2nd August 2025

Review: “Time To Kill” by Murderess

Formed in December 2022 by the writing partnership of guitarist Jessica “Jazz” Kaipora and vocalist Claudia Franco in Distrito Federal Brasília, Murderess is an Extreme Metal band who explore dark themes such as murder, death, violence and war from a female perspective. A desire to build new narratives of survival and strength while creating a fresh edge to the genre with a fierce female presence were their aims. They were soon joined by drummer Pedro Fraga (Device, Reminiscência, ex-Vultos Vociferos) later that year with bassist Clarissa Correa de Carvalho (Estamira, Soror, Subterrânea) joining in 2024. Recorded, mixed and mastered at Orbis Estúdio (Violator, Mandrágora), their debut EP “Time To Kill” was released on 30th July 2024…

An eponymous instrumental sets the tone with eerie synths as the campfire crackles and the owls hoot, like a forewarning of a the nightmare to follow before the mid tempo crush of “Queen of Swords“, a portrait of a world painted in blood. A tale of a woman scorned who persevering through the pain of betrayal severs a mans head in vengeance, its a piece of evil that fits perfectly into the eye for an eye narrative. Franco’s venomous vocals are surrounded by swirling, brooding atmospherics with crushing riffs and powerful percussion, each element pitched against the other with impressive balance for a debut record. The EP sounds polished with theatrical moments like the start of “Für Elize” capturing the imagination before the descent into madness with skull battering blasting and scalding fierce death growled vocals. What really interesting about it is that there is a real sense of bloody drama to the lyrical narrative and the choice to kill or be killed in the search for what you desire. Somehow that manages to transcend the savage vocal brutality with Franco proving she can easily go toe to toe with anyone out there with her voice. Moving into Groove Death territory “Bone Keeper” moves Murderess closer to bands like Crypta with plenty of substance to their style. A punishment beating with bit of fun about it, this tale of an old woman who collects bones in the desert maybe folklore but the churn and burn of the riffage will keep you coming back for more [7.5/10]

Track Listing