Christian Mistress is an American heavy metal band, formed in

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. Europea ...

in 2008. The band is signed to Relapse Records.

History

Prior to the establishment of the band, the vocalist Christine Davis fronted the

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

band Buried Blood. Ryan and Oscar played guitar in two of Olympia's premier metal bands. After Ryan and Oscar's bands both broke up they decided to start writing and playing music together. The band's 2009 ''Christian Mistress'' demo, which cost only $500 to make, and "Mother Of Mercy"/"The Hereafter" single gained attention from many notable heavy metal musicians, including Darkthrone member

Fenriz Gylve Fenris Nagell (born Leif Nagell; 28 November 1971), known professionally as Fenriz, is a Norwegian musician, part-time music journalist and online radio host (with the show "Radio Fenriz")

. As a result, the band signed to 20-Buck Spin Records and released their debut album, ''Agony & Opium'' in 2010. The band released their follow-up album, ''Possession'' in 2012 via Relapse Records. The band has toured with Thrones in 2010. On March 14, 2015, the band released a statement regarding American hip hop artist

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

's album art cover for ''So Help Me God'' (2015) and how they claim he copied their album art for ''Agony & Opium'' (2010).

Musical style

The band's musical style has been associated with the

new wave of British heavy metal The new wave of British heavy metal (commonly abbreviated as NWOBHM) was a nationwide musical movement that started in England in the mid-1970s and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Journalist Geoff Barton coined the term i ...

movement. According to ''

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

'' writer Grayson Currin, the band's second album, ''Possession'', combined influences from "proto-thrash, grandiose

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prima ...

, and smoky

doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * ...

." The band was compared to British heavy metal acts Diamond Head and early

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

. The vocals of Christine Davis were also described as a "combination of the incantatory power of

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...

, the raw force of Wendy O. Williams, and the howls of Nicole Lee of '80s Chicago thrashers

Znowhite Znowhite or Znöwhite were an American thrash/speed metal band who have been credited for helping to pioneer thrash metal in Chicago.Christe (2003), p. 206, "''Two black musicians from Chicago helped found that city's thrash metal scene: towering ...

." Her vocals in ''Possession'' were also compared to various singers which were also described to be her favourite, including

Diamanda Galás Diamanda Galás (born August 29, 1955) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, visual artist, and soprano. She has campaigned for AIDS education and the rights of the infected. Galás's commitment to addressing social issues and her involve ...

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Swans Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Someti ...

Mariska Veres Maria Elizabeth Ender, better known as Mariska Veres () (1 October 1947 – 2 December 2006), was a Dutch singer who was best known as the lead singer of the rock group Shocking Blue. Described as being similar to a young Cher, she was known fo ...

Shocking Blue Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band formed in 1967 in The Hague. It was part of the music movement in the Netherlands that was generally known by the name Nederbeat. The band had a number of hits throughout the counterculture movement during ...

, and Roky Erickson of

The 13th Floor Elevators The 13th Floor Elevators was an American rock band from Austin, Texas, United States, formed by guitarist and vocalist Roky Erickson, electric jug player Tommy Hall, and guitarist Stacy Sutherland. The band was together from 1965 to 1969, an ...

Band members

;Current members *Oscar Sparbel – guitar (2008–present) *Reuben W. Storey – drums (2008–2013, 2014–present) *Christine Davis – vocals (2008–present) *Jonny Wulf – bass (2008–present) *Tim Diedrich – guitar (2014–present) ;Past members *Ryan McClain – guitar (2008–2013) *Eric Wallace – guitar (2013–2014) *Aaron O'Neil – drums (2013–2014)

Discography

;Studio albums * ''Agony & Opium'' (2010) * ''Possession'' (2012) * ''To Your Death'' (2015) ;Singles * "Mother of Mercy"/"The Hereafter" (2009) * "Demo 2009" (2011) ;Demos * ''Christian Mistress'' (2009)

References

External links

* * Musical groups established in 2008 Heavy metal musical groups from Washington (state) Musical groups from Olympia, Washington Relapse Records artists American musical quintets Occult rock musical groups {{US-metal-band-stub