we don’t have dates yet. But everyone just start hopin’ the tour comes near them, and comes near them with both bands in tow.

-AR

So warneth Noisecreep, who debuted the new track “The Kicking Legs” by Salt Lake City, UT’s Gaza this morning. Gaza fit snugly between NeurIsis post-metal and Dillinger mathcore, mixing raw, lo-fi punk-inspired aggression with precise, spastic, calculated arrangements. Not my usual fare, but I can’t help but dig the juxtaposition of styles; the end result is something wholly fresh to these ears.

Stream “The Kicking Legs” on Noisecreep or download it for free here. The track comes from He Is Never Coming Back, out November 10th on Black Market Activities.

-VN