It’s no secret that heavy music and horror are quite fond of one another. While both are fueled by intense creative passions, they are also continually combated by critical scrutiny. But for those who are able to surpass their grimy and gritty exteriors can find a creative playground where nearly anything is possible. This is a place where your darkest nightmares are made tangible. This is a place where aesthetic qualities know no bounds. This is a place where director Mitch Massie and proto-punks Child Bite feel right at home. Both exemplify the nature of truly unfettered expression and their recent collaboration is sure to have genre fans clamoring and the general public cowering.

The music of Detroit’s Child Bite can be a bit difficult to classify. Charting territory somewhere between Black Flag and acid-era Miles Davis, their off-kilter timing and spastic rhythms could easily be construed as the work of the sonically insane. Plus, in addition to creating their auditory weirdness, they all happen to share a deep affinity for all things brutal and bloody. Reflecting back on youthful encounters with the genre, the members of Child Bite each point to horror as the spark that ignited their creative flame. “I think most kids are drawn to horror pretty early on,” says guitarist and vocalist, Shawn Knight. “I remember riding my bike up to the liquor store to buy comics, and I'd always stop to look at the VHS covers. Because of this, horror is a big part of who I am as an artist, both visually & musically. Shawn harbored these adolescent fascinations and eventually used them to feed the music and lyrics of Child Bite. “Many of our songs would fit into the horror genre, but we aren't doing songs like Cannibal Corpse. We don’t literally describe the act of stabbing someone in the genitals. Our stuff is a little more poetic in the sense that the listener has more room to interpret and create their own imagery with what we are putting out there.”

All differences aside, Child Bite feels right at home when reveling in this type of underbelly fray. “Artists that use evil as a vehicle for expression have a more realistic perception of our culture and the human condition,” adds drummer Ben Moore. “This has opened the door for countless bands to have the most brutal topics and visuals representing their craft. With this, heavy music and horror movies go hand in hand.”

This relationship is one that exists far beyond any mere surface, and its nature embodies the unwavering spirit of true DIY artistry. “There’s not always monetary compensation for the hard work and sacrifices you make,” says guitarist Brandon Sczomak.  “Being an underground touring musician means taking extended periods of time off work and never knowing if you will still have a job when you return.” Despite the many woes, Brandon points to a motivation that drives many in the DIY community. “Payment comes in the form of the satisfaction of creating something and sharing it with others and I think the same can be said by most people making horror films. We’re all people who are genuine and do this for the love of the craft.”

These sentiments are definitely shared by director and F/X artist, Mitch Massie. This year alone he has over twenty projects under his belt and he wears his genuine devotion like a badge of honor. “I wasn't built for anything else,” He states. “Since horror is a genre with no artistic limits, it’s much more interesting to create, and the financial limitations are what breed my creativity.” With Massie and Child Bite holding such a strong penchant for integrity and freedom, their collaboration was seemingly inevitable. “Underground music and independent filmmaking are very similar,” says Massie. “You are left to your own devices to create both of them.” Their collective effort resulted in the audio/visual nightmare that is “The Nab Munch Is On,” a music video that vividly captures the splattered reflection of their common ideals and could easily inspire the wet dreams of any slime-o-phile. “The movie STREET TRASH gets brought up a lot and that was sort of the seed for the direction of this video,” says bassist Sean Clancy. “Our music and art direction have been pretty vague concepts about obsession, illusion, nausea and mouth of madness type stuff—all seen through a neon-vomit-nightmare filter.”

Massie was certainly up for the challenge and sought further inspiration from some rather familiar territory. “I also felt very attuned with Cronenberg’s older films,” says the director. “I listened to the song over and over and that's what I saw when I heard the music. That inspired me to watch several of his movies again and for the millionth time.” Specifically, he cites VIDEODROME, NAKED LUNCH and THE FLY as the mortar for the visual foundation for his creative process.

Like Cronenberg, Massie is no stranger to controversy and his efforts have garnered an equal amount of praise and disgust. His work on Cattle Decapitation’s “Forced Gender Reassignment” video features an onslaught of extremely graphic violence that could make even the most seasoned of horror veterans a bit queasy. Naturally, his motives have come under fire and the line between art and filth has come into question. “None of my projects are an accident or left to circumstance,” says Massie. “I design them, invest my time and self into each one, and if they are flawed it’s probably because I am flawed in nearly every way. My projects are me.  I don't do anything else.  I don't have a social life, or hobbies, or any desire outside of working. I never went to college so I don't even know the standard way of doing these things. I had to figure it out on my own.”

Massie’s work is indeed visceral and driven by an intense DIY ethic and these are the exact qualities that led Child Bite to enlisting his skills for ‘The Nab Munch Is On.’ “We knew Mitch was the right guy for the job and he really delivered,” says Clancy. “It's amazing he was able to pull off something so uniquely beautiful and strangely disorienting on such a small budget.” 

Overall, Massie and Child Bite have achieved what can only be described as near-perfect synergy. “I think it's a pretty spot on representation of Shawn's lyrics and the band in general,” says Moore. “It kind of gives you an uneasy feeling and lets your imagination run wild.”

The balance of sight and sound can be a delicate art and achieving a graceful equilibrium can be a difficult feat to accomplish. The combination of Massie and Child Bite’s individual contributions beautifully capture that elusive artistic compliment sought by many, but achieved by few. “Child Bite is not a gore band,” says Knight. “Something like the anal drill scene from Mitch's video for Cattle Decapitation wouldn't be appropriate. But a dude in a bathtub being choked by a meaty tentacle, while having psychedelic visions of a slimy, chanting choir on the other hand, totally works for us.”

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Child Bite has just finished an expansive US tour and will be heading to Europe this spring. For more, check out Child Bite's official site and Joyful Noise.

For more on Mitch Massie and endless stream of work, check out his official Facebook and YouTube Channel.

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