In general, sludge metal tends to shy away from sexual topics; it’s sort of against the ethics of the genre. However, I have thought of a few exceptions to this rule, and wanted to make a mix tape of sludge metal songs about sex that a lucky couple could…get it on to. These are the only four I could come up with so far:

Baroness, “Jake Leg” - Definitely about cunnilingus (oral sex performed on a woman). Yes, the album is loosely based on the struggles of Confederate soldiers, but it seems like this soldier got a little lucky:

Lady!
Keep those hounds at bay
Feed me
The fruits of Avalon

The body’s a vessel
The hands find a cure
“Flesh is weak!” and my lip needs a meal

Weak in the knees
And you’re wet on the floor
“Ace of staves!” we will dance evermore…

For those of you not familiar with tarot cards or the occult, the Staves (or wands) symbolize passion and desire. An Ace in this suit represents a pivotal moment that will set forth a chain of events that will lead one to achieving his or her desired goal. In “Jake Leg”, this just means that Da Baiz has a 100% chance of munching on this girl’s peach cobbler. Also, the word “dance” has been used as a euphamism for sex throughout the centuries, so…yeah :)

Electric Wizard, “Venus in Furs” - Not a cover of the Velvet Underground song of the same name, but both songs were inspired by the writings of the same man, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, the father of Masochism.

I am the Zodiac, I am the stars,
You are the sorceress, my priestess of Mars,
Queen of the night, swathed in satin black,
Your ivory flesh upon my torture rack.

More occult imagery abounds. Mars was the god of war and turbulence, so this could be metaphorical for conquering a woman who was seemingly unconquerable. Either that or Jus Osborne was really stoned when he wrote this and thought the lyrics sounded trippy. I’m kind of leaning towards the latter.

Mastodon, “Stargasm” - Brann Dailor has said that this diddy is about having sex in space, which may or may not have been inspired by a Discovery Channel special on the same theme.

Awake in the moment,
Awaken the heart.
Look to the spirits,
Stargasm glows,
Stargasm…

And then we shift into overdrive,
But you’re not here.
And your legs and the stars collide,
You’re on fire / You’re on fire / You’re on fire…

Sounds like Brann (who likely wrote these lyrics, although Brent sings them) desires a sexual experience that connects him to his partner on a spiritual level, that awakens both parties to the wonders of fucking in the cosmos. There’s also a good deal of owl references in this song. In Celtic mythology, owls were wise messengers that provided insight into secrets and hidden truths, and could act as a medium between earthly creatures and spirits in the underworld. As with many of Dailor’s lyrics, themes of death and the afterlife weigh heavily on his mind, even during orgasmic rapture. Also note that orgasms have been nicknamed “little deaths” in French culture, and the word “die” was often used as a metaphor for an orgasm in the middle ages.

Torche, “Fuck Addict” - Despite the straight-forward name, the lyrics are a wee bit more cryptic (as is typical with sludge metal lyrics). Openly gay front man Steve Brooks probably wrote this one about how much he likes gay sex. That would make sense.

Your expressions explain everything, and I’d like to turn you on.
Pleasure is absence of pain.
Blood is withdrawn from art and joy.
Rest does not restore passion.
My fire will coat your chill, and I’d like to turn you on.

It looks like Steve just really wants to get this guy in the mood and fuck his brains out. He’s reassuring his mate that some really good sex will take his mind off of the negative aspects of life. The line about blood being drawn…well, you can use your imagination on that one. I’m not going to get too smutty here. Steve’s fire coating this guy’s chill simply means that he’s going to come on so hot and heavy to this guy that he will have to get rid of that icy chip on his shoulder and do some sheet-tumbling with Steve by night’s end.

Haha, so that’s all I could come up with. Do you know of any more songs in sludge/stoner/doom metal with overt sexual themes?

Pretty excited about starting this feature up again, and the Facebook group has helped me to find more amazing women to interview. This time around, there should be some more special content. Every time I do this, it gets a little bigger and bigger, and I couldn’t be happier :)

Artists who are slated to be interviewed this time around include B (Rwake), Therese Lanz (KEN Mode, Mares of Thrace), Alicia Morgan (13), Meg Castellanos (Totimoshi) and the ladies of Seattle doom trio Grey. I’m also aiming to get Lori from Acid King this time around, seeing as how her touring schedule prevented her from being interviewed last April. We’ll see!

Actually, the interview with B (Rwake vocalist/keyboardist) was completed last night and she told me that once I post it up, she’ll send the link to Relapse :3

In the meantime while I sort all of this stuff out, check out some interviews I did during Part II:

Stevie Floyd (Dark Castle)

Sophie Willett (Alunah)

Julie Christmas (Made out of Babies/Battle of Mice)

Kelly Gabany (Vulture)

Laura Pleasants (Kylesa)

Taz Corona-Brown and Hel Sterne (Undersmile)

Amber Valentine (Jucifer)

Chiyo Nukaga (Noothgrush, Graves at Sea, a million other bands!)

Claire Horrocks (Bastard of the Skies)

Liz Buckingham (13, Sourvein, Electric Wizard)

Enjoy!

…And what a week it has been! Hope everybody has enjoyed the items I’ve posted as much as I enjoyed posting them!

My inspiration for this project came from Jen AKA MissWorld, who had a feature on her blog known as “Kathleen Hanna Appreciation Week”. A big chunk of her blog is not only dedicated to Hanna but other women who were a part of the original Riot Grrl scene back in the early ’90s. I got to thinking about how those women mobilized and made something special, and how many on the scene started fan zines dedicated to other female musicians. 

Then suddenly, a thought occurred to me: “Why the hell can’t I do that?!”, and Women of Sludge Metal Appreciation Week was born. This time, things went way better than the first edition. It should be obvious why this edition is better - I actually got some amazing women on the scene to participate and get actively involved in the project’s development.

Special thanks are in store for Laura Pleasants, Stevie Floyd, and the many amazing women on the British Sludge scene for spreading the word and helping me to find others who were willing to be interviewed. As in the words of my Tumblr buddy and resident Sludge duder Mitch, “sometimes you just have to ask”. Asking these women for interviews was the best thing I ever did.

The women on today’s sludge scene are Heavy Metal’s riot grrls. They are inspiring a whole new generation to take their picks or sticks and rock the fuck out. My hope is that 20 years from now, the Lauras, Loris, and Julies of this underground movement will have the same impact that the Courtneys, Kathleens, and Corins of yesteryear did. So to all those girls out there who want to join a band or just those who really look up to these musicians: don’t be afraid to follow in their footsteps. That could be you on stage one day. You could be the one who sets a good example for other girls. Keep your chins up :)

ALL INTERVIEWS ARE LISTED BELOW. Click the titles to read:

STEVIE FLOYD, Singer/Guitarist of Dark Castle

SOPHIE WILLETT, Singer/Guitarist of Alunah

JULIE CHRISTMAS, Singer of Made out of Babies

KELLY GABANY, Drummer of Vulture

LAURA PLEASANTS, Singer/Guitarist of Kylesa

TAZ CORONA BROWN AND HEL STERNE, Singers/Guitarists of Undersmile

CHIYO NUKAGA, Drummer of Noothgrush and Graves at Sea

AMBER VALENTINE, Singer/Guitarist of Jucifer

CLAIRE HORROCKS, Bassist of Bastard of the Skies

LIZ BUCKINGHAM, Guitarist of Electric Wizard