New Southern Lord signing Marthe shares a video for “To Ruined Altars…”

Further In Evil is the debut full length from one-woman metal band, Marthe, which arrives via Southern Lord on October 20th. An atmospheric and aggressive blend of punk and metal, Further In Evil is a shift in gears from her musical background in the anarcho-punk scene and inspired by riot grrrl, crust and d-beat. The lyrics are full of rage and the music is full of strength; it has the power of Bathory and the sadness of Tiamat, tinged with the stench of Amebix.

The narrative of Further In Evil is “a journey into evil. I consider it an epiphany in growing armor to make myself stronger. The title means entering the gates of darkness, becoming cold and detached so as not to suffer anymore,” explains Marzia, the woman behind the Marthe project.  The source of many of the lyrics comes from a place of betrayal, and grief at losing “people who were central to me.” She comments, “we are alone”, but expels it as a statement of empowerment, rather than sadness – “the strength is ours.” As well as being introspective, Marthe’s lyrics look outwards at “contexts of injustice and suffering, when the main feeling is not having a voice.”  Marthe’s music takes influence from other non-musical media as well – she cites the mood, atmosphere and colours of old school Italian horror movies, and continually comes back to nature as a source of inspiration.

Today, an epic new music video for the album’s second single “To Ruined Altars…” has arrived, as well as pre-orders for the digital and vinyl variants of the LP via Southern Lord Europe direct and Bandcamp.

Of the single, Marthe comments: “‘To ruined altars you light no light’ is a popular Italian saying that means ‘wasting time on useless people or causes.’  I manipulated the sentence a bit in order to have an aesthetic sense; it means don’t waste candles or flowers on a broken or damaged altar since it won’t bring any benefit because of its condition. It also refers historically, for example, to women that can’t have kids anymore to point out that any kind of love, commitment, or engagement won’t result in having kids which was crucial to the family legacy in past ages. In general, it refers to anyone that feels trashed by someone that used to praise you before and then just lost interest.”  She continues, “‘my memories are dark books you burnt while walking away’ refers to losing love for places or situations when the people you used to enjoy them with are no longer there, so your memories are ruined forever and there’s nothing you can do about it. Sense of loss will prevail and all you live after it is haunted by the lost memory of gone days.”

Marthe is, at heart, a solo bedroom project— born out of introversion and a desire to explore new horizons and landscapes alone.  “Around 2012, I started feeling the need to express myself in a heavier and more atmospheric way,” Marzia says. “I coincidentally started hiking more and more… getting closer to lonely soundscapes: my life, feelings and moods started being more introspective and introverted.” She continues, “Marthe suddenly became my comfort zone, my therapy, my shadow of loneliness, my book of truths, my mirror, my alter ego. Locking the door and disappearing in darkness recording music alone became something so powerful… I probably never really met myself before that.”

Further In Evil was composed and demoed over the course of a year during drives or hikes and, fatefully, the first look at the album– its title track–showcases the grandeur of Marthe‘s surroundings.  Self-filmed and edited between Italy and Iceland, the “Further In Evil” video boasts the beauty of nature contrasted by Marthe‘s devastating sounds.

Marthe has long been a self-sufficient and introspective voice in metal and punk, and further cements that with the release of Further In Evil on October 20th.

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