In case you haven’t picked up a copy of Black Metal Rainbows yet, the titular genre has officially moved firmly enough past its homicidal roots in misogyny and transphobia that the current generation of artists feels comfortable leaning into the sounds of its second wave to reclaim them as their own. As one figure in this movement, Erin Dawson has prescribed the term “TWBM”—trans woman black metal—to the music she makes as Genital Shame in response to the long history of acronyms incorporating “national socialist” and other unsavory classifiers.
Dawson’s new album Chronic Illness Wish even sees her leaning into the tinny sounds of the genre’s early-’90s era with lead single “Schooled in Every Grace” establishing this sonic palette early on the record before veering into experimental ambiance on the instrumental “Hermaphroditic Image” and hitting the LP’s transcendental peak of “Taste Rot” shortly after (and shouting out Drag Race season 14 contestant Kerri Colby shortly after that). “‘Schooled in Every Grace’ captures the feeling of being pursued by unreasonable, constant guilt from differing sources—a voyeuristic/surveilling presence, god—ultimately leading to something like a conviction in the song's final moments,” she shares of the track.
With the album arriving last Friday via metal newcomers The Garrote, today we’re getting an ethereal visual for the track that sees Dawson shredding through the single in front of misty hills before vanishing completely in the clip’s final moments. Check out the video directed by Aziel Mal below, and stream the album here.
