Tag Archives: LEAH

Celtic Metal Goddess LEAH Releases “Archangel” Single

Featuring Special Guests Timo Somers & Sander Zoer

“Archangel was a really fun song to write and came easily and naturally. It’s one of those songs that felt like it wrote itself. It’s a song about the more ominous side of angelic warfare and the interaction between humans and the realm beyond. I hope everyone enjoys the concept and the music!” – LEAH

 Stream “Archangel”

"Archangel" single artwork
“Archangel” single artwork

Record-Breaking Crowdfunding Campaign Raises $83,000+ for 6th Album, The Glory and the Fallen, Dropping February 16th

Pre-order LEAH’s sixth album, The Glory and the Fallen now. Dropping February 16th, this much-anticipated, crowdfunded new release will feature a who’s who of renowned musicians with appearances from Mark Jansen (Epica, MaYaN), Timo Somers (Arjen Lucassen, Ex Delain), Sander Zoer (Delain), and was produced by Oliver Philipps (Everon, Phantasma). The amazing artwork was created by Giannis Nakos (Kamelot, Evergrey, Amaranthe.)

The Glory and the Fallen album artwork
‘The Glory and the Fallen’ album artwork by Giannis Nakos

Pre-Order Vinyl, CD, 3 Disc Digipak, Hoodies & Bundles Now!

Pre-orders for ‘THE GLORY AND THE FALLEN’ Collection: Vinyl, CD, 3 Disc Digipak, Hoodies & Bundles

'The Glory and the Fallen' vinyls
‘The Glory and the Fallen’ vinyls – Dream Sea Voyage 2 LP Gatefold

LEAH shares, “This is one of my biggest projects to date. Not only because there were more people involved, but also because of the scope of the music itself and the way I challenged myself in the songwriting process, and vocally. I think you’ll hear a continuation of my evolution as a songwriter and vocalist. This collection of songs is very much the classic LEAH sound but also explores some new territory that I think you’ll really enjoy.” 

In a gallant move, LEAH will also be treating fans to an instrumental album and folk versions of several songs from the album, providing a full experience for a wide range of musical tastes.

The Glory and the Fallen

ALBUM CREDITS:

  • All songs written by Leah McHenry
  • Mixed & mastered by Tom Müller | Flatliners Studio
  • Produced by Oliver Philipps
  • Vocal Arrangements by Leah McHenry & Oliver Philipps 
  • Artwork & layout by Giannis Nakos

LINE UP:

  • Lead vocals & keys: Leah McHenry
  • Guitars & Bass: Timo Somers
  • Drums: Sander Zoer
  • Orchestrations, programming, additional keyboard & guitars: Oliver Philipps

GUEST APPEARANCES:

  • Harsh vocals on “Sleeping Giant” & “Unshakable”: Mark Jansen
  • Flutes & pipes on “Victory” & “Dream Voyage”: Dagda (Celtibeerian) 
  • Vocals on “Unshakable”: Elektra, Victory, Geneva (Leah’s daughters)
  • Vocals on “Victory”: Oliver Philipps & Timo Somers
  • Vocals on “Revive”: Syr

About LEAH

LEAH press photo
LEAH

Throughout her trajectory, LEAH’s music has featured such notables as Troy Donockley (Nightwish), Eric Peterson (Testament), Barend Courbois (Blind Guardian), Chen Balbus (Orphaned Land), and Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Amaranthe, Evergrey). She also joined Eric Peterson’s DRAGONLORD for its 2018 studio album Dominion and has participated in the charity group Project Aegis.

Her genre is “Celtic fantasy metal,” and her albums could easily serve as the soundtracks for shows like Game of Thrones or Vikings. Her fans refer to her as the “metal Enya,” and she embodies the archetype of the “warrior queen” to thousands of dedicated listeners around the world.

In addition to the upcoming The Glory and the Fallen, LEAH’s discography includes five previously released albums: Of Earth and Angels (2012), Otherworld (2013), Kings & Queens (2015), The Quest (2018), and Ancient Winter (2019), each a rapturous blend of a symphonic metal style carefully spiced with Celtic, folk, and fantasy. Her emotive vocals are often compared to Loreena McKennitt, Tori Amos, and Sarah McLachlan.

LEAH Discography

Fans and media outlets can also explore Leah’s captivating music on Spotify and Bandcamp, where her distinctive blend of Celtic and symphonic metal can be experienced firsthand. Available to buy from the LEAH shop.

LEAH online:

Celtic Vocalist Leah to Release “Ancient Winter” Winter-Themed Album on November 15

After a crowdfunding campaign that far exceeded the goal, symphonic/Celtic vocal goddess Leah has revealed that her upcoming winter-themed album, Ancient Winter, will officially see release on November 15.

Says Leah, “Now that the crowdfunding campaign is complete, I’m really excited to focus on the release of this album in November. My closest colleagues have told me this album might be some of my best work yet. Regardless, I hope this new music will make the coming winter season much more magical.”

Ancient Winter features eight tracks – five of which are originals and three traditional century medieval songs that Leah puts her own unique touch on. The album offers a slight departure from Leah‘s traditional symphonic metal into a more atmospheric, ethereal sound. It is a more earthy sounding album filled with new instrumentation such as fiddles and uilleann pipes, which give it a beautiful harmony of middle eastern feeling and Celtic folk and fantasy. Ancient Winter proves Leah‘s ability to venture into musical realms beyond metal.

Ancient Winter represents a new approach to holiday music as it celebrates winter themes in a way that is sure to give it a wider appeal. This is not simply a “Christmas album” but rather an emotional journey into transcendent ideals that will inspire any listener from anywhere.

Ancient Winter Tracklisting:

The Whole World Summons
Light of the World
Upon Your Destiny
Redemption
The Messenger
Gaudete
Puer Natus
Noël Nouvelet

For Ancient Winter, Leah tapped a top-notch talent cast of musicians, including Troy Donockley (Nightwish), Anna Murphy (Cellar Darling), Shir-Ran Yinon (Eluveitie), Oliver Philipps (Everon, Phantasma) and renowned string musician Rupert Gillett. This diverse lineup adds an international flavor to the album alongside Leah‘s beautiful vocals.

A variety of bundle packages will be available soon HERE. Watch the lyric video for “Redemption,” the first single from Ancient Winter, HERE:

About Leah:

Leah has amassed a generous and dedicated fanbase that has allowed her to crowdfund three of her five recordings without the assistance of a record label. Leah‘s first four albums, Of Earth and Angels (2012), Otherworld (2013), Kings & Queens (2015), and The Quest (2018) are a rapturous blend of a symphonic metal style carefully spiced with Celtic, folk and fantasy. Her emotive vocals are often compared to Loreena McKennitt, Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan.

Leah – described affectionately by her fans as “the metal Enya” – hails from the coast of British Columbia, Canada, and is inspired by Celtic and world music influences such as Clannad and Enya to European symphonic and progressive metal influences. Her debut self-released album Of Earth & Angels received international critical acclaim, including landing the “The Best Symphonic Metal AlbumMetalstorm Award for 2012. Her 2013 release, Otherworld, is a five-song Celtic-metal masterpiece, mixed by ChristianMoschusMoos at SPACELAB in Germany (Delain, Everon, Imperia) and features the vocals of guitar legend Eric Peterson (Testament/Dragonlord) on the ethereal metal track “Dreamland.” 2014 was very successful year for Leah as she raised over $27,000 through Indiegogo via her fans to record and produce her heaviest album, Kings & Queens, which was eventually released in early 2015 through Inner Wound Recordings. The album received dozens of four and five-star reviews, and helped her gain thousands of new fans around the world. Leah raised over $87,000 in 30 days via Indiegogo and her shop to launch last year’s The Quest, again released via her own independent record label, Ex Cathedra Records, along with Inner Wound Recordings. The Quest received 5-star reviews and critical acclaim.

Leah Online:

Website | Facebook | YouTube
Instagram | Twitter



Celtic Metal Vocalist LEAH Reveals Powerful New Track, “Edge of Your Sword”, Featuring Members of Delain, Orphaned Land and Blind Guardian

Symphonic/Celtic vocalist LEAH – described affectionately by her fans as “the metal Enya” – recently announced the release of her upcoming full-length album, The Quest, out Friday, October 5. The album features a stronger Celtic and Fantasy connection in comparison to her previous release, Kings & Queens, as well as prog rock elements and ethereal ambiance, combined with traditional symphonic metal elements. The album is available for pre-order HERE

Today, LEAH is pleased to reveal a new track from The Quest, entitled “Edge of Your Sword“.

Check out the brand new lyric video HERE

LEAH says about the track: “This track was interesting to write… it was inspired by a mood, more than anything else – medieval rock vibes with a bit of spice. I hope those vibes get passed onto the listener! Some of that spice is attributed to Chen Balbus (Orphaned Land) who added the middle eastern saz on the track, which gave it a really cool and unexpected flavour! Also on the track is Barend Courbois (Blind Guardian) playing bass, Timo Somers (Delain) playing rhythm guitars (with an epic solo!), and Sander Zoer (ex-Delain) on Drums and percussion. Oliver Philipps (Everon, Phantasma) added a ton of orchestration which really beefed the whole sound up.

My part in it was composing the song, playing a lot of the keys, harps, synths, arrangements, lyrics, and of course vocals. I was actually scared out of my mind about that high note in the last chorus! I knew I could technically execute it, but was mentally blocked for some time about it. I had to do weird things in the vocal booth to overcome my vocal mental block, such as drawing an arrow pointing down on a piece of paper that I could look at, also using physical gestures when I went to sing it, such as pointing to the ground with my hands. The reason is because when you go to sing a high note, most singers tend to tense up and squeeze their vocal chords up, which make a horrible tone and tense up the voice. So, to overcome that default tendency, I had to convince my brain that I was actually singing lower and it would get easier, not harder. And when that note came out, it actually was a piece of cake! Amazing how the mind works!”

 

Hear a sample of more new music from The Quest HERE

 

LEAH is recognized in the music world for her work with established heavy metal musicians such as Eric Peterson of Testament and Dragonlord, Timo Somers of Delain, Troy Donockly of Nightwish and many others. To date, LEAH has released three albums, Of Earth & Angels [2012], Otherworld [2013], and Kings & Queens [2015], as well as several viral videos. Her latest video features an ethereal cover of “The Dragonborn Comes“, the main theme from the massive video game Skyrim. The video has racked up 5.3 million views on Facebook and nearly 600,000 views on YouTube to date.

As mentioned in her comment above, in addition to LEAH‘s own vocals, keys, and orchestrations on The Quest, the album features an impressive international cast of guest musicians – including Troy Donockley of Nightwish on pipes and flutes, Barend Courbois of Blind Guardian on bass guitar, Timo Somers of Delain on rhythm and lead guitars, Sander Zoer formerly of Delain on drums and percussion and Chen Balbus of Orphaned Land on Middle Eastern Saz and Oud. The album features mixing and mastering from Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Epica, Amaranthe), as well as orchestration, arrangement and production from Oliver Philipps (Everon, Phantasma, Delain).

I am totally delighted to work with the guest musicians on this album. Each and every individual is an expert at what they do, and I only wanted the best for these songs, as we were developing toward a very specific sound, which was a rock/metal album with a Celtic and fantasy twist,” says LEAH. “This album was truly an international effort!

LEAH The Quest album art by Jan Yrlund
The Quest art by Jan Yrlund (Tina Guo, Apocalyptica, Manowar)

The Quest track listing:

1. The Quest
2. Edge of Your Sword
3. Lion Arises
4. Heir
5. Ruins of Illusion
6. Labyrinth
7. Abyss
8. Oblivion (Between Two Worlds)
9. Ghost Upon a Throne
10. The Water Is Wide

 

About LEAH:

LEAH is a fan-described “Celtic vocal goddess” hailing from the coast of British Columbia, Canada, and is inspired by Celtic and world music influences such as Clannad and Enya to European symphonic and progressive metal influences. Her debut self-released album Of Earth & Angels received international critical acclaim, including landing the “The Best Symphonic Metal AlbumMetalstorm Award for 2012. Her 2013 release, Otherworld, is a five-song Celtic-metal masterpiece, mixed by ChristianMoschusMoos at SPACELAB in Germany (Delain, Everon, Imperia) and features the vocals of guitar legend Eric Peterson (Testament/Dragonlord) on the ethereal metal track “Dreamland“. 2014 was very successful year for LEAH as she raised over $27,000 through Indiegogo via her fans to record and produce her heaviest album, Kings & Queens, which was eventually released in early 2015 through Inner Wound Recordings. The album received dozens of four and five-star reviews, and helped her gain thousands of new fans around the world.

Most recently, LEAH raised over $87,000 in 30 days via Indiegogo and her shop to launch The Quest, again released via her own independent record label, Ex Cathedra Records, along with Inner Wound Recordings. Already, The Quest is receiving 5-star reviews and critical acclaim. Her fans have never been more loyal and excited for fantasy-inspired symphonic metal!

LEAH Online:

Website | Facebook | Youtube
Instagram | Twitter