Monomania

In the 19th century, the word 'monomania' was used in the psychiatry world to define a "single pathological preoccupation in an otherwise sound mind." The soundness of Child Bite's collective 'mind' could be debated for ages. But, like all things in music, it depends on your definition of 'sound.'   For our purposes here, Monomania is the namesake given to a hypnotizing new Child Bite record. When we say record, we don't mean anything you would inherently picture when you think of a wax circle engraved with noise. We're talking about a 10 inch, Slimer-green disk, clothed in a sleeve of audacious neons - depicting images of a lucid acid nightmare. This release, like everything Child Bite has ever done (or will ever do), is more than a release. It is an exhibition. It is made just for us, and they only want us to buy it so they can afford to make a-fucking-nother one.   The tumultuous preface to this album barely prepares you for the first of many punches in the stomach. Wrong Flesh is a gritty battle march, which conjures memories of the Deadites storming the castle in search of the Necronomicon. From here, they take us down paths that are exponentially dark - with, "No pussy shit" as their credo. This is, in fact, the darkest and most mature effort we have seen from Child Bite. The shrilling, and impulsively head-bobbing verses of Scum Gene (Trash Vibrato) - are only rivaled in turpitude by Shawn Knight's lyrics; like those of "Smear Where the Face Was" that read: "Drag behind or standing still - Impulse is fear, and fear you will." The lyrics, as a whole, paint a fuzzy picture of fear, paranoia, and despair. They are definitely Knight's spookiest.   Bass player Sean Clancy expands on his unique style with brutal tones and syncopated rhythms that match the band's progression further into the macabre. Brandon Sczomak has made the switch from drums to guitar (who knew?). He has flawlessly adapted to the precedent set by his predecessors, and he is taking it to fantastic new place. If you are a drummer and you are unfamiliar with Moshe Rozenberg (ex-DD/MM/YYYY), just buy this record right away. I would still listen to this record if it were only drums. The beats were also partly written and arranged during pre-production by Detroit drummers: Brandon Moss (Bars of Gold), Matt Rickle (Javelins/Fawn), Brandon Sczomak (current Child Bite guitarist), and Dave Vaughn (Detroit Cobras).   The album was recorded with Chris Koltay of High Bias Recordings (Akron/Family) riding the faders. It was mastered by the infamous Weasel Walter (XBXRX, Flying Luttenbachers).