Feminazgûl | In Darkness No One Reigns

After the dreamy, atmospheric EP The Age of Men is Over in 2018, vocalist Laura Beach joined multi-intrumentalist Margaret Killjoy for No Dawn For Men, Feminazgûl’s first album, released in spring 2020. Its folk-laced, atmospheric black metal caught the attention of many: both visceral and scenic, mournful and elevating, it’s a celebration of the expressive possibilities of the genre and a breath of fresh air. We reached out to Margaret and Laura for an outlook on the innards of the project, and here are their musings on rot, Tolkien, feminism, and power.

This interview was done by email in November-December 2020 for Stryga, a fanzine published by the enchanting Lia of Absaintes. It’s a stunning thing and you can still buy it here.

© Laura Beach
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Fraukje van Burg | In the Shadow of the Living

Dutch black metal band Doodswens went through a lot in a few years: inception, gaining momentum, releasing a first album, Lichtvrees, on Svart Records, touring, and eventually, massive changes in the line-up. Fraukje van Burg interviewed here left the band, but Doodswens lives on: I. is still on drums, and S. on guitar and N. on vocals and bass joined forces. I haven’t changed a word of the following interview; it is a candid snapshot of an emerging artist that is just as sincere and compelling as it was when I first wrote it.

In more ways than one, the first demo of Doodswens is a blaze in the Northern—well, Dutch—sky. Icy and incandescent, the music from Fraukje van Burg (vocals, guitar) and Inge van der Zon (drums) isn’t straight up Scandinavian second wave of black metal worship, but it channels its energy, raw, fiery, and visceral. These first songs scored them a spot at the iconic Roadburn Festival and hold a lot of promises. We chatted with Fraukje about the past, present, and future of the band.

This interview took place the 29th of November 2020 and was first published in Stryga, a fanzine published by the enchanting Lia of Absaintes. It’s a stunning thing and you should definitely buy it here.

© Aldwin Lehr – edit Fraukje van Burg
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