Death is June - Child : "Shitegeist"

 Declaring everything is fucked, is the perfect way to open an album in 2024. These Crusty Swedes are not just worshipping Entombed, though the vocals do lean in that direction. Given that this is Death Metal Month this album helps us explore where the lines are drawn between death metal, and metallic crust-core. It is easier to hear the punk side of the equation in the second song. The lyrics are grunted in a manner that allows you to understand just enough to know what is going on. They play with a hyper aggression that can take them in the direction of death metal or hardcore. There is not a great deal of double bass which is the first indicator of their punk leanings. 

They blast "Time Island" in such a rapid fury it is hard to really digest it until they go into a more palm-muted riff. David from the Refused lends a hand on the more experimental " I Will  Refuse" which is another solid stab in the punk direction. It's a pretty cool song and breaks the album up sonically. "Golden Chasms" falls at the other side of the sonic spectrum as it is a juggernaut of distortion running you over. Their punk side returns for "Creative Inventions of Killing" which is in your face enough for fans of death metal to embrace. "Shame, Smile and Subside" stomps in an apocalyptic manner while using some cool riffs. They cover a lot of ground in just over a minute. 

"Glowing Kids" feels like a punk song, but it's played and produced more like a gritty death metal song steeped in raw violence. Fredrik Wallenberg from Skit System lends his tortured pip to scream along for "Welfare Collapse". The last song is very deliberate in the manner it's syncopated but feels like a sludged-out take on death metal. I will give this album a 9, it's a very solid effort in blending several extreme genres into a seething cauldron of anger. 

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