KING WOMAN: “CELESTIAL BLUES”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule  1 Response »
Jul 192021
 

 

(This is Wil Cifer‘s review of the new album by San Francisco-based King Woman, which will be released on July 30 by Relapse Records.)

Unlike the interviews of the average metal band Kristina Esfandiari does not say this album is going in a much heavier direction than our first one, she just does it. The band’s first full-length, Created in the Image of Suffering, was heavy only by the sheer magnitude of melancholy churned from the sludgey blues it summoned. This new album, Celestial Blues, not only bears a greater emotional weight but carries a more metallic malice.

Sure many of the riffs are depressing at times, which I of course love since darkness and sonic heaviness are what I seek out in music. They lure you in with the introspective title track, teasing a few punchy dynamics. Then slowly the aggression begins to leak from the cracks of the songs. Continue reading »

KING WOMAN: “CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF SUFFERING”

 Album Reviews, Exceptions to the Rule  No Responses »
Feb 152017
 

 

(In this post Wil Cifer reviews the new album by San Francisco’s King Woman.)

King Woman’s full-length debut has the kind of thick, dream-like haze cast over it that makes the mood much darker and heavier than what we got from their previous EP. Like many albums that I sing the praises of, this one tickles the sweet spot of my taste buds, and once again proves you don’t have to adhere to typical metal trappings in order to be heavy.

Kristina Esfandiari allows some of her backing vocal tracks to move into more of a scream. And there is weight to the guitars, which often carry the dense distortion of doom. By the second song, it sounds to me that this album is going to take them to the next level of recognition. Continue reading »

TRUE WIDOW, KING WOMAN, AND GLACIERS — LIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO, MAY 17, 2015

 Concert Reviews  2 Responses »
May 202015
 

 

(Ben Manzella wrote this review of the performances by Glaciers, King Woman, and True Widow in San Francisco on May 17.)

As the transition of spring into summer begins, it’s been a state of confusion within San Francisco. Yes, the light of day sticks around until 8PM almost nightly now; but the weather has been colder than average. This past Sunday, with the cold, came local bands Glaciers and King Woman opening for True Widow at Bottom of the Hill.

While all the bands had a rather fuzzed-out, doomy sound in their own ways, it was Glaciers who started the night and they definitely brought energy to the room. Continue reading »