The female influence is about to be felt like a thunderbolt in apocalyptic stormy skies.
The annual Metalocalypstick Festival will power-surge across the region when it comes to life this Saturday and Sunday in Lone Butte, the small Cariboo town just outside of 100 Mile House.
The event's founder, former Prince George/Robson Valley rock diva Kaija Kinney of Vancouver metal band Anarcheon, says the fourth edition of the female-focused metal event is loaded in talent. The reputation of the show earned them an unprecedented number of applications from bands.
"I am really impressed with the submissions," Kinney told The Citizen. "I'm so excited about the Australian band (Interitum) coming here. They already landed in Canada, they've done a couple of shows, and they'll be at my house tomorrow night. Then we have the Mexican band (Lost Nebula) as well, and some bands from out east. It's a great set of bands from top to bottom."
Some of the other acts include Massive Scar Era, Subterranea, Kosm, Orchestry, Siren's Rain, the Vth Circle, Violent Betty, Obsidian, The Shit Talkers, Ophelia Falling and more.
It was so dense that she opted not to book her own band this year, so there was more time for others. Anarcheon is breaking in a new guitar player, so it was a good time to take a break while he gets integrated into the band's work and they complete the writing of new material they are working on together.
Kinney will still get some stage time, though. She was a guest artist on a song by Vth Circle so she'll be called out on stage when they perform that number.
Kinney has also added a couple of special events to the weekend which she acknowledges are "random, but they work, they make so much sense when you actually get involved," like a human foosball tournament and a hot sauce challenge in partnership with Pepper Palace Hot Shop.
This was another year of organizing the festival heavily on her own, but a team of organizers has already confirmed they will be joining her for the 2020 edition, with this weekend as a final research project for those incoming volunteers.
"I definitely have the flow of it, but it never seems to get too much easier," said Kinney, admittedly tired from all the work involved and in some ways looking forward to the end of the show to get a bit of rest.
It is well worth all the efforts, she said. When the festival started, it was her response to all too much male domination of the metal music industry. She knew there was substantial female talent out there, so she organized Metalocalypstick to showcase women, inspire girls, and integrate men in a productive way.
"I really think there is an effect happening from the festival, especially on the west coast, people who have actually been to the festival," she said.
"As a women, being at that fest, everyone respects you and it's just a given that all the females at the fest are super talented people. It's a changing mindset. I've even seen a few mini-fests popping up too, with that focused female inclusion. It's having a ripple effect. We are also getting support from other bands but not in my usual friend group. They reach out and want to help, so that's really cool."
The festival has gotten prime media attention as well, from the likes of Billboard Magazine and Metal Hammer Magazine, to name a few.
This year is especially important in Kinney's view, because her hometown just lost its metal music festival, Metallion, and she spoke with deep respect of how valued that event was to all of metal. Now it is on Metalocalypstick to provide that avenue of entertainment for the Central Interior.
"Metal is getting a lot bigger now," she said. "People are realizing it's not all rawaaaaaaa. But that's OK too, different strokes for different folks. People are becoming less ignorant to what's actually out there under that metal name, there are so many different types, so many super beautiful voices out there, so metal is not just one thing, there's some metal for everyone."
The Metalocalypstick 2019 edition happens at the Lone Butte Community Hall. Single day passes are about $51 and two-day passes are about $91 available online via the Metalocalypstick Fest page on Facebook.
Metalocalypstick 2019 full lineup:
Attack The Fire (Vancouver)
Call Of The Siren (Edmonton)
Chaos Century (Vancouver)
Crimson Caliber (Medicine Hat)
Fallen Stars (Vancouver)
Forsaken Rite (Edmonton)
Interitum (Launceston, Tasmania)
Kayas (Vancouver)
Kelevra (Regina)
Kosm (Vancouver)
Lost Nebula (Hermosillo, Mexico)
Massive Scar Era (Vancouver/ Cairo, Egypt)
Obsidian (Vancouver)
Ophelia Falling (Vancouver)
Orchestry (BC)
Sins Of Sorrow (Edmonton)
Siren's Rain (Puget Sound, USA)
Subterranea (Toronto)
Sugar Wash (Edmonton)
The Shit Talkers (Vancouver)
Violent Betty (Saskatoon)
The Vth Circle (Vancouver)
