Venus Grrrls share new single ‘Carmilla’

VENUS GRRRLS today release another vignette from their forthcoming EP ‘To Die as Lovers May’, which is due out 16th Oct via Killabop. The EP marks the band’s first physical release as it’s available to pre-order on CD and vinyl (including a blood red variant) now.

Drawing influence from 80’s goth and industrial sounds, the new single ‘Carmilla’ lives and breathes vampiric blood. In collaboration with English Heritage, the music video for ‘Carmilla’ was partly shot at the iconic Whitby Abbey, home to the inspiration behind Bram Stoker’s iconic novel, ‘Dracula’. ‘Carmilla’, the novel by Sheridan Le Fanu, also served as a major creative influence for Bram Stoker to write his infamous novel 25 years later.

Vocalist GK says:

“The inspiration for the song was instantaneous after finishing my first read of Sheridan Le Fanu’s novel, Carmilla. The EP’s title, ‘To Die as Lovers May’, is taken from an extract in the novel, which actually predated Dracula. Lyrically, I certainly wanted to capture the contrast of allure and passion with the lethality and confrontation of romance with a vampire. It’s dark and forbidden, but it’s enticing and everlasting. I think this tender balance that exists in between the cracks of love and death is what the entire EP is exploring.

I recorded the vocals at 3am after three glasses of red wine in the Spanish mountains; some even recorded in an abandoned chapel. We all walked in the pitch black to find this chapel with our producer, Brad, in the middle of the night. It felt like some sort of gloomy pilgrimage! It aided us in capturing the atmosphere that’s so masterfully present throughout the novel. An eeriness that’s a bit sexy. It was particularly cathartic to record a song about lesbian vampires in an old chapel.”

‘Carmilla’ follows on from ‘Mother Knows’ and ‘Eve’, which are similarly gothic-inspired tracks appearing on the EP. They saw traction at Kerrang!, Rock Sound, BBC Radio 1, BBC 6Music, Radio X, Kerrang! Radio and more besides. 

“‘To Die As Lovers May’ is an exploration of death, love, and viscera,” the band say of the forthcoming EP. “Drawing heavily on dark romanticism, it explores the beauty amongst the macabre and the vision that lives amidst the fog. Combining the melancholy of 90s grunge with haunting 80s goth, ‘To Die as Lovers May’ is an ode to the more peculiar and darker corners of the human experience, both in life and after death. With influences from 19th century literature and twisting the tales of mythology, the story told is one of romance, decay, and acquiescence.”

‘To Die As Lovers May’ is VENUS GRRRLS’ most fully realised project to date as they conjure their own universe of storytelling with cinematic levels of atmosphere. Its soundscapes shift and evolve wildly yet seamlessly through its five impactful tracks. The extreme scope of GK’s vocal is perfectly propelled by Eliza’s supreme riffage, which dials back to perfectly picked (and bowed) softer moments when the songs require. Drummer Alannagh hits hard when she needs to and totally drops back for some quietly impactful moments, whilst bassist Hannah underpins the lush texture of the music with an undeniable, laid-back groove that drives the flow of this collection with a powerful ease. 

Pre-order here

“To Die As Lovers May” Tracklisting:

1. Eve
2. Carmilla
3. Mother Knows
4. Evergreen
5. Wormfood

2026 has been a whirlwind for VENUS GRRRLS so far, as they’ve been casting spells across festival stages from Sunderland (BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend) to Cheltenham (2000Trees) to Czechia (Rock For People). The band have also been seen on tour with Nova Twins and sharing the stage with the likes of Witch Fever and Tigercub. All this in between recording the new EP with producer Brad Mair in Spain. To cap it all off, VENUS GRRRLS will hit the road on a UK headline tour in October, just as spooky season, and the release of ‘To Die as Lovers May’, hit. Tickets on sale now.