Religion plays a strong theme in the music of King Woman, but not in the “praise God, glory be to Him” sort of way. Naming their forthcoming debut full-length Created in the Image of Suffering was more than just a clever turn of phrase for the Bay Area doom metal outfit. The record is a “catharsis for years of religious and mental torment,” as a press release puts it, a release you can certainly feel in the album’s new single “Deny”.
The song itself finds bandleader Kristina Esfandiari bewailing the facade forced on her by religion in her uniquely hazy drone. “I pray my mother/ Won’t you ever find a cure?” Esfandiari asks on the chorus. “Throw back odd pill/ Find euphoria I once knew.” Musically, “Deny” is a perfect exemplification of how Consequence of Sound’s own Andy O’Connor described the band’s sound in his 10 Most Anticipated Metal Albums of 2017 feature: “Doomy enough for those who still wish High on Fire were on the label, yet weird enough for people who only know Relapse through S U R V I V E…”
As for the track’s video, which you can watch above, director Kevin Haus captured the song’s ethos with frightening vividness. Esfandiari describes it as revealing “the shadow aspect in Jungian psychology,” unlocking the darkness kept locked away in one’s subconscious.
“In the video you see this portion of the mind surfacing and coaxing the preacher into his truest form; drawing out the aspects of himself which he loathes because it doesn’t fit in with his beliefs,” she tells Consequence of Sound. “In church, I saw others being raised with a rod in their backs, trying to fight their own carnality — buried in shame and guilt. The belief was to deny anything inside of themselves that was considered ugly or wrong, and instead attain a pristine image. With this video we aimed to paint a picture of how tormenting and exhausting it is to wrestle with your true self.”
Created in the Image of Suffering is due out February 24th via Relapse. You can also catch King Woman supporting the release at any of the tour dates listed below.
King Woman 2017 Tour Dates:
02/17 – Oakland, CA @ Starline Social Club
02/18 – Olympia, WA @ Obsidian
02/19 – Portland, OR @ Bunk Bar
02/24 – Sacramento, CA @ Starlite Lounge
02/26 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
03/14 – Brooklyn, NY @ St Vitus
03/15 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts *
03/16 – Washington, DC @ DC9 *
03/17 – Asheville, NC @ Mothlight *
03/18 – Nashville, TN @ The End *
03/19 – Orlando, FL @ Backbooth *
03/20 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl *
03/22 – Dallas, TX @ Three Links *
03/23 – Houston, TX @ Walter’s *
03/24 – Austin, TX @ Sidewinder *
04/08 – Linz, AT @ Kapu ^
04/09 – Vienna, AT @ Arena ^
04/10 – Leipzig, DE @ Felsenkeller ^
04/11 – Berlin, DE @ Musik & Frieden ^
04/12 – Dresden, DE @ Beatpol ^
04/14 – Antwerp, BE @ Het Bos ^
04/15 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club ^
04/16 – Glasgow, UK @ Saint Luke’s &
04/17 – Manchester, UK @ Gorilla &
04/18 – London, UK @ Heaven &
04/19 – Brighton, UK @ The Haunt &
04/20 – Lille, FR @ La Malterie ^
04/21 – Tilburg, Netherlands @ Roadburn
04/22 – Hattiesburg, MS @ Out of the Crowd Fest
04/23 – Karlsruhe, DE @ Dude fest
04/24 – Lyon, FR @ Le Periscope ^
04/25 – Nantes, FR @ Le Ferraileur ^
04/26 – Paris, FR @ L’Espace B ^
04/27 – Brussels, BE @ VK ^
04/28 – Groningen, NL @ Vera ^
* = w/ Oathbreaker and Jaye Jayle
^ = w/ True Widow
& = w/ Chelsea Wolfe
