Greg Puciato – Child Soldier: Creator of God
Release Date: 9th October 2020
Label: Federal Prisoner
Bandcamp
Genre: Ambient, Math Rock, Punk, Electronic, Acoustic, Harsh Noise.
FFO: The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Black Queen, Frontierer, Loathe.
Review By: Ryan Shearer
One of the most prominent names in mathcore from his time fronting The Dillinger Escape Plan, Greg Puciato is exploring new ground with his self-defined ‘wild, genre-resistant debut LP’, Child Soldier: Creator of God. His time spent in Killer be Killed and The Black Queen after TDEP called it quits allowed Greg to explore Thrash metal and airy synthwave respectively. After exploring such a wide range of styles and approaches, Child Soldier: Creator of God is an eccentric and diverse album showing off Greg’s experience, but falling short of creating his best work.
Heaven of Stone is a short, stripped-back acoustic introduction with some subtle dissonance, creating a slow build of tension indicative of the incoming storm, really picking up pace with Fire for Water, the album’s lead single. Fast tribal drums and distorted, crashing guitar and vocals scratch his mathcore itch. Greg’s ultra-recognisable screams and cleans are really on display here. Complex time signatures and chaotic riffs with absolutely filthy bass tones pull you in and refuse to let you go. It is a great track and a real highlight of the album. Deep Set is grungey, slow and sludgey with a cool bassline as the foundation throughout. Temporary Object channels 80s synthwave and lands really well, a strong performance vocally and musically. Do You Need Me to Remind You? is a doomy, slow-burner with an alternative metal chorus. It’s one of the longer songs but has a great pulse that will have you slowly headbanging. Down When I’m Not is the most digestible and upfront track on the album, a catchy chorus with strong punk influences. Through the Walls combines surfer rock and ambience to create a great palette cleanser that acts as a great bridge before the last third or so of the album. A Pair of Questions has some great electronic moments, some slightly confusing (is that a metronome in the background?) but enjoyable.
The mood of half the album is dark and gritty. Violent fuzz consume the guitars, harsh noise fills the sonic gaps. At time it isn’t a pleasant listen, but it isn’t designed to be. It’s unsettling, abrasive and switches gears in a moment’s notice to something completely different. Roach Hiss to Down When I’m Not is a great example of this. Roach Hiss is a filthy, noisey track and Down When I’m Not couldn’t be more of a shift in tonality, the most melodic track on the album (for the most part). The other half, spread throughout is introspective and nostalgic, throwing back to shoegaze and synthwave of decades past. For the most part, they work together synchronously without stepping on each other’s toes.
Maybe I’m at a certain advantage here, but as a huge fan of The Black Queen (perfect for late night quiet drives), Killer Be Killed (perfect for late night drag races) and The Dillinger Escape Plan (perfect for late night acid trips), Child Soldier: Creator of God offered me very little I wouldn’t be able to find elsewhere, and better. Tracks like Creator of God, Temporary Object and Fireflies sound like A Black Queen B-Sides. Fire for Water, as good as it is, sounds like The Dillinger Escape Plan without the guitar wizardry of Ben Weinman. At 15 tracks and over an hour of music, it does feel like a chore to get through. There are great moments, good moments and tracks that are nothing more than filler. Fireflies as an exampledoesn’t really add anything. It’s not to say there aren’t moment that are unique to Child Soldier: Creator of God, but they are infrequent.
It’s not a bad album, but nothing on here would go down in the Greg Puciato ‘best of’ compilation. For fans of harsh noise and eclectic electronic music, it’s certainly worth exploring. It’s an album you’ll really need an open mind for due to the sheer volume of styles explored, and you’ll likely find something you enjoy – you just won’t enjoy it as much as the alternatives.
(3 / 5)
