Thrashy. Melodic. Real: An Interview With NYC’s Prostitution

By Staff | May 21, 2026

Photo credit: @pj.shoots

For nearly two decades, this Brooklyn trio has forged a distinctive fusion of blackened shoegaze, thrash, and glam rock theatricality. Their enduring cohesion stems not from commercial ambition but from a deep-rooted friendship and a shared, unwavering devotion to musical exploration. They prioritize songwriting over genre constraints, often composing raw ideas on acoustic guitars before layering their signature chaos with distortion and delay. This approach allows them to seamlessly blend unlikely elements - like a Metropolitan Opera vocalist or the kinetic energy of outdoor skate events - into a sound that remains both brutally heavy and surprisingly melodic.

After 16 years of navigating the NYC scene, what do you think is the main thread that has kept the band together while your sound evolved through the years?

Jesse, bass: Friendship and the love of music. We have all been playing music for our entire lives and will never stop. We're one of the rare groups that even love rehearsing. We've met at least once a week for the past 16+ years. If someone is busy or can't make it then whomever can, still plays. We didn't have a drummer for over a year and still met up weekly. No reason to stop momentum or fun! We're also not just bandmates, but best of friends. It's cool to play music with people you really care about. Rehearsals, band meetings, shows, tours; all of it is just better with friends.

How do you reconcile the abrasive world of blackened gazey thrash with the sophisticated, theatrical influence of Bowie?

We like to think of our band as an art project, a color, a mindset. There really aren't any rules so we just write and play what sounds good to us. Music is expansive. We don't put limits on what black metal or shoe gaze is or should sound like. Good songwriting is paramount in what we do. We like to think we're pretty original, but also know there are 99 million bands out there. If you know of someone who kinda does what we do we'd love to hear it. 

With your upcoming track featuring an opera singer from the MET, how did you approach blending such a classical vocal style with the raw intensity of your instrumentation?

It's an idea we've always had. We have one slower song that will be on the next release. It's a little over eight minutes in two parts. To me the second half kinda feels like the song O Fortuna which is featured in every battle in every movie. Super epic. We were thinking and then was like oh yeah, we actually know someone who can sing like that. She had seen us play before so I knew she'd have some idea of what she was getting into. She said yes and we tracked last Sunday. Can't wait to hear the final result of this one. You know, after 16 years as a band too, it's cool to try something different.

Photo credit: @_tommykrause_

How does the kinetic, high-risk energy of your outdoor skate events manifest in your songwriting process compared to writing in a traditional studio environment?

Even though we play pretty heavy music, we write everything on acoustic guitars. This way you know what you're getting before all the extra added noise. Distortion rules. Delay pedals? Yeah we got like nine of them going, but when it comes to the writing process we think it's important for it to hear every note clean first. 

Our singer/bassist is a lifelong NYC skater so is just kind of mixed in in that world. I really hate that in the English language sometimes you have to say or write in in. But yeah, skating and metal kind of go great together and the energy at these all ages, outdoor shows is unmatched. We stay outside and in the streets and smile the whole way through.

Blackened glam feels like something of a paradox; how do you balance the nihilism of the black metal aesthetic with the performative nature of the glam era?

Again, we don't really see the world in black (metal) and white. Our brand of black metal is pretty, glam is pretty too. Our thrashy riffs are melodic, so is glam. The black metal "aesthetic" is cool, but it's also a look. Sure we "care" about how we look, but also just are kind of like regular people. We don't need costumes to get our point across.  And even though we don't dress in corpse paint and usually wear pretty bright fluorescent colors doesn't mean we can't bring some serious heavy heat. Seeing us live is believing.

Having released Luxury Tax in 2023, how would you describe the shift in your artistic focus heading into the new three-track release?

So the new album is actually old. Make sense? Good. The three songs we are going to release this year are actually some of our oldest material, we just never put them out. One song is from our first 7", but is only available on that. The newer version is what we sound like now. Other two songs are just as old, but still hit hard. 

We have two other newer songs that we recorded during the same sessions that will come out next year. 

We are still super proud of how Luxury Tax came out. Probably our favorite release to date. We love all the material we have, but as far as production goes, Luxury Tax sounds like what we sound like. Make sense? No. Ok.

How has being Brooklyn born and raised shaped the way you view yourselves within the larger metal community?

I am a New Yorker, maybe you are too (editor’s note: we are). I'm not one of those people who tell you who you are. If NYC is your home and you contribute to the community then you are a New Yorker. Doesn't matter where you're from, it's where you're at. We welcome people from all walks of life. That is what makes it so great here. We are a melting pot and I think our audience and fans show that. 

The metal community that we are part of is all inclusive. I'm sure there are some bands and venues that want to keep metal metal and you do you boo, but yeah, we think that everyone no matter of race, religion, gender, musical preference is part of our scene. We are technically a metal band, but our reach and community goes far beyond that. 

If you could pinpoint the moment your sound truly crystallized into the melodic blackened gazey thrash identity you hold today, what was that turning point?

We played under a different moniker for 2-3 years before we became Prostitution. Our sound kinda just formed on its own over time. We had a line up change and decided to change the name with it. We are a three piece (most of the time), but have two main songwriters. Russell, our guitarist, comes up with a lot of riffs and ideas. Jesse, the bassist (me), is sort of the arranger and the glue, also the lyricist. Together we form a pretty great songwriting team. Not saying we are like Elton John and Bernie Taupin, but maybe more like Billie and Finneas. Ok, not them either, but yeah, we love good songwriting. I think that's where the glam comes in. Listen to certain Bowie, Queen, and ELO compositions, it's god tier songwriting. Crazy melody changes and modulations. Make it metal and not a boring pentatonic snooze fest and you have a chance at creating something magical. We are constantly trying to push the limits of what black metal can sound like. Change and evolution is important and interesting. 

Anyone you'd like to thank for their support?

We love our families, friends, food, and every cat. We are super thankful for our music and skateboarding communities and will continue to do our best to support them back in any and every way possible. We go to a lot of shows because we love people and music. We play for fun and for the art and if people like it that's cool too. Music doesn't owe you anything. Do it to do it or don't to don't. Yeah, let's go with that.

Photo credit: @pj.shoots

Links

Instagram: @prostitution666

Bandcamp: https://prostitution.bandcamp.com

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2ZhqGeFj8s9axA3NlQv5IZ?si=mK6KZG6lR9qjq_ecvHajyw