¡Viva Zapata!

On June 27, 1992, four months before the release of the band's debut album Sick 'Em, 7 Year Bitch guitarist Stefanie Sargent died from drug and alcohol-related asphyxiation.[6] After a six month break following her death, 7 Year Bitch recruited Roisin Dunne as their new guitarist and began touring the United States in 1993, attracting major label interest along the way.[2][1][7] The band were getting ready to tour with C/Z Records labelmates The Gits when the latter's vocalist, Mia Zapata, was raped and murdered on July 7, 1993.[5][8]

¡Viva Zapata! was produced and recorded by Jack Endino at Avast! Recording Studios in Seattle.[9] In contrast to Sick 'Em, the album features a cleaner and more polished sound and tighter, more precise instrumentals and songwriting.[5][10][11] Taking notice of their growing popularity, vocalist Selene Vigil said that 7 Year Bitch wanted to "take [their] music as seriously as possible", whilst ensuring that the album was "still going to be fun; otherwise it wouldn't have been 7 Year Bitch".[12] The deaths of Zapata, Sargent, and other people close to the band would largely inform the album's tone—with the former two being addressed directly in the songs "M.I.A." (which calls for vigilante justice against Zapata's killer in the face of authorities' lack of action)[2][13][N 1] and "Rock A Bye", respectively.[5] Vigil said of the album's lyrical content: "We didn't go into [¡Viva Zapata!] with the idea of us making a record about all of these bad things. Every song came up and it was written about what we were thinking about at the time."[5] According to Hit Parader, "Hip Like Junk" examines "the often fatal resurgence of heroin abuse".[13] The album also features a cover of "It's Too Late", originally by The Jim Carroll Band.[5]

¡Viva Zapata! was released through C/Z Records on May 20, 1994.[15] Prior to its release, 7 Year Bitch signed with the major label Atlantic Records, who assisted with the album's promotion;[16] C/Z avoided bankruptcy as a result of their signing.[13] Although it was briefly the subject of dispute between the two record labels,[1] Dunne later said that 7 Year Bitch did not want the album to be their debut for Atlantic.[13] However, she also felt that it was to "[Atlantic's] advantage to get things done properly, before [the band] put a record out".[13]

7 Year Bitch promoted the album's release with a month-long club tour of the United States.[16] In July 1994, the band were shot performing "The Scratch" in Seattle for the 1995 film Mad Love;[16][17] the song, along with "Icy Blue", was also featured in the movie's soundtrack album.[18] In August 1994, 7 Year Bitch filmed a music video in Seattle for "Hip Like Junk", produced and directed by Duncan Sharp.[19]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[20]
Chicago Tribune	[11]
Christgau's Consumer Guide	[21]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[22]
Entertainment Weekly	A[23]
Los Angeles Times	[24]
Rolling Stone	[25]
Spin	[26]

¡Viva Zapata! received positive reviews from critics. Arion Berger of Rolling Stone gave the album a positive review: "Fast, funny and never completely satisfied, 7 Year Bitch epitomize [punk rock] and make noise like nobody else."[25] AllMusic critic Steve Huey praised the band's improved songwriting and musicianship, stating: "7 Year Bitch hasn't lost an ounce of passion [...] they've just learned how to channel it better."[20] Lorraine Ali, writing for the Los Angeles Times, positively noted the album's rhythm section: "Deep bass lines come off as enigmatic, then as menacing, making the tunes stick in the subconscious, while a jagged, buzzing guitar lends a rough edge."[24] In a less positive review for The Advocate, Barry Walters opined that 7 Year Bitch were "essentially L7 without the tunes."[27]

Spin's Natasha Stovall praised Vigil's lyrics for avoiding "textbook feminism", writing: "While other female bands adopt a lesbian frame of reference as an extension of their rage at men, the members of 7 Year Bitch rock like straight women: The object of their disdain and the object of their desire are often one and the same."[26] Similarly, Entertainment Weekly's Deborah Frost praised its "screech-free feminism" as "rather revolutionary".[23] Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune felt that the album resonated with "[the] harsh reality [of Sargent and Zapata's deaths] and, in song after song, transcends it."[11]

In April 2019, the album was ranked at No. 34 on Rolling Stone's "50 Greatest Grunge Albums" list.[28] Likewise, in October 2022, Pitchfork included the album in their list of the "The 25 Best Grunge Albums of the ’90s".[3] "The Scratch" was ranked at No. 48 on Paste's list of "The 50 Best Grunge Songs",[29] whilst Guitar World ranked it at No. 29 on their list of "The 30 greatest grunge guitar riffs".[30]

All lyrics are written by Selene Vigil; all music is composed by Elizabeth Davis, except where noted.[9]

Adapted from liner notes.[9]

7 Year Bitch

• Selene Vigil – vocals
• Roisin Dunne – guitar
• Elizabeth Davis – bass
• Valerie Agnew – drums

Production

• Jack Endino – production, recording
• 7 Year Bitch – production

Artwork

• Scott Musgrove – cover painting
• Mia Zapata – back cover painting (photographed by Klaus Zach)
• Jackie Ransier – photograph of Mia Zapata

Notes

Citations

• Badia-Aylin, Genevieve (February 28, 2022). "Viva Zapata! The legacy of a grunge icon". Varsity. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
• Roberts, Adrian (July 14, 1994). "In the Pit with 7 Year Bitch: Thoroughly Female". Bay Area Reporter (Arts & Entertainment). Vol. 24, no. 28. pp. 29, 39 – via Internet Archive.

• ¡Viva Zapata! on YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)