The Age of The Goddess: An interview with Mallika Sundaramurthy of Emasculator
Brutal death metal act Emasculator just delivered one of the most punishing and brutal EP’s of 2024 with The Disfigured and The Divine. The all-female act not only delivered twenty minutes of technical and devastating heaviness, but delivering a message of female empowerment and relatability at the same time with each track off the album. Gaining a lot of hype since it’s release, the band’s name has begun to grow in popularity and becoming a rising band to check out in the brutal death metal scene.
I sat down with the band’s vocalist Mallika Sundaramurthy. We talk about the forming of the band and the inspiration for the music and lyrics for The Disfigured and The Divine. The reason for the band being all-female, and the impact of women in extreme metal.
FMP: How did Emasculator form?
Mallika: I formed Emasculator in 2021 with the intention of getting together a lineup of like-minded women that were interested in playing blasting brutal death metal. I had been disappointed in how past projects had ended up, and I was motivated to take my vision and lyrics and apply them to a new project.
FMP: Was the intention for the band to be an all-female roster? Did it just happen that way?
Mallika: It was definitely the intention to keep the lineup all-female. I have/ had other projects with men and this one is specifically to collaborate with other women. The dynamic feels different, more supportive in many ways.
FMP: What was the basis for choosing the name Emasculator for the band?
Mallika: “The Emasculator” was a song title from one of my previous bands, of which the title and lyrics I wrote. It seemed a fitting name for an all female brutal band.
FMP: The band just released their debut EP The Disfigured and The Divine this year. What was the writing like for the record? Are there any main themes lyrically in the album?
Mallika: Writing was a collaborative effort between all the members. Everyone brought their best work forward. Guitarists Teresa and Morgan started with the riffs, or I brought lyrics first, and we worked back and forth from there. This was our first release with drummer Cierra White, so that was exciting. Before we had Cierra, we used a drum machine out of necessity. We were on the lookout for someone who could fill the role, in which she has gone above and beyond.
Mallika: There is a main theme running through the album, yes. Each song is about a different goddess; her mythology, her strengths, her story. The lyrics are about her and what she represents, but also how I relate to her as a woman and my own life experiences. Therefore each song has at least two meanings. The overarching concept is about the Divine Feminine and about how women and femininity are often under attack. We can be disfigured literally or figuratively, but we retain what makes us divine. It's also about healing and growing into your own power; picking up the pieces and becoming whole again, scars and all.
FMP: Do you have a favorite track on the record?
Mallika: My personal favorite is “Ecstasy in Disseverment (of Self)“.
FMP: Are there any plans to tour in 2025 to promote the new EP?
Mallika: We do have a tour in the works which I can't talk about yet. We have also announced some exciting festival appearances at Nice to Eat You and Obscene Extreme.
FMP: You also became the vocalist for Unfathomable Ruination in 2022. What was the story in getting involved with that project? Is there new music coming?
Mallika: I have been friends with those guys since around 2012 when they and my past band Abnormality were label mates on Sevared Records. I always loved their music. They approached me when their singer left and I was excited to play with friends and get back into an active band after Abnormality split in 2020. We released a single “The Defying Symphony of Universal Dissonance” in 2022. We have new songs in the works. You should hear about it soon!
FMP: Yourself, Chaney of Entheos and bands like Sisters of Suffocation, Nervosa and Arch Enemy are showing that Metal isn’t a “boys club” anymore. How does it feel to see more women-led bands gaining prominence in a male-heavy genre?
Mallika: Women have always been a part of metal history. I'm glad to see more and more women in bands these days and absolutely killing it! I'm in good company and it feels great.
