Formed in 2016, Metalocalypstick Fest was created to present a unique experience within the Western Canadian metal community, a gathering of similar views, aspirations and musical taste – A metallic equivalent to former mainstream music festival Lilith Fair, if you will
Founded by Kaija Kinney of Vancouver’s Anarcheon after researching a lack of female based metal festivals to apply her band to, Kinney took matters into in her own and decided to produce the event.
Kinney comments: “This festival means the celebration of both sexes coming together and creating something amazing. People like to say women in metal aren’t a big deal anymore and that we are all the same. I feel that is untrue, this is still a male dominated world and woman are still looked as lesser. I want to showcase all these bad ass ladies and celebrate the differences of men and woman rather than pretend we are all equal. The truth is we are different – why can’t we celebrate that?”
In addition to the festival celebrating women in metal, the Metalocalypstick Fest gives back to the community by being a non-profit organization dedicated to raise funds and donating 100% of proceeds to local charities Girls Rock Camp, Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter, Earth Protectors plus an audience picked foundation.
The 1st annual Metalocalypstick hosted female influenced metal bands from across Canada and the world such as Brazil’s Nervosa (Napalm Records), Egypt’s Massive Scar Era, Hollywood’s The Maension, Valfreya, Scythia, Mortillery (Napalm Records), Van Halst, Dead Asylum, Juliet Ruin, Violent Betty, Omega Crom, Körperlose Stimme, Elysium Echoes, Solborn, Monarch Sky, Forsaken Rite, Anarcheon, and Suspended.
Preparing for their second annual year, the outdoor festival for women in metal is proud to announce their first batch of bands added to the line up with Tessitura, Körperlose Stimme, Meteor Tree, Scythia, Hedks, Forsaken Rite and Remnants. The festival is being held during Canada Day weekend on July 1st and 2nd in Valemount, BC.
So, the first batch of metal queens and their bands performing at Metalocalypstick Fest have been announced! They are:
Tessitura
Cyn Mercredi has been a force to be reckoned with in the Canadian metal scene for years. Aside from being an active contributor to the underground metal community by working at the local venues and volunteering countless hours of time to promotion and festival work, she boasts an impressive resume of membership in heavy hitting bands. Prior to her work with Tessitura, Cyn’s undeniable vocal talents were showcased in Kriticos and The Dead Cold. Upon joining Tessitura in mid-2016, the band was taken aback by the sheer talent and raw energy that she brought. The addition of Cyn offered a widened sound with a dual vocal attack, as well as an unmatched energy in the live environment.
Tessitura craft their unique sound by layering the edge-of-your-seat, earth-shaking guitar work of Stephan Ceña and Chris Devries, backing it up with Leillyn McColman‘s uplifting bass lines and the driving drum patterns of Gord Alexander, and finishing the sound with the dual-vocal freight train of Ceña and lead vocalist Cyn Mercredi’s powerful screams and haunting growls.
Tessitura can be heard at one of their thunderous live performances, or on their current releases, Savage Embrace(2013) or 2010’s Battle to Eternity
Körperlose Stimme
Edmonton, AB vocalist / guitarist Verteidigung Frostkeit first found her voice and talent with the crushing metal of Angrif. The path was laid and the bridges burned to light the way forward into the sonic assault known only as Körperlose Stimme . The band formed from the ashes and remains of some of Edmonton’s finer projects. With that in mind, they forged ahead to create something unique in metal. Both blackened and deathlike, the sound is not like anything heard before.
Meteor Tree
Vocalist and Guitar: Theresa Bishop
Theresa Bishop’s love of music bubbled out of a need to heal the emotional traumas she endured throughout her life. This “antidote” has been infused with her aboriginal background; creating her own unique way of self expression. Theresa feels that as long as there is music and art being birthed on this planet, there is still hope for humanity.
Bassist: Ana Eries Luyben
Ana Eries Luyben is a bassist who gravitates towards the healing mechanisms of art. Always pulled by this magnetism, she met her husband and fellow Meteor Tree band member at a young age. As a bassist, her absolute pleasure is creating dark grooves and contact with spirits through the vibes, which are the elements she hopes to birth into the music of Meteor Tree. Ana left El Salvador at the age of 4 and is fascinated by ocean currents.
Every object holds the potential of propagating a wave of frequency into our universe. Affecting everything, like droplets hitting a puddle of water. An input of energy to any object disturbs the particles and forces the object into a vibrational motion; at its natural frequency. Any musical scale, with its pure fluidity of mathematics and nature, is a discovery-not invented. The vibrational physics of music is heard as a language by the creature it captures; acting the part of a true universal language connecting all beings. Meteor Tree is our discovery of this language.
Scythia
Celine has been drumming for 17 years and has been Scythia’s drummer and backup vocalist since 2010. She’s been in various bands from the Vancouver area and in 2010 filled in as touring drummer for the punk/metal band Fattooth (Montreal).
Her drumming skills have taken her across Canada, US, to Brazil, Germany and Finland for performances and recordings. She is also the guest co-lead vocalist for Vancouver’s power/thrash band Omega Crom and has sung (guest) vocals on a dozen other projects. Her drum influences include Tool, Fear Factory, Blind Guardian, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Clutch… Her style of drumming fuses elements of early progressive rock with metal. Her vocal influences include Rob Halford, Maynard James Keenan and Heart‘s Ann Wilson.
Hedks
Claire “Twitchy” Carreras is a Vancouver heavy music veteran, playing in bands such as Joyce Collingwood, Life Against Death and the shortlived, but magnificent Wisteria. A dedicated technical player Twitch effectively ties together sludgy grooves, power chugs and tasty leads for every stoner-thrash-punk wet dream. The unique ways of boosting her every growing sound combined with her wild and menacing on stage presence, Twitch, the guitar player and vocalist for Hedks is a force to be reckoned with.
Taya ‘Taser’ Fraser is the band’s drummer. Her playing style is unique- emulating the rock greats of the late seventies and eighties fused with today’s elements of punk and metal. A very active member of Vancouver’s music community, she books local and touring bands with promotion/ management company Art Signified as well as co-founding and hosting numerous events at Studio Vostok, an arts and entertainment venue located in Vancouver’s historic Chinatown.
As Hedks this duo brings you the tastiest morsels of sludge, doom, punk and metal neatly packaged for immediate consumption. No refrigeration required. Setting themselves apart from the standard limitations expected from a two piece, Hedks have managed to perfect the huge sound, catchy hooks, and melting riffs typically found in stoner thrash bands with more members and more beards. Since the band’s conception they have been steadily making a name for themselves among peers and fans alike.
Forsaken Rite
Adaria – Drums
Hailing from the southern plains of Saskatchewan, Adaria’s past was lived out with an early desire for adventure and glory. Though she had enjoyed her days of progressive and power metal, she knew that there was something more she was yearning for in the world. Journeying West in search of change and a new life, Adaria came to discover the world of folk metal along the way. She knew that this was what she had yearned for, she had her purpose in place. Though search of party members was at first slow, Adaria eventually caught word of the war master Archon, who had just emerged from the darker realms of music in search of something new. Adaria quickly convinced Archon to consider the adventure that she offered and it soon after came to pass that Forsaken Rite was born. Though quiet and somewhat shy, Adaria brings a fierce determination to the war party unlike any other. Her honesty and loyalty ringing true, her foundation brings a unity to the band that binds them strongly together. Her thunderous drums boom and well throughout their songs and bring a most immense power to the war party. The sword-maiden ties them to one another and brings to their tales the virtues of friendship and camaraderie.
Sevi – Accordion
Sevi came to Forsaken Rite from the forested lake lands of Western Alberta. The war party had found its footing in the world, but still lacked a certain magic and splendour to its ways. A long-time companion to both Archon and Eiveen, Sevi’s keen ear for the classical arts as well as her passion for the piano (among other instruments) made her an immediately appealing addition to the band. After making her way to Edmonton and eventually finding a home in the capital, it was not long until Sevi procured the appropriate equipment and became Forsaken Rite’s keyboardist. Along the way she found a desire to pursue the Accordion. With passion in her heart she made the change to Accordion. With a wistful and reserved, yet graceful and defined nature, she brings to the stage both a flowing and magical beauty of symphonic melodies, as well as the jovial and hearty rhythms of the accordion. It is not in her way to engross the listeners of our tales with power and awe, but instead to enchant them with a harmonious and natural beauty. The druidess of Forsaken Rite ties the war band to nature, and the beauty and wonder of the world we live in.
Forged in the northern plains of Canada in the city of Edmonton, Alberta on October of the year 2012, Forsaken Rite had emerged. As far as the mountains of the west and the frost bitten plains of the east they at last came together to birth the war party in its infancy. Though small in number they used the inspirations they had all brought from their pasts to form a sound unlike any they had done before. After many seasons of change, struggle, and friends come and gone, Forsaken Rite was ready to take the land by storm.
Remnants
Brittny South is a drummer from Edmonton, Alberta! She enjoys cooking, sports, tattoos, martial arts, her dog and of course drumming with the guys! She strives to push herself to have no limits and always work hard for what she wants.
Say the band: “Remnants is a hard hitting metal band hailing from Edmonton Alberta carrying multiple influences from each of us as individuals. We enjoy all ranges and genres of metal and music alike”.
Stay tuned as the days and weeks unfold and we bring you more info on Metalocalypstick!
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