Death Pill’s Dirty Rotten Youth: Feminism, Rebellion and Death Metal

In line with my New Year’s resolution to broaden my musical horizons I am digging into 2023 metal this month. You don’t get more out of your comfort zone than a three piece, all women, Ukrainian death metal / punk band. Death Pill sings about feminist themes along with rebellion within the real world context of fighting Russian occupation. These elements combine to create a mix of Riot Grrrl punk and Diecide 90s death metal.

At a tight 3:37 Dirty Rotten Youth jumps with a crunchy and thrashing guitar arrangement that goes for roughly half the track. This is classic punk / death metal fare with some heavy Viking like guitar that sits on your chest like a 100 pound weight. It has great texture, but also amazing energy. The musicality of Death Pill will give all metal fans what they are after without disappointing. The vocal is something that may turn people off, because that guttural demonic death metal vocal is not everyone’s bag. What is a fresh take is hearing that vocal from a woman, which is rare in the dark / death metal space. The other example is Backxwash, which I am a big fan of. There is an attempt at harmonising near the end of the track, but it doesn’t add too much to the track.

Lyrically, the track is very difficult to understand…mostly due to the vocal. I tried to find them online, but the track is too new for any lyrical breakdowns, so I can only go after what I pick up. The track celebrates the rebellion of youth and feminist themes that run throughout the record. Death Pill is about people raising up and challenging the status quo, whether that is the youth or women. I believe that being a Ukrainian band adds to this sense of rebellion and fighting for what you believe in, which mirrors the context in the country. The other overwhelming emotion that comes across in the track is rage, which the band has talked about in interviews…I mean…this is a band that has the lyric “I want to scratch your fucking face until it bleeds” in a song dedicated to the lead vocalist’s ex-boyfriend.

Above all else, the band is about finding joy and freedom through songs about rage and rebellion. For Death Pill, metal is a therapeutic experience of self-expression. The entire record has a DIY vibe to it and I will follow this band as they have a little more production and a full 12 – 13 track LP. Having said that, this is a fresh look at the death metal genre and that’s always worth checking out.

Listen to Dirty Rotten Youth