BEYOND THE NOTES
Photo by Kaz Phoenix
Photo by Kaz Phoenix
Photo by Kaz Phoenix
December 2, 2025 | Katherine Cruz-Alvarez
After a whirlwind year packed with countless live shows and a debut EP release, Lady Vengeance has returned with new priorities. “This is the year of recentering and regrounding,” says lead vocalist Colette Bassett, as the rest of her fellow band members nod in agreement.
This year, everything feels a bit different for Lady Vengeance. With two of the members having graduated and a new guitarist, Max Chaplin, joining the ranks, they’re on a mission to find their groove again. Drummer Oliver Mangulabnan puts it simply: “We’re just trying to figure out practice times and getting together to jam.” Instead of churning out new songs, the band is embracing a slower, more grounded approach to strengthening both their sound and their relationships as bandmates.
Of course, like any great band, there’s a chaotic story behind their formation. It all began when lead guitarist Kate Ahn and Colette Bassett decided to start a project named after one of their favorite horror films. Once they got rolling, Oliver and Cas Knight, the band’s bassist, were added to the mix after a chance meeting with Kate at a Barbenheimer party (yes, that cultural fever dream). Nearly two years later, fate intervened again when Oliver met Max in class and brought him to the fold. With Max now on board, the band feels like it’s entered a new era. “He’s the most fresh-faced, bright-eyed addition,” Colette says with pride, clearly energized by what Max brings to the table. For his part, Max was already a fan before joining, making his arrival all the more special and seamless.
While Lady Vengeance is known for their gritty, punk sound, it’s the breadth of their musical backgrounds and tastes that truly makes their sound electric. Cas and Oliver’s classical backgrounds, mixed with Colette’s love for musical theater, give us an end product you can’t find anywhere else. “I’m always the one to ask if we can add a guitar solo,” Kate explains. “And I’m the one asking if we can add a two-minute interlude where I’m doing a monologue.” Colette adds. It’s this vast difference in music taste and experimentation—the blend of structure and chaos, discipline and spontaneity—that keeps fans coming back for more.
This experimental energy they bring into the studio is only amplified once the band hits the stage. Last year was all about finding their footing, learning how to exist as a band in real time. Now, the stage has become a playground for them just to let go. Pressure melts into performance, and adrenaline takes the wheel. Cas draws a sharp contrast between playing for their peers in music school (“terrifying”) versus playing at backyard shows (“freeing”). Their mutual trust in each other’s abilities is what lets them let go, trust the moment, and lean into the crowd’s energy.
A staple of any Lady Vengeance performance is Colette’s playful interaction with the crowd. Tapping into her musical theater background, she notes that the audience gives her the energy she needs and that it becomes a shared act of creation bigger than any one member of the band. And Max? He jumped in headfirst at his debut performance during “Scary Pop” last month, breaking a string mid-song during their hardcore banger “Dayquil” and barely missing a beat.
Even as they’ve honed their stage performance, Lady Vengeance took a significant step in the studio with the release of their self-titled debut EP last spring. Reflecting on the process of making this project, they candidly admitted that it took a toll on them. Oliver recalls the struggle to bridge the gap between their explosive live sound and their polished recorded product. Deadlines loomed. Creative tension simmered. At times, it was hard to see the finish line. “[We were] trying to figure out how the live performance would translate to the recorded music itself,” he says. And in hindsight, they wish they had more time. But even with these roadblocks, the EP stands as a proud milestone for them—a snapshot of a moment and a springboard for what’s next.
With a new song titled “Dracula” already in the works, there’s a renewed commitment to getting together and jamming out. When asked what word they would use to describe Lady Vengeance’s new era, they reflected just how on the same page they all are, picking words like “Togetherness” and most notably, “Phoenix.”
And like a mythic phoenix, Lady Vengeance is rising from the ashes with fire still in their bones. No matter where life takes them, you can feel confident that they will stay true to the messy, heartfelt, and wild collision of taste and talent that has defined them from the very start. So here they are, at a turning point. Their next era may look different, but the soul of the band remains unmistakably theirs: raw, honest, and loud in all the right ways.
Above all, it’ll be unmistakenably Lady Vengeance.
Lady Vengeance can be found on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music.
Shake it off. Start again. Enter the new era.
Follow Lady Vengeance (@ladyvengeance) on Instagram for more future updates. For press inquiries, interviews, or exclusive previews, contact Katherine Cruz-Alvarez at ladyvengeanceband@gmail.com.
About Lady Vengeance:
Lady Vengeance is an alternative punk band out of Los Angeles, built on grit, rebellion, and raw energy. The five-piece draws inspiration from early 2000s punk and rock icons like My Chemical Romance and Queens of the Stone Age. Blending a dark, gothic aesthetic with an electrifying live presence, they've become a standout in Westwood's underground music scene. Currently signed to Cherry Pop Records, Lady Vengeance is working on new projects with a sharpened sound and renewed creative vision.