"We get lumped into an anti-religion thing and I think that's because we actually talk about it," says Jon Parkin, vocalist of hardcore/grindcore band Gaza. Although they hail from the predominantly Mormon Salt Lake City, Utah, Gaza's extreme music and controversial lyrics are not targeting their hometown. "To focus on one religion would be kind of small-minded," Parkin conveys. "The anti-religion stuff isn't just because we're from Salt Lake City ― in fact a few of us grew up Mormon. It's religion as a whole."
With their second full-length, He Is Never Coming Back, Gaza are also challenging the social and political status quo. "This album has more to do with manipulation of people and who's to blame for that; it can be whatever section of your freedom you're willing to give up for what someone else is saying," Parkin explains. "To me, this record is frank. It doesn't sugar coat."
It's not just their views ― their unorthodox sound makes them outcasts in music as well. "When it comes to genre I never feel like we truly fit anywhere. We have taken all those things from hardcore and grindcore that we love and we've put them together in a way that makes us happy musically," Parkin says. "We don't have to be one thing all the time, and that's what I really love about us, just the honesty of it all."
With their second full-length, He Is Never Coming Back, Gaza are also challenging the social and political status quo. "This album has more to do with manipulation of people and who's to blame for that; it can be whatever section of your freedom you're willing to give up for what someone else is saying," Parkin explains. "To me, this record is frank. It doesn't sugar coat."
It's not just their views ― their unorthodox sound makes them outcasts in music as well. "When it comes to genre I never feel like we truly fit anywhere. We have taken all those things from hardcore and grindcore that we love and we've put them together in a way that makes us happy musically," Parkin says. "We don't have to be one thing all the time, and that's what I really love about us, just the honesty of it all."
