The debut single and music video Amas Veritas by South African artist Shuggah dropped on Friday, April 4th, marking the first release from her upcoming full-length Her Chrysalis, out today via Mongrel Records. Blending instrumental post-rock, metal, and electronic production, the track is a dense, cinematic experience rooted in ritual and memory. It’s also the culmination of a long, solitary process that spanned over three years.
“I come from an electronic music background,” Shuggah says. “I was a DJ from about 2012 and started producing music in 2016. I think this helped me a lot in the creation of Her Chrysalis because the project came out as very experimental.” Her electronic foundation is felt most in the bass elements, which carry a soft, futuristic feeling that contrasts with the harshness of distorted metal guitars.
The album took shape inside a 150-year-old house on a grape farm in Riebeek Kasteel, near Cape Town. “The house had an amazing reverb,” she explains. “I often used to listen to post-rock and other artists in the bathtub. The music would bounce all over the walls, basically enveloping me in the sound. It was super meditative and super uplifting. I wanted my guitars to sound like that, like an odyssey.”
Amas Veritas, meaning “the truth of love,” draws inspiration from ancient Greek myths of passion, war, and death. “It was inspired by ancient love stories of the Greek gods—tales of tragedy, war, and the fight against death. The love itself is all-consuming and passionate. There’s always a deep struggle, facing war and even death.”
The creation process was immersive and deliberately slow. “Reaching the point of release took some time—over three years. Conceptualising and gathering the sounds and ideas I wanted, to actually recording, which took another year, and the finishing off and mixing down of the album took about another year.” She burned affirmations and short pieces of poetry, recording the crackle of fire for texture. “A lot of the recordings were part of my natural environment.” Techniques ranged from electronic sound manipulation to bowing guitars with a violin and eBow. “If something was on there that didn’t match or didn’t make sense, it had to go.”
The video for Amas Veritas was shot on Remhoogte Farm, the same terrain where the album was born. “I wanted the video to feel like an epic battle had taken place—something raw, ritualistic, and deeply personal.” Shot and directed by Shuggah with aerial cinematography by Werner Botha, it captures a scorched, windswept mountain landscape. “We climbed a mountain and set the earth on fire for the circle shot. Unfortunately, the wind didn’t allow the flames to hold, but we still captured the essence—fire, smoke, and raw emotion. I had the sword on fire too—I felt like a warrior on that mountain.”
One of the guitars used on the track belonged to her late brother. “I used an axe from my brother after he passed away, called Axecalibar—fitting that the video should feature me wielding a sword.”
Thematically, the album deals with catharsis.
“That’s what I wanted it to feel like, a journey through the emotions. I wanted people to feel like I did in the bathtub, from crying tears to dancing wildly. I wanted it to be something you could listen to repeatedly.”
The title Her Chrysalis reflects its deeply personal and transformative nature. “It was my debut release as a post-rock/metal artist, and I wanted the visuals to reflect how it felt creating and birthing a project of this magnitude. So I titled the album Her Chrysalis, meaning the cocoon out of which I emerge—a very delicate and spiritual process just like the butterfly.” The album art features a nude self-portrait blended with a butterfly chrysalis, shot by the artist herself.
Shuggah doesn’t see herself entering the studio again anytime soon but is already working on conceptual material for a future album and electronic projects. “I don’t know of many other post artists in my country so I really hope it brings some light to South African post-rock/metal sounds.” She cites Cape Town-based progressive outfit Oh God as a significant influence. “They do sound very post to me,” she adds, having discovered them via the online platform Where Post Rock Dwells. Another major local inspiration is Jack Tomas, “an excellent live performer” whose former instrumental band left a mark on her creative path.
Other artists who shaped Her Chrysalis include Russian Circles, Chelsea Wolfe, Amenra, and Cult of Luna.
“Dark, visceral, and very powerful,” she says. “Their albums are still on my playlist, and I’m still taking baths with them.” During this period, she was also immersed in books like Useless Magic by Florence Welch and A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle.
Shuggah sees her signing to Mongrel Records as a natural fit. “It just feels right,” she says. “They put in a lot of effort towards the scene and their artists are established and well looked after.” Despite the years of solitary work, she remains hopeful the release will find its way to listeners around the world. “My hope for the project is of course reach. I would love to hear more feedback from across the world and for people to connect with the album.”
