Today Noob Heavy is excited to partner with the Antifascist Black Metal Network to bring you the exclusive premiere of the upcoming split from solo black metal acts Bury Them and Keep Quiet and Feminizer! This excellent piece of antifascist goodness will be jointly released on cassette by Fiadh Productions (US) and Vita Detestabilis Records (Europe) this Friday, May 5.
We’re extremely proud to bring you the music of these two bands, each of them the solo project of a trans woman. Hailing from opposite ends of the United States—Bury Them and Keep Quiet in New York and Feminizer in Seattle—these women are helping to make their local scenes and metal culture as a whole more inclusive and safe for queer and trans people. The music is as outstanding as the musicians themselves and their sounds pair exceptionally with one another, so click below to listen and read on past the player for our thoughts on the split’s five tracks!
Bury Them and Keep Quiet’s three-track contribution of visceral melodic black metal makes up side A, a testament to the effectiveness of classic tremolo lines that harken back to the second wave and good old fashioned ire. The grim melancholy of the descending harmonies on “Food for Worms” combined with FC’s wicked snarling screams is an excellent kickoff, and sets up the groovy synth line that opens “It’s No Good” as a real surprise. The standout second track is built on two melodies, one upbeat and bright while the other flies in long lines like an arrow on the wind, and as the song continues both are darkened and further developed by altering the chords beneath. “Cast from Darkness” closes the A side with a slower opening, a churning river of thumping blasts, and a final towering wall of black metal fury.
The depressive stylings of Feminizer comprise side B, and the production is immediately noticeable as a step up from the project’s 2022 debut. The ten minutes of “Argri Konu” begin with a haze of sounds that grows, using searing guitar to arrive at a true vortex of sound, like being surrounded by a blizzard of distortion on all sides. The track shift tempos and meters, heartrending vocals sunk deep into the full sound; it’s powerfully cathartic and all-consuming. M.S. makes smart use of synth effects, with chimes and flute tones dotting moments of “Argri Konu” and split closer “Hungry Like the Wolf”. That second track in particular shows a real deft hand for timbres and textures, conjuring images of swirling smoke and shadows.
We hope you enjoy the split as much as we have! Check the Fiadh and Vita Detestabilis Bandcamp pages this Friday, May 5, to grab a tape.