Bio

War On Women is a co-ed feminist hardcore-punk band.  Formed in Baltimore, MD in 2011, W.O.W. use driving riffs and in your face vocals that attack the listener both sonically and lyrically, penning catchy and confrontational songs that touch on rape culture, street harassment, the gender wage gap, transphobia, and other vitally pertinent social issues.

In 2015, W.O.W. released their debut self-titled full length (recorded in collaboration with J. Robbins at Magpie Cage) on Bridge Nine Records and have been touring relentlessly ever since, with dates in the US, UK, and Western Europe sharing the stage with such bands as the Refused, Propagandhi, Anti-Flag, Boy Sets Fire, Jello Biafra, RVIVR, Iron Reagan, Dismemberment Plan, and Shai Hulud.

Baltimore’s War On Women were born screaming—at the world, at the status quo, in the face of oppression. The band’s forthcoming album Capture The Flag calcifies that rage, and no one in its wake is safe. Much more than a collection of songs or sonic experiment, Capture The Flag is a call to action that cannot be ignored.

Riff-fueled manifestos are nothing new for War On Women. The co-ed feminist punk troupe has been tackling injustice one song at a time since their 2010 inception. Storming out the gate with teeth gnashing and spitting venom, War On Women’s self-titled 2015 debut crossbred riot grrrl ferocity with the nimble aggression of thrash. Hailed for their crystalline jabs at societal ills, War On Women prove that hardcore can incite change that ripples far beyond the parameters of the stage.

With hundreds of shows and years of activism behind them, Capture The Flag finds War On Women more dogged than ever. Taking shape over the course of summer 2017, the band’s sophomore effort delves into injustices at both the macro and micro levels. Religious subjugation, gun violence, armchair activists, gender orgasm gap, female genital mutilation, the fetishization of motherhood, and toxic relationships—no breed of oppression defies War On Women’s purview. Recorded with J Robbins in Magpie Cage Recording Studio, Capture The Flag finds the band in their sonic wheelhouse, wedged somewhere between rebellious and rousing.

Enlisting the talents of their activist predecessors (Kathleen Hanna), glass ceiling shattering contemporaries (Joanna Angel), and own family (Brooks’s daughter Eva), Capture The Flag is a composite character of one of hardcore’s most riling bands. Ceding the gang vocals that peppered their debut album, War On Women opted to cultivate the singular voices of women who have devoted their lives to riling against the powers that be. The result is a crucible of discontent that will inspire as much as it will incense.

As is their modus operandi, War On Women have not stopped at the music. Capture The Flag will also receive its own college-level companion workbook. Inspired by the academic community’s fervent embrace of their self-titled record, War On Women have decided to not only join the conversation, but also facilitate it. This workbook—which will be available for preorder with Capture The Flag—includes a lyric sheet and song dissections, relevant quotes, a reading list, directory of resources, and national support hotline numbers.

War On Women are neither a crew of young bucks nor a contagion of seasoned legends. They don’t fit neatly into metalloid machismo or hulking hardcore tropes. They have nothing to prove, and there’s nothing more delightfully dangerous than that.