God's Country (album)

Following the release of two EPs in 2019 and a cover of Sepultura's "Roots Bloody Roots" for a compilation by the band's record label, Chat Pile announced their debut album ''God's Country'' on May 24, 2022, alongside its lead single "Slaughterhouse". Subsequent singles "Why" and "Wicked Puppet Dance" were also released prior to the album. The band performed a show in its hometown of Oklahoma City on the day of the album's release and also immediately sold out two October dates in New York City. The album cover is a photograph of the Oklahoma County Detention Center, where eleven people died in 2022 before the album's release. Bassist Stin said, "That punitive, authoritarian hand is always right over you at any given time." ''God's Country'' is centered around real-world themes of horror. "Slaughterhouse" describes a 2014 beheading that occurred at a local food processing plant, while "The Mask" is about a 1974 mass murder of six restaurant employees in Oklahoma City. "Wicked Puppet Dance" touches on drug addiction. "Tropical Beaches Inc." is about the life and death of infomercial pitchman Don Lapre. Closing track "grimace_smoking_weed.jpg" took its title from a list of options for one of the band's earlier EPs. It was released as a six-minute long demo in 2021 but was transformed into a nine-minute song for the album, and Busch's lyrics were inspired by the films In a Glass Cage and Mysterious Skin. == Recording ==

''God's Country was recorded independently by the band members. This process allowed the band to save money and put forth its own vision for the album. Busch compared it to the film Tangerine'', which was shot on an iPhone, and Have a Nice Life's debut album Deathconsciousness, which was recorded on GarageBand, as examples of art made by the masses using computer technology. Drummer Cap'n Ron uses an electronic drum kit containing samples that are further manipulated to produce an industrial sound. Stin's bass sounds are created using a Rusty Box pedal and a cab microphone. During the songwriting process, Chat Pile's instrumentalists are responsible for writing riffs, which are further jammed upon for Busch to lay his lyrics over. == Reception ==

''God's Country'' received critical acclaim upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album holds an overall rating of 84, based on six reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Pitchfork awarded ''God's Country'' with its Best New Music distinction. Accolades == Track listing ==

• Raygun Busch — vocals, recording, mixing • Luther Manhole — guitar, recording, mixing • Stin — bass, recording, mixing • Cap'n Ron — drums, recording, mixing • Jared Stimpfl — mastering == References ==