Review by Olivia Matthews
Lust Hag has just released her debut full length entitled ‘Lust Hag’ Via Fiadh Productions. Lust Hag hails from Missoula, Montana and is the brain child of Eleanor Harper. Eleanor is responsible for all of the ‘ Music, Vocals, Recording, Engineering, Cover Art, Logo, Layout and Design’. The album also features additional artwork by Hannah Edith and photography by @eezabaya . The album is centred around the Nameless Hag and her ‘perilous’ adventures. ‘Lust Hag’ is described as a ‘feral breed of black and death metal made up of groovier riffs, haunting synths and piercing shrieks.’ Furthermore, it is ‘dedicated to the beautiful pissed off princess in us all.’ With this context, let’s dive into the review.
The album opens with the song ‘Pursuit of the Nameless Hag’. The song starts off with a lone riff before being joined by a cacophony of piercing vocals, dynamic drums and ambient synth sounds. ‘Pursuit of the Nameless Hag’ kicks off the album as it means to go on, that being both brutal with its riffs and ambient and haunting with the use of synths. This track works as a great introduction to the album both thematically and sonically.
The second track on the album, ‘A Deep Gouge’, dials up the brutality to eleven; starting off with a fast and aggressive riff which slowly settles down into a groove laden section around the one minute mark. This slower section only serves as a break from the onslaught as the heavy riffs come back coupled with a hauntingly shrill solo which highlight Eleanor’s abilities as a guitar player. ‘Mother Miriam’ is another song which brings the Groove Metal influences to the forefront. This song features a string of endlessly groovy riffs with the section around the one minute mark being reminiscent of classic Bolt Thrower.
Having already discussed the heavier moments of the album, it is important to mention the Dungeon Synth influences that have bled into this album. These Dungeon Synth elements can be heard on the intro to ‘An Evening Most Dire’ and the keyboard sections of ‘Safety for Now…’. The use of these synth elements helps to create a richer sound and adds a lot of depth to the album. The keyboard section of ‘Safety for Now…’ coupled with the driving guitar riff create an almost anthemic quality. The use of the “OÜGH” on this track is also a bonus.
‘Dagger of Magdalene’ is the most dynamic and varied of the songs on the album and contains the driving guitars, ‘piercing shrieks’ and most importantly the synths. The middle section of this track goes from a melodic solo into a mystical synth section. Following on from the mystical and atmospheric middle section the song descends into an overlay of dive bombs. Whilst ‘Pursuit of the Nameless Hag’ could be seen as setting the tone for the album, ‘Dagger of Magdalene’ can be seen as the centrepiece and is in my opinion the standout track.
To conclude, this is a solid debut full length album and has a concise runtime under 40 minutes which is always a positive. ‘Lust Hag’ by Lust Hag is another great entry into the Compendium of TWBM (Trans Woman Black Metal). Not only does it satiate your black metal needs it also adds a level of Bolt Thrower esque riffs in places. ‘Lust Hag’ is a dynamic album with a whole lot of replay value. You can grab a digital or physical copy (or both) via the Lust Hag Bandcamp as well as the Fiadh Productions page.
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