Child Bite released their latest album through Philip H. Anselmo’s Housecore Records in April 2016, but it is being re-promoted to tie in with their nineteen city European tour with label mates Syk (more of them in a minute). Given that their album was produced by Anselmo (Down, Pantera, Scour, Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals, Arson Anthem etc.), and mastered by Scott Hull (Pig Destroyer – I love these guys, if you’ve never heard any of their music then you need to seek them out), it isn’t as massively heavy as one might expect. To my ears this is a bastard child of the likes of Talking Heads and Voivod, with possibly some Black Flag and Jesus Lizard thrown in for good measure. Arguably it should be considered to be much closer to art rock then heavy rock, with a punk attitude and disdain for authority and what might be expected. Is that a Cardiacs influence I hear?
It is the sort of sound that one can imagine coming out of the eclectic CBGB’s scene of the Seventies, mixed with Magazine from the UK, to create something that is never going to be fashionable yet is also immensely enjoyable and with a vitality and intensity that takes it to a whole new level. Music very much from left field, this is something that I both endured and enjoyed in equal measures, and although I can’t explain it I know that I will be returning to this time and again.
