“Quae est donum
Quod est divinum”
Zounds, it’s hard to be a vampire, zombie, necromancer, or any other variety of the undead! It is with this thought in mind, that Detroit deathgaze duo VAZUM premiere their video for “Wytch Lych”, the first single from the forthcoming electronic album, Unrated V.
“The premise is based on a master of immortality who yearns to pass their secrets on to a worthy disciple,”the band explains.
A departure for VAZUM, “Wytch Lych” is layered with drum machines and synthesizers in lieu of their usual distorted guitars. The lyrics are sung in a mixture of Latin and English by vocalist/bassist Emily Sturm. Her powerful voice blasts through the ether: the wild howlings of a restless spirit, searching for the one worthy of them. Part Kate Bush, part Judas Priest, part Nosferatu – this is the requisite terror music to open portals through the Veil of Mortality.
There are easy comparisons to Siouxsie Sioux here, particularly with her roaring voice, but you can also hear the dark, mystical elements of Zola Jesus, Fever Ray, The Soft Moon, and Bat For Lashes in their sound. The eerie music video was shot and directed by Sturm herself, with imagery chock full of the unsettling turbulence of Sturm und Drang, defying all rational explanation through the haze of pure emotional upheaval.
Watch the video below:
VAZUM was formed in 2017 by Zach Pliska (vocals/guitar/drums) after playing drums in various Detroit-based bands. In 2019 Emily Sturm (vocals/bass) joined the band, adding an aesthetic which they describe as “deathgaze” – the raw energy of deathrock with the depth of shoegaze. Zach and Emily continued as a duo in 2020 releasing two albums (Vampyre Villa and Rated V) and an EP (Vazumnacht). In June 2021 VAZUM released their most recent album V+.
Wytch Lych is available via Bandcamp.
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