INTRODUCING: Knife Bride
It’s such a beautiful thing when one takes back power from oppressors. To witness someone take back words meant to be derogatory and hurtful and then use it to describe themselves is such a badass move, a simple action that tells you that those words can no longer touch or hurt them. As said, a beautiful thing. That’s what KNIFE BRIDE have done.
Self-described as ‘slut-metal’, it’s a statement that is bound to divide opinion. On the one hand it will turn heads and grab attention, but on the other it will make others question their intentions in wanting to use a misogynistic slur. But for KNIFE BRIDE both of these opinions are valid. Speaking to lead vocalist, Mollie Buckley, and drummer, Sean Millsopp, as they opened for WARGASM’s Explicit tour they explained their intentions. “I think it’s a powerful thing to take back words like that,” says Mollie. Shaun adds, “I think that’s part of it. When we were discussing it, we were considering what line had a good hook to introduce us, because people will think ‘what the fuck is that?’”
Mollie also confirmed that the statement is meant to be a reflection of KNIFE BRIDE’s nature. “I think that we can be really shocking and I think that we are all in touch with our femininity or very sensual people. The chemistry in the band is delicious, we wanted there to be a sexual element to it because that’s how music feels to us, it’s very lusty. It’s 100% about being unapologetically yourself.”
KNIFE BRIDE is made up of five members, including Mollie and Sean we have Sean Windle [guitars], Craig Glynn [bass] and Lauren Wise [samples/vocals]. Only debuting a year ago, already they have made appearances at festivals like Download and Burn It Down, and have worked with people in the industry who they look up to. Their latest single, Fang Dummy, had a music video shot by Loki Films, who have worked with metal legends ARCHITECTS, THY ART IS MURDER and UNDEROATH.
So how did KNIFE BRIDE come to be? Well, a mash-up of the all too classic story of knowing each other through the local scene; Mollie and Lauren are cousins and all members had gone to a music university in Brighton and through that they met after being in different bands together. Mollie breaks it down, “Craig and Sean were in like a grungey band, we (Sean and Mollie) were in a pop band which then split up and then we formed a different pop band with other Sean and moved around a bit.”
But eventually they had enough of performing music in genres that didn’t really reflect them as artists, as Mollie puts it. “After a while we were like, ‘fuck this! Please, please, please can we actually make music that we listen to?’. None of us had been making heavy music, or anywhere near heavy, and so we were just like, ‘maybe it’s time that we actually lived out our passion and make it authentic?’ rather than making music we don’t actually listen to.”
From listening to KNIFE BRIDE it’s easy to tell that there’s a catalogue of influences that helped to merge their sound. It’s fair to say that metal has become incredibly experimental in modern day and isn’t strictly one style, as we’ve seen with artists that mash-up the genre with sounds or lyrics one wouldn’t expect (hello SCENE QUEEN and BABYMETAL). When asked about influences Mollie says, “I was always a massive KATE BUSH fan, but I think it was when I started watching Kerrang! and Scuzz on TV where things changed. I love PARAMORE, EVANESCENCE and I also adore Chris Cornell and SLIPKNOT.” Sean then adds, “I was more into Brit-rock like NECK DEEP, LOWER THAN ATLANTIS, Mike Deuce was a major influence for me.”
It’s also at this point that Mollie wanted the world to know that “Craig is an emo boy but he loves COLDPLAY!” Meanwhile, “Lauren grew up with disco, and loves THE AUDITION and ESCAPE THE FATE. It was a merge of different loves.”
It’s not all fun and games when it comes to KNIFE BRIDE, while they do hone in on the importance of being yourself they also aim to spread a serious message close to home. Their second single Grenade’s lyrical content covers the everyday fear that women face with harassment on the streets and the dangers that one may not considered. For Mollie, it’s such an important topic. “I do feel comfortable talking about it, I can only talk for myself here but in a generalised sense all of the women that I know have faced some sort of situation that’s made them feel uncomfortable. In the song we say, ‘The blood on the carpet is here to stay’, and it really is. We can’t just fucking skirt over it and pretending it’s not there.”
“It’s really good to be in a band with three guys that absolutely are aware of that. There’s none of the, ‘but it’s not all men!’ narrative in this band. It’s like, ‘yeah, the street’s are fucking dangerous, we need to talk about it’, we need to sing about it, we need to write an anthem about it to remind people that the street’s are still fucking dangerous.”
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