The Death Of The Preachers Daughter and The Birth of Perverts 

By Kayla Karlsson 

If God is real, why is suffering generational and eternal to who I am? Suffering is intertwined with the identity of Ethel Cain, pain is interlinked within everything she does. There is beauty in the melancholy, as Ethel experiences teenhood just to be drawn back to childhood and the abuse she experienced. It’s an endless cycle that she can not escape, as she is met with lovers who degrade her and abandon her, inflicting the wounds of her past onto her over and over again.

There is something almost romantic and intimate about the story of Ethel Cain. We are immersed in her longing for vulnerability and a connection with God, but every time she gets close, she is reminded of her core idea that she is meant to suffer. 

Ethel’s life is filled with uncertainty and abusive partners, foreshadowing her death at the hands of someone she once loved. The primal fear and distraught she felt in her last moments, being met with violence instead of love, for the final time in her life. The remains of Ethel then become consumed by her ex-lover, as she struggles to rest in the afterlife, making timid peace with her trauma and livelihood. In the final song on the album, Strangers, showcases a double meaning of cannibalism that can be interpreted as an undying love, or something much more vicious.

Ethel’s story highlighted on the album Preacher’s Daughter depicts Ethel’s struggle with family, death, abusive relationships, lust, religion, and the struggle of moving through life when inflicted by trauma. Although the story of Ethel is dramatized, it portrays a very real narrative that many young people endure. The suffering is bound to each and everyone of us, making this album connect with many on the hands of any one topic, beautifully relayed by Ethel as the storyteller. 

Hayden, the creator of the character Ethel Cain, uses a variety of sounds to create emotion and distress in each of her songs off Preachers Daughter. American Teenager has the most pop-like, ethereal sound on the album, using this nostalgic sounding upbeat tone to narrate Ethel’s romanticization of her abusive boyfriend. Much of the sound on the other songs, take on a more darker, gothic sound, showcasing the idea that Ethel begins to realize the severity of her situation. The album Preachers Daughter uses gut-wrenching lyricism, combined with sound that differs each song, but stays consistent with the storyline. 

This album was incredibly constructed and I am beyond excited to experience and grow with Ethel, as part two of this story will come out in the album called Perverts, set to release in 2025. 
Hauntingly beautiful and beyond talented, Hayden Silas Anhedönia is the creator of the character Ethel Cain whose storyline is depicted in Preachers Daughter in 2022. Hayden’s new album, Perverts, is set to be released on January 8th, 2025. The story will now follow Ethel Cain’s mother, as she copes with her daughter’s brutal and gruesome death, and traumatic life.

The lead single Punish was released November 1st, 2024 and will start the album off in a distressing lyricism and haunting melodies. 

I am beyond excited to see what is in store for Hayden, as she releases another beautiful album, which is more gruesome and graphic than the last. Punish gives us a glimpse into what to expect for Perverts, dark, twisted and retrospective.