Voice of The Grotesque: An Interview with Castrator's Clarissa Badini
In the evolving death metal scene, few bands stand out like New York's Castrator. Their second album, Coronation of The Grotesque, released on August 15, 2025, through Dark Descent Records, has received critical acclaim. It builds on their intense debut, presenting a sharper, more energetic, and technically intricate sound. The album affirms Castrator's position in modern death metal.
Vocalist Clarissa Badini leads this relentless assault with fierce delivery and rage, pushing her vocals to new heights with layered textures and a broader dynamic range, complementing the album's heavier riffs and complex structures. Critics have praised its blend of old-school brutality and modern precision, addressing serious themes rooted in historical and current injustices. Badini recently talked about the album with J. Donovan Malley from Frozen Moon Promotions, sharing insights into their creative process, from writing after their tour with metal legends to studio collaborations. She explains how she intentionally shaped her vocal style, inspired by death metal giants, to reach new levels of brutality.
The interview covers the creation of their new album, the addition of guitarist Sara Loerlein, the selection of an Exodus cover, and the logistical challenges faced by a touring band. Badini also shares her thoughts on the modern music industry and the influence of social media, offering insight into one of the most anticipated metal releases of 2025.
J. Donovan Malley for Frozen Moon Promotions (FMP): Coronation of The Grotesque has been out for about a week and a half. How has it been from your perspective?
Clarissa Badini: Yeah, I think it’s been about a week and a half since Coronation of The Grotesque was released. It's been going really well. I've seen and heard nothing but positive feedback, and people are really excited about it, which is awesome because we're all really hyped about it and thrilled that it's finally out. We're all just super stoked about how it turned out; even right after we finished recording, we were so proud of it and eagerly awaiting the release date. It's finally out, and feedback has been super positive.
FMP: I see why, it kicks ass. How long have you been working on these songs? And how long have you been waiting for the label process to complete, with the recording still sitting there?
Badini: We started writing right after the tour we did with Cattle Decapitation, which was an incredible experience. That was an absolute blast, and every single band on that tour was exceptional (Cattle Decapitation and Castrator were joined on that tour by legends Immolation as well as Sanguisugabogg). They were such great people to be around. It was a blast, and I have so many good memories from that tour.
But, after it wrapped up, I know Carolina (Perez) and Robin (Mazen) got together and started working on riffs, song structures, lyrics, and all that stuff.
Sara (Loerlein) and I were also involved in the process, including sending all the lyrics and selecting the album title. We all worked together to figure out the album title, and eventually, Coronation of The Grotesque was like, yeah, that's it.
The recording process went really smoothly. I recorded in the same place as Sara, along with her partner, Jordan (Milner), who recorded my vocals for Defiled in Oblivion. It was a lot of fun and truly fantastic to be in the same room as Jordan and Sara, both of whom I've known for a long time. It was really cool to work creatively with them on this new album. Just trying to get all the vocal parts down. I wanted to challenge myself on this new album, and I’m glad it turned out really well.
I'm really proud of the result of everything and everyone's part.
FMP: Have you tried to develop your vocal style for this release? Was there something specific you wanted to add to your vocal delivery with this album?
Badini: Totally. I dove into this new album, and after hearing all the riffs and everything, I was like, “It definitely sounds like old school Deicide.” I wanted to bring that vibe into the mix with vocals. The way Glenn would use layers and stuff.
But I also felt, especially for the song, “I Am a Eunuch”. I thought, this reminds me of the Steve Tucker-era of Morbid Angel. I knew I was definitely going to do some layering, like those albums on.
I want to stick to my style and vocal technique, but I also want to push them. I want to sound more brutal. Additionally, incorporating all of those ideas for this album presents a challenge that will make the overall sound more brutal and take it to the next level.
I feel like I accomplished that successfully, and I'm happy with what I achieved because, with my first album, I finished it in such a short time and on such short notice. I also had a lot going on in my personal life. I was moving and got a new job. Working 12-hour days, then going into the studio.
It was wild. There were a lot of factors at play that affected my vocal delivery, and it just wasn't at the level I wanted for the first album. But for the second album, I was much better prepared.
I had a lot more time to really think about what I wanted to do with my delivery. So, yes.
FMP: Has the live experience with the band also influenced your vocal delivery? I know a lot of people, when they start touring a ton, are like, Oh, I'm going to change this or that.
Badini: You definitely get your reps in. That's for sure. You know what I mean? On the first album, we weren't touring. I just went into the record, but after spending all this time in the band, your chops are well-built. It also made it a lot easier. It is such a good experience.
FMP: Sara is new for this album, right? Let's discuss her addition to the band, including her role in writing and how that's going so far.
Badini: I have known Sara for a really long time. She's one of my closest friends. She was one of the first women in Pittsburgh I ever befriended, because she was one of the few women in the metal scene. And, you know, she loved black metal, death metal—like, we really shared similar tastes—and we've just been really good friends for a long time.
And she used to perform in The Breathing Process. She was in that band for a very long time, gaining extensive experience through touring and being part of the scene for many years. I was always so amazed by how talented, incredible, and professional Sara was.
And, you know, she played one or two shows with us back when we did that Exhumed tour. Then she had to leave because of medical reasons. And, you know, now she's back, and it's such an honor to get to work with her, having known her and been really good friends with her for such a long time.
FMP: Have you been waiting for this opportunity in some ways?
Badini: It's extraordinary and feels like a full-circle moment. It truly is. It's really cool. Her leads, her melodies—she is so talented. She just hears things, and it's like, whoa, how the heck did you come up with that? She's incredible. I'm so happy she's finally in the band.
FMP: Talk to me a little bit about the lyrical themes on the album.
Badini: In many ways, it's an extension of what the first album was, in terms of looking at historical events or just really sinister, evil people doing really messed-up things. “Blood Bind’s Curse” is about a doctor who secretly artificially inseminates a bunch of people.
That's an example of just how brutal and shitty it is. “Mortem Opeterie” is about St. Bartholomew and how he was skinned alive. It's just brutal stuff. However, I think there are other themes as well. “Fragments of Defiance” is about becoming more aware of injustice overall, worldwide. That's another underlying theme at play, lyrically.
FMP: Similar to your first album, you have an excellent cover of a classic metal song. Last time, you covered Venom’s “Countess Bathory”, and now you’re covering “Metal Command” by Exodus, which rocks. I love both covers. Could you explain how you decide which cover to choose? Discuss your selection process, as many great songs are available—how do you choose one over another?
Badini: We were just discussing and throwing out ideas for a cover. And I think Robin had mentioned the idea of doing Exodus’ “Metal Command”?
I was like, “Absolutely!” It was also really cool timing that we did it, as my other band, Vicious Blade, had opened for Exodus at the Decibel Metal & Beer Fest. It was great timing. I was ready to do any Exodus cover, especially any song from Bonded by Blood. It's fast and fun, and it's a key part of the genre's history, you know? They're just such an incredible band. It's wild.
Robin has worked with Exodus for a long time, so I know she was thrilled to work on an Exodus cover. Robin and I were on the same page, saying, 'Yeah, we're going to do Exodus. Very cool. Carolina and Sara were also cool with it.
FMP: Do you have touring plans for the remainder of any dates for the rest of 2025?
Badini: Yes. It's coming up. Nothing has been released yet, but we will be on the road soon.
FMP: What do you think has been the biggest obstacle you've overcome as a musician or band?
Badini: I would say maybe scheduling practices and similar things, since everyone lives in different areas. Now that Sara's in the band, we're both in Pittsburgh and relatively close to Carolina, so it's much easier to coordinate meetups and practices that way.
But in the past, it was definitely challenging. Having our old guitar player from LA and Robin from Florida made it really hard to meet up and schedule practice sessions.
So that's definitely been challenging because you're going on tour and jumping in the deep end. You're like, “Here we go.” So that's definitely been difficult. And going forward, it'll be easier now that, like I said, Carolina and Sara, all three of us are really close.
And Robin is so used to just jumping in and doing it.
FMP: Robin seems like she's on the road constantly.
Badini: Yes. She's a very busy lady. She's got the hang of doing that, just practicing on her own and coming into any and every situation totally prepared. Having at least three of us together will be a lot more helpful moving forward.
FMP: If you could change one thing about the music industry right now, what would you want to change or see improved?
Badini: That's a tricky question. The thing I struggle with the most is social media fame. That's something I find especially challenging.
And I was thinking about it the other day. I really appreciate Spotify. I do. I think it's great that it helps get music out there and makes music much more accessible, but it does kind of influence how music is received, you know what I mean? And consumed, you know. It's so easy to say, 'Oh, I'm going to play this specific song.' You don't get to absorb many of the details about the music, the album art, the lyrics, the band photos, or the overall artwork.
But at the same time, it's, you know, certain songs can make it onto Spotify playlists, and then you become familiar with the band. So, that's just a concept I really struggle with—how social media and Spotify contribute to oversaturation, perhaps.
FMP: Social media isn't just about the music; it's more about how the music is presented.
Badini: Absolutely. It also detracts from the mystique and brutality that are a significant part of what made this music so exciting and thrilling. You know, it's that you didn't really know much about it, and when you play a CD, you're like, holy shit, you're blown away. Or even just watching a simple music video on YouTube—that's also something I remember vividly, being blown away by it. However, it's as if the content isn't even a music video at all; it's just very surface-level and quick to digest. And it's just, it's too much, you know.
FMP: And fleeting, nothing really sticks. It's a series of images that don't actually linger. It's so shallow in many ways that attaching any meaning is really hard because there's nothing solid to hold onto.
Badini: Exactly. Exactly. You just keep scrolling through, and nothing really matters. The whole experience detracts from what is a remarkable aspect of music – genuine connection and meaning.
FMP: Final question, what were the one or two bands that served as your gateway into extreme metal?
Badini: Definitely. When I was really young, around 13, I remember buying a magazine – Revolver. They had, like, you know, 50 top metal vocalists of all time. I'm looking through, and I see King Diamond. And then I see Angela Gossow. And I was like, whoa, I was so, I was like, wow, like this beautiful woman. She's badass. And fortunately, I had access to the internet. So, I looked up an Arch Enemy music video for "Nemesis" and was blown away.
And that's when I knew that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to sing in a metal band. I was extremely young, but I was incredibly inspired. I was blown away at the age of 13. It really resonated with who I was.
It is really cool because Revolver recently shared our new single when it came out—another full-circle moment.
I liked Cannibal Corpse. I always loved their vocals, but seeing Cannibal Corpse live when I was 15 – watching George, the monster he is, belt out all that power – it was incredibly inspiring.
Behemoth too. I discovered a lot of really cool Polish metal, like Decapitated, which was essential for me. Vader, of course. Vader is always a band I forget to mention. But I used to listen to Vader so much. I'm a big fan of Vader. Those are a few bands that really resonated with me. And for me, I found so many bands through those bands.
From Clarissa Badini's conversation, it's evident that Coronation of the Grotesque is the work of a band operating with increased confidence and cohesion. Her comments on the collaborative process, the deliberate intensity of her vocals, and the smooth addition of guitarist Sara Loerlein show a group focused on refining their craft. The album isn't an accident; it's a purposeful step forward in both sound and message, resulting in their most powerful work yet.
Ultimately, Castrator is making standout death metal while also pushing the genre's boundaries. By tackling real-world themes of injustice, exploitation, and the brutality at the heart of humanity, they bring a unique and powerful perspective to the scene. With upcoming tours and a solidified lineup, their future looks punishing. For fans of heavy music, Castrator has proven they're a significant force.
