Wargasm

Wargasm (stylised in all caps and sometimes known as Wargasm (UK)) are a British electronic rock duo from London. The band was formed in 2018¹ by Sam Matlock, who had previously performed as part of Dead!, and Milkie Way, who had previously photographed their concerts. The band released several standalone singles before making headlines in 2021¹ over an incident after a performance at Scala. Their 2022 mixtape Explicit: The Mixxxtape charted at No. 19 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart and appeared on Loudwire's "Best Rock + Metal Debut Albums of 2022", while their debut studio album Venom peaked at No. 88 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 3 in the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart in 2023. Critics commonly categorise the band's music as electro-punk, nu metal, and riot grrrl. The band, their 2022 Enter Shikari collaboration "The Void Stares Back", Explicit: The Mixxxtape, and Venom have all been nominated for various awards at the Heavy Music Awards. Alternative Press listed them as a defining part of the 2020s wave of nu metal, and NME listed them as one of 2021's essential emerging artists. The pair also took home Best New Noise at the 2022 Kerrang! Awards.

Wargasm (stylised in all caps and sometimes known as Wargasm (UK)) are a British electronic rock duo from London. The band was formed in 2018 by Sam Matlock, who had previously performed as part of Dead!, and Milkie Way, who had previously photographed their concerts. The band released several standalone singles before making headlines in 2021 over an incident after a performance at Scala. Their 2022 mixtape Explicit: The Mixxxtape charted at No. 19 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart and appeared on Loudwire's "Best Rock + Metal Debut Albums of 2022", while their debut studio album Venom peaked at No. 88 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 3 in the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart in 2023. Critics commonly categorise the band's music as electro-punk, nu metal, and riot grrrl. The band, their 2022 Enter Shikari collaboration "The Void Stares Back", Explicit: The Mixxxtape, and Venom have all been nominated for various awards at the Heavy Music Awards. Alternative Press listed them as a defining part of the 2020s wave of nu metal, and NME listed them as one of 2021's essential emerging artists. The pair also took home Best New Noise at the 2022 Kerrang! Awards.

History

Artistry

In a January 2020 interview with Crowdsurf & Turf, Way noted that the band's style and visuals were "very influenced by dystopian pop culture monoliths like Bladerunner and Akira, [...] old shitty cock rock bands, and punk icons like Joan Jett and Iggy Pop". Matlock used the same interview to note that the band took "huge" sonic influence "from the 00s and a bunch of metal bands", as well as their own punk attitudes, conversations they overheard, and their own personal opinions. The following month, the band used an interview with Kerrang! to cite the use of nu-metal tropes by Loathe, Shvpes and Poppy as inspirational, and that August, they cited L7 as an inspiration in an interview with Upset. When asked in an early 2021 interview with Fred Perry what songs' lyrics inspired them, Matlock answered "Custer" by Slipknot and Way answered "Smack a Bitch - Remix" by Rico Nasty. For "Pyro Pyro", they were inspired by a scene in a documentary about Grimes which asserted that she used laser shots from video games and gunshots to construct her music, and for "Salma Hayek", its chorus was inspired by Kim Petras and its video was inspired by Quentin Tarantino. In June 2020, Revolver described the band's works as "a particularly now mash-up of nu-metal, punk, electronic music, pop, hip-hop and anything else they damn please" , and in September 2020, that publication's Emma Madden described the band's sound as "beefcake nu-metal [...] spike[d] with more lighthearted pop and electronic elements [and] a riot grrrl ethos and charge". The following month, Metal Hammer writer Yasmine Summan described their works as "nihilistic nu metal with electro-punk attitude", and then in December 2020, that publication's Matt Mills described the band as nu-metal and "in-your-face riot grrrl punk". In January 2021, Alternative Press writer Giedrė Matulaitytė described their music as an "eclectic blend of punk/riot grrrl attitude, hardcore energy, grunge pessimism and murky nü-metal groove" best enjoyed while "sipping on some rich blood" and Jack Saunders described them as post-hardcore and a combination of the Prodigy and Slipknot. In October 2023, Gregory Adams of Revolver described their "musical bedrock" as "hard-blitzed house beats and nu-metal swagger". Reviewing their Download Pilot set, Clash observed "screaming vocals, stadium beats and psychedelic electronic sounds that merge with a punk attitude and a guitar grounding" and NME writer Ali Shutler described what he saw as "cyberpunk". The latter publication's Kyann-Sian Williams wrote of their performance at ALT+LDN that the pair "infuse the raw grit of screamo with Way's punk vocals". Jack Rogers of Rock Sound wrote that "Pyro Pyro" "combusts with blasts of distorted bass and harsh guitars", while Olivia Stock of Riot described "Salma Hayek" as a combination of "metal, punk, rap, dubstep, and pop". Reviewing a 2022 Neck Deep support slot for Louder Than War, Daniel Tsourekas complimented the contrast between Matlock's "gritty" vocals and Way's "softer yet punk-infused" vocals. James Christopher Monger of AllMusic wrote that the "electro-punk duo" evoked "Poppy by way of Limp Bizkit" with their "kinetic blend of nu-metal, industrial rock, post-hardcore, EDM, and hip-hop". In October 2023, Dannii Leivers of Metal Hammer described their post-pop punk works as "a frenetic, kaleidoscopic clash of digital hardcore and electronica with the hooks, heaviness and attitude of nu metal" and the band as "looking like the Wikipedia definition of modern rock stars".

Members

Milkie Way – vocals, bass guitar, guitar, production Sam Matlock – vocals, guitar, production Touring Edison Hunter – guitar Adam Crilly – electronics, vocals Adam Breeze – drums (also studio member)

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

Compilation albums

Singles

References

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1377200236 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.