King Woman - Created In The Image Of Suffering

I first heard about King Woman a few years ago, with their "Degrida/Sick Bed" EP.  This EP, had a solid start for King Woman, as they started showing their now signature style of slow, ethereal, doom metal.  It was a good start, my only real issue was that I didn't think King Woman pushed this concept hard enough.  The atmosphere was on POINT, but the instrumentals could have been heavier.  On King Woman's "Dove/Fond Affections" EP however, they really started winning me over.  The tracks here were much more stretched out and well performed, bringing in elements of drone and doom metal up against these vocals that sounded out of the playbook of Beach House.  Obviously however, we haven't heard King Woman on a full length album yet, so let's chat about their big full length debut.

This album starts off with "Citios".  You know it's funny, for a minute long atmospheric instrumental this actually set the mood wonderfully and swiftly.  Kristina's vocals are haunting, yet soothing and mysterious in a really weird turn of events.  There isn't a ton going on here, bu tit's certainly a good way to set the dreary tone of everything.  "Utopia" though which follows quickly shows King Woman getting right to the point.  Their sound here is just so hulking and sluggish, but strangely full of life.  Vocalist Kristina Esfandiari's vocals have come such a long way since the group's early recordings.  This is literally what I've wanted to hear King Woman do for years.  Their music is still putting Kristina front and center as the star, but every other gigantic instrumental here is practically swallowing her whole.  However, she sounds at home among this looming atmosphere. This is all certainly heavy, but it's not heavy enough to be too challenging or require numerous listens.  Kristina's vocals add in a strong beauty to this as well.  It's also very ethereal in a way and moody, any fans of Marissa Nadler's "Strangers" or anything Chelsea Wolfe has done recently are going to go nute over this.  As dreamy and as heavy as this is though, there's still tons of emotion.  Kristina's vocals trail off a bit towards the end, but overall this is brilliant.  Now overall most of this album keeps the same sort of feel and does it justice, the only real true hiccup here is on "Deny".  Sadly this is a sloppy track overall, with Kristina's vocals sounding completely out of the loop and the instrumentals coming off a bit too sluggish.   Even the atmosphere doesn't really even seem like it knows what's going on.  There are certainly solid moments however, for instance I love the way Kristina's vocals turn into a damn near howl for the chorus.  This just reminds me too much of their early, more forgettable EP's.  And what's most disappointing is, all of the elements are certainly here. The instrumentals are massive and powerful, and Kristina actually sounds fantastic.  But nothing is clicking at all, and while Kristina sounds wonderful this honestly sounds like it was written for a different track completely.  Thankfully though King Woman quickly come back with "Shame".  The intro here instantly sounds much heavier and certainly less majestic for the moment.  Kristina's vocals however do add a certain mysticism to everything here.  Now, there are certain albums and styles of music that just take you away and put you in a near trance, this is actually taking me there man.  There's some small elements of drone metal in there and I can't help but just sit there and be amazed.  "Shame" overall is just so thick and muddy, and when those massive drums and come in and usher in this absolutely gigantic chorus I literally get goosebumps every time.  The pounding drums are epic, the guitars are muddy and powerful, King Woman are quickly becoming a HUGE name in doom metal.

“Hierophant” kicks off the second half of the album.  This one, not so shockingly starts off with another slow, mysterious intro.  I remember worrying so much about the atmosphere’s of early King Woman albums.  But man has it seriously shaped up wonderfully over the years.  Kristina’s performance here is just so breathy and ethereal, if you’re into ruthless power metal this is probably not going to be something your into.  However, if you’re into slower paced, more stunning metal, this is very much so above average.  Kristina’s vocals on this one are absolutely dripping in effects, and more times than not I wish I could make out a few more lyrics here and there.  But to be honest, tracks like these aren’t even about the lyrics.  No, tracks like this are about this methodical pace, with atmosphere’s so dense and impenetrable.  I love the strings that pop in behind King Woman bring back that very majestic feel, deep down I can sense a little folk-metal influence.  The tracks on this album are far from instantaneously gratifying, but if you have the patience to sit through and let yourself get completely engulfed by this atmosphere, man is it ever worth it.  “Hierophant” is also a fantastic example of how King Woman can handle these longer tracks without really getting stale, as about halfway through there are a ton more acoustic elements added.  “Worn” is up next, and just from this intro alone I have chills.  As far as Kristina’s performance goes, this may just be my favorite performance of hers here.  The instrumentals here are no slouches either, as King Woman incorporate elements of desert rock and other sub-genres of metal.  King Woman on their early EP’s were a doom metal band trying desperately to find a direction.  On this album, they find this direction and march on with a wonderful sound and purpose.  The atmosphere here is so fantastically done that each time one of those massive guitar chords pop in I never really expect it.  Hell, even when things pick up and become borderline chaotic it transitions very nicely with Kristina acting as some dark ringleader.  Up next is "Manna", and literally just listening to Kristina's opening vocals is enough to give me chills.  For this style of metal, Kristina's vocals couldn't be more on point.  Once again, I can't stress enough this isn't you by the books metal.  Hell, there are even some Psychedelic elements in this one with those very far out guitar licks.  "Manna" as it continues remains so hazy and hard to place.  It's hard to place in a good way however, in a very dense way, one that may take you a few listens to seriously take it all in.  The pacing however is the real key here, it's done so masterfully that the first chance these choruses get to explode they catch you off guard in these wonderful moments of pure metal ecstasy.  "Hem" is our finale for this album, and not to shockingly King Woman aren't speeding things up at all.  This one is just as slow paced and patient sounding as other tracks.  But God, does it ever set this depressing, hulking, heavy atmosphere.  Kristina sounds like shes damn near chanting here, it makes things certainly more uneasy but man does it ever work.  These last few tracks have been so hazy, I feel like I'm lost in the woods with multiple paths that probably lead even deeper.  As the track leads on however and the guitars come crashing in, instantly this is some of the most straightforward metal of the entire album.  And that's about it, I wish this album was maybe a little bit longer but overall it's fantastic.

(Couldn't find any sound clips for this one ladies and gentlemen, sorry!)

Rating: 8.3/10

Give A Listen To: "Utopia", "Shame", "Worn", "Manna"

Overall Thoughts:  Overall, I don't have a lot of bad things to say about this album.  I wanted King Woman to focus more on metal aspects, which they certainly did, all while keeping Kristina the focus as well as making great atmospheres.  There were a hiccup or two in the first two tracks but overall this is a very smooth, well paced metal album that I don't think anyone was expecting to be THIS good.