Sludge Metal Friday

October 23, 2020 9:43 AM

Vagina Witchcraft (self-titled album) 2020 (NSFW album cover) Fronted by genderqueer nonbinary poet & activist Kayla Fernandes, Vagina Witchcraft dives headfirst into deeply personal topics concerning mental health, depression, heartbreak & anger. The 4-piece doom metal-hardcore band hailing from Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada, draws influence from classics like Black Sabbath combined with the sheer, combative energy of 80s hardcore punk.

Bandcamp, Instagram
Stoner fans will love this Sabbath/ Pentagram style riff worship, while lead vocalist Kayla’s lyrics rage over the top, spanning topics of current politics to classic Satanic worship. This band is a thundering force and this album is their first mighty step on the journey towards world domination. Crank the album closer 'ALVVAYS' and bang your head into oblivion." - Liam Cormier (Cancer Bats)

posted by CrystalDave (6 comments total)

Excellent, thank you. Listening now.
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:49 AM on October 23, 2020

Why is it that musicians who sound like really cool people whom I want to support always work in genres I don't like?
posted by Faint of Butt at 10:43 AM on October 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

Holy shit. Thanks for this. It's been a good while since I've heard a metal vocalist whose screams feel believably rooted in genuine anger rather than posturing for genre cred. Plus, this is simply a really good, fresh take on sludge. I hope they find success; based on just one listen, it would be well deserved! Gonna come back to this often in the near future.
posted by jklaiho at 11:14 AM on October 23, 2020 [2 favorites]

There's a Brian Eno quote that ran through my head as I processed what I had listened to, with this.

Whatever you now find weird, ugly, uncomfortable and nasty about a new medium will surely become its signature. CD distortion, the jitteriness of digital video, the crap sound of 8-bit - all of these will be cherished and emulated as soon as they can be avoided. It’s the sound of failure: so much modern art is the sound of things going out of control, of a medium pushing to its limits and breaking apart. The distorted guitar sound is the sound of something too loud for the medium supposed to carry it. The blues singer with the cracked voice is the sound of an emotional cry too powerful for the throat that releases it. The excitement of grainy film, of bleached-out black and white, is the excitement of witnessing events too momentous for the medium assigned to record them.

This definitely felt to me like a voice too intense to be contained in its medium, and barely within its genre (to its credit).
posted by CrystalDave at 12:23 PM on October 23, 2020 [12 favorites]

I don't know if they'd appreciate the comparison, but on first listen "Mercury" reminds me a lot of End of Silence-era Rollins Band. As jklaiho said, this feels genuine rather than screamy just to be screamy.
posted by jzb at 2:31 PM on October 23, 2020

Alice Glass's (formerly of Crystal Castles) recent solo work feels similarly raw. Give her a listen, though it's a TW for abuse.
posted by seanmpuckett at 2:52 PM on October 23, 2020