Leah McHenry,

mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...

ously known as Leah (pronounced ) (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 Enya Patricia Brennan (; ga, Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin; born 17 May 1961), known professionally by the mononym Enya, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician known for modern Celtic music. She is the best-selling Irish solo arti ...

of heavy metal", she performs a mixture of symphonic and

Celtic metal Celtic metal is a subgenre of folk metal that developed in the 1990s in Ireland. The genre is a fusion of heavy metal and Celtic rock. The early pioneers of the genre were the Irish bands Cruachan, Primordial and Waylander. The genre has since ...

with

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

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 Eric Neal Peterson (born October 2, 1946) is a Canadian stage, television, and film actor, known for his roles in three major Canadian series – '' Street Legal'' (1987–1994), '' Corner Gas'' (2004–2009), and '' This is Wonderland'' ...

of Testament and Dragonlord, Timo Somers from

Delain Delain is a Dutch symphonic metal band formed in 2002 by former Within Temptation keyboardist Martijn Westerholt, intending for the band to be solely a project. Singer Charlotte Wessels was invited to join in 2005. The name of the band comes fr ...

and Vengeance, Sander Zoer from Delain, Barend Courbois from

Blind Guardian Blind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in 1984 in Krefeld, West Germany. They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres.Troy Donockley Troy Donockley (born 30 May 1964) is an English composer and multi-instrumentalist most known for his playing of Uilleann pipes. Having performed with many artists as a session player, he is most notable as a member of Finnish symphonic metal ba ...

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.

Biography

McHenry is from the Vancouver area of British Columbia, Canada, and has

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, and Scottish ancestry. Around age 10 or 11, she started singing in her home. According to McHenry, she mimicked the singing of others —

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredictable and err ...

, Mariah Carey,

Tori Amos Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos; August 22, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. She is a classically trained musician with a mezzo-soprano vocal range. Having already begun composing instrumental pieces on piano, Amos won a full ...

, it did not matter — until she developed her own style. She eventually taught herself piano and joined the band Ashur, which toured locally and released an EP. She also taught herself a limited amount of guitar. She released her first solo album, ''Of Earth & Angels'', in December 2012, and performed her first live show that same month. She also released a three-track Christmas EP that December. In 2013, she released the EP ''Otherworld''. Eric Peterson contributed to the single "Dreamland" from the EP. In January 2015, she released her second studio album, ''Kings & Queens''. Contributing to the album were Timo Somers of

and Vengeance, Sander Zoer of Delain, and Barend Courbois of

Blind Guardian Blind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in 1984 in Krefeld, West Germany. They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres. 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. In 2017, she released "The Dragonborn Comes", a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Jeremy Soule Jeremy Soule (; born December 19, 1975) is an American composer of soundtracks for film, television, and video games. He has composed soundtracks for over 60 games and over a dozen other works during his career, including ''The Elder Scrolls'', ' ...

's " Dragonborn" from '' The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Dragonborn'' video game expansion. Her third studio album, ''The Quest'', was released on October 5, 2018. The recording featured previous collaborators Somers, Courbois, and Zoer, along with

Troy Donockley Troy Donockley (born 30 May 1964) is an English composer and multi-instrumentalist most known for his playing of Uilleann pipes. Having performed with many artists as a session player, he is most notable as a member of Finnish symphonic metal ba ...

of Nightwish and Chen Balbus of

Orphaned Land Orphaned Land is an Israeli heavy metal band, formed in 1991 under the name Resurrection (changing their name in 1992 to the current name), that combines Israeli Jewish, Mizrahi, and other West Asian influences. They are considered the pioneer ...

. On November 15, 2019, she released ''Ancient Winter'', a

Christmas album Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...

and her fourth album overall. The album featured more instrumentation from McHenry herself and included contributions from Donockley, Anna Murphy of

Cellar Darling Cellar Darling are a three-piece Swiss progressive metal band from Winterthur and Lucerne, founded in 2016. The group was formed by Anna Murphy (vocals, hurdy-gurdy, flute), Merlin Sutter (drums) and Ivo Henzi (guitars and bass). Cellar Darlin ...

and

Eluveitie Eluveitie ( ; )Chrigel Glanzmann: "...According to current research, it is pronounced in Bernese German as, i.e. ''"Elvèyti"''. But I don't know if this is correct. The gods know that.:: Metalist Magazine :: Interviews :: Eluveitie is a Swiss f ...

, Shar-Ran Yinon of Eluveitie and

Epica Epica or EPICA may refer to: * Epica (band), a Dutch symphonic metal band * ''Epica'' (Kamelot album), 2003 * ''Epica'' (Audiomachine album), 2012 * The European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA) * The Epica Awards (International Adver ...

, and Rupert Gillett. She also participated in two charity singles by Project Aegis, a charity project organized by Matt Smith of

Theocracy Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs. Etymology The word theocracy originates fr ...

: The first, "Angel in the Ashes", was released in 2016, and featured contributions from McHenry, Smith,

Rob Rock Robert Rock (born June 29, 1959) is an American heavy metal singer who is best known as the longtime frontman of Impellitteri, a position he has held from 1987 to 1988, 1992 to 2000, and now from 2008 to the present day. Rock has also released ...

, Daísa Munhoz of Vandroya and Soulspell, and Vasilis Georgiou and Gus Drax of Sunburst and Black Fate. The second, "And the Rest is a Mystery" was released in 2020, and featured McHenry, Smith, Daniel Heiman of

Lost Horizon ''Lost Horizon'' is a 1933 novel by English writer James Hilton. The book was turned into a film, also called '' Lost Horizon'', in 1937 by director Frank Capra. It is best remembered as the origin of Shangri-La, a fictional utopian lamas ...

, Harmony, and

Heed Heed or HEED may refer to: People * Anneli Heed (born 1978), Swedish stand-up comedian impersonator and voice actress * John Clifford Heed (1862–1908), American composer and musician * Jonas Heed (born 1967), Swedish former professional ice ho ...

Neal Morse Neal Morse (born August 2, 1960) is an American singer, musician and composer based in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1992, he formed the progressive rock band Spock's Beard with his brother Alan and released an album which was moderately successful. ...

Spock's Beard Spock's Beard is an American progressive rock band formed in Los Angeles. The band was formed in 1992 by brothers Neal (lead vocals, keyboards) and Alan Morse (vocals, guitars), John Ballard (bass) and Nick D'Virgilio (drums). Ballard was r ...

and

Transatlantic Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film) ...

, and Ernie Topran and Val Allen Wood of Theocracy. In addition to singing, McHenry plays the piano, keyboards, and some guitar, and teaches herself

Celtic harp The Celtic harp is a triangular frame harp traditional to the Celtic nations of northwest Europe. It is known as in Irish, in Scottish Gaelic, in Breton and in Welsh. In Ireland and Scotland, it was a wire-strung instrument requiring grea ...

. McHenry is married and has five children whom she homeschools. She fits her music career around her family commitments, which is partly why she has not yet gone on a concert tour. In addition to her recording career, she also founded a music instruction and marketing company, Savvy Musician Academy, in 2015, and is the CEO and product developer of fantasy and folklore inspired candles at Mythologie Candles.

Musical style and influences

Sometimes referred to as "the metal

", McHenry has, in addition to Enya, been compared to

Loreena McKennitt Loreena Isobel Irene McKennitt, (born February 17, 1957) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer who writes, records, and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern influences. McKennitt is known for her r ...

Hayley Westenra Hayley Dee Westenra (born 10 April 1987) is a New Zealand classical crossover singer and songwriter. Her first internationally released album, ''Pure'', reached number one on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million c ...

Liv Kristine Liv Kristine Espenæs (born 14 February 1976) is a Norwegian singer who has performed and composed songs mostly for various subgenres of heavy metal music. She started her career in the music industry as a vocalist for the gothic metal band Thea ...

and Kristine's band

Leaves' Eyes Leaves' Eyes is a symphonic metal band from Germany and Norway. They were formed in 2003 by Liv Kristine, formerly the lead singer of Theatre of Tragedy, and the entire line-up of Atrocity. To date, the band has released eight studio albums, a ...

, Sharon Den Adel,

Moya Brennan Moya Brennan (born Máire Philomena Ní Bhraonáin on 4 August 1952), also known as Máire Brennan, is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist. She is the sister of the musical artist known as Enya. She began performing pr ...

(a sister of Enya),

, and Blackmore's Night. Her genre is described as symphonic and

mixed with

and world music, as well as

folk metal Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for exampl ...

, world music, gothic metal, gothic rock,

symphonic gothic metal Symphonic metal is a cross-generic style designation for the symphonic subsets of heavy metal music subgenres. It is used to denote any metal band that makes use of symphonic or orchestral elements. The style features the heavy drums and guitar ...

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...

, and symphonic power metal, with

progressive metal Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

, and Middle Eastern influences. On ''Ancient Winter'', she shifted away from symphonic metal further into

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers s ...

and world music, including medieval music. During her childhood, she listened to

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

and

choir music A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

as well as blues and

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

, such as Jimi Hendrix and

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...

. In her teens she discovered metal music, starting with Dream Theater and then bands such as

Symphony X Symphony X is an American progressive metal band from Middletown, New Jersey. Founded in 1994, the band consists of guitarist Michael Romeo, keyboardist Michael Pinnella, drummer Jason Rullo, lead vocalist Russell Allen and bassist Micha ...

and Nightwish. She considers her discovery of Celtic music and then European symphonic metal to be when she musically found where she belonged. She credits her focus on Celtic music and music of the Middle East evoking the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

eras to listening to Loreena McKennitt and Enya, as well as her Celtic ancestry, specifically Irish and Scottish.
English version
Other influences on McHenry include Jesse Cook, Enya, early Lacuna Coil, early

Within Temptation Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic metal band founded in April 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. They have been classified by critics as gothic metal and symphonic metal, although each album contains other inf ...

, "old school"

After Forever After Forever was a Dutch symphonic metal band with strong progressive metal influences. The band relied on the use of both soprano vocals and death growls. In February 2009, it was announced that After Forever had disbanded. Singer Floor Jans ...

Devin Townsend Devin Garrett Townsend (born May 5, 1972) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He founded extreme metal band Strapping Young Lad and was its primary songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist from 1994 to 2007. He has also ...

, Nightwish, and

Clannad Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including ...

Lyrical themes and ideology

McHenry's lyrics and thematic imagery mostly involve fantasy, folklore, and mythology with a

medieval European In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire an ...

and Insular Celtic focus. Many of her songs include water and ocean themes, and she sometimes sings in other languages such as Irish Gaelic and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. McHenry is a Christian, but does not consider her music a ministry or associate with the

Christian music Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely aroun ...

market, and does not explicitly write Christian themes in her music.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Of Earth & Angels'' - 2012 * ''Kings & Queens'' - 2015 *''The Quest'' - 2018 *''Ancient Winter'' - 2019

Extended plays

*''Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence'' - 2012 * ''Otherworld'' - 2013

Singles

* " Veni Veni Emmanuel (O Come, O Come, Emmanuel)" - 2011 *"Remember (radio edge mix)" - 2012 *"

Silent Night "Silent Night" (german: "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht", links=no, italic=no) is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an ...

" - 2012 *"Matters of the Heart" - 2012 *"We Will Go Home" ( cover, from ''King Arthur'') - 2013 *" Here's a Health to the Company" - 2013 *"Dreamland" (featuring

) - 2013 *"Enter the Highlands" - 2014 *"This Present Darkness" - 2015 *"Unbreakable" (

Stratovarius Stratovarius is a Finnish power metal band that formed in 1985. Since their formation, they have released sixteen studio albums, five DVDs and six live albums. In its history, the band has gone through many chaotic lineup changes, and after fo ...

cover) - 2015 *"

While Your Lips Are Still Red "While Your Lips Are Still Red" is a 2007 song written by Tuomas Holopainen and Marko Hietala of the Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. It was performed by Holopainen, Hietala, and Jukka Nevalainen for the Finnish film '' The Matriarch'' ...

" ( Nightwish cover) - 2015 *"Red (Remembrance for the Brave)" ( Ten cover) - 2015 *"Winter Sun" (with Eric Peterson) - 2015 *" The Dragonborn Comes" (

cover, from '' The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'') - 2017 *"Elixir of Life" - 2017 *"Edge of Your Sword" - 2018 *"Lion Arises" - 2018 *"Redemption" - 2019 *"Light of the World" - 2019 *"Sanctuary" - 2020 *"Sleeping Giant" (featuring

Mark Jansen Mark Jansen (born 15 December 1978) is a Dutch guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. A prominent figure in the symphonic metal subgenre, he is known for his work with the bands After Forever (1995–2002), Epica (2002–present), and MaYaN (2010� ...

) - 2022

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
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