State Faults – Children of the Moon

State Faults’ newest album Children of the Moon is so immediately classic that it’s hard to put into words. The evolution of this band from the lofi, unhinged sound of Desolate Peaks to where they are in 2024 is staggering. At their core they’re still that emotionally draining band, hitting you with songs fueled by distorted riffs and banshee shrieks such as (my personal favorite) Divination and Transfiguration, but now also being able to pull off a 10+ minute behemoth such as No Gospel. A track that takes you through every high and low, every desolate peak (pun?) to every epic mountain top with influences from prog rock to post-hardcore. Or a ballad such as Bodega Head that REALLY gets you in your feels with its soft acoustics and melodic vocals. State Faults have crafted a perfect album that will indeed go down as one of the best screamo albums of all time. But to pigeonhole Children of the Moon as just “screamo” would be a huge disservice. This album transcends any genre tag. So get off your ass and jam this beast. You will not regret it!

-Hawks