Review by: Olivia Matthews
Bury Then and Keep Quiet / Feminizer – Split out now via Vita Detestabilis (EU/UK) and Fiadh Productions (US)
New York’s Bury Them and Keep Quiet collides with Seattle’s Feminizer to bring the perfect blend of melodic black metal and DSBM. The Split is distributed through Vita Detestabilis in the EU/UK and Fiadh Productions in the US and can be picked up on Cassette from either labels Bandcamp pages. Coming from the solo projects of two trans women, this record deals with the themes of hate and speciesism and continues the work of making metal a more inclusive space for queer and trans people.
Refusing to ease you in with an intro track, Bury Them and Keep Quiet set the tone with blast beats and a soaring tremolo picked melody which surmises the intensity brought to the A side. ‘ Food for Worms’ then fully kicks in with an eerie verse riff contrasting the howling vocals and synth laden atmosphere. Track two, ‘It’s no good’ slows things down a little before the soaring intro melody takes hold. For me, this track is the stand out of this half of the split as its main hook carries you throughout the song. ‘Cast From Darkness’ is the last track from BTAKQ and side A. It starts with slower synths and a stand out groove laden bass line before hitting the usual high standard of fast paced tremolo picked melodies and blast beats. This closing track is the most atmospheric of the three and provides a satisfying end to this half of the split.
The B side of the record features Feminizer’s portion of the split, bringing almost 10 minutes of melancholic atmosphere that you’d expect from a DSBM track. In contrast to BTAKQ’s blistering blast beat trem picked intro, ‘Argri Konu’ begins with some haunting atmospheric synths and distant guitars transforming into a hypnotic dirge once the vocals kick in. If you were expecting all atmosphere and no riffs then you’d be mistaken, the 4 minute brings a head bobbing riff which completely changes the dynamics of the song with a higher tempo. This track takes you on a ride from start to finish and is a great example of all things that black metal can do. The second track of this half is a cover of the Duran Duran song ‘Hungry like the Wolf’ which brings a fun juxtaposition to the first track, turning the 80’s classic into a visceral and haunting experience that was totally unexpected.
In summation, This split does everything that you would expect from the format. Both sides showcase all of the best attributes from both projects whilst also leaving you yearning for more. I feel like the best summation comes from the Fiadh Productions Bandcamp page itself saying this is a ‘split that might actually kill you in the best way possible’. If you hurry, you can grab one of the limited run of physical copies produced of this split via Vita Detestabilis in the UK/EU and Fiadh Productions in the US. I have already ordered mine so what are you waiting for!
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