Feminazgûl

Lore & Background

Feminazgûl was founded by Margaret Killjoy, a transgender anarchist author, in 2018. Killjoy created the band's debut EP, The Age of Men Is Over, as a solo project the same year. The band was also included in the 2018 Worldwide Organization of Metalheads Against Nazis (W.O.M.A.N.) compilation album. In 2020, the band released their first full-length album, No Dawn for Men, with the addition of Laura Beach as lead vocalist and Meredith Yayanos as violinist and theremin player. Lars Gotrich writing for NPR described the album as 'a viciously beautiful piece of feminist black metal'. In 2021, Feminazgûl released a split album with Awenden.

Reader's Guide

Feminazgûl's significance lies in its explicit integration of political and mythological themes into black metal, a genre often associated with apolitical or reactionary stances. The band's name is a portmanteau of feminazi, a derogatory term for feminists, and Nazgûl from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, and both album titles are quotes from The Lord of the Rings. Their music incorporates quotes and themes from mythology and fantasy, and their feminist, anti-fascist, and anarchist beliefs are central to their work. The band's inclusion in the W.O.M.A.N. compilation and the positive reception of No Dawn for Men by NPR highlight their impact within the underground metal scene. The addition of Beach and Yayanos expanded the project from a solo endeavor to a full band, and the split album with Awenden further cemented their presence in the genre. Feminazgûl represents a deliberate reclamation of a derogatory term and a fusion of extreme music with progressive politics.

Did You Know?

• The band's debut EP title, The Age of Men Is Over, is a quote from The Lord of the Rings, but the full-length album No Dawn for Men is not a direct quote from Tolkien's works.
• Founder Margaret Killjoy is a transgender anarchist author.