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Release date: March 8, 2024
Label: Self-released
Genre(s): Black metal
Witch Club Satan’s self-titled 2024 debut is a ferocious, unapologetic blast of Norwegian black metal infused with feminist rage and occult theater. Released on International Women’s Day by the all-female trio of Victoria F. S. Røising (bass/vocals), Nikoline Spjelkavik (guitar/vocals), and Johanna Holt Kleive (drums/vocals), the album channels second-wave black metal traditions while staking out its own confrontational territory.
The sound is dense and multi-layered: relentless blastbeats, icy tremolo-picked riffs, and raw, overlapping shrieks and spoken-word mantras that evoke the cold fury of Mayhem, Darkthrone, and early Emperor. Co-produced with Anders Odden, it balances primitive aggression with dynamic shifts. Tracks like “Fresh Blood, Fresh Pussy” and “Wild Whores” deliver catchy, riff-driven punches laced with visceral, body-focused lyrics, while “Hysteria” and “Black Metal is Krig” channel pure chaotic energy and socio-political edge. “Mother Sea” provides a striking contrast—a longer, atmospheric, almost ethereal respite that feels like a prayer to nature amid the onslaught.
What sets the record apart is its perspective. The band’s self-described “resurrected witches” aesthetic and themes of female anger, bodily autonomy, environmentalism, and defiance feel radical within a historically male-dominated genre. The triple-vocal approach adds jagged, angular intensity—ranging from deep aggression to piercing, witch-like howls—that keeps the 44-minute runtime engaging even when the compositions lean derivative of classic Norwegian BM. Moments of theater and spoken word heighten the ritualistic feel without fully sacrificing the music’s raw power.
Criticisms of occasional familiarity or theatrical excess are fair; some riffs and structures echo the old guard closely. Yet the conviction, energy, and fresh viewpoint make those echoes feel purposeful rather than empty. Independent and self-defined, Witch Club Satan succeeds as both a love letter to black metal’s extremity and a sharp challenge to its conventions. For fans of traditional black metal hungry for something vital and confrontational, this is a compelling, blood-soaked statement. It doesn’t reinvent the genre, but it injects it with necessary fire and fury.
Witch Club Satan: Bandcamp | Instagram
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