Butcher Babies

Known as much for their provocative live shows as for their music, Butcher Babies are a heavy metal band based out of Los Angeles, California. Originally fronted by founding vocalists Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey, the band's starting lineup also featured guitarist Henry Flury, bassist Jason Klein, and drummer Chris Warner. Their sound was a blend of aggressive thrash and groove metal with a physically charged live performance influenced by punk legend Wendy O. Williams. Butcher Babies made their debut in 2012 with a self-titled EP before releasing their first full-length effort, Goliath, the following year on Century Media. While Goliath found Butcher Babies exploring their pop influences, they dug back into their metal roots for their second full-length release, 2015's Take It Like a Man, which rose to number 76 on the Top 200 Albums chart while reaching number five on the Independent Albums listing.

Their third effort, Lilith, arrived in late 2017, earning the crew another Top 20 Independent Albums and Hard Rock hit. That year, Warner left the band, and his seat was filled by Chase Brickenden. Into the 2020s, they released a steady stream of singles, including two of their most well-received songs, "Bottom of the Bottle" and "Sleeping with the Enemy." Those tracks wound up on their ambitious concept double-album Eye for an Eye.../...'Til the World's Blind. Their fourth and fifth albums, the efforts were produced by Josh Schroeder (Lorna Shore) and featured guests Chad Gray (Mudvayne) on "This Is the Part," Craig Mabbitt (Escape the Fate) on "It's Killin' Time, Baby!" and Andy James (Five Finger Death Punch) on the radio edit of "Sleeping with the Enemy." In addition to being the first releases with Ricky Bonazza (who replaced Klein), these would also be the final releases with Brickenden and Harvey, who parted ways with the band in 2023 and 2024, respectively. ~ Gregory Heaney, Rovi