Gaza was once a band. Now, they're a better band, and are called Cult Leader. Gaza was one of the first heavy concerts I ever attended back when I was in my early teens, and I've always loved their music. It's safe to say they rank among the best bands that Salt Lake City has ever produced. I was fortunate enough to get drummer Casey Hansen to send us a list of five songs to listen to, so read on:

 

1. The Electrician – Scott Walker The hardest thing to do in music is to marry true dissonance, discord, weirdness, and darkness with beauty and do it in a way that doesn't sound mashed together and underdeveloped. This song finds a way to flawlessly bridge musical chasms like nothing I've heard before.

 

2. Night Terrors – Cursed There's a reason everyone rips this band off and nobody wants to admit it.

 

3. Reckless Burning – Jesse Sykes and Sweet Hereafter Just an amazing song. There's nothing I can say about this song to add or detract from it.

 

4. They Sent You – Mare This band put out one EP ever, and it's amazing. Because of that, the potency of their catalog is perhaps stronger than anyone's. I've still never really heard a band to fairly compare this to. Pure genius.

 

5. Concubine – Converge Mind-bending, game-changing, and life-changing. For me anyway, that's pretty much all there is to say.

Huge thanks to Casey and Cult Leader for their time. Look out for their debut EP "Nothing For Us Here", coming in April via Deathwish, Inc. Tune in to Thought Forge Sundae, Mondays at 10 pm CST to hear bands featured on FIVE SONGS TO LISTEN TO.

 

-Arvind