Halloween is the most beautiful time of the year. Imagine dark nights, falling leaves, starry skies, carved pumpkins and a full Hunter’s moon. What beautiful, enchanted scenery, when the spirits are said to walk among the living. I might be biased, as I celebrate my birthday on 29th of October and I’ve always been super proud of being (almost) a Samhain baby. The trick and treating, chocolates, baked marshmallows, everything we associate with Halloween nowadays, seems so nice and sweet, but the reality behind the celebration is actually very brutal. I want to encourage you to read an excellent article written by Malicia Dabrowicz about American band Trigger Warning that touches on the history of medieval witch trials and the oppression faced by women accused of witchcraft. That should give you a bit of a background of what truly meant to be called a witch.
“Witch” single cover
I will add my two pennies too. I’m sure everybody heard about the witches of Salem at some point in their lives, but witch hunts were not only limited to America. Actually, the “fashion” of accusing people of consorting with the devil and casting spells came to the New World with the first Settlers. Before the 16th century, native American tribes held completely opposite views on magic. People thought to be able to see or communicate with spirits were sacred. They were known as shamans and usually had a leading role in the community – they were elders, healers, chieftains. In Hawaiian and Pacific cultures, shaman roles were reserved for queer and non-binary people. Many First Nations have rich traditions of transcendent genders known under the broad umbrella of Two Spirit that have no equivalent in western anthropology. They were not seen as good or evil, they were guides showing available paths that could be taken. The European view on spirituality, closely associated with the Catholic Church and poisoned by two hundred years of feudal stagnation, resulted in an extremely narrow view of the world where European men held absolute power over everyone and everything. Economic success was seen as a blessing from God and justified any cruelty inflicted on women, children or other religious orders. First witch trials started in the 13th/14th century, and it was a perfect tool to get rid of Church’s political or economical rivals. France and Switzerland burned nearly 300 male (!!) farmers and landowners at the stake in 1428 for refusing to give up their crops or land to the local Church leaders. By 1480’s, the witch trials proved so effective that they spread to the UK, Italy and Germany and allowed the Church leaders to create a special investigative task force (The Inquisition) and publish a little handy guide book on torture, manipulation and breaking those put on which trials – yes, the (in)famous Malleus Maleficarum. When Reformation arrived, women that previously worked for a living, lost many of their rights. With purity and religious piousness at the heart of new social movements, young females were closed in the sphere of domestic duties. Noble women already suffered this fate, nearly a century earlier but now, the new regulations pushed women from all other classes out of the working landscape.
The biggest example was the attack on ale and beer breweries, a profession at that time, nearly entirely dominated by women. Ale production was incredibly vital as drainage systems and communal water supply did not exist. Well water was used for washing but rarely for drinking and ale and beer were the most popular drinks of the day. Women not only produced the beer but ran entire networks of drinking houses, supply chains and inns. Some of them were rich, successful and influential – they were not interested in marriage or having children. In most cases, brewery owners were employing other women allowing them to become financially independent. By the end of 15th century, this became such a big problem for men that the UK and Germany banned young girls from working in breweries under the guise of saving them from becoming spinsters (unmarried). There are plenty of excellent articles (like here and here) available online that will give you more detailed information about pointy hats, cauldrons and cats now associated with witches that were actually symbols of the brewing industry. We do not know how exactly the assault on breweries turned into the witch-hunt, but historians speculate that the Flanders beer guild created by men started spreading rumors attacking their female competitors. Rumors of poisoning and devil worshipping spread like wildfire. Within just 70 years, nearly the entire European beer industry was in men’s hands and monasteries became one of the biggest producers of ale, beer and medical/herbal concoctions. Scholars estimate that between 40.000 and 60.000 people, majority of them women and girls were murdered, tortured to death and then burned at stakes accused of consorting with the devil and witchery. We never regained what once was our own. Even today, 70% of all breweries (including trendy microbreweries) in the world are still in the hands of men.
Delilah and ALT BLK ERA in a “Witch” lyric video
Enough of the history lesson, this was supposed to be a music review, right? So here we have, a unique collaboration between punk brat extraordinaire, Delilah Bon and one of my absolute favorite bands in the world at the moment, ALT BLK ERA. This Halloween theme single, very appropriately titled “Witch” arrived just a couple of days ago and so far, it has gathered thousands of streams on Spotify and plays on YouTube. The song tells the story of medieval women, falsely accused, publicly hounded, humiliated and then murdered just because they dared to be successful, independent and skilled. This is what, in reality, the whole beginning of this review boils down to. The coalition of men representing the civil (government, judges, politicians) and the religious powers (be it a Catholic Church or any powerful religious order), throughout the ages, banished women to the outskirts of social and economic existence. If we look at world-wide statistics, it is mostly women and children that live in poverty, are endangered by sexual violence and have less opportunities to earn their own income. There are countries in the world that forbid health care, education or professional careers to women, some are in Europe. In short – it has never been easy to be a woman, but if one somehow managed to succeed in any way, this success has been taken away from her and it was used to punish her.
Delilah makes a very poignant point with her song. The track may deal with a violent past, witch trials, medieval torture, the disrespect those women suffered back then, but also it contrasts those events with what women have to deal with now. She sadly observes that 300 years ago, she would have probably ended up on a stake herself for being opinionated or courageous. Any female musician knows that the music industry is a playground for boys. It never supports feminist acts or political female bands. It rewards only those female artists that pander to male objectification of women, or those girls who keep up with the boys club and act as their cheerleaders. When Delilah Bon played a show in Sheffield for Jeremy Corbyn alongside ZAND, NME’s Andrew Trendell wrote an article completely ignoring her even when the piece quoted a Tweet from Corbyn mentioning Delilah by name. Bigging up one nonbinary act at the expanse of politically and socially conscious female artists. It took NME 4 years to finally notice ALT BLK ERA, who by then, played Glastonbury, headlined BBC festival stages and sold-out multiple shows. Other publications completely ignore both bands, only Kerrang! seems to support them. This was the reason why I stopped supporting several titles as a subscriber. If they are willing to put industry plants on the cover with one bloody single out, and deliberately refuse to cover highly successful political acts, then I’m out. Capitalism bitches, I’m voting with my wallet.
“Witch” is not a song about the past but a stark warning for the future. Women, especially in the digital era, are still being dragged through mud, disbelieved when they report harassment or rapes. They are vilified on social media, called names, and have their reputation ruined. Sexual violence against them is normalized, they are blamed for wearing inappropriate clothes, being in the wrong places at the wrong time. Men are rarely held responsible for their actions and words, that burden falls on women. Black girls are often sexualized at a very young age, statistically they receive 40% less help than white girls. You don’t have to watch horror flicks to be scared, reading through police statistics will do just fine.
“Witch” stands at 3 minutes and 54 seconds. Delilah Bon sings the main verses and the chorus, but ALT BLK ERA adds mysticism and haunting beauty to this punk/nu metal anthem. I have said it before, Nyrobi and Chaya, both sisters, are so different as night and day. One is quiet, mysterious and delicate, the other is flame incarnated, a spark that can set the world alight. They have this insane chemistry that turns their songs into something incredible. A truly scary, magnetic, primal experience for the listener. They are magical in this song; all three singers look like primordial deities about to take revenge for each woman that has ever been hurt.
“Witch” is a musical dream come true for me personally. I have been waiting for a duet/collaboration between both bands for about two years, but I never expected that it will come just before my birthday! Lucky me!
5/5, play this song loud, support the girls, write to your MP to secure more funding for young artists and grassroot venues, fight for ending the violence against women and be inclusive of trans-folks. Only together we will ensure that the witch hunts of any kind are thing of a very distant past.
Follow Delilah Bon on social media at:
https://www.delilahbon.co.uk/
https://www.instagram.com/delilahbonofficial/
https://www.facebook.com/DelilahBon
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5JUFYlgwsbqpLcU9TMlsve
https://twitter.com/DelilahBon_
https://soundcloud.com/delilahbon
https://www.youtube.com/c/DelilahBon
https://www.tiktok.com/@delilahbon
You can follow Alt Blk Era on socials:
https://www.altblkera.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ALTBLKERA
https://www.instagram.com/altblkera/
https://twitter.com/ALTBLKERA
https://altblkera.bandcamp.com/
https://www.tiktok.com/@altblkera
https://www.youtube.com/c/ALTBLKERA
https://soundcloud.com/altblkera
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4FNR2qdCVKGAep4alfg
“Witch” by Delilah Bon feat. ALT BLK ERA is out now, independently via Queen Trash Records.
Rita Dabrowicz
Indieterria 