September is upon us and we're onto the final quarter of the year! Naturally that also means that album release schedules are also going into overdrive, with an avalanche of new records and bands to check out.
So how do you cut through it all? Well, that's where we come in; much as we have 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've got feminist-domme black metal from New York's Folterkammer, self-styled 'pizza thrash' crossover from riff-comedians Belushi Speed Ball, industrial-tinged occult goth rock from Dermabrasion and Aussie rock'n'roll weirdos Battlesnake, all for your listening pleasure.
You'll find the latest albums from each of those bands in the hefty 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 their world. Enjoy!
Folterkammer
The cover of Folterkammer’s new album depicts a witch riding a naked man as if he’s her broomstick. The title, Weibermacht, means the ‘power of women’. Clearly, this is a black metal record with some bold statements in mind beyond traditional Satanism.
“Even within metal, to have a very sensual female voice is rare,” singer Andromeda Anarchia tells Hammer. “I stumbled over this [13th-16th century artistic and literary] topic of weibermacht – this dominant woman that handsome strong men are obedient to, and she humiliates them. It was used by conservative Christians going back to medieval times to warn people of deceitful women. To write a metal tune titled Kuss mir die Fusse! which means ‘kiss my feet’ – that is provocative, even within metal.”
Based in New York and featuring Imperial Triumphant’s Zachary Ezrin, as well as Andromeda coming from a classical background in Switzerland, Folterkammer is an authentic meeting of NYC’s weirdo extreme metal scene with underground kink clubs and the European operatic tradition.
“We have the mix of something elaborate that we associate with something more high-art from a societal point of view, and then amore rebellious music style which is very raw,” says Andromeda. “The most obvious personality that came to mind to embody that was the dominatrix. She looks very elegant, but she is also dangerous.”
With reference points from Strauss, whose Elektra opera Andromeda describes as “the most brutal thing you’ve ever heard”, to fem-dom adult movies, Folterkammer look to challenge conservatism even within the anti-religious conservatism of black metal.
“There are so many lyrics where men sing about women in those ways, but when you do it as a woman, it is shocking!” she says. “I studied with a dominatrix from London to prepare for this album. I wanted to use the language they use." Perran Helyes
Weibermacht is out now via Century Media.
Sounds Like: Whip-cracking black metal chamber music with terror-striking German opera-singing
For Fans Of: Imperial Triumphant, Bethlehem, Thantifaxath
Listen To: Leck Mich!
Belushi Speed Ball
Spongebob Squarepants may 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. “Anytime I hit writer’s block, I watch an episode of SpongeBob,” says vocalist Vinny Castellano of new record Stellkira, a 35-minute burst of proud, self-styled ‘pizza thrash’.
That’s not just a clever appellation, either; recent single My Favorite Color Is Pizza was released as a pizza slice pressed in resin, with a tiny speaker to play the song. “We’re the first thrash band to release a song on pizza,” Vinny beams.
On new album Stellkira – named for Vinny’s cat Stella, who features on the cover as the iconic superbike from Akira – it’s clear Belushi Speed Ball don’t take themselves too seriously. But there’s skilful musicianship among the lunacy, from the SoCalpunk-tinged Eels And Escalators, to the hyperspeed chugs on My Favorite Color Is Pizza, and the ludicrous minute-long breakdown Tater Tot Eyes.
New guitarist Jamison Land, formerly Beefcake The Mighty in GWAR, has tightened Belushi Speed Ball’s tunes and further GWARified their already-madcap live theatrics. Everything’s “written with the crowd in mind”. At the infamous Gathering Of The Juggalos in 2023, baggies of ‘cocaine’ were flung into a crowd while a ‘cocaine bear’ marauded around the stage. At Full Terror Assault in 2022, they played with cannons spewing foam onto a delighted crowd.
“How things work live is always the first vision,” says Vinny. “What’ll it be like when the crowd sings the chorus? We want to have a big party.” Tamlin Magee
Stellkira is out now
Sounds Like: Cartoonishly chaotic turbocharged pizza thrash party hijinks
For Fans Of: Municipal Waste, Psychostick, Lawnmower Deth
Listen To: My Favorite Color Is Pizza
Dermabrasion
Say the word “occultism” and one usually thinks of Anton LaVey and Aleister Crowley, hedonism and ritual. But for occult industrial goths Dermabrasion, hedonism means fighting for your right to enjoy having a body, and ritual means expressing yourself authentically. The two-piece delve into these concepts on debut album Pain Behaviour, which they’ve been sitting on for a year.
“It’s intensely hard to occupy a body,” says bassist/vocalist Kat McGouran. “I got really sick when we were writing Pain Behaviour. I realised I was carrying so much pain that I haven’t allowed myself to accept. This band ended up being a way to explore this idea through occultism.”
Starting out in the DIY punk scene in Toronto, Dermabrasion describe their early demos, recorded in their living room by guitarist Adam Bernhardt, as “ramshackle”. But after signing to indie label Hand Drawn Dracula, they knew they needed to step up – although there have been some growing pains as they’ve encountered the alien machinations of the music industry.
“Adjusting to a label meant treating music like an industry rather than just a community,” Kat admits.
Kat’s occult leanings go further than just reading. Ritualism, in the form of expulsion and catharsis, bleeds into Dermabrasion’s performances, as she manifests things she can’t otherwise express.
“It’s a performance of something that I’m not allowed to practise in any other context,” she explains. “I want to just scream into your fucking face all of the time, and I’m putting that away every day. But if Ihave a really bad day, it’s usually a better show.” Rosie Solomon
Pain Behaviour is out now via Hand Drawn Dracula.
Sounds Like: An industrial disco held at the witching hour during a full moon
For Fans Of: Siouxsie And The Banshees, Bauhaus, The Cramps
Listen To: Goblin Dance
Battlesnake
Looking like a Monty Python take on Dungeons & Dragons, Battlesnake certainly make an impression. But when Hammer catches up with 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 distinctive image of cream robes decorated with medieval patterns and spikes is all part of the theatre of rock’n’roll. “We wanted to make the craziest rock band we can think of,” enthuses guitarist Ben Frank.
Playing raucous rock’n’roll about subjects such as cars running on amphetamines (Motorsteeple), diabolical witch queens (Key Of Solomon), or unleashing ancient evils (Pangea Breaker), Battlesnake are the bastard offspring of The Lord Of The Rings, Mad Max and good old-fashioned heavy metal.
“We take our music seriously,” bassist Elliot Hitchcock offers. “But it’s very childlike in its energy.”
“It has to be delivered with this real reckless abandon,” adds guitarist Paul Mason. “But we also make sure the tightness is there live.”
Formed in 2018 in Sydney, they’ve released two albums in the past two years, smashing together wild guitar acrobatics and heavy metal thunder, and delighting in showmanship like many metal legends. They’re inspired not just by Kiss, who they opened for in2022 at the 21,000-capacity Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, but maverick artists such as Frank Zappa, if mostly in spirit more than style.
“Basically, anybody who’s pushed the boat out, is a bit weird and has a vision!” Elliott says.
Sure enough, their own vision is suitably weird and wonderful. During their high-octane set, they somehow cram all seven members and sundry onto the tiny stage, and make plentiful use of spark fountains. “Coming to a Battlesnake show is a novel experience,” Paul grins. “You’re not going to get this anywhere else.” Will Marshall
The Rise And Demise Of The Motorsteeple is out now. Battlesnake's UK tour starts in Brighton on September 24.
Sounds Like: Fire-breathing fantastical rock’n’roll meets Mad Max
For Fans Of: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Kiss, Judas Priest
Listen To: Motorsteeple
