Wargasm (stylised in all caps and sometimes known as Wargasm (UK)) are a British electronic rock duo from London. Formed in 2018 by Sam Matlock and Milkie Way, they released several standalone singles before making headlines in 2021 over incidents at that year's Heavy Music Awards and after a performance at Scala. Their 2022 Enter Shikari collaboration "The Void Stares Back", 2022 mixtape Explicit: The Mixxxtape, and 2023 album Venom were nominated for various awards at the Heavy Music Awards, while Explicit also charted at No. 19 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart and appeared on Loudwire's "Best Rock + Metal Debut Albums of 2022" and Venom charted at No. 88 in the UK Albums Chart. Alternative Press listed them as a defining part of the 2020s wave of nu metal, and NME listed them as one of 2021's essential emerging artists. The pair also took home "Best UK Breakthrough" at the Heavy Music Awards in 2021 and Best New Noise at the 2022 Kerrang! Awards.
Wargasm
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Wargasm performing in London, 2022
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Wargasm (UK) |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres |
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| Years active | 2018–present |
| Labels |
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| Members |
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| Website | wargasm |
Sam Matlock, a guitarist and son of Glen Matlock,[1] met Northern Irish model and photographer Milkie Way when she was hired by Matlock's previous band Dead! to film their concerts.[2] Dead!'s 2018 album The Golden Age of Not Even Trying[3] had charted at No. 11 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart,[4] while Way had been working as a session musician for Barns Courtney[2] and had previously featured in Toni & Guy and Valentino campaigns.[5] In 2018,[6] after the band disbanded, Matlock approached Way, who by then had taken a job modelling in Tokyo, and bonded with her over a shared love of nu metal acts such as Limp Bizkit.[7] They later formed Wargasm, taking their name from the L7 song of the same name; the pair used a June 2020 interview to state that the "War" half of their name signified "this kind of angry, visceral red energy" and that the "gasm" half signified "the euphoria that you get when you listen to a song and think [that] this is so fucking hard".[7] Wargasm are listed as "Wargasm (UK)" in several territories due to the existence of other bands from the United States, Finland, Sweden and France.[8]
At first the pair began writing pop punk songs,[7] and recorded an EP in that style called Sadgasm, which they opted not to release;[9] the band later diversified into a combination of rap and nu metal.[7] They released their debut single, "Post Modern Rhapsody", in August 2019,[7] before playing their first live performance a few weeks later[10] at a toilet venue.[11] They then released "God of War" that November,[12] which was later used as the theme for NXT UK.[13] In February 2020, they released a cover version of "Lapdance" by N.E.R.D. alongside a music video.[14] Initially a SoundCloud-only release, the track was recorded as an exercise in how to best juggle their vocals[7] after Matlock heard the track at a club, and was the first non-pop punk track they recorded.[9] They then released their own composition, "Gold Gold Gold", later that month,[15] followed by "Spit" that June, which they had written in lockdown.[16]
In September 2020, they played a set for that year's Heavy Music Awards and released "Backyard Bastards",[17] which they released a music video for the following month.[18] The month after that, they released the single "Rage All Over", which they had written about their own rage at the declining condition of the world.[19] At the start of January 2021, NME listed them as one of their essential emerging artists for the following year; Yungblud used the piece to describe Way as "a metal Gwen Stefani".[20] That April, they released the single "Your Patron Saints", a track about loneliness and isolation they had written after one of the band had a small breakdown in a supermarket.[21] They followed this in June with "Pyro Pyro",[22] after which they performed at the 2021 Download Festival Pilot.[23] The following month, Alternative Press listed them as a defining part of the 2020s wave of nu metal.[24]
In August 2021, they announced their debut UK headline tour, with dates booked between 17 and 30 November 2021,[25] and that they would tour with Creeper the month after.[26] Later that August, they released the single "Salma Hayek",[27] performed at the 2021 Reading and Leeds Festivals[28] and at ALT+LDN festival,[29] and featured on a remix of Death Blooms' single "Shut Up".[30] The following month, they won "Best UK Breakthrough" at the Heavy Music Awards, at which they performed with Trash Boat. The ceremony's Twitch stream was shut down for three days after Way's nipples became visible through her top, prompting defiant social media posts from Way, the Heavy Music Awards, and Trash Boat's Tobi Duncan, who pointed out how hypocritical the ban was given that his own nipples were visible through his fishnet shirt.[31]
On 5 November, the band performed at Scala at their Face Down club night. Two days after performing,[32] Matlock uploaded to social media a picture of large red marks he had sustained to his back and arms. In his post, he alleged that three security guards had administered verbal abuse to the band's female tour manager and responded to him challenging it by dragging him into a toilet, bashing his head against a toilet seat, and holding his head in a toilet bowl.[33] He also stated that he only escaped after another member of his touring party intervened,[34] that they had been attempting to contact the venue over the weekend regarding the matter, and that said bouncers' continued employment meant that they did not consider the club a safe venue, especially for women. The Security Industry Authority confirmed that they had received a complaint.[33] After investigating, Scala fired two of the bouncers involved,[35] with Wargasm later posting to social media that the third had also been fired.[36] A week and a half after the incident, the venue set out a number of planned security measures for its subsequent performances.[37]
Later in November, the band released "Scratchcard Feeling", a track about continuing to feel lucky despite continued losses.[38] The band then supported Neck Deep on a UK tour in early 2022. Reviewing a February set for Louder Than War, Daniel Tsourekas complimented the contrast between Matlock's "gritty" vocals and Way's "softer yet punk-infused" vocals.[39] The following month, Rolling Stone reported that Wargasm would be joining Limp Bizkit on their North American "Still Sucks" tour.[40] That May, Matlock and Way announced that they had signed to Slowplay and Republic Records, and would release a single, "D.R.I.L.D.O.", and a mixtape, Explicit: The Mixxxtape;[41] they released "D.R.I.L.D.O." later that month.[42] The following month, they performed at that year's Download Festival,[43] at which they were the only band to play the main stage to not be all-male.[44] They also won the New Noise Awards at that year's Kerrang! Awards.[45]
In July, they released "Fukstar", a rant against the behaviour of high-net-worth individuals,[46] and then the month after that, they featured on Enter Shikari's "The Void Stares Back",[47] which won Best Single at the 2023 Heavy Music Awards.[48] They released Explicit in September 2022,[49] which included previous singles "Pyro Pyro", "Salma Hayek", "D.R.I.L.D.O" and "Fukstar" and new track "Super Fiend".[50] The mixtape was nominated for Best Breakthrough Album at the 2023 Heavy Music Awards,[48] appeared on Loudwire's "Best Rock + Metal Debut Albums of 2022",[51] and charted at No. 19 on the UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart.[52] They promoted Explicit by going on the Explicit Tour,[53] which featured dates in Manchester, Glasgow, Nottingham, and at O2 Forum Kentish Town.[54] At the end of that year, they toured with Enter Shikari and Limp Bizkit.[55] That December, they released a new video for "Super Fiend" featuring tour footage,[56] followed by a cover of the Girls Aloud song "Something Kinda Ooooh" for Amazon Music.[57] In May 2023, it was announced that Wargasm would support Corey Taylor on his 2023 CMF2 tour between August and October.[58]
In July 2023, they announced the album Venom and released the single "Do It So Good".[59] The album took sixteen months to make, with the band using a December 2023 Kerrang! interview to blame the discontinuous manner in which it was produced and "labels and distributors, and all these people who don’t seem to be able to do their fucking job anymore".[11] Many of the tracks pre-dated Explicit due to the band working on both concurrently.[60] In September, they released "Bang Ya Head", which was written about Matlock's experience of struggling to live on a bar salary.[61] Both it and Venom's introduction featured Fred Durst as a result of the band direct messaging him.[11] They released "Modern Love" in October, a track about technology-induced loneliness,[62] followed by a video a few days later,[63] and followed by "Molotov", an album trackonHo99o9's mixtape Ho99o9 presents Territory: Turf Talk, Vol. II, a few days after that.[64] Later that month, they released Venom,[1] which charted at No. 88 in the UK Albums Chart[52] and was nominated for Best Breakthrough Album at the 2024 Heavy Music Awards.[65]
In May 2024, the band featured on Crossfaith's "God Speed", an ode to hedonism,[66] followed by "Hedonist (Recharged)", an album track from Concrete Jungle [The OST], an expansion pack to Bad Omens' The Death of Peace of Mind.[67] The following month, they appeared on Scene Queen's "Girls Gone Wild", a track about misogynistic double standards from her album Hot Singles in Your Area,[68] and then the month after that, the band released "70% Dead", a collaboration with Corey Taylor which had been recorded while the band were on tour with him.[55]
Way was raised on Motown, soul music, and pop music such as David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, and The Temptations, and got into guitar music via The Smashing Pumpkins and Bikini Kill, while Matlock got into guitar music after listening to Nirvana.[69] Critics have categorised the band's music as electro-punk,[70][22][71] digital hardcore,[72] post-hardcore[73] and nu metal.[25][74] Their music makes use of elements of riot grrrl,[74][75] heavy metal, dubstep,[76] screamo,[77] pop, electronic and hip hop music.[78] NME writer Ali Shutler described their music as "cyberpunk",[79] while Dannii Leivers of Metal Hammer described the band in October 2023 as "looking like the Wikipedia definition of modern rock stars".[80] Their music often makes use of screamed vocals, electronic and psychedelic sounds, aggressive guitar riffs,[81] and distorted bass.[82] Songs often feature Matlock and Way trading off vocals duties mid verse.[83]
Alternative Press writer Giedrė Matulaitytė described their music as an "eclectic blend of punk/riot grrrl attitude, hardcore energy, grunge pessimism and murky nü-metal groove",[84] and Ali Cooper described them as "If you take all the limitless energy of a pulsing nightclub and throw it into the pit".[24] Metal Hammer writer Yasmine Summan described it as "catchy nu metal riffs, throw in a bit of riot grrrl flare and wash it down with a healthy dosage of post-apocalyptic angst"[85] and Jack Saunders described them as "the Prodigy and Slipknot at the same time."[73]
They have cited influences including L7,[7] Loathe, Shvpes and Poppy.[86] For "Pyro Pyro", they were inspired by a scene in a documentary about Grimes which asserted that she used laser shots from video games and gunshots to construct her music,[22] and for "Salma Hayek", its chorus was inspired by Kim Petras.[27] When asked on an early 2021 interview with Fred Perry what songs' lyrics inspired them, Matlock answered "Custer" by Slipknot and Way answered "Smack A B*tch - Remix" by Rico Nasty.[87]
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [52] |
UK Rock [52] |
SCO [52] | ||
| Venom |
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88 | 3 | 30 |
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK Rock [52] | ||
| Explicit: The Mixxxtape |
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19 |
| Title | Year | Album / EP |
|---|---|---|
| "Post Modern Rhapsody" | 2019 | Non-album singles |
| "God of War" | ||
| "Gold Gold Gold" | 2020 | |
| "Lapdance" | ||
| "Spit" | ||
| "Backyard Bastards" | ||
| "Rage All Over" | ||
| "Your Patron Saints" | 2021 | |
| "Pyro Pyro" | Explicit: The Mixxxtape | |
| "Salma Hayek" | ||
| "Scratchcard Feeling" | Non-album single | |
| "D.R.I.L.D.O" | 2022 | Explicit: The Mixxxtape |
| "Fukstar" | ||
| "Do It So Good" | 2023 | Venom |
| "Bang Ya Head" (featuring Fred Durst) | ||
| "Modern Love" | ||
| "70% Dead" (featuring Corey Taylor) |
2024 | Non-album single |
| Year | Title | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | "Spoiler (Recoil)" (DJ Hyper featuring Wargasm) |
Non-album single |
| "The Cycle" (Death Tour featuring Wargasm) |
Scared? | |
| "Shut Up" (Death Blooms featuring Wargasm) |
Non-album single | |
| 2022 | "The Void Stares Back" (Enter Shikari featuring Wargasm) |
Dancing On The Frontline |
| 2024 | "God Speed" (Crossfaith featuring Wargasm) |
AЯK |
| "Girls Gone Wild" (Scene Queen featuring Wargasm) |
Hot Singles in Your Area |
| Title | Year | Album | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Something Kinda Ooooh" (Amazon Original) |
2022 | Non-album single | [57] |
| Song | Year | Album | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Generation Undead" (BaseFace featuring Wargasm) |
2020 | Generation Undead | [89] |
| "Molotov" (Ho99o9 featuring Wargasm) |
2023 | Ho99o9 presents Territory: Turf Talk, Vol. II | [90] |
| "Hedonist [Recharged]" (Bad Omens featuring Wargasm) |
2024 | Concrete Jungle[the OST] | [91] |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Themselves | Best UK Breakthrough Band | Won | [102] |
| 2022 | Themselves | Best Live Artist | Nominated | [103] |
| 2023 | Explicit: The Mixxxtape | Best Breakthrough Album | Nominated | [48] |
| "The Void Stares Back" (Enter Shikari ft. Wargasm) |
Best Single | Won | ||
| 2024 | Venom | Best Breakthrough Album | Pending | [65] |