pantychrist begins with a distorted synth, a fuzzy guitar and an anguished scream. Previously of the metal band Dentata, the provocative singer, rapper and visual artist has stepped out on her own a second time, using a mix of glitch, trap and nu metal to fulfil her desire to disgust and provoke. Much like her hero, Plasmatics singer Wendy O Williams, Dentata’s personality and her music are impossible to separate, performing with a blood-covered spade echoing Wendy’s infamous chainsaw.
The first solo female artist to sign to Roadrunner Records, Dentata blends Catholic imagery with explorations of bodily autonomy, mental health struggles and overcoming self-doubt. On the opening title-track Dana depicts herself as a Christ-like figure overcoming her demons to resurrect and return to the fray.
Occasionally straying a little close to Rob Zombie-esque schlock, although with a knowing glint, Dentata manages to walk along a razor’s edge for most of the album’s runtime. Zipper Aches is a terrifying track about the need to get out of your body – possibly inspired by Dana’s time in the modelling industry – the minimalism of the instrumentation allowing her dynamic vocal performance to tell the story to captivating effect. Themes of domestic violence (Manic Monday’s ‘When the man that you fear / Is the man that you feed’) brings her work closer to that of Lingua Ignota than one might expect from an industrial rapper.
Previously hailed by Marilyn Manson as the next big thing, Dana Dentata’s art is ironically the very antithesis of everything he’s come to represent. pantychrist condemns masculine violence by meeting it head on with equally brutal feminine rage.
pantychrist is released on September 3 via Roadrunner Records
