Butcher Babies Reclaim Slut Metal Roots in Bold Return to Live Performance with Unapologetic New Era

It was just two weeks after the female-fronted metal band Butcher Babies ended their nationwide tour opening for Marilyn Manson. The tour had been a huge success—on the surface, at least. True, most of the venues had had either sold out or come very close to the mark, but partway into the tour it became obvious that most of the concert-goers were there to see the famed Manson moreso than the Butcher Babies. Though they had gained notoriety and a loyal following of fans due in part to their music and in part to their near-naked live performances when they were first starting out, their popularity had begun to wane over the past few months when they signed on to a record label and stopped performing in just fishnet stockings, studded leather panties, and electrical tape over their nipples. The change hadn’t been a voluntary decision by the band, but rather “persuaded” to it by the record label. Though they had accepted to change their performance delivery, they weren’t happy about it, and clearly their fans weren’t either.

This was how Carla Harvey and Heidi Shepherd, the two lead vocalists for the band, found themselves sitting in their manager Dave Aguilera’s office in a long discussion on trying to figure out how to get their audience back, and even increase it tenfold. The rest of the band was in a practice session, held elsewhere so the din of the instruments wouldn’t disturb them. The guys knew that what and how the band chose to promote themselves relied solely on the ladies and so left them to it, waiting to hear from them when a plan was made.

“This fucking sucks,” Carla was saying, taking a drag from her cigarette and blowing the smoke through her nose. “We finally get a record deal, go on tour with Marilyn fucking Manson, and now everybody’s jumping ship because we won’t show our tits onstage? I mean, what the fuck?”

“Well, okay, not everybody’s leaving,” Heidi amended. “But still, we definitely aren’t getting as many people as we used to, or could be. The last few shows people were coming in the door just as we were finishing our set, so they definitely weren’t into us.”

“At least that’s better than half the people who WERE there and saw us from the top,” Carla countered. “Some of them were booing us so loudly I could hear them over Hank’s guitar and Chris’s drums. And did you see the arguments they were getting into with the people that were cheering for us? I thought a riot was going to break out a couple of times.”

“I thought once we got a record label and went on tour as an opener we’d get more of a draw,” Heidi said to Dave, who had been listening patiently to their grievances about their situation.

“Trust me, it’s not anything you’re doing that’s keeping that from happening,” Dave said supportively. “You girls and the guys have been great up there. Honestly, though, I think it’s something you’re not doing.” At the girls’ bemused expressions, he pulled up a webpage on his iPad and read the following: “’When girls are perceived as sexual or outspoken, they get labeled sluts, but we embrace those qualities and bring them to our music as well. Butcher Babies is true slut metal: We're doing what we want, how we want.’ Those were your words, Heidi.”

“I know that,” Heidi said, rolling her eyes. “But I said that a long while ago, when we were just starting. And the record label told us they didn’t want us doing that kind of performance anymore, remember?”

“Of course I do,” Dave said, nodding. “But think about it. When you guys first came out, you were over-the-top and balls-to-the-wall with how you expressed yourselves. You made a name for yourselves as being ‘slut metal,’ and you stuck by it. Really, you two set the bar high for yourselves—and now you’re not meeting that expectation anymore. People want to see you bare it and tear it, and even though you’ve got the tearing part of it down, you’re not giving them everything they’re paying for.”

“Well, hell, it’s not like we asked to change our style,” Carla groused. “We were perfectly happy doing what we were doing. It was working for us…and we really were sticking up for ourselves and who we wanted to be.” Heidi nodded in agreement.

“And that’s the other part of it,” Dave said. “You guys aren’t happy with how the label is jerking you around with this, either. You aren’t doing what you want or how you want it.”

“So what, you think we should just quit with the label?” Heidi asked skeptically.

“Not at all.” Dave shook his head. “You guys only signed on in the last year, bailing out like this so soon would definitely put a stain on your reputation to other labels if you wanted to sign with them. No, I think you guys should stick with the label…BUT, also go back to how you want to perform and promote yourselves.”

“No way, they’d give us the boot as soon as they heard about it!” Carla protested.

“Not if you can prove that your way works out for them, both financially and in branding,” Dave said. “Look, you guys used to turn it up to eleven with your shows, with the nipple tape and the blood and all of that. You loved it, the fans loved it, it was win-win. I’m saying, what you need to do is go back out there and crank it up past eleven. Really show the people what it means to be ‘slut metal.’ And I’ve got a few suggestions on how to do it, if you’re interested.”

Both girls were silent, thinking about their manager’s words for a long two minutes. They looked at each other, sharing a silent communication. Carla raised her eyebrows, and Heidi seemed to consider further for a moment before giving a slight nod, the corners of her mouth turning up in a small smile.

They turned back to Dave. “What did you have in mind?” Carla asked.

* * *

A few months later, the Butcher Babies announced a live show at a venue in their hometown of Los Angeles, marked with the news that they would be performing all-new songs as their setlist. It was a medium-sized venue, bigger than what they started out with years ago, but not as big as what they had been playing at while on tour. It seemed like a good place to reveal their new (in a manner of speaking) direction, and hopefully not only regain and increase their former level of recognition from the fans, but also show the record label how profitable they could be to them while sticking to their own attitudes performance-wise. Dave’s initial suggestions had spawned many more ideas from all of the band members, with the present result being a combination of everyone’s. Of course they hadn’t told the label what exactly they had planned; hell, they had even fudged the tiny matter of what the content of their new songs would be about. Still, artistic pride and license had pushed them forward in spite of the significant risk, and they were ready to lay it all on the line. And if all else failed, at least they would go out in epic fashion with what they had lined up.

It was a good turnout; most of the space was filled with a mixture of fans and newcomers, all ready and eager to see what the Butcher Babies had in store for them. As they would soon find out, they were not to be disappointed in the least.

The lights dimmed and the raised stage lit up, illuminating the male members of the band as they started to play. The crowd cheered as Carla and Heidi strode up to center stage from the back, dressed in black leather tops and skirts, with knee-high boots on and holding microphones.

“What’s up, L.A.!” Carla shouted into the mic. “You guys ready to turn it up tonight?!” She flashed horns at the audience, who whooped and returned the sign.

“You know, we were just on tour with Marilyn a few months back,” Heidi said loudly so everyone could hear her over the music and cheering. “How many of you guys came to see us play at one of the stops?” There was even more cheering in response, with people starting to stomp their feet

“That’s awesome!” she continued. “But you know, we really missed L.A., we really missed you guys—” She had to pause while people from the crowd shouted out things like “I love you!” and “We missed you too!” before continuing. “And, fuck, we missed doing what we do best…” She looked at Carla, who nodded “Bringing slut metal to the masses!”

With that she and Carla took hold of their tops and ripped them off, exposing their completely bare chests—no electrical tape or cover of any kind over their skin. The two female rockers then tore away their skirts, revealing that they wore absolutely nothing underneath. Carla and Heidi stood there, showing off their new look to the audience, who were going absolutely nuts at the sight of them.

In addition to their bellybutton piercings, which they had had from the beginning, both of them had pierced both nipples, with Carla putting silver barbells through hers and Heidi sporting a pair of small golden rings. They had also pierced their twats, both of them now with studded clithoods, with Heidi having an additional third ring through her clit itself. They also had tattoos written in fancy script letting on their lower abdomens, with Carla’s saying “SLUT” and Heidi’s “WHORE.”

Both female rockers tossed their now-useless outfits into the audience, where they were grabbed and practically shredded into pieces as people tried to claim a part of it as their own. “We are Butcher Babies!” Heidi shouted out to the crowd as the two girls threw up horns and stuck out their tongues, showing off brand-new tongue piercings. “And make no mistake: we put the SLUT in slut metal!”

With that, the band started playing their first new song, “Fuck Meat”:

“Fuck meat, fuck meat, on the prowl,
Pump my cunt and make me howl.
Satisfying both our needs,
Fuck my ass until it bleeds!”

The girls were grabbing their tits and squeezing them, screeching the words as they headbanged, their hair flying. Heidi pulled hard on one of her nipple rings, growling loudly into the mic. Carla stood with her legs spread apart and her hips thrust out, slapping her cunt again and again with the rhythm.

“Treat me like a little bitch,
Use your cock to scratch my itch.
Fucking me just never ends
When you’re through I’ll fuck your friends!”

Heidi got on her knees at the edge of the stage, reaching out to high-five everyone who wanted one. Many people reached up to grope at her body, hands pawing her tits and feeling her cunt. One guy was even bold enough to stick a finger inside, and Heidi grabbed his wrist and pulled it up towards her lips, sucking his sticky finger in her mouth for a couple of moments before letting him go. Meanwhile Carla was sticking

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