Sweden’s CHILD are perhaps one of the best new grindcore acts to emerge from the country in recent years – no mean feat when considering the calibre of extreme metal the nation is famed for. Although the band initially formed in 2015 and have been active as a live act, it wasn’t until last year that their debut album Meditations In Filth finally saw the light of day. It showcased a stunning chemistry and songwriting prowess, coupling together the sort of blend of death metal, crust punk, D-beat and hardcore that Swedish grind is known for, whilst showing a flair for creative hooks and acerbic vocals. It was a great start for the quintet that cemented them to a wider audience, and hot on its heels comes Shitegeist, an album that builds upon the many strengths of their debut whilst injecting subtle elements of progression into their sound that hints at something truly brilliant down the road.
Shitegeist, with its rumbling bassline and galloping drums, is a great start to this record, with murky, melodic guitars and barking vocals creating a fierce and abrasive sound, with a cinematic edge that makes it incredibly engrossing, perfectly drawing the listener in with a coarse and punchy opening salvo. Mass Crowning takes on a chaotic pace, with the unflinching aggression of the guitars, vocals and drums suiting this faster style and providing a streamlined take on the previous song’s driven moments. Tin Foil Party blends this vitriolic intensity with a punk-inflected guitar and drum sound, peppering in some great slower moments that give this a more varied sound than its predecessors that is still thoroughly punishing.
Time Island strikes a fine balance between the mid-paced hooks of the last track and the opener and the rabid feel of the second and third, brilliantly marrying harsh punk flourishes with blistering grindcore with excellent results. I Will Refuse – a significantly longer track with a great bass tone and sharp, intricate drums – has an almost industrial side to it, with a lighter guitar sound and cleaner though nonetheless caustic vocals shifting the core template of this album’s sound in a different direction, adding slight experimentation into the mix without straying too far from the core influences that lay at the backbone of this record.
Golden Chasms reverts to the short, sharp shocks of the first half’s more visceral moments, with far chunkier, death metal-inspired guitars and frenetic drums serving as a searing backdrop to acerbic vocals, briefly lurching to a relative crawl before diving back into the noxious whirlwind of intensity. Creative Inventions Of Killing once again plays with the guitar tone to achieve a different effect, with the slicker, catchier sound giving this a darkly grandiose sound that feels distinct from the full throttle cacophony of much of this record, standing out for all the right reasons. Same Smite Subside initially sounds as though it’s going to follow in a similar vein, but quickly evolves into a denser, more punishing juggernaut with fantastic, sludgy basslines and similarly swampy guitars that sound thicker and heavier without resorting to breakneck speed.
Glowing Kids, with its ethereal edge, jarring riffs and acidic vocals, leans prominently into punk, but has lots of biting touches and nauseating, speed-driven parts spread generously throughout, making for an intriguing mix of styles that works well. Welfare Collapse couples huge discordance, bestial vocals and a powerful stop-start sound to keep the listener on their toes, embracing an air of unpredictability whilst being incredibly focused. Swiper is arguably the album’s most dissonant track, and uses unnerving guitars along with a minimalistic beat and spartan vocals to create an uncomfortable atmosphere that is punctuated by sprawling, cavernous sections that are far softer, crafting a jarring juxtaposition in the music that brings the album to a close in a sinister and inventive way.
It may have only come little over a year since the release of their debut, but Shitegeist shows a surprising level of progression in CHILD‘s music on a number of levels. Firstly, there’s a greater confidence for writing longer tracks, and although the sort of short, sharp shocks that comprised the entirety of Meditations In Filth are still there in abundance, there’s some bigger songs that allow the band to explore ideas in more depth. There’s also a slight, but noticeable, attempt at experimentation in amongst the harshness and energy, with tracks like Glowing Kids, Same Smite Subside and I Will Refuse showing hints of post-metal, sludge and industrial respectively in their already heady sounds. Both Meditations In Filth and Shitegeist boast some incredibly impressive musical growth in a short space of time, and if the band keep putting out albums of this quality at this pace, they’ll soon be outstripping even these fantastic records with their future music.
Rating: 8/10
Shitegeist is out now via Suicide Records.
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