September is approaching and we are entering the last quarter of the year! Of course, this also means album release schedules are also excessive, with an avalanche of new records and bands to check out.
So how do you cut it all? Well, there we come. as in previous months, we’ve hunted high and low, far and wide to find you some of the most interesting and exciting new bands around.
This month we have feminist domme black metal from New York’s Folterkammer, stand-alone crossover ‘pizza thrash’ from Belushi riff comedians Speed Ball, industrial occult goth rock from Dermabrasion and Australian rock’n’roll oddballs Battlesnake. all for your pleasure.
You’ll find the latest albums from each of these bands in the rich playlist below (as well as all the other bands we’ve featured this year so far), as well as interviews with each band below to give you a glimpse into the world. Enjoy!
Torturekammer
The cover of Folterkammer’s new album depicts a witch riding a naked man as if he were her broomstick. The title, Weibermachtmeans “the power of women”. Clearly, this is a black metal record with some bold statements in mind beyond traditional Satanism.
“Even in metal, it’s rare to have a very sensual female voice,” says vocalist Andromeda Anarchia. Hammer. “I stumbled upon it [13th-16th century artistic and literary] subject of the Weibermacht – this domineering woman to whom handsome strong men obey and humiliate them. It was used by conservative Christians going back to medieval times to warn people about deceitful women. To write a metal tune titled Kiss mir die Fusse! meaning ‘kiss my feet’ – that’s provocative, even in metal.”
Based in New York and featuring Zachary Ezrin of Imperial Triumphant, as well as Andromeda who comes from a classical background in Switzerland, Folterkammer is an authentic meeting of New York’s weird extreme metal scene with underground kink clubs and European opera tradition .
“We have the mix of something elaborate that we associate with something more high art socially and then a more unruly style of music that’s very raw,” says Andromeda. “The most obvious personality that came to my mind to embody was the dominant one. She looks very elegant, but she’s also dangerous.”
With references from Strauss, whose Electra Describing the opera Andromeda as “the most brutal thing you’ve ever heard”, in women’s films for adults, Folterkammer tries to challenge conservatism even within the anti-religious conservatism of black metal.
“There are so many lyrics where men sing about women that way, but when you do it as a woman, it’s shocking!” she says. “I studied with a dominatrix from London to prepare this album. I wanted to use the language they use.” Perran Helies
Weibermacht is out now via Century Media.
It sounds like: Amazing black metal chamber music with scary german opera song
For his fans: Imperial Triumphant, Bethlehem, Thantifaxath
Listen: Lek Mich!
Belushi Speedball
Spongebob Squarepants might be an unlikely stand-in for metal’s more typically Luciferian themes—but not for Belushi Speed Ball, the Kentucky crossover crew whose goofy vibes are matched only by their ferocious riffing. “Every time I hit writer’s block, I’m watching an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants,” singer Vinny Castellano says of the new record. Stellkiraa 35 minute blast of proudly self-proclaimed ‘pizza thrash’.
This is not just a clever name. recent single My favorite color is pizza it was released as a slice of pizza pressed into resin, with a tiny speaker to play the song. “We’re the first thrash band to release a song about pizza,” says Vinny.
On a new album Stellkira – named after Vinny’s cat Stella, who appears on the cover as the iconic superbike from Akira – It’s clear that Belushi Speed Ball don’t take themselves too seriously. But there is deft musicianship among the crazy, SoCalpunk-tinged Eels and escalatorsin overdrive chugs on My favorite color is pizzaand the ridiculous detail analysis Tater Tot Eyes.
New guitarist Jamison Land, formerly Beefcake The Mighty in GWAR, has tightened up Belushi’s Speed Ball tunes and GWAR has made their already insane live theatrics even more so. Everything is “written with the crowd in mind.” At the famous Gathering Of The Juggalos in 2023, bags of “cocaine” were thrown into a crowd while a “cocaine bear” wandered around the stage. At Full Terror Assault in 2022, they played with cannons that spewed foam into an excited crowd.
“How things work live is always the first vision,” says Vinny. “What will it be like when the crowd sings the chorus? We want to have a big party.” Tamlin Magee
Stellkira is out now
It sounds like: Cartoonish chaotic supercharged pizza thrash party hijinks
For his fans: Municipal Waste, Psycho Stich, Lawnmower Deth
Listen: My favorite color is pizza
Dermabrasion
Say the word “occult” and you usually think of Anton LaVey and Aleister Crowley, hedonism and ritual. But for the occult industrial goths of Dermabrasion, hedonism means fighting for your right to enjoy a body, and ritual means expressing yourself authentically. The two tracks delve into these concepts on the debut album Pain behaviorin which they have been sitting for a year.
“It’s very difficult to occupy a body,” says bassist/singer Kat McGouran. “I was very sick when we were writing Pain behavior. I realized that I was carrying so much pain that I didn’t allow myself to accept. This band ended up being a way to explore that idea through the occult.”
Originating in the DIY punk scene in Toronto, Dermabrasion describe their first demos, which were recorded in their living room by guitarist Adam Bernhardt, as “relaxed”. But after signing with indie label Hand Drawn Dracula, they knew they had to grow – although there were some growing pains as they grappled with the alien machinations of the music industry.
“Adjusting to a label meant treating music like an industry and not just a community,” admits Kat.
Kat’s occult tendencies go further than mere reading. Ritual, in the form of shedding and cleansing, seeps into Dermabrasion’s performances as it manifests things it cannot express otherwise.
“It’s a performance of something I’m not allowed to do in any other context,” he explains. “I want to scream in your fucking face all the time and I do every day. But if I have a really bad day, it’s usually a better show.” Rosie Solomon
Pain Behavior is out now via Hand Drawn Dracula.
It sounds like: An industrial disco held at witching hour during a full moon
For his fans: Siouxsie And The Banshees, Bauhaus, The Cramps
Listen: Goblin Dance
Battle snake
The Monty Python-like Battlesnake in Dungeons & Dragons certainly makes an impression. But when Hammer meets them ahead of a sold-out headline show at Camden’s Black Heart, we’re greeted by seven unassuming Aussies in jeans and T-shirts, the band admitting their trademark image of cream robes adorned with medieval motifs and spikes is all part of rock theater in roll “We wanted to make the craziest rock band we could think of,” enthuses guitarist Ben Frank.
Playing raucous rock’n’roll about subjects like cars running on amphetamines (Motorsteeple), evil witch queens (Key of Solomon), or unleashing ancient evils (Pangea Breaker), Battlesnake is his bastard offspring The Lord of the RingsMad Max and good old fashioned heavy metal.
“We take our music seriously,” says bassist Elliott Hitchcock. “But it is very childish in its action.”
“It has to be delivered with this real reckless abandon,” adds guitarist Paul Mason. “But we also make sure there’s a live seal.”
Formed in 2018 in Sydney, they have released two albums in the last two years, combining wild guitar acrobatics and heavy metal thunder, and enjoying showmanship like many metal legends. They are inspired not only by Kiss, for whom they opened in 2022 at the 21,000-capacity Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, but also by mischievous artists such as Frank Zappa, albeit mostly in spirit more than style.
“Basically, whoever pushed the boat out is a little weird and has a vision!” says Elliott.
Sure, their own vision is weird and wonderful. During their high-octane set, they somehow cram all seven members and all members into the tiny stage and make liberal use of the spark fountains. “Coming to a Battlesnake show is a new experience,” smiles Paul. “You’re not going to get that anywhere else.” Will Marshall
The Rise And Demise Of The Motorsteeple is out now. Battlesnake’s UK tour kicks off in Brighton on September 24th.
It sounds like: Amazing rock and roll meets Mad Max
For his fans: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Kiss, Judas Priest
Listen: Motorsteeple
