Stitched Up Heart have released their latest single, "CANNIBAL," and they brought a heavy hitter with them. Butcher Babies vocalist Heidi Shepherd guests on the track, which is out now alongside an official music video directed by Tony Aguilera. The song comes from Stitched Up Heart's upcoming album MEDUSA, due June 12 through Judge & Jury Records.
A Collab Two Decades in the Making
What makes this one more than just a standard feature drop is the story behind it. Stitched Up Heart vocalist Mixi Demner recalled in a statement:
"'Cannibal' is a song for the man-eaters, to all of the baddies stealing hearts and eating them for breakfast. I was at Butcher Babies' very first show. Crammed on the stairs at a dive bar on the Sunset Strip. Heidi hurled this wrecked Barbie into the crowd. Hair hacked off, totally mangled. I caught it. Looking back at that moment it felt like she'd passed me a torch. 'Hey girl, let's conquer this industry together.' Years later, we're still at it cheering each other on from the sidelines. Collaborating on this song together is such a fulfilling moment."
Shepherd matched the energy:
"I've been a big fan of Mixi and Stitched Up Heart for nearly two decades. We've clawed our way through this industry together, and had each other's back when no one else did. After all of these years, it's so fitting that 'Cannibal' is the song that we finally get to SCREAM together! This song is so fun, and has quickly become one of my favorite collabs that I've been a part of. You can tell by the video that we had an absolute blast making it."
Both bands are labelmates on Judge & Jury Records, which makes this feel like less of a one-off and more of a label moment.
MEDUSA Is Building Out a Guest List
"CANNIBAL" is the third in what's shaping up to be a guest-feature triptych on MEDUSA. Stitched Up Heart previously unveiled "SICK SICK SICK" featuring Lauren Babic and "GLITCH BITCH" featuring members of Conquer Divide. That's three separate collaborations before the album even hits, all featuring women from heavy music.
Whether intentional or organic, it paints a picture of a band operating within a specific community — one that doesn't often get acknowledged in mainstream metal coverage but has been building quietly for years.
What to Expect from MEDUSA
Stitched Up Heart released their debut Never Alone in 2016 and followed with Darkness in 2019, both through Razor & Tie. The move to Judge & Jury brings them alongside Butcher Babies and a roster built around established acts who still have serious gas in the tank. MEDUSA represents their first full-length in seven years, and given the feature-heavy rollout, it sounds like they've built a record designed to live loudly.
The music video for "CANNIBAL" is out now across streaming platforms. Keep an eye on the full track listing when it drops — three guest features confirmed this early suggests there may be more.
Why This Matters Beyond the Song
The "CANNIBAL" video and the guest-heavy rollout for MEDUSA point to something worth paying attention to. Stitched Up Heart, Butcher Babies, Lauren Babic, and Conquer Divide all exist in the same corner of the heavy music world — a space that gets covered inconsistently and often condescendingly by mainstream metal press. Three collaborations across one album, all featuring women who have built careers in heavy music through hard work and lateral support networks rather than label machinery, says something about how that scene actually functions.
It's also a marketing move worth acknowledging: dropping three singles with three separate fan bases guarantees each feature brings a distinct audience to the album. Shepherd's Butcher Babies following, Babic's scene credibility, and Conquer Divide's core supporters all arrive with their own communities. For a band on a smaller label, that's smart album rollout.
MEDUSA is shaping up to be one of the more interesting mid-level metal releases of the summer. The guest list alone has built more pre-release momentum than a lot of major-label campaigns manage. When the full track list drops, watch to see how many more names show up.
Pre-save MEDUSA now and browse the latest in metal news for everything else dropping this month. For a broader look at what's hitting stages this summer, check our tours section. You can also check out the Amazon listing as pre-order options become available closer to June 12.
