Words by Espi Kvlt
Today, Noob Heavy is honored to bring you the exclusive premiere of the upcoming compilation album from one-woman vampyric black metal band Lust Hag. This bloody delight will be released on July 28th on cassette by Fiadh Productions.
Hailing from Missoula, Montana, Eleanor Harper returns to bring us an album featuring a compilation of unreleased tracks that show off where this evolution of raw sound has gone since last we saw her on the Abscynthe split. She’s a powerhouse of incredible music, a badass trans woman with a strong antifascist message, and a woman after my own heart with the vampire love. Noob Heavy is thrilled to bring you the premiere full stream of Lust Hag’s upcoming album. Click play below and read on!
The Demo II half opens on an incredibly strong note, layering atmosphere down the second you press play. With fuzzy distortion and creepy guitars, we are led into the song just as one is led through the halls of a castle by a scary vampire who wants to show us horrors unknown. The vocals punch you in the face the moment they start, and the rawness comes out most of all through their noisy chaos. Track two is full-on atmosphere, reminiscent of a dungeon synth album and quite cozy, but the coziness is short-lived as the third track descends back into that raw vampyric black metal we’re all here for. Another atmospheric track is interwoven between the third and fifth tracks, and unlike the comfortable dungeon synth of the previous one, this one is just guttural sounds like a vampire that’s choking on its own blood. It’s extremely unnerving and spooky, which is exactly the kind of thing you want on an album like this. The fifth track is a standout, with haunting synths that sound like ghosts in the background as Eleanor not only screams in her normal style, but also releases some frankly terrifying booms of rage from her throat that demand your attention. The next interlude, which is also a very 80’s fantasy video game, dungeon synth piece, brings some much-needed nostalgic coziness after that whirlwind of sounds and overwhelming adrenaline.
Don’t get too comfortable, though, because the following track begins the Promo 2023 side and starts right up with intense riffs and screeches from the background that sound more animal than human. A flurry of raw guitars play melodically over what is perhaps the most impressive piece of vocal work on the album, as the screaming in the background continues throughout and are truly menacing as hell. Instead of getting a moment to pause with some atmosphere as had been the pattern previously, we are launched into the longest and strongest track on the album. “The Hunt” has fun riffs, powerful vocals, chuggy guitars that captivate, chilly synths that send shivers down your spine, unrelenting blast beats, and then, at the very end, it comes to a two minute halt to give us an acoustic piece of gorgeous guitar work that, when finished, will perhaps mesmerize you as much as it did me and make you briefly forget what you were listening to before the next song kicks your teeth in to remind you. The album ends with two solid tracks of raw vampyric black metal that fully stick the landing, providing us with the perfect closing to a great and substantial record.
An incredible compilation of raw, vampyric black metal with one song in particular that stands out as a superstar and is one I will be revisiting frequently, this effort not only delivers, but exceeds expectations.