Greg Puciato - Child Soldier: Creator of God Review

 

Greg Puciato's legacy is legendary; My discovery of The Dillinger Escape Plan years ago not only brought me some of my favorite music ever but also led me to idolize the crazy antics of the band amidst their success and technical prowess. I still go back and listen to essential releases like Calculating Infinity and Miss Machine and revel in the complex, addicting, and brutally heavy compositions put together on all of those releases. It is incredible how dynamic all of those records are, seamlessly switching from mathcore to alt-rock in a matter of thirty-second notes. As a vocalist, however, Puciato's talents really stuck. His shrieks on cuts like "Sunshine The Werewolf", "Farewell, Mona Lisa," and "Prancer" are absolutely iconic, and represent some of the heaviest but still catchy vocal lines in music. But this isn't to discount his clean vocal work on songs like "Unretrofied," "Milk Lizard," and "Widower" that showcase his distinct nasal croon that is so enticing to hear time and time again. If you can't already tell, I really like The Dillinger Escape Plan, and I similarly really like Greg Puciato. 

So when "Fire for Water" was released far earlier into this crazy year as a single, I was needless to say ecstatic. An industrial metalcore banger to kick off a 15 song tracklist? I knew I was in for a great listening experience in a mere matter of months. And while unfortunately being able to listen to the album weeks earlier than its expected release (it still should not be out), Child Soldier: Creator of God is here and is ready to show what its made of. 

Aside from a seemingly standard acoustic intro track, the hard-hitting cuts jump right out at the beginning of this release and continue to thump, chug and fizz their way through the tracklist. "Creator of God" lays out an intriguing The Black Queen instrumental while Puciato moans into a talkbox to create a really eerie atmosphere. This track, surprisingly, fades into harsh noise after a clean chorus, tickling my experimental fancy for the release already. This leads right into "Fire for Water," which blasts through with a very punchy riff, strongly hearkening back to Ire Works and the cuts present there. This track also eventually fades into a rather atmospheric climax, building then off of a piano melody that leaves us curious and wanting more after its abrupt end. An homage to Disassociation is next, and "Deep Set" grooves along with its very cool noise rock baseline and simple drum part. 

After this is really where the tracklist picks up, however, and the next two cuts, seemingly The Black Queen b-sides, absolutely infect your ear canals and thrust their addicting worms into your brain, so you continue to groove literally hours after you hear them. Seriously, I never thought I would enjoy darkwave more than I do on tracks like "Temporary Object" and "Fireflies." The first has such a formulaic structure, completed with 80s synthesizers that add drum flourishes on top of the busy mix. It is a jam if nothing else, and easily stands out among what we have heard so far. The following track is more forlorn, with Puciato's airy croon repeating "I'm waiting here" as the light instrumentation transports you to a world of sensual energy. It's super cool and helps this brief break from heaviness really stick its landing in the middle of the tracklist.

Up next are three more singles and unarguably some of the best cuts on the record. "Do I Need To Remind You?" is a menacing industrial sludge metal track that bombastically booms during the chorus and has an amazing bass-driven build throughout the verses. This cut also has an amazing TDEP climax, where Puciato's roar turns into a shriek like we haven't heard in years. "Roach Hiss" slams the listener with a dissonant and extremely noisy industrial rock track with awesome energy that makes you want to screech along with the hilarious refrain; 'Maybe grow a prick and fuck yourself!' Puciato also goes full-on Endon worship on the first breakdown of this song, with his screams fading into the abrasive mix all together. This track switches to a very hypnotic and haunting back-half, thumping with its tom rhythm while the guitars drone over the growing synth chords. Finally, "Down When I'm Not" is a very out-of-the-blue alternative rock track that sounds like it belongs at Warped Tour (rip Warped Tour by the way), and helps bring us back to the light of the tracklist, at least momentarily removing us from the absolute abrasion of the previous efforts. 

I'm going to quit the track by track analysis, but at this point, now nine of fifteen tracks in, you should just listen to this album. While the rest of the tracks on this release fall farther into The Black Queen territory as opposed to The Dillinger Escape Plan, I can assure you that they maintain the quality Puciato has presented so far. This album is amazing at staying so invigorating to hear on every listen, dazzling with its showmanship as well as its stunning songwriting efforts. Puciato's maturity here reflects solo outfits who have been working years at their craft, while this is only his debut. Will it be for everyone? Absolutely not. I'd argue there's less metal on here than there is darkwave, but still, it shines as an amazing testament to nearly twenty years of musical growth that Greg Puciato has undergone. This is an amazing first release, and I cannot wait to see where he takes this project.

Final Verdict: 'Finding a way to die alone is better than what I was shown.'

Favorite Tracks: "Do You Need Me to Remind You?," "Temporary Object," "Roach Hiss"

FFO: The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Black Queen