Classic NZ Album Review: Shihad – Churn

Shihad – Churn
(Wildside)

Reviewed by Bridget Herlihy.

Ahhh… the good old days. Most of us have an album or two (or three or four) that provided the soundtrack to days of a potentially reckless and misspent youth, or conjure up fond memories of the first gig we attended. For me, Shihad’s ‘Churn’ is one of those, and is without a doubt one of my favourite Kiwi albums of all time. Released in 1993, ‘Churn’ was Shihad’s first full-length album; a collection of nine tracks that made the masses sit up and take notice of four long-haired metal-heads from Wellington. Some might argue that despite being their first LP, ‘Churn’ marks the pinnacle of Shihad’s career. Produced by the wonderfully eccentric tour-de-force that is Jaz Coleman (Killing Joke) ‘Churn’ is an aural onslaught of unrelenting riffs, loud guitars and heavy, heavy basslines. And it is bliss.

‘Churn’ marked the first stage of Shihad’s evolution of their sound. Their debut release, the EP ‘Devolve’ (1991), was more of a thrash-metal affair; four hard and fast tracks that included a cover of Black Sabbath’s ‘The Wizard’. ‘Churn’, however, showcased a sound that had evolved to be more mature; a fuller sound and slightly more melodic approach that was immediately evident from the opening bars of the album’s first track ‘Factory’. Opening with a quote from renowned dystopian author George Orwell – “If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face” – the tone of the album is effectively set from the first track; an edgy industrial-rock-metal fusion that provides a social commentary – and opposition to – a totalitarian culture. Frontman Jon Toogood’s lyrics provide a snapshot of modern life; the fear of, and subsequent resistance to, a mundane, orchestrated existence that goes hand-in-hand with totalitarian culture. In some ways ‘Churn’ could be considered a dark and dystopian album, a feature that is undeniably one of its strengths. There really aren’t any lyrically or sonically ‘light’ moments here; even the final track, the tongue-in-cheek titled ‘The Happy Meal’, is at times reminiscent of the raw, industrial beats emulating the sounds of a production line that defined The Skeptics’ anthem ‘Affco’.

A majority of ‘Churn’ is far removed from the more radio-friendly tracks that Shihad have produced over the last couple of decades (the exception being 2014’s ‘FVEY’ – incidentally also produced by Coleman), although singles ‘I Only Said’, ‘Stations’ and ‘Derail’ received a respectable amount of airplay on NZ Music based TV and radio shows at the time. Anyone who had the good fortune of seeing ‘Churn’ played live can attest to the sheer ferocity of the performances; a sheer spectacle to see and hear, and proof that Shihad were one of the Aotearoa’s finest live acts of the 90s (and beyond). Nowadays, unfortunately, it is very rare for any of the tracks from ‘Churn’ to make it into a Shihad setlist. In fact, after listening closely to the in-your-face sound ‘Churn’ and comparing it and contrasting it to one of Shihad’s latter albums, it is at times hard to fathom that it is he same band.

So what better time that now, the 20th anniversary of NZ Music Month, to take a proverbial walk down memory lane and give ‘Churn’ a spin. You might just find that this album hasn’t aged a day. A modern NZ classic that should be played loud. Very loud.

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