Schkeuditzer Kreuz – Swan Grinder (Digital/Vinyl Album – Bad Habit Recordings)

Australian artist Kieren Hills has been active in the underground scene for years, leaving a lasting mark with his project Schkeuditzer Kreuz.
The latest album presents eight tracks that fuse countless influences, resulting in a work that feels both Experimental and demanding. From obscure, doom-laden atmospheres to harsh, anarchic Electro driven by frantic rhythms, from Punk and Hardcore energy (including, notably, a cover of the legendary Crass) to more Electronic passages, the record leads the listener through a true sonic labyrinth. Finding a way out amid all this intensity and diversity isn’t easy, but Swan Grinder stands out as a fascinating and immersive experience.
It’s precisely this range of sounds and moods that makes certain tracks linger and tie the whole together. Schkeuditzer Kreuz remains an uncompromising project—and this new album is the ultimate proof of that. (Rating:7).
Read the news on “Swan Grinder”.
Listen to “Keep Dancing”:
About Schkeuditzer Kreuz
Schkeuditzer Kreuz is the solo project of Kieren Hills, founded in 2020 and based in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia. The sound merges industrial electronics with crust and d-beat influences.
The project’s debut album “Isolated and Alone” appeared in 2021, followed by “No Life Left” in 2023. “Swan Grinder” arrived in 2025 through Bad Habit Recordings, supported by European tour dates. Earlier releases appeared through independent channels.
Support Side-Line
More people read Side-Line than ever, and there is still no paywall and no advertising. Readers pay for it instead - from $5 a month.
Why we ask
Advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations we have not put up a paywall, and we refuse to add annoying advertising, so we need to ask for your help. Side-Line’s independent journalism takes time, money and hard work to produce, and we do it to push the artists we like, who are equally fighting to survive.
Handled by PayPal.

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

