Vision Crimes / Monomania

This album collects Child Bite's recent two sibling EP's into one brutal package. For years, we have watched Child Bite change, contort, and rearrange itself in to the gnarly powerhouse that exists in its current period. Since the inception of their now steady relationship with JNR, the sounds have become more abrasive then their spastic avant-pop beginnings. Within the first few moments of "Worship", you will find yourself encouraged to “worship the father / slaughter the son” as well as “snip off the tip of the blasphemer’s tongue.” However you choose to interpret singer Shawn Knight’s vocals, which are easily his most hostile to date, you wont escape the mood of this piece. And, the mood is that of 4 perplexed soldiers foraging for rushes of adrenaline to keep themselves alive while condemned to fight an unjust, unwinnable war. "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. 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).