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With Revolver's second "Hottest Chicks in Metal" issue and tour sponsored with the same name, it's time to stop with all the sexist bullshit. Music is such an intangible form of art it’s a shame our leading metal magazines are degrading themselves to this. Also, if being a "Hot Chick" is the only excuse to buy your albums, your music is probably shit. Revolver, unclear what "metal" actually is, propagates a thought process that is plaguing one of the greatest and free-form genres of our time. Here are The Apparatus' unnamed and talented women of metal. With all beautiful looks and "hotness" aside, these are the women pushing the boundaries of metal, recognizing music as an art first and not a fucking Playboy issue. These women have a far bigger range of instruments and inspirations from all over the world, playing far more artistically significant music then your pop punk hero gracing their presence all over guitar, bass and drum virtuoso magazines. 
MEL MONGEON (Ottawa, Canada) I saw Fuck the Facts for the first time with Misery Index at Backbooth here in Orlando. It was one of the most profound shows I have ever seen. Through the ocean of black haired and black clothed metal fans walked a petite blonde girl looking for an outlet to plug in her tea brewer. The band then quietly set up their gear. This wavy-haired French girl then proceeded to outshine every band on the bill. While the rest of Fuck the Facts plays a punchy grindcore hybrid, it only helped to add to the grandiose anger of one of Canada’s finest front women. “How do you feel about being a ‘chick’ in the metal scene because the metal scene is huge and there aren’t that many ‘chicks’ in singing?” (MEL) “I don’t think it makes that much of a difference. Just do what you like doing and whether you’re a guy or a girl…everyone’s the same, just your own point of view.” – Play it Hard interview
(MEL)” But I do agree that women are taking their place in the heavy music scene, as more women listen to it as well. In many ways, we have a more diverse scene nowadays, and this is needed for its survival and renewal I believe.” –Resound/Relapse interview
“female vocalist Mel Mongeon puts a lot of metal frontmen to shame with her bowel-moving range of screams.” –Steve Davies/Planet Loud
“Few ladies attempt to tackle the guttural vocal style, and those that do often sound more like a pissed-off banshee than a tortured soul. But Mongeon pulls it off with aplomb – a feat even more awe-inspiring given her petite frame.” – Warren/Screaming Bloody Mess
“Vocalist Mel Mongeon has an absolutely viscious rasp that eclipses any female screams I've heard to date.” –Tyler/Deadtide.com
“…fronted by a female singer unlike any I had ever heard. She could bellow, wail, grunt and scream while taking the audience into the palm of her hand…the first time I had ever seen a female singer dominate the stage with such a vicious ferocity.” -Chris Curry/YPP
“Lyricist Mongeon’s approach couldn’t be less jam-like. “I’m a more rational writer. I sit and figure out how long the song is, what riffs are where, and what I want to write about. I don’t write about chopping up my neighbor. I’m more interested in realistic subjects, everyday stuff, human behavior, world problems. Not that I have anything against gore lyrics; it’s just that that kind of subject matter could never inspire me for long.” Rod Smith/Decibel Magazine Fuck the Facts – Crave Out Your Heart
 KATE WITHROW (Austin, TX) Highly-trained violinist Kate Withrow grinds her bow across the notes of Basilica. Out of all the violinists in 2000’s rock bands, about 95 percent of them are in European Viking Folk or Power Metal bands. Leave it to a woman to play the heaviest and meanest violin featured music in the past 10 years, if not longer. Here is Kate performing an excerpt from J.S. Bach's Sonata in G minor for solo violin, BWV 1001:
I had a wonderful opportunity to ask a few questions to Kate herself for this editorial: What's your current resume musically and Where do you plan to go with your musical skill? (apparatus) Here is my most recent bio. All of the work in schools and festivals listed below was in classical training, so Basilica really is my first sustained venture out into the world of experimental music. Biography: [Kate Withrow began her studies with the violin at the age of five in Austin, Texas. She was first trained in the Suzuki Method and then progressed under the guidance of Leonard Posner, winning the 1999 Pearl Amster Young Artist Competition. She then continued her studies with Andrzej Grabiec at the University of Houston and Mauricio Fuks at Indiana University, Bloomington. Ms. Withrow has given many solo and chamber performances in festivals throughout the country and abroad including the Aspen Summer Music Festival, the Orford Centre for the Arts in Quebec, and the Mozarteum Sommerakademie in Austria. After the completion of a Performer’s Diploma at Indiana University, she was selected to be a regular member of the Chicago Civic Orchestra for the 2006-2007 season. That same year, she was invited to join the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in New Orleans. Ms. Withrow has a great passion for teaching and considers education one of the most important elements of her role as a musician. In addition to running a private studio for young violinists in New Orleans, Ms. Withrow serves as a faculty member at the Louisiana Academy of Performing Arts.] As far as where I will go, I plan on auditioning for other orchestras as positions open though I am quite happy in New Orleans now and enjoy my job with the Philharmonic. I have already gotten several performance opportunities in classical chamber ensembles and as a soloist, and hopefully I will get involved with all the non-classical opportunities here as well. I would really love to start a new music ensemble someday that gets all the folks down here that are so passionate about jazz and experimental music involved with classical as well. What is your take on Basilica? How do you feel about this "new wave" of technical and forward-thinking music and being one of the very few female artists in the genre? (apparatus) To be honest I had never been a regular listener of grindcore or technical metal and am very far from being a walking encyclopedia of other bands like us. When I first went to the Aspen Music Festival in 1999, I became acquainted with many composers who helped me understand the precarious position of new music in the classical world and how important it is for developing composers to have their works performed. When you hear stories of how Philip Glass or David Lang drove cabs in New York City to finance their bands to get works performed you realize that there is a huge divide between the innovative and the popular in world of classical composition. Some composers get jobs in academia and may write pieces that revolutionize musical aesthetics, but are unlistenable to the untrained ear. Other composers may get commissioned by a major orchestra and write works that are accessible to the masses but get panned by critics for being too mundane. It is very rare when a composer gets the chance to express his aesthetic ideals in a work and ever hear it performed. So when Ben Jacob approached me to play in Basilica, I jumped at the opportunity to help a fellow artist out. In terms of Basilica impacting the world of technical metal, I like to think that people see the violin and realize its not just an instrument played in ballrooms and concert halls. I'm trying to avoid sounding like the cliche that "violins rock too" but I can't seem to get around it. I recently began teaching the four year old daughter of Kirk Windstin from the southern metal band, Down. At first, he was very reluctant to tell me his occupation and was relieved once I told him about Basilica. I was thrilled to find out that not only had he taken the time to check out our music but had told the other Down members that "a prissy-looking violin teacher" was playing in a grindcore band. I also believe that it is important to challenge audiences both classical and metal alike. I think both groups tend to sit back in a concert or show and just let the beauty or energy of the performance wash over them without trying to understand the components. The problem with this attitude is that it it stifles innovation. It is the very thing that prevents a patron that attends the opera from going to see a Megadeth concert and the same reason why a 14 year old metal fan won't go to a classical concert. The reason is that these audiences are more preoccupied with the scene than the substance. My hope is that exposure to our type of music can build more awareness among our audiences to the nuance of a performer's interpretation and the craft of a composition.
Basilica leader Ben S. Jacob on Kate Withrow: Kate was recommended by some of the other members of Basilica when we were solidifying our lineup in late 2005. We spoke about the project a couple of times and eventually got together to work on some music. Her bold sound, fluent reading skills, flexibility of style, and overall enthusiasm for this kind of music were immediately apparent, and she began rehearsing with the group soon thereafter.
"Has Basilica gotten any 'extra' attention because of Kate's gender?"(apparatus)
I would have to say yes.
"Do you find that the more extreme and more underground bands females play in, the more open minded and nonsexist the fans are?"(apparatus)
Absolutely. There are a lot of stereotypes that limit preferences, perceptions, and even opinions in both mainstream and underground music, and embracing diversity in gender definitely helps to open minds not only in terms of gender roles but in terms of all of aspects of the musical experience - visual, sonic, poetic, etc.
JANET WOODS (Edinburgh, Scotland) Zillah is one of the only Tech Metal bands from Scotland. Though she’s not in the band anymore, Woods was the only female in the band; she is one of the only female Tech Metal bassists. Not only is Zillah’s culture and line up unique, but their blend of Tech Metal is as well. Janet’s bass playing creates a dissonant, rusty, mechanical sound that helps Zillah’s ‘Substitute for a Catastrophe’ to become an instant classic. Zillah - Koteas Promo video
 MARIE-HELENE LANDRY (Montréal) This extremely mysterious singer is featured on Despised Icon’s full-length debut ‘Consumed by Your Poison.’ Far more brutal and showcasing a relentless vocal style than the macho Alex Erian we know and love today, Marie’s 2002 dual vocals with Steve Marois shined the first and most landmark Deathcore album to date and it had Canada painted beautifully on top. “However, it's the vocalists that make this CD. On its own, the music is great, but with the addition of the two vocalists (Marie and Steve) DESPISED ICON are right up there with the other great Grind acts. Both singers use the guttural vocal approach, but their delivery is always clear and powerful. However, when push comes to shove, I think that Marie is the best out of the two, due to her more unique approach. She effortlessly goes from guttural growls to high pitched yelps, which is one of the things that helps keep the disc interesting.” –Mark @ The Metal Observer
“Landry is certainly one of the best female unclean vocalists that metal has seen, being both more brutal and guttural than her predominantly male peers as well as displaying an unusually high technical skill. Particularly of note is her ability to swing from high to low pitches on a dime (not unlike George 'Corpsegrinder' Fisher of Cannibal Corpse), and even more impressively being able to pass through the entire range of notes when doing as such. The rapidly changing shape of the music on 'Consumed By Your Poison' seems to fit Landry's style more than Marois', who is somewhat left out of his element. When the two work together, however, such as on 'Clef De Voûte', both vocalists are used expertly, adding an entirely new rhythmic dimension to the music on this LP.” –Noah Richards/The Apparatus Despised Icon - Poissonnariat
 I had a chance to ask Marie a few questions for this editorial. Her contribution was so great and exclusive I decided to give Marie her own interview. Please refer to our interview section to read the continuation of the Marie-Helen Landry tribute.  DIANA SERRA (Miami, FL) After Cynic broke up, it was up to Sean Malone and the gang to stretch even further in their original progressive jazz realm in their new band called Aghora. By their second album they added vocalist Diana Serra to the mix. Her vocals cleanly and smoothly washed away even more boundaries out from Aghora’s path. You can still see Aghora playing live today, easing their way into the hearts of all music lovers. “Diana's vocals are: creative, transient, calming, unpredictable, different and supported. She just knows how to sing, period! Just when you think you have the vocal melody pinned, she'll throw in a minor drop or something that adds a whole new level to the overall sound, which is already layered to perfection.” –Sickdrummer.com
“vocalist Diana Serra can certainly hold her own and brings plenty of character and expression to the fold, from the concordant melodies to the haunting wails and cries, reminiscent of what you might hear on a Dead Can Dance album.” –Metalireland.com
“As for the singer Diana Serra, how can we really describe her angelic voices? Her singing suits perfectly to the whole project and flows of the songs” -Stratos Neonakis/Metal Invader
Aghora – Atmas Heave
 KATHY COPPOLA (Savannah, GA) Though not blatantly a virtuoso, Kathy’s use of layering, dynamic play on words and insightful poetry serves for multiple listens of Circle Takes the Square. Her sound is quite angry, fragile and yet humble, like the bow breaking and the cradle falling. Her words match her voice perfectly as well as her simultaneous bass playing. “The music is embrangled, cold-sweating rock fronted by dueling male/female vocals of which is some of the most anguished in recent memory” -Wade Coggeshall / The Indiana Journal
Circle Takes the Square – Crowquill
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