Mistress (band)

Mistress
OriginBirmingham, England
GenresSludge metal, grindcore
Years active1999–2008
2009 (partial reunion)
LabelsEarache Records
MembersMisery
Dave Hunt
Dirty Von Arse
Mick Kenney
Drunken

Mistress were a British extreme metal band from Birmingham, England. The members of this five-piece band adopted pseudonyms as stage-names including: Drunken and Misery on guitars, Dirty Von Arse on bass, Dave Cunt on vocals and Migg on drums. Dave Cunt (a.k.a. Dave Hunt) is also a member of Anaal Nathrakh and Migg (a.k.a. Mick Kenney) is in several other bands, including Anaal Nathrakh, Exploder, Fukpig and Frost. Misery (Paul Kenney, Micks Older Brother), also plays in Fukpig and Kroh. Mistress announced their split in 2008.

History

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Mistress performing in 2006

The band formed at the end of the 1990s in Birmingham and began playing their own take on the vitriolic Iron Monkey / Eyehategod sludge sound. The band became noted for their offensive, yet intellectual lyrics and incredibly heavy, dirty, downtuned sound.

In 2001, Mistress released two demos, entitled Fuck Off and Lord Worm, which got them signed to the underground Rage of Achilles extreme music label. Their first full-length album for the record label was the self-titled Mistress in April 2002, which received broadly good critical reviews.[1] The follow-up to this, October 2003's Mistress II: The Chronovisor, helped to more firmly establish them as a metal band, along with their growing live reputation.

The band's ability to create filthy sonic rage ensured that they were soon picked up by the much larger Nottingham-based Earache Records, who issued Mistress' third full-length album In Disgust We Trust in June 2005.[2] In July 2005 Mistress recorded a live session of songs from the album for broadcast on the BBC Radio 1 Rock Show.[3] In the same year, Earache also re-issued the band's first two albums.

After being dropped from the Earache roster during 2006, the band were signed to Mick Kenney and Shane Embury's new record label, FETO Records. On 23 April 2007, they released their fourth studio album through FETO Records, entitled The Glory Bitches of Doghead, which has dropped the sludge sound in favour of enhancing the grind elements. The album also has an ambient track running throughout (consisting of various noises, including what seems to be rain) created by Misery, which can be heard distinctly between songs, adding depth to the vicious music being played.

Mistress appeared on the Christmas special of Never Mind the Buzzcocks performing Christmas carols in sludge metal.[4]

Mistress announced their demise in March 2008.

One last gig

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Mistress performed one last gig on 24 October 2009 at Damnation Festival.

Members

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  • Dave Hunt (also known as Dave Cunt, Vitriol) — vocals
  • Misery (Paul Kenney) — guitar
  • Drunken (Duncan Wilkins) — guitar
  • Dirty Von Arse — bass
  • Mick Kenney (also known as Migg, Irrumator) — drums
  • Earl Robinson — bass for first demo and first few gigs

Discography

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Demos

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  • Fuck Off (2001)
  • Lord Worm (2001)

Albums

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  • Mistress (2002)[5][6]
  • Mistress II: The Chronovisor (2003)[7]
  • In Disgust We Trust (2005)[8][9]
  • The Glory Bitches of Doghead (2007)[10]

References

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  1. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Mistress Biography by Eduardo Rivadavia". Allmusic. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Earache Records signs Mistress". Lambgoat. 2 August 2004. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  3. ^ "MISTRESS Complete Live Session For BBC Radio 1 'Rock Show'". Blabbermouth.net. 13 July 2005. Archived from the original on 5 January 2024. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Dani Filth on Never Mind The Buzzcocks: "I punched Mark Lamarr's assistant"". Metal Hammer. 22 September 2021. Archived from the original on 5 January 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2024. Never Mind The Buzzcocks was always something of an oddity. Part comedic-panel show and part pop-culture bonfire, the British show revelled in its ability to entertain while giving just about every genre under the sun a good kicking. Metal was no exception - from the chuckles about Napalm Death's grindcore grunts to Mistress playing Christmas songs
  5. ^ Schiffmann, Andreas. "Mistress: Mistress (Review)". musikreviews.de. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  6. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Mistress Review by Eduardo Rivadavia". Allmusic. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  7. ^ Feratu, Ross (2006). "REVIEWS MISTRESS s/t CD / II: The Chronovisor CD". Ox-Fanzine. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  8. ^ Kubassa, Uwe (2005). "REVIEWS MISTRESS In Disgust We Trust CD". Ox-Fanzine. Archived from the original on 5 January 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  9. ^ Pratt, Greg (1 July 2005). "Mistress In Disgust We Trust". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  10. ^ Garland, Robert. "Mistress The Glory Bitches of Doghead". sputnikmusic. Archived from the original on 5 January 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
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