Destructive black metal and gentle female vocals might be an unusual mix, but for singer and keyboardist Aimy Miller, southern English metal outfit She Must Burn answers a calling she’s been chasing for some time.
“It’s something we’ve all wanted to do since we were in the womb: we all came out playing instruments,” Aimy jokes. “Me and Terry [Clarke, guitars] grew up on black metal, so when we bumped into each other at a club two years ago and he suggested getting a band together, I knew this was something I wanted.”
The band are an incendiary combination of vicious fretwork and perilous drums. “She Must Burn is malevolent but pretty at the same time,” notes Aimy. “We think carefully about what we’re writing because if you don’t have that conviction, it makes your lyrics meaningless.”
Their self-titled debut EP showcases Aimy’s delicate vocals playing out a distinctive contrast with frontman Joe Sinclair’s vitriolic growls.
“We discovered it by accident when we heard places in the recording that could’ve used some singing,” she says. “This whole EP was us finding our feet and now it’s done, we know where we want to go from here, so it’s been the best kind of accident!
“Our mission was never to change black metal – we just want to push it as far as we can,” Aimy concludes. “We want to give people that motivation you get from watching your favourite bands, when you go home and want to play an instrument straight away.”
She Must Burn’s self-titled debut EP is out now via iTunes and Bandcamp