Women Of The SS

About

Women Of The SS emerged from the American underground in the mid-1980s, operating within a landscape of cassette-driven subversion. Their brief but impactful existence from 1984 to 1986 unfolded under the aegis of Inner-X-Musick, a label known for embracing the abrasive and the transgressive. John Zewizz, a figure of enigmatic presence, was instrumental in crafting soundscapes that veered into harsh, ritualistic territories. The tapes — Women Of The SS (1984), Woman Iz Beast (1985), and The Call To All Women... (1986) — are exercises in provocation. They wielded tape manipulation like a scalpel, carving unsettling atmospheres replete with mechanical rhythms and dystopian textures. The sound was relentless, functional in its capacity to unsettle, and relentlessly dark. Provocative themes ran through the work, challenging listeners with their blunt portrayal of power and control. Women Of The SS situated themselves alongside artists like Sleep Chamber and Mauthausen Orchestra, sharing a penchant for the raw and the confrontational. Their work resonates as a document of a scene that thrived on the edge of the acceptable, turning industrial detritus into a medium for critique and expression.