Photos and Review by Sarah Smith
Madame Mayhem photos HERE
Mushroomhead photos HERE
Madame Mayhem is currently on tour with Mushroomhead performing an entire month’s worth of shows for all metal lovers up and down the east coast. I was able to catchup with her before her very first set ever in Manchester, NH at the Jewel Nightclub.
“Tour is going great- We are a couple days in now, the shows have been awesome and the fans have been really receptive and it’s been really cool being on the road with Mushroomhead.” Along with Mushroomhead and Madame Mayhem, another metal band joined them on tour: Product of Hate. “It’s been a really great run so far and the fans seem to really be enjoying all the bands as a package, as well as the local bands that join us along the way.” Released in late 2015 was Mayhem’s latest project, Now You Know, combining hard rock speed with intense instrumentals and a true love for the craft that she has created.
I was curious to hear what she had to say about promoting her new album while collecting new listeners along the way. “When you open up for a different band, you never know if their fans are going to be cool with you or not. Then you end up having some of your own fans come if it mixes well it’s okay. So far so good! It’s really exciting meeting some new people and seeing familiar faces as well.” And when comparing herself to her old music she seemed very open and receptive to idea of her sound changing with time. “With Now You Know the reason we called it that was it’s a real representation of who I am now and who I want to be as an artist. Kind of like a re-introduction, you might say. I think it is such a great album–I really got to spill my guts out and I got to play as well.”
As the front woman of her band, Mayhem seemed very dominating and inspiring. I knew right away she had the Screw It attitude and wanted to be heard. I asked her about what it was like to be part of the less than 5% of women who sang for metal bands. “It’s really awesome looking out and seeing girls rocking out harder than the guys sometimes. A couple years ago it wouldn’t be that obvious. It’s weird because everyone thinks we’re all new to the scene, and it’s like no, we’re not, we’re just now getting recognized for it. It’s male dominated but so are lots of things, we’ve all been hustling for awhile so it’s the fact that now people are starting to appreciate it. Because now we get to finally play and that’s all we’ve ever wanted to do. It doesn’t matter if you’re a chick or a dude, as long as you’re performing it shouldn’t matter.”
On stage it really shows this chick is just totally doing what she was born to do. She owned absolutely every poor bastard in the venue that night and she knew it. The crowd responded well to her performance as she sang and strutted herself across the stage. Her long black hair swayed in all directions as she clenched the mike with her long, spiked fingerless gloves. She has strong vocals that carry across any room and an incredible band to help emphasize her sound. Mayhem’s show proves she has both talented vocals and strong songwriting skills with an in your face attitude. Any metal lover would enjoy this show headbanging from start to finish.
Madame Mayhem and Mushroomhead at the Jewel – Manchester, MA
