Lust Hag – Demo II / Promo 2023 (Review)

Lust Hag is a one-woman black metal band from the US, and this is her latest release.

I really liked Mistress in the Mirror, so was pleased to have some more raw nastiness from this artist to digest. Apparently she is becoming quite prolific, as there’s also a Lust Hag split that I somehow missed out on that was released after Mistress in the Mirror. But fear not, as those tracks seem to have made it onto this release.

Demo II / Promo 2023 offers a meaty feast of Lust Hag, delivering 38 minutes of material in total. As the name suggests, it’s divided into two parts. Demo II is the first six tracks, (19 minutes), and then Promo 2023 the final four, (19 minutes).

Demo II is a mix of the harshly nasty and the harshly sublime. Creeping blackened melody and scathing grim intensity combine in songs that alternate between longer compositions and atmospheric interludes. Normally I hate interludes, but here they’re either well-done, mood-rich, and percussive, (tracks two and six), or a-bit-pointless-but-really-short, (track four), so they unexpectedly work for me.

The artist’s songwriting continues to impress, and there are many highlights, including the punishing groove of Weary Traveler Bitten with Vampyric Fang that also has some subtle interlaced synths that elevate the entire track. Hard to pick a favourite, but this might be it as it’s such a well-rounded song, (although that could also be said of the other two songs on this side – Returning Nightmare in particular really hits the spot).

Promo 2023 contains the four songs from the aforementioned split, (with a band called Abscynthe, who I’m unfamiliar with). Merging instant appeal with depth of substance, these songs once again showcase why Lust Hag’s material is just so good.

Dripping with old-school sharpness and vampyric atmosphere, each of the songs is a riff-fest of blackened aggression and grim presence. Honestly, it’s damn good stuff. We also get to hear what the artist does with a lengthier running time; The Hunt is the longest Lust Hag song I’ve heard at just under eight minutes in duration, and allows for a greater sense of atmospheric immersion to be conjured into being. Of this side of the release, this is probably my favourite cut.

This is another blisteringly enjoyable split from a talented underground artist. Really, Lust Hag just rules, and her work should be wider known. This is the sort of raw black metal that deserves to go viral.

Very highly recommended.