Leah’s New Website

leah coverThe Canadian Celtic Metal Maiden, Leah McHenry, a brilliant (and rather gorgeous) young musician, has a nice, new website.

Visit it here. Leah will be releasing her new EP, Otherworld, on October 31.  Leah has been a very good friend to Progarchy, and we’re honored to be associated with her.  She’s very much her own person.  If, however, I had to categorize her for our progarchy readership, I would say it would be best to imagine Sarah McLachlan and Arjen Lucassen getting together for a project.

Leah’s voice is rather stunning, as is her sense of drama.  Here’s a teaser for Otherworld.  And, it really does sound as if she’s singing from Avalon.

LEAH’s “Otherworld” Preview

Here’s A Health to the Company!

Buy Otherworld via digital download.

News re: Leah

leahOur favorite metal maiden, Leah McHenry, appeared twice this past weekend–in an interview and a profile.  Enjoy.

Interview:

http://www.rocktopia.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3676%3Afireworks-magazine-online-58-interview-with-leah&catid=903%3Afireworksmagazine&Itemid=474

Profile:

http://metaldivas.wordpress.com/2013/06/22/artist-profile-leah-mchenry/

Help Leah Write, Record, and Produce Her 2nd Album

leah-metalThe North American Metal Maiden herself, Leah McHenry, is working on her second album.  As our Chris Morrissey detailed in two long pieces last fall, Leah is an astounding artist on the rise.  We’re very happy (indeed, quite thrilled) to support her.  While I don’t know metal in the way that Chris does, I can state that Leah is incredibly talented.  She’s, to my mind, what Sarah McLachlan should’ve become after her third album, 1993’s FUMBLING TOWARD ECSTASY.  Actually, Leah’s first album, OF EARTH AND ANGELS, lyrically as well as musically, is every bit as good as anything Sarah McLachlan did with her first thee extraordinary albums.  After 1993, McLachlan started playing it safe, writing great pop ballads but nothing to match what she did between 1989 and 1993.  Unlike McLachlan, Leah will almost certainly never lose her edge.  Her creativity and integrity seem to be as limitless as the strength of her rather Celtic voice.

On a personal note, I have had the brief opportunity to get to know her a bit through the internet.  She’s as kind and interesting (she’s a mother of four!) as she is talented.  She has a long and fulfilling career ahead of her.

Here (below) is what Leah has posted as an appeal.  Please support her as you can.  She’s been invited to be a member of Progarchy, and she’s welcome to post or review here anytime.  Though, of course, she’s got her family and career to think about.  Regardless, we will continue to sing her praises.–Brad, ed.

+++

I am an emerging celtc-metal artist and songwriter from Vancouver, BC Canada.

In 2012 I released my debut independant album “Of Earth and Angels.”

People have described me as “The ENYA of heavy metal” and “Loreena Mckennitt meets Delain.”

I’m very influenced by celtic, world, and new age music as well as my love for symphonic metal. Fusing different genres together is a challenge I enjoy and that others seem to enjoy hearing!

I have a growing fanbase through the internet, purely from word-of-mouth and social media, since I haven’t had the time to promote my music from touring (I’m a stay at home mom). Despite that fact, I’m absolutely amazed at the number of enthusiastic fans I’ve gained and continue to gain every day!

That is pretty amazing, especially because while I’m committed to being a full-time mother, people are discovering my music all over the world and raving about my album!

This is great! But now fans want MORE from me. If you liked my first album, there is a LOT more where that came from!!

What I Need & What You Get

A production like mine is not cheap, but it’s nothing compared to what big labels spend! The following is an estimate, and one category may need more than the other category, but for simplicity’s sake:

  • $1000 for pre-production
  • $10000 will pay for my producer and studio time
  • $5000 will pay for musicians
  • $8000 for mixing and mastering (this would be a bargain).
  • $3,000 for album artwork, photography, and replication
  • $3,000+  publicity and radio promotion (U.S., Latin America, Europe)
  • $5,000+  videography and editing for official video releases

*** If we can raise more than our goal, we can take the music worldwide. That means radio and press, tv and film, official videos and MUCH more.

leah-magicI’ve chosen a flexible campaign, which means I can if I don’t hit the campaign goal, I can still use the funding that is raised. But it will mean we will need to re-evaluate where and how the money is spent and adjust it accordingly.

Depending of the size of your generosity, all contributors will get something very special from me 🙂

Your contribution and support means the world to me. It means I can:

  • Continue to be there for my family
  • Focus on writing high-quality material that the world will love
  • Have the potential to become known world-wide and still be an independent artist
  • Gives tangible support to the female-fronted metal scene!

Other Ways You Can Help

If you feel you want to contribute and aren’t able to monetarily:

  • Help me spread the word by sharing my campaign with your social networks by using the Indiegogo share tools!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

New interview with Leah

Remember Leah? There’s a great new interview with her over at Louder Than Hell.

Here’s a sample, from which you can get an idea of what she’s currently up to:

LTH: What can your fans expect from your shows?  What aspect of your band brings in crowds?

In the future, fans can expect to see more records from me, and special projects. I’m very experimental, so you may see medieval Christmas songs, or electronica, or symphony orchestras. Nothing is off the table with me. I do hope to tour in the future, and I know it will be an amazing show, though I can’t promise any dates at this time.

LTH: Chemistry within a band very is important. When the band originally formed, what was it about playing with the other musicians that made you the most impressed? What is it about the chemistry between the members that makes the band unique?

In my particular music career, the songs came first, and the players came after. Most of the musicians on my record were people I brought in specifically for my project. And because I’ve mainly been a recording artist, not a performing artist, I haven’t had a solid band line-up. As of now, I am putting together my band for special performances. In the future I’d love to have a solid, long-term band that will collaborate with writing and create a whole new sound together. In any band, chemistry is important. It’s amazing how you can connect with players musically, but you might not connect with them in other areas of life. That’s what I love about music: it brings down barriers and brings people together.

LTH: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us about your music. Do you have a special event like a concert or tour coming up that you’d like to discuss? What’s next for the band?

What’s next for me is developing my live show, writing and recording more albums, hopefully doing some music videos, and a little side project I have with Eric Peterson from Testament and Dragonlord! I’m very excited about that project and am looking forward to beginning our writing sessions for that very soon!

Small Fame (Best of 2012 — Part 7)

Another one of the albums in my Top Ten for 2012 is Bend Sinister’s Small Fame.

I was pleased to see that they also made Mike Portnoy‘s own personal top ten for this year.

Together with Rush and Leah, Bend Sinister joins the Canadian artists on my list this year. Like Leah, they are also local talent, located here in British Columbia. (Don’t miss their upcoming show, if you need a good idea for a Christmas vacation destination!)

The band takes its name from that book by Nabokov. (Ha! Reference to The Police there, for the quick-witted.)

I don’t want to put words into his mouth, but I think Carl‘s longstanding complaint with Rush is that their songwriting (not their musicianship) leaves something to be desired. (I assume he is talking about their most infamous four- and five-minute forays, not their prog masterpieces. Out of respect, I won’t name names here, but feel free to pile on in the comment box below with your own nominations. Rush does have some real stinkeroos, which are of course handily eclipsed by all their best and greatest.)

The great thing about Bend Sinister is that they are superb craftsmen of song. Above all, their talent at songcraft shines forth magnificently with this wonderful release, Small Fame.

For those would say that there is not enough prog here for their tastes, I would only point to “Quest for Love,” which proves that Bend Sinister could be as prog as they want to be, any time they would choose. But what I admire about them is how they always put their musical talents in the service of truly excellent songs. In other words, if someone wanted to complain, the complaint would have to be the opposite of Carl’s quarrel with Rush: be more prog!

Well, I will leave it to Bend Sinister to be just what they want to be. Because what they are is amazing. They could be full-on crazy prog, if they wanted to be. But arguably they are something much, much better than that.

Masters of the song.

Merry Christmas from LEAH

Merry Christmas from LEAH

An amazing “Merry Christmas” gift has appeared just this evening!

Leah writes on her Facebook page:

Here is my gift to all you beautiful people!
A symphonic metal Christmas EP from me to you!
Best of all…. it’s FREE!!!
Share away!!!

The EP contains studio versions of the three Christmas tracks that Leah played live on 12-12-12.

Download the EP for free, enjoy this excellent music, and please share the Christmas spirit.

Leah: Live at The Columbia 12-12-12

LEAH

Leah’s 2012 Symphonic Metal Debut: Of Earth & Angels 

Leah released her first full-length album in 2012, Of Earth & Angels, and I first learned of its existence when Leah’s song “Ex Cathedra” (featuring suitably epic Latin lyrics) found its way into my Facebook feed, thanks to a student who had taken a number of my Latin classes over the years. After a quick sample of the album’s songs online, I knew I had to download the whole thing.

That was back in September. This month, as I was assembling my Top Ten of 2012 for the Progarchy archives, I realized that Leah was in my upper echelon, because, months later, I had not moved on from her album; if anything, I was enjoying it more and more, which is a sure sign that an album is a rare and special find, especially with a new artist. I love this time of year, when I look back and survey the wreckage and the survivors: the many albums that I had such high hopes for (but then turned out to be sad disappointments); the few surprises that came out of nowhere (to become treasured discoveries). Leah’s music has surprised me, and it stormed its way into my Best of 2012.

Continue reading “Leah: Live at The Columbia 12-12-12”

The Greatest Christmas Rock Song

Dan Flynn makes a very strong case that the greatest Christmas rock song is The Kinks’ “Father Christmas“:

The number that most embodies the spirit of the season depicts a violent robbery of Santa Claus. Thirty-five Christmases ago, The Kinks released “Father Christmas,” a gritty tale about a department-store Santa getting rolled by a gang of teenagers. “Father Christmas, give us some money/We got no time for your silly toys/We’ll beat you up if you don’t hand it over/Give all the toys to the little rich boys.”

It’s a 45 with a sense of humor. It also has a sense of the Beatitudes.

If upon first listen “Father Christmas” rings as cynicism inverting the spirit of giving into one of taking, subsequent spins reveal a track telling us to give thanks for our good fortune rather than the small fortune under the tree. A hoodlum instructs St. Nick to hold off on the Bionic Man costume for his brother and the cuddly doll for his sister. “But give my daddy a job cause he needs one/He’s got lots of mouths to feed.”

“Father Christmas” invites us to be more Christ like. An ode superficially about the ultimate expression of materialism (theft) becomes a spiritual admonition to remember the least among us.

And, as Dan points out, the ultimate coda to the song is how Ray Davies actually got shot in New Orleans when he chased two muggers!

By the way, Dan says the best Christmas songs “can be counted on an eight-beaded abacus” and lists “Silent Night” as one of the eight best.

I have to say that the only version of “Silent Night” that I can wholeheartedly endorse is Leah’s version. And I wish Dan could have seen her amazing show last night, because she did epic metal versions of “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence”, “The Holly and the Ivy”, and “God Rest Ye Merry”, which Dan will have to make room for on his abacus! But more about Leah’s incredible concert later on, as Progarchy shall post a full review…

Of Earth & Angels (Best of 2012 — Part 5)

LEAHtheMusic.com

Another one of the albums in my Top Ten for 2012 is Leah’s Of Earth & Angels.

First, I heard her track “Ex Cathedra” and was immediately intrigued by the mix of medieval Latin and symphonic metal.

Next, I encountered the lovely track “Ocean,” which sealed the deal.

Buy your copy of this superb album today and support this talented artist; then you will remember 2012 as the year you discovered Leah:

The art of LEAH is one of diverse influence: Haunting celtic melodies, mysterious eastern vibes, heavy symphonic rhythm, and most of all… A voice that will utterly enchant and inspire you.

Listen to LEAH and you may hear a touch of Loreena McKennitt, a glimpse of Enya, or of something darker like Lacuna Coil or Nightwish. Mostly you will hear something unique from this emerging artist from British Columbia, Canada… And it will please your senses.

LEAH has accumulated a catalog of original songs. When you hear her work, you agree her song writing knows no limits: From symphonic metal, to organic singer-songwriter ballads, to ethereal electronica—she does it all—almost effortlessly. She specializes in the darker, more mystical melodies which gives Christmas carols and ancient Irish poems a haunting and tantalizing twist.

LEAH also has a work ethic that much of the young generation is missing. As a homeschooling mother, writer and prolific songwriter, she knows how to get things done—and done well.

A few footnotes:

Electronica is not really my thing, but I love what Leah has done with her track “Sanctuary.” Amazing that she does both symphonic metal and this sort of experimentation equally well.

At Christmas, I have always considered “Silent Night” one of the most musically boring carols ever; so I will always welcome a clever makeover. Now, here is Leah, doing the unexpected and making it sound truly incredible. Enjoy!

LEAHtheMusic.com