Review: Folterkammer – Weibermacht

Style: prog black metal, symphonic black metal, opera (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Imperial Triumphant, Fleshgod Apocalypse, 1914, Myrkur, Diablo Swing Orchestra
Country: New York, United States
Release date: 19 April 2024

Lots of music seeks to elicit pleasure and so do Folterkammer (“torture chamber” in German). Naturally, metal seeks to beat you down sonically, but Folterkammer are your mistress who employs a whip for this purpose (“Das Peitschengedicht”) while you forcefully lick her (…ass, as I believe “Leck Mich!” is a direct reference to the Mozart piece) and kiss her feet (“Leck Mich!” and “Küss mir die Füsse!”). Just look at that album cover: she’s not riding him like that for nothing [Editor’s note: how else do you think a human broom is powered?]. Weibermacht (“Female Power”), the sophomore album by these New York experimentalists, is a “celebratory hymn to the practices of BDSM, particularly, Femdom.” This one is for all you freaks out there who wanted more kinky metal after Obsidious’s masterpiece “Sense of Lust.” Pleasure through punishment.

Folterkammer play fairly standard black metal, but vocalist Andromeda Anarchia completes the band, a true opera singer in metal. Her perfectly controlled vocal agility spans the gamut from dizzyingly high notes which are far beyond the typical scope of metal to slides into snarls and wailing shrieks. Weibermacht’s highlight “Algolagnia” excels because of Anarchia’s vocals, demonstrating mind-fellating range: manic ramblings, horrifying shrieks, and soprano operatics. Centering Weibermacht around Anarchia’s vocals pays its dividends and she is clearly the lifeblood of Folterkammer.

Instrumentally, Weibermacht isn’t quite as gloriously impressive, playing mid-paced black metal that simply sets the stage for Anarchia to sing about her sexcapades. Mixed by Steve Blanco (Imperial Triumphant) and mastered by the master himself Colin Marston, you can safely bet that Weibermacht sounds amazing; all the performances shine, even the bass as rare as that is in black metal. Zachary Ezrin’s (Imperial Triumphant) twisted neoclassical riffs sound like a mix between Fleshgod Apocalypse and 1914 while bassist and main composer Darren Hanson provides a solid low-range counterpoint for the soprano. However, all across the album the band loses the neoclassical aspect of the riffs, turning them into slightly bland second-wave worship with a standout vocalist. Twice on Weibermacht—in opener “Anno Domina” and closer “Das Peitschengedicht”—Folterkammer experiment with excellently composed harpsichord, and I wish the band leaned further into this because those sections feel like a more complete integration of classical opera and metal. Weibermacht is tight, but with more experimentation it could be even stronger. 

Of course, the lyrics, sung entirely in German, are kinky as hell as previously alluded to (thanks Google Translate!), taking an angle of feminine empowerment through sexual domination of their masculine counterparts. Whips become calligraphy pens for writing poetry in blood (as stated by the band about lead single “Das Peitschengedicht,” feet are smelt, and asses are licked. This is a contentious angle for feminism—many contemporary scholars view sadomasochism as a tool weaponized by the patriarchy against women—but I feel Folterkammer effectively pull it off, thanks to Anarchia’s powerful vocals, no doubt. 

Weibermacht suffers in two fashions—and I don’t mean suffers from perverse sexual acts: nearly every track ends with Anarchia chanting the same phrase ad nauseam and the band rarely creeps past allegretto. The counts of the whips on “Anno Domina” are so absurd they crack me up, but the section is far too cheesy for a largely serious album, and the repetitive track endings are frustrating when the band have such dynamic song structures for the majority of each track; the problem is exacerbated by Anarchia’s chants being completely harsh for these endings when her clean vocals are what makes the project as unique as it is. Finally, some faster pacing would go a long way toward caulking up any cracks in Weibermacht [Editor’s note: this is not a sexy turn of phrase and clitorises shriveled up and died when you wrote this], but that’s personal preference.

Folterkammer’s debut was refreshing, and the band has drastically refined themselves since 2020—particularly Hanson’s compositional skills. Despite the minor shortcomings, Weibermacht is one of the most exciting projects in contemporary black metal, excelling in their creativity and Anarchia’s stellar vocal performance. In the best year for symphonic black metal ever with the likes of Ihsahn, Lamentari, and Aquilus, Folterkammer has little problem sticking with the big guns, and their trajectory is surely only upwards.

Recommended tracks: Anno Domina, Die Unterwerfung, Algolagnia, Das Peitschengedicht
You may also like: Véhémence, Passeisme, Obsequiae, La Suspendida, SkyThala, Thy Darkened Shade
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Century Media – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website

Folterkammer is:
Andromeda Anarchia – Vocals
Zachary Ezrin – Guitars
Brendan McGowan – Drums
Darren Hanson – Guitars
Laurent David – Bass