Rising feminist black metal trio Witch Club Satan follow debut LP with new song “You Wildflower”

In part due to the energy and visuals of their live show, Witch Club Satan — an all-female black metal trio from Norway — have been on the rise, while also breaking down several barriers within the male-dominated, often “apolitical” genre. To quote a feature on the band that Hannah May Kilroy wrote for Metal Hammer last year:

While their sound is rooted in raw chaos, it’s fuelled by a unique and powerful perspective: female rage. The Norwegian trio take inspiration from injustices aimed at women over generations, reclaiming words that have been used to diminish them – ‘witch’, ‘hysterical’, ‘whore’, among others – to find empowerment within themselves. “I feel that black metal is a really feminine genre,” says Witch Club Satan drummer Johanna Kleive. “Because women have screamed throughout history. Many people who have seen us perform tell us it feels like we scream not just one woman’s scream, but every woman’s scream.”

Their band name seems a little too campy or on the nose, but that seems to be by design, and the “witch” angle particularly carries a lot of meaning. The trio studied the history of Norwegian witch trials, and they bring that history into their music. “The more we read about it, the more eager we were to speak the words of these women,” guitarist Nikoline Spjelkavik said in that same interview. “To really try to hear them, what they would think and say in society today, what they would stand for.”

Their music also takes on modern concerns, like environmentalism and the current crisis in Gaza, the latter of which they’ve dedicated their song “Black Metal Is Krig” too. They also use the Palestinian flag at their shows. “If you’re making art at this time you have to address the global, you have to show where you stand: that you stand for all human lives and no one should be oppressed,” Nikoline said. Later, she added, “The feeling that music should be unpolitical to me feels impossible.”

Witch Club Satan caught the attention of Mayhem bassist/co-founder Necrobutcher after sending him a copy of their first demo (recorded when, in the band’s own words, they couldn’t play their instruments), and Johanna says that, even while they were in that really primitive state, he saw something in this band. “He said: ‘The black metal scene needs you.’”

The trio later sharpened their skills and linked up with Satyricon/Celtic Frost guitarist Anders Odden, who produced their self-titled debut album, intentionally released on International Women’s Day in 2024. It’s obvious on this LP that Witch Club Satan are a black metal force to be reckoned with, and unlike a lot of black metal bands, you don’t need to read the lyric sheet to pick up on the messages in the songs. Their harsh shrieks are strikingly decipherable, and their lyrical style veers closer to anarchopunk than to apolitical black metal.

Their live shows have also gotten a reputation for being just attention grabbing than their music (or even moreso), with blood, nudity, rituals, and costume changes that further drive home the band’s M.O. They just followed their debut LP with a new single called “You Wildflower” this week, and its cinematic video (directed by Jonas Mailand and Witch Club Satan) is filled with that same imagery.

“We want to show that love and care can be stronger weapons,” the band says of the new song. “We’re exploring gentleness as a resistance movement. But it’s also about contrast — the world is scarred by war, where the violence seeps into those who care. When you care, you’re marked by the violence taking place. But through that awareness, we’re trying to show that the cycle of violence can be stopped.”

“In a world heavily influenced by an aggressive macho culture,” they continue, “belonging, empathy, and love become forces of resistance in and of themselves.”

In a separate statement, they add, “The song is so close to our hearts it hurts. It is a call to action, and our small contribution to you who are fighting for freedom.”

Check out the new single and some other videos below (a few of them are age-restricted), alongside a list of the band’s upcoming European tour dates.

Witch Club Satan — 2025 Tour Dates
Jul 4 – Roskilde, DK – Roskilde Handel (w/ John Cxnnor)
Jul 12 – Træna, NO – Trænafestivalen
Jul 30 – Râşnov, RO – Rockstadt Extreme Fest
Aug 1 – Sástó-kőbánya, HU – Fekete Zaj Fesztivál
Aug 29 – Malmö, SE – Malmo Massacre
Aug 30 – Birmingham, UK – XOYO Birmingham
Sep 11 – Copenhagen, DK – Lille VEGA
Sep 12 – Linköping, SE – Platens Bar
Sep 13 – Stockholm, SE – Kollektivet Livet Bar
Sep 14 – Göteborg, SE – Musikens Hus
Sep 25 – Hamburg, DE – Bahnhof Pauli
Sep 26 – Hengelo, NL – Metropool
Sep 27 – Breda, NL – Coffeyfest – Pier 15 Skatepark
Sep 28 – Frankfurt, DE – Ponyhof
Sep 29 – Munich, DE – Backstage
Sep 30 – Karlsruhe, DE – P8
Oct 1 – Basel, CH – Sudhaus Basel
Oct 2 – Lyon-Feyzin, FR – L’Epicerie Moderne
Oct 3 – Paris, FR – Petit Bain
Oct 4 – Brussels, BE – Tumult Festival – La Botanique
Oct 5 – Cologne, DE – Gebäude 9