Originally formed in 2004 as a duo with keyboardist/singer Luke Calzonetti,[1] and drummer Oran Canfield, the group expanded into a trio with the addition of bassist Tim Dahl in the summer of 2005.
Child Abuse has shared bills with many bands including Suicide, Ruins, Arab on Radar, The Locust,[2] Thee Oh Sees, AIDS Wolf, Liturgy,[3] Rhys Chatham and many more.
In 2014 Child Abuse joined the Skin Graft Records label for their third album Trouble in Paradise.
A review from New York's The Village Voice states, "Child Abuse is a gloriously confrontational band, mixing the incoherent glugs of death metal, the dissonant meander of 12-tone composition, the atonal squonk of free-jazz, blasts of ucky noise, and a wet gob of old-fashioned punk rock.
"[5] Notable German painter, Albert Oehlen, has provided the cover art for three of the band's studio albums: Child Abuse, Trouble In Paradise, and Imaignary Enemy.