With the title ‘Created In The Image Suffering’, and a glance at the track titles that make up King Woman’s debut album, it was always going to make for uneasy listening. Not in the sense that it is unlistenable, in as much as it is a deeply personal, hard-hitting record. It may seem hard to believe after the suffocating nature of their stunning 2015 EP, ‘Doubt’, but ‘Created In The Image Of Suffering’ – as it suggests – comes from an even darker place.
For this record, vocalist Kristina Esfandiari has plumbed further depths of despair. This largely comes from Esfandiari’s religious upbringing which, as explained in many interviews, was forced upon her. It was prevalent in the household she grew up in, being all she knew for the longest time. As she broke free and became involved deeper in music, King Woman has served as a cathartic vehicle to release the years of suffering unwillingly bestowed upon her.
Musically, ‘Created In The Image Of Suffering’ is even further removed from the lo-fi sound of the early demo tapes that circulated several years ago. That side of Esfandiari’s personality has been poured into her solo output as Miserable. King Woman in 2017 is a towering, oppressive force of doom metal, laced with hallucinogenic toxins that paint a bleak and disfigured picture.
Driven by a low-end dirge of thick guitars, ‘Utopia’ is a repetitive wall of aural punishment. The distorted bliss pummels the senses while Esfandiari’s haunting vocal begins to wax and wane from to torment and euphoria. Slightly higher in the mix than King Woman’s previous recordings it is easier to decipher the message of ‘Deny’ and ‘Shame’, yet acts as another painful layer to the intensity of each track.
There is little breathing space amongst the caustic delivery of ‘Created In The Image Of Suffering’. It is a monochrome blanket of slow, methodical, and challenging work that rarely lets up. There are subtle breaks of serenity during several tracks, predominantly on the haunting ‘Worn’ and the hypnotic, tremolo-picked backbone of ‘Manna’. They still give way to seismic shifts of heavy riffing, but this adds to the exciting and volatile nature of the record.
Right through to the closing moments of the harrowing eight-minute opus, ‘Hem’, it is an album to become invested in as you feel the pain of its architects. Be it their intention or not, King Woman have made a record that is not for the faint of heart. But then again, the best music is rarely borne from happiness. ‘Created In The Image Suffering’ is an arresting and emotional journey that leaves you with little hope of light at the end of tunnel.
GLEN BUSHELL