KING WOMAN

This weekend marked the return of King Woman, a shoe-gazing doom metal band that surely burst some eardrums and broke a few hearts. Fronted by Kristina Esfandiari, the band offered up its heavy sludge with a softness and sadness that was shrouded in layers of fog machine clouds. 

At the Bay-area band’s Union Transfer show, where they opened for Russian Circles, it was impossible to stop watching Esfandiari. Her voice was low and husky – sometimes she was whispering lyrics like incantations, then howling “You can’t even look at me,” into the microphone as the music swelled behind her.

Full slideshow HERE.

Photos via Senny Mau. 

Photos by Danny Hernandez

The dynamic instrumental trio Russian Circles delivered a much anticipated set to the Echoplex crowd. The talented Chicago outfit consisting of Mike Sullivan, Dave Turncrantz, and Brian Cook didn’t need vocals to communicate the stories they were telling. It was hypnotic and cathartic.

Supporting Russian Circles on this tour is King Woman.

Full gallery of photos HERE. 

Kristina Esfandiari has lived many lives in her 30 years. For starters, she survived a “spiritually overwhelming” upbringing in a cultlike community near Sacramento.

“(There was) manipulation through words and music, all done in the name of God,” says Esfandiari, who moved to the Bay Area when she was 22.

Changing locale helped, as it was in San Francisco where she served as a vocalist for the shoegaze act Whirr before launching her own music career, which currently encompasses three musical projects. There’s the gloom pop of her solo effort Miserable, the rap and R&B roots of her Nghtcrwlr moniker, and her main gig: fronting the doom rock band King Woman.

Full article via San Francisco Chronicle.

Full feature on San Diego CityBeat

Kristina Esfandiari has been making music for more than a decade, but she’s still in the process of learning some things the hard way. The frontwoman for San Francisco-based doom-gaze outfit King Woman hasn’t stopped moving for much of the past few years, in large part because the band has been on tour in support of their 2017 debut album, Created in the Image of Suffering. It’s the band’s first release for heavy music super-label Relapse, which earned them critical praise as well as prominent appearances at festivals such as Hopscotch and Desert Daze. From the outside, it probably seemed like everything a band could ask for.

New hoodies available now at the King Woman Store. 

Instru-metal greats Russian Circles spent much of 2017 on the road with Mastodon and Eagles of Death Metal in continued support of 2016’s Guidance, and they’re already set to tour again. They’re embarking on a three-week tour this spring with excellent support from innovative doom band King Woman, who released their debut LP Created in the Image of Suffering on Relapse last year.

Full article via Brooklyn Vegan. Dates Below.

Things took a turn for the darker when Bay Area doomgaze masters King Woman turned down the lights and turned up the amps while singer Kristina Esfandiari cleared a circle on the floor and took center position.  Unveiling two new songs that immediately signaled a significant progression while retaining the emotion and depth KW are known for, this band made it known they are a force to be reckoned with.  Nowhere to go but up for this crew

Full article via CVLT NATION. 

KING WOMAN are happy to announce they have now joined the management roster at Sargent House (Chelsea Wolfe, Deafheaven, Russian Circles, Earth, Mutoid Man, etc) and have just launched their new website which will be at kingwoman.band. The band commented on the new partnership and Stone Roses cover, saying:

“We have an immense amount of respect for Cathy and are proud to be a part of the Sargent House family. It’s going to be a beautiful year. The Stone Roses song was recorded with at Earth Tone Studios with Pat Hills in Sacramento, CA. It’s our first shot at recording a cover.”

"I Wanna Be Adorded" by King Woman (The Stone Roses Cover) is available for purchase here. 

Latest full-length 'Created in the Image of Suffering' is out now and available via Relapse Records Here: http://bit.ly/KingWoman

King Woman singer Kristina Esfandiari doesn't consider her band's output to be metal, but whatever you want to call it, it's undeniably heavy — drone-y and doomy and touching on deep topics from religion to the psychedelic experience. "I think people get uncomfortable when they can't label you," she said to us of the group, which released its acclaimed debut full-length, Created in the Image of Suffering, earlier this year. "It's expressive, emotional music. And anybody can relate to that, you know? I want to have a positive message and empower other people through the way I live and the way I perform." And indeed she does.

Full article via REVOLVER.