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Metal Chick of the Month – Bridget Lynch

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It ends with flames, Bridget!

Whenever you think of Brutal Death Metal, words such as gore, torture, murder and depravity, among several others, quickly come to your mind, creating that physical and mental preparedness needed to endure the heaviness and violence of this distinct subgenre of extreme music. However, after reading our tribute to our metal lady of this month of October here on The Headbanging Moose, I’m sure her first and last name will also be added to your Death Metal dictionary, and you better get ready because her guttural roars are definitely not recommended for the lighthearted. As a matter of fact, she’s not just a fantastic growler, but also a talented bassist, a drum programmer, an illustrator and a tattoo artist, and if for any reason you think that’s still not enough, let me tell you that the multi-talented Bridget Lynch, the frontwoman for Texas-based Brutal Death Metal outfit Stabbing, will kick you right in the head and teach you a lesson in violence.

Born on April 14, 1998 in Houston, the most populous city in Texas and in the Southern United States, we can say Bridget began her career as a metal vocalist in 2014, when she did live vocals for a New York-based Brutal Death Metal/Grindcore band named Animals Killing People, whose music is, among other topics, inspired by animal rights. There’s only one decent video online showing her contribution to the band live at Building Temples From Death Fest in Houston back in 2014, and although the quality of the sound is not great you can already sense how venomous her growls are. Furthermore, in 2015 she was supposed to be part of a San Francisco, California-based  Brutal Death Metal/Grindcore band named Cerebral Engorgement, and although there are a couple of pictures online of Bridget with the band, she never officially played with the band, nor released any recording with them.

Let’s say that her first official band was Houston, Texas-based Grindcore/Queercore trio Dystopian Reality, having recorded alongside guitarist Valerie and drummer CC their 2019 self-titled EP. The band doesn’t seem to exist anymore (or at least it’s not active on any social media), but you can enjoy not only their full EP on Youtube or on BandCamp, but also this fun live footage from the band in 2019 on YouTube. Right after her stint with Dystopian Reality, our dauntless growler was also part of another Brutal Death Metal project from Houston named Nephilim Grinder, having recorded with them their two-track debut 2020 demo (which can be enjoyed in full on BandCamp), and one important detail about Nephilim Grinder is that it was the band that put her in contact with Marvin Ruiz, the guitarist for her current band Stabbing (and we’ll get to that shortly).

In the middle of 2020, Bridget founded her own solo project (most probably due to the isolation that happened during the Covid-19 pandemic), a Goregrind beast entitled Pyosisified, being responsible for all vocals and instruments in the best “one-woman army” way you can imagine, and releasing that same year the project’s self-titled five-track demo (which is available on BandCamp). No one knows for sure if Bridget will keep her solo beast alive due to her commitments with Stabbing, but I’m sure the Grindcore and Brutal Death Metal scene would love to hear more from Pyosisified. And apart from all those bands, you can also enjoy her demented vocals in the song Hash Driveway, from the EP Split the Fuck Open, released earlier this year by Colorado Springs-based Death Metal/Grindcore act 10 to the Chest.

It was back in 2021 when Bridget alongside guitarist Marvin Ruiz, plus husband and wife Rene Martinez on drums and Meryl Martinez on bass (both having recently left the band, by the way), founded Austin/Houston, Texas-based powerhouse Stabbing. As a matter of fact, in the beginning we can say it was just Marvin and Rene jamming back and forth with guitar riffs and drum parts. “We thought we had something and we just needed a vocalist and a bass player. He knew Bridget and I knew Meryl, so there you go. We got a band. So that’s how we put that together. And it was pretty easy. We didn’t really expect to put together a full band like that,” said Rene. Highly recommended for fans of bands the likes of Cannibal Corpse, Disgorge, Devangelic and Defeated Sanity, just to name a few, Stabbing deliver a vicious sonic assault, combining sick guttural vocals, slamming blast beats, menacing guitar riffs and terrifying lyrics.

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Rene mentioned that in the beginning they actually tried out a few vocalists before they went with Bridget, but in the end, she was the best fit for it hands down. “Bridget is just a beast on the mic. You don’t really see a frontwoman in this genre, which adds a great dynamic to the band,” he mentioned in an interview. And we must all admit her gore drenched, gut-ripping vocals are exactly what Stabbing needs to solidify even more their beyond brutal fusion of slam, grind and unfiltered brutality. Hence, you can enjoy Bridget’s maniac guttural attack by listening to their 2021 debut demo, to their 2021 EP Ravenous Psychotic Onslaught, and to their 2022 full-length opus Extirpated Mortal Process, all available on BandCamp and on Spotify (or click HERE for all things Stabbing), and you can also enjoy some of their wicked creations with Bridget kicking some serious ass on vocals on YouTube, including the songs  Gutted By The Beast, Extirpated Mortal Process, Splatter Pit, live versions of Excrement Sarcophagus and Splatter Pit, and a rehearsal of their set  for Sick Dog Fest in 2021.

As mentioned in the beginning of this tribute to Bridget, she’s also an up-and-coming illustrator and a tattoo artist who’s making a name for herself not only in the metal scene in Houston, but anywhere in the world where art and brutality unite in the name of heavy music. For instance, she’s the artist responsible for the artworks for the 2019 album Double Promo Penetration, by multinational Brutal Death Metal band Kraanium; for the 2018 EP Nullity of Light, by Tempe, Arizona-based Blackened Death Metal act Light Dweller; for the 2018 EP Purity Through Putrefaction, by Los Angeles, California’s own Death Metal group Malignant; for the 2021 demo by Oakland, California-based Brutal Death Metal band Summoner; and of course the artwork (and sometimes the logo only) for some releases by her past and present bands, those being the 2020 demo by Nephilim Grinder, the 2020 demo for her own project Pyosisified, and the 2021 EP Ravenous Psychotic Onslaught by Stabbing. In addition, if you want to know more about her illustrator and tattoo artist endeavor, and even book an appointment with Bridget to get a new ink, you can do so by visiting her Instagram profile dedicated to her work as a tattoo artist.

Stabbing are touring the United States and Canada (and hopefully I’ll be able to witness Bridget kicking ass live with her demented roars here in Toronto) this November and December as one of the opening acts for American Brutal Death Metal masters Suffocation and American Death Metal institution Incantation, as part of their Ancient Unholy Uprising Tour 2023, and if Bridget and her Stabbing are soon taking your hometown by storm, don’t miss the chance to witness one of the most electrifying growlers of the new generation of extreme music, as she definitely has the talent, the charisma and the strength to reach new heights with Stabbing or any of her other projects. She’s a hard working musician and artist that deserves our full recognition and appreciation, crafting her Death Metal magic just the way we like it, always keeping it as brutal, technical and awesome as it can be.

Bridget Lynch’s Official Instagram
Bridget Lynch – Tattoo Artist’s Official Instagram
Stabbing’s Official Facebook page
Stabbing’s Official Instagram
Stabbing’s Official YouTube channel
Stabbing’s Official BandCamp page
Stabbing’s Official Spotify profile

Album Review – Striker / Play To Win (2018)

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Blending classic Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Power Metal and 80’s Hair Metal, one of the biggest exponents of contemporary Canadian metal music strikes once again with a brand new album, always playing to win.

Champions in blending classic Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Power Metal and 80’s Hair Metal, Canadian shredders Striker are back with another good album titled Play To Win, the sixth in their undisputed career and a follow-up to their two previous award nominated winning albums, their 2017 breathtaking self-titled opus Striker (nominated for a JUNO award, winner of an Edmonton Music Award and Western Canadian Award) and the WCMA + EMA award winning album Stand In The Fire, released in 2016. That means this Edmonton-based squad comprised of frontman Dan Cleary, guitarists Tim Brown and Chris Segger, bassist William Wallace and drummer Adam Brown has been on an absolute roll in the past few years, not only delivering first-class metal for our total delight, but also spreading their music live across Europe and North America with bands like Sonata Arctica, Dark Tranquility and Warbringer, along with festival appearances at 70,000 Tons of Metal and Bang Your Head Festival, proving why they’re already considered one of the biggest exponents in contemporary Canadian Heavy Metal.

Mixed and Mastered by Hendrik Udd at Hendrik Udd Recording Studios, and featuring not only an old school artwork by Elvis Amaral (HipnoFX Audiovisual), but also the fantastic Randy Black (Annihilator, Primal Fear, Destruction) as a session drummer, who by the way also recorded the album Stand in the Fire with the band, Play To Win will please all fans of traditional metal and rock, keeping the name of Striker relevant and strong in the scene. “Play to Win: if you want to win you have to play the game. Find the rules and break them. This is our 6th album and 3rd independent release. If we followed the rules and listened to the industry people we’d have gone absolutely nowhere. Play To Win is about listening to yourself, following your own path, and playing that 5th ace hidden in your sleeve. This album is designed to light a fire under your ass and get you moving, and we made sure to get the most modern, ear melting sounds possible. It’s all about where metal is going, not where it has been, and this is our soundtrack to success,” commented Tim about the album.

And Tim and Chris begin slashing and shredding their strings from the very first second in the opening tune Heart of Lies, where the band delivers their usual ass-kicking fusion of Heavy Metal and Hard Rock, with Dan declaiming the song’s chorus beautifully (“Another victim to a heart of lies / Can’t see the truth behind those venom eyes / Another victim to a heart of lies / On deaf ears will fall the eagle’s cry”). Then leaning towards pure 80’s Hard Rock and Glam Metal, in special the crisp and passionate vocal lines by Dan, we have Position of Power, with William and Randy maintaining a solid and rumbling background throughout the entire song; followed by Head First, a good song that gets a bit too commercial at times, but that obviously brings Striker’s old school punch, sounding very rhythmic, groovy and melodic. In addition, Tim and Chris are once again on fire with their riffs and solos, making it a highly recommended addition to your road trip playlist.

Blending the music by Iron Maiden with Motley Crüe, Stratovarius and Van Halen, which in the end resulted in sheer awesomeness, Striker offer us the thrilling On The Run, showcasing a brilliant vocal performance by Dan while William keeps extracting that metallic sound we all love form his bass, whereas The Front is another classic song by Striker, also feeling as it was taken from an 80’s Hair Metal album. It’s a bit too smooth compared to the sonic massacre from their previous albums, but the crisp sound of the guitars and the precise beats by Randy make it very enjoyable and fun. The title-track Play To Win, a mid-tempo feast of rockin’ sounds, sounds even more inspired by the golden years of Hard Rock than ever, with the guitar riffs and solos by both Tim and Chris getting sharper and groovier, and albeit its lyrics are extremely cheesy, the message the band wanted to send is there (and that’s what really matters in the end). Then despite the excellent vocals by Dan, its tuneful guitar solos and a pleasant vibe, the power ballad Standing Alone never really takes off, getting way too mellow compared to what Striker are capable of doing.

Back to a heavier and more epic sonority, those talented Canadian metallers fire an electrified Heavy Metal and Hard Rock tune entitled Summoner, inspired by many classics by Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and other behemoths from the NWOBHM, also presenting the best guitar work of the entire album in my opinion. In Heavy Is The Heart the band shows how to do a proper power ballad, bringing passion to the musicality without forgetting the always needed dosages of electricity and rage, again presenting an inspired Dan leading his bandmates from start to finish. However, the closing tune Hands Of Time is another generic song that sounds and feels extremely soft if you’re a longtime fan of Striker, lacking the same potency and kick from their already classic tunes. Put differently, it’s far from being a bad song, but as we all got used to a lot heavier riffs and faster beats by Striker it’s hard to truly relish it.

As a huge fan of their self-titled album released last year, which I personally considered one of the best metal albums of 2017, I felt slightly disappointed with the final result in Play To Win. Nothing to worry about, though, as I guess I’m being too harsh on the guys from Striker, almost “demanding” that they had released another Heavy Metal masterpiece instead of actually enjoying their new album. There’s still a lot of top-of-the-line music to savor in Play To Win, available from their official website as a digital download or as a special edition CD, as well as from iTunes and Amazon, and you can also follow the band on Facebook, subscribe to their YouTube channel and listen to more of their music on Spotify (if you don’t do all that already). Striker are a band that keeps winning no matter what with each and every release (despite singing in their previous album that they were “born to lose”), and the flame of Canadian metal will remain alive and vibrant while we have those skillful metalheads from Edmonton among us, always playing to win.

Best moments of the album: Heart of Lies, On The Run and Summoner.

Worst moments of the album: Standing Alone and Hands Of Time.

Released in 2018 Record Breaking Records

Track listing
1. Heart of Lies 4:04
2. Position of Power 3:41
3. Head First 4:02
4. On The Run 3:52
5. The Front 4:02
6. Play To Win 3:49
7. Standing Alone 4:56
8. Summoner 4:04
9. Heavy Is The Heart 4:54
10. Hands Of Time 3:47

Band members
Dan Cleary – lead vocals
Tim Brown – lead and rhythm guitar
Chris Segger – lead and rhythm guitar
William Wallace – bass
Adam Brown – drums

Guest musician
Randy Black – drums (session)
Lindsay Robinson, John Kennedy and Nathan Schadeck – gang vocals