Somewhere between the bundle of drugs on the table and the body on the floor, 90’s sugarthrash freaks Daisy Chainsaw morphed into the beautiful, screeching punk-metal monster we have before us today. Led by the ever awe-inspiring Katie Jane Garside and fueled by the jagged death-glam guitar of Crispin Gray, Queen Adreena lurch violently between whispery crazy-girl laments and full-on arena rattling sleaze metal, like Jucifer and Guns N’ Roses trying to kill each other with Marshall stacks and confetti cannons. The centerpiece of the album is “Pretty Like Drugs”, a vicious, slashing shock-rock temper tantrum that’s heavier, meaner, and sexier than anything Marilyn Manson ever did, and tracks like the caustic single “FM Doll”, bitter opener “Suck”, and bass-heavy misery-fest “Medicine Jar” all add to the swirly, narcotic delirium. I’m well aware that Katie’s lyrics are acid-tongued screeds about sexual abuse and misogyny, but she mostly sounds like somebody that just successfully robbed a bank and can’t wait to tell you about it, even as the cops are bashing the door in. It’s dangerous stuff here, immediate and anxious and prone to bursts of scary violence, a veritable hell-rock hurricane of tattered dresses, whiskey, pills, and menstrual blood. Along with the Juliette Lewis and the Licks album, “The Butcher and the Butterfly” is clearly the best female-fronted record of the year, and since Katie can’t fall back on a multi-million dollar picture deal if it tanks, I’m gonna guess she probably means it more, too. You really can’t fake the tortured, fatally wounded baby-doll routine well into your 30’s unless you really ARE tortured and fatally wounded, so listen close to her hiss and roar, because there’s magic and madness to be found on this cd. And some blistering motherfuckin’ rock n’ roll, too. ________________________________________________________