Song Review: "Suffering Skin" by Atrocity Girl

Seattle glam-grunge trio Atrocity Girl has released their latest single, “Suffering Skin”, from their upcoming album. The hare rock band previously released “F**k Yourself”. Johnny Angel (guitar/vocals), Angie (drums), and Ryan (bass) comprise the all-female trio.

Atrocity Girl is taking control over their own destiny in a male-dominated industry. They have built their own home studio called Atrocity Records where they are recording, writing, and producing their own records. Besides empowering themselves, the band is working to make the music industry more gender inclusive and POC friendly. They have founded Womxn & Audio, a place for female and non-binary audiophiles to gather safely and host weekly audio masterclasses every week in the audio field and Gear Fanatix, a forum alternative to Gearslutz for underrepresented voices in audio.

“Suffering Skin” is one of the band’s first self-produced works. The verses start with teasing vocals and palm muted guitars. The band lets it all go in the choruses. Heavily distorted guitars kick in and Angel’s vocals become much more aggressive. Her vocal style reminds me somewhat of Taylor Momsen from The Pretty Reckless.

Drummer Angie says, “‘Suffering Skin’ is about the experience of being bipolar and feeling uneasy in your own skin. It also transcends any particular mental illness and can resonate with anyone who has ever felt like they didn’t belong. This song is one of our heaviest, with powerful screams by [vocalist] Johnny Angel and an intensely in-sync rhythm between me on drums and Ryan on bass. It also features original MIDI tracks for that underlying synth ambience.”

Seattle has been a hotbed for rock talent over the years. Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and many others originated from the city. Atrocity Girl has a long ways to approach the status of these artists, but songs “Suffering Skin” and “F**k Yourself” are a good start. I can’t wait to hear what their full album has to bring.

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