After forming in Stockholm in 2012, God Mother have taken their exuberant metallic hardcore across the world, garnering praise and devotion for their chaotic live shows and uncompromisingly hostile sound. With two prior albums and five EPs to their name, the stage is set for the Swedish quartet’s much-awaited third full-length album, KÖTTVÄRLD.
Though they have shown themselves adept at Converge-esque metalcore and grindcore on prior releases such as their debut album Maktbehov and its follow up Vilseledd, on KÖTTVÄRLD, God Mother further incorporate elements of noise, post-punk, classic rock and even a saxophone solo into the mix. Where they excelled in the art of crafting incredibly confrontational music before, they have added new tools to the shed and sharpened them to a point. Previously, the band’s chaotic energy allowed them to create a blistering atmosphere, akin to being repeatedly bludgeoned to death by a morning star, but their songwriting on KÖTTVÄRLD is finely honed, razor sharp and focused, still brutal, but with a touch of elegance and finesse. The arrangements are inspired, and you can clearly see that their near decade and a half of live experience has helped to shape these songs, as they seem to ebb and flow effortlessly. Whether their influences have diversified over time or they have simply sought to create a more eclectic and expansive release this go-round, time has been kind to Sweden’s most aggressive export.
Across its mere 26-minute runtime, their shortest thus far, it is impressive what the band manages to accomplish. In addition to the panic inducing riffs on ‘Open Vein’ and ‘Dopamine Wire’, the hypnotic grooves of ‘Fault’ and the riff-laden trudge of (translated) title track ‘Meat World’ give the album plenty of variety and pace. The beatdowns of ‘Enable’ and sludgy heft of ‘False Self’ deliver the seismic weight necessary to balance out the intensity of their discordant freakouts. Buried in the eye of this storm of harsh noises are moments of jazz and moody 90s alt-rock, such as on ‘Bloat’. The almost industrial repetitive bass groove of ‘Stranger’ induces a feeling of dread before giving way to winding metallic riffs and panic chords. On their shortest album yet, they weave so many intricate ideas into KÖTTVÄRLD that it is positively stuffed to the gills, even squeezing in an interlude (‘Healer Lodge’). Without losing what makes them such firebrands, they showcase a remarkable knack for experimentation and strike the perfect balance, with just enough intrigue to augment their sound, rather than diminish it.
Densely packed and direct as a freight train doing 60 mph, God Mother has just delivered another firecracker.