South African extreme metal titans, Vulvodynia, have released their new album, Entabani, via Unique Leader Records. Alongside the album launch, the band has unveiled a visualizer for “Isandlwana”, a track that delves deep into the harrowing tale of the Anglo-Zulu War’s first battle.
Describing the inspiration behind “Isandlwana”, Vulvodynia’s vocalist and guitarist, Lwandile Prusent, shares, "Isandlwana, the first engagement of the Anglo-Zulu war against The British. A brutal and gruesome tale of war, struggle and triumph. Musically we tried to invoke a more tech-death approach in our writing. This song features many signature changes, modulation and mind bending polyrhythms.”
Entabeni marks a pivotal moment for Vulvodynia, as they weave together their most ambitious work to date. The album showcases a fusion of African folklore and extreme metal, a thematic exploration deeply rooted in the band’s heritage and collective creativity.
Reflecting on the album’s significance, Vulvodynia states, “Entabeni is a very important album for us, it sees us at crossroads in our career. We’ve fully embraced the idea of writing as a collective, exploring every member’s ideas, experiences and formed them all together to create what we think is our most ambitious album yet. We wanted to explore the concept of African folklore on this album and based a lot of the songs off of old stories found in poems, books and even through word of mouth from our vocalist Lwandile’s older family members.”
Known for their unique, uncompromising blend of technical proficiency and straight-up deacthcore brutality, Vulvodynia has carved a significant niche in the global metal world. ‘Entabeni’ promises to propel them even further, providing listeners with an innovative blend of visceral intensity and rich, cultural storytelling.
Buy/stream the new album here.
Tracklisting
"Imbawula"
"Devil Tree"
"Randlord "
"It Follows"
"Isandlwana" (feat. David Simonich of Signs of The Swarm)
"Mamlambo"
"Adamaster" (feat. Kyle Medina of Bodysnatcher)
"Entabeni" (feat. Damonteal Harris of Peeling Flesh)
"Mangled and Maimed"
"Generational Segregation"
"Entabeni" lyric video:
