MissMetalWoman82
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Leah McHenry, mononymously known as Leah (pronounced /liːɑː/ LEE-a) (born November 4, 1984), is a Canadian heavy metal musician who records both as a solo artist and, since 2018, as a member of Dragonlord. Sometimes called the "Enya of heavy metal", she performs a mixture of symphonic and Celtic metal with folk and world music. As a solo artist, she has released four full-length albums, Of Earth & Angels in 2012, Kings & Queens in 2015, The Quest in 2018, and Ancient Winter in 2019; two EPs, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence in 2012 and Otherworld in 2013; and twenty singles, both as part of album releases and as stand-alone recordings. She is a frequent artistic collaborator with Eric Peterson of Testament and Dragonlord, Timo Somers from Delain and Vengeance, Sander Zoer from Delain, Barend Courbois from Blind Guardian and Vengeance, and Troy Donockley of Nightwish. McHenry and Peterson released a collaborative single, "Winter Sun", in 2015. She joined Dragonlord for its 2018 studio album Dominion. She also has participated in the charity group Project Aegis.
McHenry is from the Vancouver area of British Columbia, Canada, and has English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry.[2][3][4] Around age 10 or 11, she started singing in her home.[3][5] According to McHenry, she mimicked the singing of others — Jim Morrison, Mariah Carey, Tori Amos, it did not matter — until she developed her own style.[5] She eventually taught herself piano and joined the band Ashur, which toured locally and released an EP.[3] She also taught herself a limited amount of guitar.[5] She released her first solo album, Of Earth & Angels, in December 2012, and performed her first live show that same month.[3][6] She also released a three-track Christmas EP that December.[3] In 2013, she released the EP Otherworld.[7] Eric Peterson contributed to the single "Dreamland" from the EP.[2][7] In January 2015, she released her second studio album, Kings & Queens. Contributing to the album were Timo Somers of Delain and Vengeance, Sander Zoer of Delain, and Barend Courbois of Blind Guardian and Vengeance.[8][9][10] In December of the same year, she and Peterson collaborated on the single "Winter Sun", enlisting the help of the rest of the Dragonlord band line-up and some touring members of Testament to round-out the recording.[11] In 2017, she released "The Dragonborn Comes", a cover version of Jeremy Soule's "Dragonborn" from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Dragonborn video game expansion.[6] Her third studio album, The Quest, was released on October 5, 2018.[12] The recording featured previous collaborators Somers, Courbois, and Zoer, along with Troy Donockley of Nightwish and Chen Balbus of Orphaned Land.[13] On November 15, 2019, she released Ancient Winter, a Christmas album and her fourth album overall. The album featured more instrumentation from McHenry herself and included contributions from Donockley, Anna Murphy of Cellar Darling and Eluveitie, Shar-Ran Yinon of Eluveitie and Epica, and Rupert Gillett.[14][15] She also participated in two charity singles by Project Aegis, a charity project organized by Matt Smith of Theocracy: The first, "Angel in the Ashes", was released in 2016, and featured contributions from McHenry, Smith, Rob Rock, Daísa Munhoz of Vandroya and Soulspell, and Vasilis Georgiou and Gus Drax of Sunburst and Black Fate.[16] The second, "And the Rest is a Mystery" was released in 2020, and featured McHenry, Smith, Daniel Heiman of Lost Horizon, Harmony, and Heed, Neal Morse of Spock's Beard and Transatlantic, and Ernie Topran and Val Allen Wood of Theocracy.[17]
In addition to singing, McHenry plays the piano, keyboards, and some guitar, and teaches herself Celtic harp.[3][18] McHenry is married and has five children whom she homeschools.[3][19] She fits her music career around her family commitments, which is partly why she has not yet gone on a concert tour.[3][20] In addition to her recording career, she also founded a music instruction and marketing company, Savvy Musician Academy, in 2015,[21][22] and is the CEO and product developer of fantasy and folklore inspired candles at Mythologie Candles.[4][23]
McHenry is from the Vancouver area of British Columbia, Canada, and has English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry.[2][3][4] Around age 10 or 11, she started singing in her home.[3][5] According to McHenry, she mimicked the singing of others — Jim Morrison, Mariah Carey, Tori Amos, it did not matter — until she developed her own style.[5] She eventually taught herself piano and joined the band Ashur, which toured locally and released an EP.[3] She also taught herself a limited amount of guitar.[5] She released her first solo album, Of Earth & Angels, in December 2012, and performed her first live show that same month.[3][6] She also released a three-track Christmas EP that December.[3] In 2013, she released the EP Otherworld.[7] Eric Peterson contributed to the single "Dreamland" from the EP.[2][7] In January 2015, she released her second studio album, Kings & Queens. Contributing to the album were Timo Somers of Delain and Vengeance, Sander Zoer of Delain, and Barend Courbois of Blind Guardian and Vengeance.[8][9][10] In December of the same year, she and Peterson collaborated on the single "Winter Sun", enlisting the help of the rest of the Dragonlord band line-up and some touring members of Testament to round-out the recording.[11] In 2017, she released "The Dragonborn Comes", a cover version of Jeremy Soule's "Dragonborn" from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Dragonborn video game expansion.[6] Her third studio album, The Quest, was released on October 5, 2018.[12] The recording featured previous collaborators Somers, Courbois, and Zoer, along with Troy Donockley of Nightwish and Chen Balbus of Orphaned Land.[13] On November 15, 2019, she released Ancient Winter, a Christmas album and her fourth album overall. The album featured more instrumentation from McHenry herself and included contributions from Donockley, Anna Murphy of Cellar Darling and Eluveitie, Shar-Ran Yinon of Eluveitie and Epica, and Rupert Gillett.[14][15] She also participated in two charity singles by Project Aegis, a charity project organized by Matt Smith of Theocracy: The first, "Angel in the Ashes", was released in 2016, and featured contributions from McHenry, Smith, Rob Rock, Daísa Munhoz of Vandroya and Soulspell, and Vasilis Georgiou and Gus Drax of Sunburst and Black Fate.[16] The second, "And the Rest is a Mystery" was released in 2020, and featured McHenry, Smith, Daniel Heiman of Lost Horizon, Harmony, and Heed, Neal Morse of Spock's Beard and Transatlantic, and Ernie Topran and Val Allen Wood of Theocracy.[17]
In addition to singing, McHenry plays the piano, keyboards, and some guitar, and teaches herself Celtic harp.[3][18] McHenry is married and has five children whom she homeschools.[3][19] She fits her music career around her family commitments, which is partly why she has not yet gone on a concert tour.[3][20] In addition to her recording career, she also founded a music instruction and marketing company, Savvy Musician Academy, in 2015,[21][22] and is the CEO and product developer of fantasy and folklore inspired candles at Mythologie Candles.[4][23]
