Did you miss those interesting interviews with folks behind the plethora of gorenoise and/or goregrind projects and bands? I know you did. Suffer no more…!
When I’ve learn about Putrid Menstrual Slime – being described to me as a one-woman goregrind project – I’d known I had to get in touch to learn more about it! I just had to!
And thanks to Celeste being nice, I had a great time doing this interview…for me, for her and for all of you too!!! (ed. note – the interview was not edited.)
Hello, Celeste! How are you doing? First things first, I am very pleased to do this interview with you…but along with our readers, I am pretty curious…what can you tell us about yourself?
Hello there! I’m existing as far as I’m aware. Thank you so much for sharing your time with me. I have portrayed a mysterious persona for a long while so I appreciate this as a way to be open on myself. I am a 32 year old female artist, musician & film maker living on the northeast coast for about 10 years. I was born in the “Deep South” of Texas. I started making grind & beats seriously around 2014. My journey into film has been in the past recent 2 years. I’ve been doing art ever* since I could hold a crayon lol…I’m a very creative individual to say the least.
Wellllll…I see we’ll gonna talk far more than I originally expected, lol, as you just brought up another subject of interest…film!!! But first…I have to admit, when our mutual friend Blarorn (hello, bro!) told me about you being featured in one of the split he’s released through his label, I’ve been immediately curious about your project, as it’s a sad truth there’s still not that many females present in the goregrind/gorenoise scene. And, as a result, we’re doing this interview, haha… so, how the hell did you ended up as an artist in this depraved, fringe music genre?
Ah where do I begin…lol…I grew up watching MTV music videos that my da had taped during the time I was being incubated along with all of his “radio friendly” metal. I enjoyed other music but I would always beg to listen to Ozzy Osbourne or Alice In Chains on car rides because it was to my knowledge the heaviest when I went into middle school I was deep into numetal…jr high I got into crust punk, black metal & MySpace era shit…in high school I was all over the place with finding new various subgenres of music & I needed it to be fucking hard to match my levels of teenage angst. It was in my art class that a friend put on a group that we both had never heard of & I was instantaneously drawn to it. Aborted Hitler Cock was the band & boy I tell you what, they changed the game for me. I needed more of that groovy goregrind. I never take & took any of the content within the music seriously as a sense of these ppl actually be doing this shit…which there are some people that do…& I see it as either raising awareness, finding comedy in it, more extreme content, or it is a sense of release like audio therapy…it’s not for me to judge why folks make great music. I’ll be honest…I’m fucking gross.
Yeah, I’ve tried to introduce my older one into metal, but I’ve failed…AC/DC and Ozzy, that’s all for him lol…funny you’ve mentioned MySpace era, back home (in Slovakia) it was never big – but jumping from nu-metal to crust punk and black metal, that’s quite a leap, I have to say… now, you’ve mentioned doing music since 2014, was that coming from being inspired by above mentioned Aborted Hitler Cock?
Lol yeeeah I like all kinds of music. I don’t discriminate but it defs needs to hit right. Yes they were one of the few bands that inspired me actually. The other bands are like 100deadrabbits, iwrestedabearonce & Tampax Vortex.
Oh, iwrestledabearonce, I haven’t heard that name for a long time!!! Did you start right on with PMS, or with a different project initially?
I love this question lol sooo I originally started off as “vaginalseepage” but I started to notice MANY other bands consisting of Vaginal This & Vaginal That…when they all are/were dudes lol. No hate either like Vaginal Mustard is an old homie along with others…I just didn’t want to be on that bandwagon…when I actually have a vagina. Being so, Putrid Menstrual Slime had to be the new name.
Interestingly, for some reason I’ve thought it was Post Menstrual Slime…anyway, from today’s perspective, how do you view your initial sound adventures, and more importantly, how have they been received from the listeners of the genre?
Yo I’ve joked that I should change it to something kinda similar when I hit menopause but my sound has defs taken drastic turns. In the beginning my demo had guest members do guitar & drum tracks bc I clearly had no idea what I was doing unless it was pressing on keys on a synth board & doing gutturals into a mic. When I released The Party Chamber album in like 2019, that was around the time I gained a band member who did majority of the guitar & drum tracks along with a few guest members. After getting cancelled & banned off of YouTube in like…2020…?… I became extremely annoyed by the pc censorship bs & felt really attacked left & right. So I took a break from releasing anything grind until I tried the last appeal & got shut down for good. During that time, I sat down & took the time to learn how to actually fucking doing things like programming drums & distorted 8bit slimes to go along with it. I honestly think more folks probably enjoy my demo a lot more than they do my other works to be completely honest with you lol I don’t think that my music is bad, I just understand that it’s not for everyone. I know recently some folks have been like, “grind without any guitar?” & shit alike… …well…I lack that instrument physically myself in order to play out some supreme chugs. I have made 5 albums…going on 6 now all on my iPhone. If I had a bass & equipment…I’d be recording it on my phone. But I don’t…so I work with what I got & make the best of it in my capabilities. I don’t expect anyone to be into what I create. I have said in the past that I make it for them but it’s really…more for me. I also feel like I’m disliked in the community & other’s similar for being a female in a male dominated genre. It is unfair but I get it. Strong females are intimidating. I don’t blame them for how they feel. Just wish they’d get to know me as an individual instead of just assuming mean things about me from my music. I do appreciate & recognize all that have taken the time to hear my music as well as given me kind feedback. It really helps me a lot in motivation to want to continue doing what I enjoy doing.
That’s actually what I was getting at…the misogyny in the extreme metal, especially in the gore-soaked fringes. Obviously, the violent themes are one thing… but I am pretty sure there were – and are – also positive reactions, am I right?
Oh defs I get plenty of kind words from folks. Especially other females too, saying that they look up to my confidence for doing what I do. I love that I can give them some sort of empowerment as we all should. Most guys are tripped out by my vocal work or will compliment my drum programming, which is flattering bc it took me a very long time lol. It’s very nice to know that I still got plenty of slimers on my side.
Now that’s definitely something positive here. Let’s take a better look at your sonic output. Tell me, how many releases have you put out so far, and – although this question is kinda stupid, I admit, lol – which one do you think the best represents you and the vision you were trying to convey at that given time?
Oh man…so I technically have 2 demos, 1 single that’s like over 8 mins long lol & 6 full length albums. I would have to say From The Fountain of Filth would have to be the best because I really took some time to mess around with how I wanted to sound after that point forward…while The Art Of Bloody Genitalia…that one to me is probably my personal favorite & portrays the thoughts & feelings I was experiencing at the time writing it. I do this with all my albums but that one just has a little more to it than what I have done with the others.
You are amongst the artists who go a step further in creating their art in a complex way, not only the musick itself, but also the stuff coming with it, like artwork, packaging, the whole 9 yards, so to speak…is that something you’ve had in mind from the very beginning, or did it just develop out of the necessity when trying to actually release physical copies of your stuff?
Right so I actually had it all sorta planned out ahead of time when I was putting together The Party Chamber I was writing a script (which I still have) to go along with it because the entire album is a story based off my nightmares that seemed to oddly connect in ways. I wanted to make a full length with anime scenes & all the fun cinema stuff until shit happened & life being strange got in the way…so I kinda just left it. It was until I was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism & was having like those…”damn I can die rn & what all I have I done in life & I want to share more of me or at least something visual to my noise for the world to understand before I go.” A colleague & filthy friend, Filthina Pig, inspired me to go onto filming my segments & went as far as to even help in producing the dvds for my first release. The main segment in it that is self titled, “Putrid Menstrual Slime” is the ending segment to the full length. It’s really wild how it all happened, I couldn’t be anymore grateful for all the support & how it all turned out being I’m still here today.
Yeah, the film stuff, my other favourite topic! I have to admit I am quite past my phase of gore and transgressive cinema now, haha. You know, the family guy … but people just don’t usually jump into Lydia Lynch or Richard Kern movies…what was your way into the cinematic hell of moving pictures?
It’s funny you ask because I actually just recently remembered the first horror movie I watched as a kid & it was The Shining lol. I grew up watching a lot of the cult classics & sci-fi flicks until I was a bit older to be allowed to rent whatever caught my interest which was usually horror…or cartoons lol. Although, I was very into John Carpenter’s work in movies growing up like the sfx & animatronics are what got me into doing my own special effects. Especially that he did the scores to them I was moved by that. Other film makers too such as early Peter Jackson, Clive Barker, John Waters & Wes Anderson to name a few…which I know Wes Anderson doesn’t really fall into the gore/extreme category but his cinematic aesthetics have a lot of inspiration to my own.
That’s actually a good topic to get into and let’s stay with it for a moment… I can see from your profile you’re doing your own SFX and from stuff I follow on Facebook and elsewhere I can see many independent filmmakers are still more focused on realistic gore effects than elements which makes horror movies…well, horror movies. What’s your take on that – story/script or effects? What group do you fall into?
Oooh I like this question. I’m defs the type that I need it balanced. If the story & dialogue is great but the sfx are mid I’ll be alright with it, but not fully enjoy it. If the story is bad but the gore is good, I can sit thru it. If it’s all bad…I can’t do it but I will force myself to because I started it lmtooo. But nah I love that cheesy b-rated style sfx all the same. It’s just when the cgi happens like the silly cgi blood sprays…come the fuck on now lol.
Yeah, I defo agree..nothing against the CGI, when it’s great, it’s great, but compared to the actual -tronics and hands-on effects of the past…new is definitely not always better. Now, there is a third area of my interest I always talk about – books and periodicals, especially fanzines and underground press. Do you share the same interest? If so, what are your favourite books or periodicals you would recommend to anyone in a heartbeat?
To name a few books: Becoming by Hagur The Bhagavad Gita Story of O by Anne Desclos There’s a neuro science/tech book I have that’s life changing & can not find it. I’ll look for it when it’s daytime but that one is a great read for mental improvement. Fanzines…I rarely come across them because I’m barely on socials anymore. I be kinda busy there’s one I liked recently from this gal named Ossuary Angel & the subject was focused on drowning which is one one of my morbid fascinations. Defs recommend checking her out.
Honestly, I don’t know any of these! 🙂 so, thanks a lot for the recommendations! Anyway, let’s get back to the nice stuff! What are you working on at the moment? Musick-wise?
Yessiree I am going in raw & slimed with this upcoming 6th xPxMxSx album. Programming drums to keep my insanity in check lol.
To quote Grease…tell me more, tell me more, haha…is there any theme to the album, or any ongoing subject you’re exploring via music in this upcoming album? Also, a very important question – untitled tracks or songs with proper titles?
There’s really no theme to this one as I had in the past releases. I’m kinda just going with the motions & taking my time on it. Defs have a whole lotta say in this one as I did in the others. I’ll let the album speak for itself when I drop it sometime this summer. Ah man I do enjoy a long ass sentence to a full on paragraph when it comes to track titles but I totally understand when some folks just put untitled tracks either being that pc culture runs so rampant. I actually had to censor my last album “Slime Hymns From Saint Hymen” on YouTube because it got banned within minutes…like the album art as well as the track titles calling them “hymn 1” & so on when they actually have titles. It’s pretty sad but I’m not surprised either lol.
Yeah, I think this generation has completely gone soft and being offended by anything and everything. Let me return, though, back a bit… you know, I keep thinking about you as a female in the scene which is male-dominated, with the themes and artwork most of the people would without a doubt call un-feminine, or, for a lack of better terms, not suitable for a woman to deal with. Would you think there’s that danger of losing respect as a woman doing goregrind stuff? Or is this really a liberation edge to it? That’s really something I am thinking about today, believe or not…
I know for a fact that there’s random disrespect that just comes into the territory. Some folks get the idea that I do this as a way of gaining sexual gratification from listeners when that is far from my intention…completely lol. It’s really ridiculous but I get it. A non-lady like female talking about fellatio must mean she just wants the segs from anyone willing to throw it at her so she’s a slut. Hahahaha. Fuck that nonsense. It is liberating in a way in knowing that I have the capability to piss some people off because I don’t give a shit about other’s opinions about me & my work. If my presence in the scene makes them feel some type of way…idk…they can go fight their mom about it lol I just want folks to enjoy the slimes, if they don’t…that’s cool too…there’s plenty of other music to get into.
We’re already mentioned the guy from Vaginal Mustard and Blarorn Ulstrom (Injecting Krokodil…) as people you are co-operating with…how about other people or projects? Any collaborations planned, either in the musick or film world? And I just can’t help it, but split, sis?
Oh for sure. Drank Zombie was a big help on my demo. Porno Kult, Dakota Westbrook, Lyndon Sandy, Jeremy Kirchner, Steve Stenerson, Jesse Lange & Jeremy Simmons all helped me out in the beginning too. I did guest vocals for a Menstrual Munchies track yeeears ago…trying to think of everything else lol I recall a couple splits in the beginning but I don’t remember what they were called…
Ah, Menstrual Munchies, the name we don’t utter anymore, I guess… what was your thought when learning the singer was involved in that mass-shooting?
Oof maaan…that was an insane situation all together. I’m pretty sure I talked to him at least a couple times & didn’t get any off vibes from him so it was a total shock to me waking up to that news. I…have been very curious if there’s more to it than what was released…but that’s not for me to disclose my opinions publicly either. It still just all seems kinda off as all mass shootings do to me in general…but…then again…you never really know people. Even if you grew up with them…so idk. Crazy shit none the less.
Yeah, I agree, people are strange creatures. Anyway, coming close to this interesting interview, I am curious – what is Celeste listening to and watching these days? Any interesting musick and movies you are enjoying?
Lol awe I’m gunna get embarrassed bc I’m a nerd well funny enough, lately I’ve been listening to much more breakcore & techno/electronic music like this one group Effter I’m really digging…as well as reggae/dance hall or some deep feels music like Cigarettes After Sex & shyte like that…lmtooo. I don’t really listen to grind as much unless I’m in that mood. I’ve been watching shows more so than anything recently bc I work a lot than I was before. The last show I binge watched recently was…X-Men 97 & I’m so stoked for season 2
I love me some comics.
Hmmm…I don’t remember if I’ve ever seen X-Men 97, you’ve got me hooked now, need to check it out! Yeah, comics are good, shame back in the day (when I was a kid) there were not that many available in my country (in the end of the day, it was not the entertainment our authorities have deemed appropriate for youth back in the day)…and finishing this interesting chat with you…what would be the final message to the readers of this intie?
Ah so it’s a continuation from the X-Men animated show from like 1994. They pick up where they left off & I’m very pleased with how they followed some fighting scenes. Defs recommend! My final message would have to be that the freedom of expression is a human right & it should be accessible to be exercised always. Freedom is scary & uncomfortable, get over it or stay in delulu. Any forms of art should be praised & accepted rather than degraded to the point of cancellation as they themselves would hate being exiled from where they once felt cozy. Never forget to always wipe back to front.
Website: https://131xx.univer.se/xpxmxsx
Slime Media Productions: https://siteid-2073035.univer.se/sxmxp
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/xpxmxsx
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xpxmxsx.avenger
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@131XX
