Demons from the war now lives… Rain down explosions upon us… Terror in the air!
As we’re heading to the end of another hot and humid summer, let’s keep the temperatures as warm as possible with our metal lady of this month of September, and you better be prepared as she will breathe fire into your damned soul with her scorching guttural. She’s the unrelenting frontwoman for an amazing Italian Technical Death Metal band named Mechanical God Creation, and since mid-2024 she has also become a vocalist for a ruthless Italian Black Metal band named Stormcrow. As you can see, she takes no prisoners in her quest for extreme music, and I’m sure you’ll have an absolute blast listening to the amazing music crafted by her bands. Her name is Luciana Catananti, a talented she-wolf that will kick your ass mercilessly, keeping the fires of Death and Black Metal burning brighter than a thousand suns in her beautiful homeland.
Born on May 2, 1985 in Bergamo, an Italian city northeast of Milan, in the Lombardy region, Luciana was part of a band named Art of Mutilation when she lived in the UK, and also a member of a band called The Anger back then, but there isn’t much information about The Anger anywhere. Well, at least we know that Art of Mutilation was a Melodic Death/Thrash Metal band based in Birkenhead, England in its early days, then moving to Wrexham, Wales, and the band lasted between 2002 and 2011 before splitting up. Luciana was only part of the band in the year of 2005, having recorded with them the demo Mortality that same year. The demo had only three songs, those being Eviscerated, Blackened Sculpture, and Cabal, and as you can see by the only two songs available on YouTube, Luciana and the boys were a really promising band (which unfortunately is no more), and her vocals were already ruthless.
It was then in 2006 in the charming Italian city of Milan when Luciana founded Mechanical God Creation alongside guitarist Simo, and quickly adding bassist Andrea “Veon” Marini, guitarist Andrea “Runza” Galdi, and drummer Mattia Jay “Jambra” Giambini to their lineup; however, as all four already left the band after a few years, she remains as the only member of the original lineup. Their music also morphed from Melodic Death Metal the likes of Arch Enemy in their early days, hence the name of the band (taken from their 2005 masterpiece Doomsday Machine), to a more visceral, brutal and infernal form of Technical Death Metal, even adding hints of modern-day Death Metal and Progressive Death Metal to their core sound, as you can se in the evolution of their music from their 2007 demo …and the Battle Becomes War, to their 2010 debut Cell XIII, followed by their 2013 sophomore Artifact of Annihilation, and finally their 2019 album The New Chapter, all available for streaming in most streaming services like BandCamp, YouTube and Spotify, except for their demo, and you can also enjoy a lot of official videos like Terror In The Air and I Am The Godless Man, and lots of cool live footage including Walking Dead live in Russia in 2014, on their official YouTube channel.
Although Mechanical God Creation haven’t released any new material since 2019, we can also enjoy our dauntless growler as the new frontwoman for an Italian Black Metal band named Stormcrow since July 2024, under the moniker Vexa (maybe taken from a half-troll from Dungeons & Dragons, who knows). Playing what they like to label as “Alpine Black Metal”, the band currently formed of our beloved Luciana, or if you prefer, Vexa on vocals alongside Vastis also on vocals, Astaroth and Tohrus on the guitars, Zedar on bass, and Wraith on drums has been making a name for themselves since 1997, having already released the demo Hell on Earth (2000), the EP Wounded Skies (2004), and the full-length albums Disposition to Tyranny (2012), Face the Giant (2019), and more recently Path to Ascension (2024), all available on BandCamp and on Spotify. Furthermore, although Luciana has only been playing live with the band for now, with no participation in any of the band’s albums, not only you should still listen to all of their discography as their music is awesome, but it will also give you a very good taste of what Luciana has to offer when hitting the stages together with her new horde (and stay tuned as their 2026 European dates are coming soon).
Apart from Mechanical God Creation, Stormcrow, The Anger, and Art of Mutilation, you can also find Luciana as a guest vocalist for the song Urban Massacre, from the 2019 album 1996, by an Italian Death Metal/Grindcore band named Abbinormal. It’s a one-minute song, which might be very short for us metalheads eager for more of Luciana’s vocals, but enough already to show how violent she can sound. She has also recently contributed with her powerful vocals to a track titled Portals, on the new album by legendary Dutch Death Metal band Pestilence that should see the light of day sometime still in 2025 (or maybe only in 2026). In addition, you can also find on YouTube a cover version for Lamb of God’s Walk With Me In Hell by Luciana alongside Italian guitarist and bassist Francesca Mancini, of bands like Chaos Rising, Necrosy, and Sudden Death, and let me tell you that such an incredible female duo kicked some serious ass with their rendition of one of the best songs by Randy Blythe and his crew.
Highly influenced by bands the likes of Morbid Angel, Behemoth, Cannibal Corpse and Deicide, just to name a few, Luciana enjoys writing caustic, harsh lyrics that reflect the daily reality and the problems we all face in the time we’re living that is so full of very important and sudden changes from the cultural, political and technological point of view. Moreover, apart from heavy music, Luciana also enjoys listening to bands and artists like David Bowie, Adele, Coldplay, and Amy Winehouse, showing her eclectic music taste, and when asked which was her first ever live concert and the very first album she bought, she mentioned the always controversial Marilyn Manson (saying it was a great show and that he is a good frontman, but also pointing out she doesn’t listen to him anymore), and probably a Metallica album as far as she remembers.
Having already played at some of the biggest festivals in Europe with heavy music giants including Ozzy Osbourne, Korn, Megadeth, Graveworm, Meshuggah, and Amon Amarth, just to name a few, Luciana also mentioned in one of her interviews that she really enjoys a festival in Slovenia named Metalcamp, saying that although it’s not as big as Wacken Open Air, it’s a very nice festival in the midst of nature. I really wish both Mechanical God Creation and Stormcrow would cross the pond and come play a few shows in Canada and in the United States, but I understand it’s not easy nowadays to tour the world due to the high touring costs. Well, maybe I can catch them at an European festival next year, right?
Despite being a proud Italian, while at the same time of course having her own constructive feedback about the current political and social landscapes in her homeland, Luciana is not very involved with the Italian underground scene. She mentioned in one of her interviews that she obviously knows bands like Fleshgod Apocalypse are proudly carrying the Italian flag everywhere they go, and she feels very happy for them despite not being a true fan of their music.
Currently working in the A&R (Artists and Repertoire) department of WormHoleDeath and Epictronic, Luciana mentioned in an interview that one of her biggest mistakes in music was having stopped to play the piano after years playing it, as it certainly helped her to feel calm. However, if you think she enjoys movies that would also make her calm down and relax, you’ve got another thing coming as her favorite flicks are horror movies with zombies or exorcisms, with her favorite one being the classic Dawn of the Dead. Maybe one day we’ll see Luciana joining the cast of a horror movie, playing some sort of she-demon, screaming at our faces, and sending shivers down the spines of the lighthearted. Because she’s a true extreme music diva, and she will show no mercy for your soul armed with her phenomenal vocals and badass attitude.
Luciana Catananti’s Official Facebook page
Luciana Catananti’s Official Instagram
Mechanical God Creation’s Official Facebook page
Mechanical God Creation’s Official Instagram
Mechanical God Creation’s Official YouTube channel
Stormcrow’s Official Facebook page
Stormcrow’s Official Instagram
Stormcrow’s Official YouTube channel
THE HEADBANGING MOOSE 