REVIEW: Venus Grrrls - To Die As Lovers May
For fans of the gothic, the weird and wonderful, of alt-rock hooks inspired by classic horror writers, allow yourself to be put under the spell of VENUS GRRRLS and their new EP To Die As Lovers May. Drink your fill of pulsing, rich guitar riffs, become ensnared in the woven threads of industrial beats and gothic-rock notes, and lose yourself to powerhouse siren vocals that invite you to join the coven.
Originating from across the Midlands and North England, the Leeds-based band - who describe themselves as The Hex Girls from Scooby-Doo, one of the OG queer-awakenings - found mutual understanding in their shared love of alternative artists, channelling their inspiration of all manner of rock music into theatrical goth-rock medleys, industrial and alt hooks, and elements of metal spattered throughout. Beyond the music, VENUS GRRRLS bonded over their upbringings and their shared love for the spooky and unconventional, finding kinship in each other as they warmly embraced the dark and unknown.
Having solidified their tight-knit coven and spellbound fans, VENUS GRRRLS have strengthened their sound and power into the potent concoction To Die As Lovers May, their boldest and most comprehensive work to date. Erupting straight in with Eve, the rich bass and pummeling drum beat, from Hannah Barraclough (who inspired the track after a “bi-panic” over The X-Files star Gillian Anderson - valid crashout) and Alannagh Doherty respectively, set up the EP for the cinematic masterpiece that it is, singer GK tearing through the veil with soaring lyrics that climb to dizzying heights on the passionate breakdown, Eliza Lee providing a riff that bites down hard but also drawing back to prowl around the track and bide her time. Taking direct artistic licence from the original gothic novel, Carmilla is as vampiric as it gets, the rhythm ominous and deliciously wicked, the lyrics yearning and willfully blind to the dangers of the undead and to toxic love in its claims “she loves no one, but she loves me”, all building to a tasty guitar solo that sweeps us under its thrall.
For gothic horror or history fans who know about Mary Shelley, you’ve probably heard the tale of her losing her virginity on her mothers grave. Historians have attempted to debunk this myth; for goth-horror fans, it’s a story that shows Shelley was macabre and metal as fuck. VENUS GRRRLS pay homage to this myth with Mother Knows, an addictive dual helix of bass and guitar riffs setting the stage as GK pushes her voice through rolling octaves with the accepting words “I’ll burn in hell for this”, the riffs and beats opting between a mix of grunge and alt-rock to create an amalgamation like Shelley’s Frankenstein. Evergreen takes on a more melancholy approach in its chord progressions, GK dropping to a lower register to begin and exploding upward on visceral cries as she mourns a time and the person she once was as she’s forced to embrace change, the instrumentals rising and shrinking back as if they’re also adverse to the forced change. The EP closes out just as dramatic and strong as it started with finale Wormfood, the instruments masterfully weaving around each other like a complex dance to give the other their chance to spin across the melody, everything fading away to an eerie lone tone for a brief moment before the band enter one by one, flanking the track and dominating its towering sound with otherworldly vocals and searing notes. To say this is VENUS GRRRLS at their pinnacle would be wildly wrong - this is barely the beginning of their worldwide spell.
Score: 9/10
To Die As Lovers May will be released on 16th October 2026 via Killabop.
Words: Julia Stark
Photos: Venus Grrrls
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