Are there too many metal subgenres? It seems like, in this age of social media and divisive opinionation, music lovers will go to great lengths to split hairs on classifying their favorite act’s musical identity. Within the last couple of years, in an unfortunately post-Roe v. Wade world, there’s been an uptick in “brat metal,” in which female- or femme-presenting musicians play songs about empowerment, bodily autonomy, and taking revenge on creepy dudes.
While this concept isn’t inherently anything new, now we have a name for it, and Brighton’s Eville are an up-and-coming act in the brat metal scene. Lately they’ve been wearing one major influence on their sleeve, as the band uploaded a TikTok of their guitarist/vocalist Eva Sheldrake playing a stone-cold classic in Kittie’s “Brackish.” In a full-circle moment that evokes memories of Henry Zebrowski’s “‘Black Sabbath’ by Black Sabbath from the album Black Sabbath” joke, Sheldrake plays the nu metal staple on a Hello Kitty Stratocaster, as seen below:
@evilleband Brackish by Kittie on the Hello Kitty guitar!🎀 #kittieband #hellokitty #brackish #guitartok #guitarist #femaleguitarist #guitaristsoftiktok #guitarcover
♬ Brackish - Kittie
For what it's worth, Eville’s newest single “Ballistic” lands somewhere between classic Kittie and Underneath-era Code Orange, with Sheldrake’s vocals spanning from foreboding to vicious, complete with a rage room rampage of a music video. I’m not saying we need a Kittie/Eville tour, but there would be a number of folks who would think that such a bill would be, as Kittie’s new album was named, Fire.
Check out Eville’s “Ballistic” below:
