“Existence without self-exploration is torture, and not the good kind.” That could easily be the text on a BDSM-themed inspirational poster, but it’s a written response from New Jersey grind collective Pink Mass. If you’ve caught any of their live rituals since the release of their SLVT KVLT EP, you’ve seen Pink Mass banging out their uncompromising grind/punk in leather gear and gimp masks. Despite titles like “Bestial Sodomizers” and “Craving Asphyxiation,” Pink Mass aren’t some shock rock shit-stirrers content with offending delicate sensibilities. Pink Mass promote complete “freedom and liberation” through a lens of hedonism and progressive thought.
Necrosexual —their debut LP out on Halloween— bludgeons with hardcore punk vitriol after its horror soundtrack intro. “Dismal Violator” teases with a melodic riff before erupting into blastbeats and breakdowns that scorch the earth. Before you can gang-shout “nail-impaled phallus,” the relentless sludge of “Crypt Perversor” relents to a fiery thrash passage. Necrosexual‘s bombast reaches nearly every corner of extreme music, from raw death (“Extinction of the Breeders”), to blackened doom (“FOAD NSBM”), and even macabre synthwave. But ultimately it’s Necrosexual‘s grindcore propulsion that fuels the record’s momentum up to the haunting outro.
Buckle your bullet belt and tighten your sex harness before streaming Necrosexual below. Also check out the band’s thoughts on hedonism, Satanism, and how “feeble-minded alt-Righters” react to their live performances. But first, it’s time for some Necrosexual healing.
Pink Mass and Necrosexual focus primarily on sexual liberation. How closely do you think sexual repression and destructive/self-destructive behavior are linked?
Pink Mass: Extremely! Sexual oppression leads to defense mechanisms, and unhealthy coping with feelings of shame and guilt. Religious sects who practice forms of sexual repression have repeatedly had members act out in harmful ways to themselves and others. For example, a person who represses their sexual desires due to their own religious beliefs or societal pressures can feel self-hate or a need to hide their true self. Pink Mass aims to free people of those burdens through self-revelation and a sexual awakening. We support that pursuit of pleasure as long as it doesn’t harm themselves or others.
If there was a Venn diagram showing shared values of Hedonism and Satanism, I think it would center on pleasure, satisfaction, and indulgence. To you, what are the most important components of Hedonism and Satanism as philosophies?
PM: In a Biblical sense, Satanism, at its core, is defiance. Defiance and blasphemy are key components of our pansexual agenda. In its political manifestation, Satanism has given an alternative to the social norm, which we, as Pink Mass, try to present through defiling the constraints of the modern-day metal movement. Individualism, or respecting oneself as an individual, no matter how you label yourself, is another radical component that we admire heavily.
As for hedonism, it connects to Satanism’s individualism based on the pursuit of your pleasure with the removal of any guilt or judgment. These feelings are not fueled by us as individuals, they are internalized from the societal and religious indoctrination of our larger society. Participation in Satanism and Hedonism, then, is blasphemous at its core in its rejection of norms.
The modern-day Satanic movement advocates for the mockery of religion and cult mentality in general. When we say Slvt Kvlt, we don’t see ourselves as a cult hailing to any tyrannical rule or authority because being a slut is being free, partaking in whatever consensual satisfaction you desire.
Necrosexual has some interesting departures from your grind/punk attack, like the synth intro and outro, and an interlude that reminds me of something that would be on a Dystopia record. Together, they give the record a horror vibe. What personally scares you or makes you uneasy?
PM: Existence without self-exploration is torture, and not the good kind. There is a plethora of things that scare us, but not experiencing any of them is even scarier. On a lighter note, plenty of other things scare us, the usual… heights, small spaces, STD test results… big penises, little penises, most human contact. Being fake. I’m sure there is more but we’re scared to reveal them in case our enemies are reading this.
I know you’ve played a bunch of shows in NYC and elsewhere. How do crowds seem to react before the music starts, and after? Have you been confronted by any squares who aren’t ready to get shredded by a group of Militant Necrosexual Satanic Hedonists?
PM: We thrive off the look of repugnance and shock from the typical knuckle-dragging death metal fan to the discomfort of the reclusive black metal elitist having their first sexual awakening. But we usually win the crowd over after their first waves of shock. On the other hand, there have been occasions where feeble-minded alt-Righters fall too far down the rabbit hole of idiocy to be smitten with us, but even they dream of us in their darkest desires, so we have ultimately conquered that ignorant and unworthy bunch with our hymns of sonic filth and perversity. There are still the occasions where people misread what agenda we put forth due to the representations of sex in metal. They see a bunch of burly men squeezed into too-small latex and leather and expect us to sing songs about the typical sex, drugs, and rock and roll that has lost all sense of rebellion in this day and age. We stand for freedom and liberation and are prepared to despoil and mince all that stand in our path to sexual apotheosis.
Do you have upcoming shows scheduled to support the release? What else is planned for the rest of 2017 and beyond?
PM: 2018 is looking like it’s going to be huge. We’re going to head out west for Famine Fest in Portland in March and probably have short tour with our butt-buddies GUN (definitely check them out if you’re into raw hardcore punk). After that we’re looking to get on Obscene Extreme in Czech Republic with New Jersey’s other premier grind band, and our childhood friends, Organ Dealer! Hopefully we’ll have a tour attached to that as well. As for back home, we’ve gotten our first show post-digital release at Matchless in Brooklyn with Organ Dealer and Brain Famine. We’re definitely going to set up a proper release show once we have the vinyl in our filthy hands.
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And go spend your bad habit money on the Pink Mass discography over on Bandcamp HERE.
