DEI Metal: August 2025
My wife just pointed out that I should have called this “D.I.E. Metal” instead of “D.E.I. Metal” and I’ve never felt more disappointed in myself in my entire life. Anyway, here is some really good fucking metal that isn’t made exclusively by white, straight, cis men. Them’s the rules! Follow me on Bluesky where I mostly post about metal and use the word fuck a lot.
And yes, I know it is now September. But this was written in August. We are all doing our best, damn it.
Band: Breakker
Album: Breakker
Song: “Under the Overlords”
It’s 1988 and you’re in a crowded club waiting for a hot new band to take the stage. And unlike most metal bands, this one is fronted by a lady. Can you believe it? When the band launches into “Under the Overlords” you find yourself involuntarily swaying to the rhythm. The band’s twin guitars remind you of Judas Priest and Def Leppard. The singer, in black leather shorts and halter top, has the stage presence of Lee Aaron and a voice like Pat Benatar. Her red hair is backlit, making her look otherworldly. She’s singing, “Existing is not living. Life’s not its own reward. We all must get out from under the overlords.” You think, “Fuck yeah. I hate Ronald Reagan.” The song ends with the singer hitting a note so high bottles of beer shatter in people’s hands. Now, imagine it is 2025, and Reagan is long dead. That’s Breakker.
Band: Vicar Blood
Song: “Resist”
Vicar Blood is a death metal band from Ohio that was born so recently they’re still damp. They’ve released four singles and have a new one, “When War Comes,” on the way Sept. 12. Truth be told, when I first stumbled upon their “chugs and a touch of melody,” as they describe their sound, I thought they were from somewhere in the U.K. because “vicar” is a word I’ve only ever heard said in an English accent. I have to say, I’m glad they’re from Ohio because I’m in Michigan, which means there may well be a chance that I will get to see them live. The chances of me seeing any bands that aren’t in the U.S. live are becoming more fleeting the more fascist this country becomes. I fucking hate it. But Vicar Blood’s “Resist” is a good place to channel that hate. “Stand up to power, resist,” screams vocalist Vieda Boss. “If you don’t give a fuck raise your fist!” Note: some people just have the perfect last name. Vicar Blood is fierce as fuck and I am here for it.
Band: Melpomene
Album: A Body Is A Suggestion
Song: “Skull Resonance”
A Body Is A Suggestion is an instrumental album of “emotional post-death.” With lyrics. There are no vocals, but on their Bandcamp page there are lyrics. It’s like each song has a poem that helps put the music into an emotional and compositional context. The lyrics help to crystalize the tension, the push and pull, the ambient and jazz elements, the beauty and the heaviness of this music. “A Body Is A Suggestion is a treatise on self actualization,” reads Melpomene’s Bandcamp page. “Meant to emulate violent catharsis and its mystic aftermath; this is music by, for and about: queer, female, colored, and fringe experiences.” Lyrics for “Skull Resonance” include: “I know what I have to do. Rend my flesh. Unveil the sun within.” This is an album best experienced whole. Let it consume you.
Band: Noumenia
Album: Echoes
Song: “Fall Apart”
I’ll let you in on a little secret: I don’t know what djent is. I also don’t know what post-groove is. But both of these terms are used to describe Noumenia, an Italian band fronted by Vivian Black whose voice is like a sonic Medusa, transforming all who let it enter their ears into stone and then crushing that stone with a sledgehammer. I’ve listened to several songs from Echoes, Noumenia’s debut album, and there isn’t much in the way of clean singing. “Fall Apart” is a bit of an outlier with its mix of clean and eviscerating vocals, but I’m a big fan of said mix. Lyrically, “Fall Apart” is both fatalistic and hopeful: “We are bound to fall apart, and when ashes remain let us rise above the sun.” At the rate things are going on this planet, above the sun might very well be humanity’s forwarding address.
Band: Stølen
Album: No Survivors
Song: “No Survivors”
Stølen is not the best name for a band in the world of internet searches. Then again, Stølen’s music doesn’t sound like it was made in the internet era. Their sound is a combination of glam, sleaze, punk, and metal. Think early L.A. Guns meets Joan Jett with a dagger through her neck. “Fight, fight, fight for your life!” vocalist Kat Vain screeches at the beginning of “No Survivors.” She also implores us to “kill, kill, kill” and “run, run, run.” Though when you consider the song’s title, all of these things are probably fruitless. In an interview on Jo Gamel’s Rock Goddesses, Vain is asked, “If your music were a movie soundtrack, what would the movie be about?” She answers: “I’ve thought about this. You know the movie Stripped to Kill?” The host does not know. I do not know. But after watching the trailer on YouTube, in which a cop goes undercover as a stripper to stop a serial killer, trust me, it makes perfect sense.
Artist: Emi Grace
Song: “Talk About It”
Okay, this isn’t metal, but it’s really fun. Emi Grace, only 22 years old, is a phenomenal guitarist. I had never heard of her before happening upon a post on Bluesky that called her a new kind of guitar hero. “Talk About It” is extremely catchy from the jump; it has swear words in it; it’s mercifully short. I know that sounds like something I would say about a song I don’t like, but this song is like Sour Patch Kids. If you eat too many your tongue starts to bleed. In other words, a little goes a long way. Some songs need to be long. Others do not. Oh, the number of times I’ve been frustrated while listening to a song that would be perfect at 3 minutes pointlessly sail past the 5 minute mark (or longer!). I don’t know much about Emi Grace except that she was on the cover of Guitar World magazine and she just fucking shreds across numerous genres.
Artist: Ellereve
Album Umbra
Song: “The Veil of Your Death”
I first learned of Ellereve in 2023 when her album Reminiscence came out. I liked what I heard and added her to a long list of artists to explore further. But that long list really and truly is very long and Ellereve got lost in the mix. Her new single “The Veil of Your Death” thankfully brought Ellereve back into my orbit thanks to Michael J.J. Kogler of Harakiri for the Sky who, along with Karg, does guest vocals on this track. This song has the ferocity and tenderness that I love so much about Harakiri for the Sky. Umbra, Ellereve’s second full-length album (2024’s Funeral Songs is a collection of acoustic versions of songs from her EPs and first album) is described as “heavier, darker, more defiant” than her previous work and a weaving of “a rich palette of genres, from ethereal atmospheres to crushing post-metal riffs.” I’m eagerly awaiting Umbra’s November 7th release.
Band: Rattlesnakes
Album: Deeper Shades of Torment
Song: “Love He Harder”
I am a big fan of traditional metal with grit and UK’s Rattlesnakes falls squarely in that category. What sets them apart is singer Rowena Neale. Her vocals are absolutely blistering. Think Janis Joplin meets Ann Wilson meets Rob Halford. Like, holy shit. A great voice only goes so far if you don’t have the songs and musicianship, but Rattlesnakes has both. I am literally DMing strangers trying to find out where I can buy Deeper Shades of Torment on CD (according to Discogs, it exists). I even logged into Facebook to send the band a message. I don’t know, man, sometimes you hear something and it just blows your fucking mind. I have a tendency to be a little obsessive, and I’ve gone crazy about bands after hearing a few songs and gone and bought their entire discography only to find that I didn’t really dig them as much as I thought. But this? This is the real deal. I am in love and want the whole world to know it. You might even say I’m deeply tormented.
Band: Blind Oath
Song: “Riteous Hunt”
If you could choose 4 of today’s best traditional metal vocalists to all sing on the same song, you could not do much better than Amy Lee Carlson of Sölicitör, Madeline Michelle of Blood Star, Deborah Levine of Lady Beast, and Stacey Savage of Savage Master. I love Sölicitör and Blood Star so much and have just gotten into Lady Beast. I am not as familiar with Savage Master, but all of the vocals on “Riteous Hunt” are awesome so clearly I have some further listening to do. Blind Oath is a band from Tulsa, Oklahoma and, as far as I can discern, they’re all dudes. But don’t hold that against them. Not only did they choose 4 kick-ass vocalists for this song, but they also published a comic book that tells the story of “Riteous Hunt” in which Carlson, Michielle, Levine, and Savage are all witches being pursued by a witch hunter. But instead of getting got, they snatch up the hunter and burn his ass at the stake. Boom! Feminism! This song, which exists only as a digital single but I hope is part of a larger project, has Big Witch Energy, so check it out and get hexed.
Band: BIANCA
Album: BIANCA
Song: “Somniloquies”
I have discovered a lot of great stuff on Bluesky via the #metalsky hashtag. My latest discovery is BIANCA. Somebody posted a picture of their logo, I decided on a whim to check the band out, and was like, “Damn, this is good stuff.” Black metal is not my top metal genre, but when I find black metal I like, I really fucking like it. And judging from this song, I’m going to really like BIANCA. According to Avantgarde Music, BIANCA’s music is “centered around a female identity that spans different dimensions, from an ethereal presence to a primal rawness.” Indeed, “Somniloquies” has a mix of clean vocals and ear-piercing shrieks, which is my preference when it comes to black metal vocals. “Somniloquy,” by the way, means to talk in one’s sleep, so “Somniloquies” is the plural of that, meaning sleep-talkers, I guess? BIANCA’s self-titled debut is coming out on October 31. Happy Halloween.
