Michelle Meldrum (September 28, 1968 – May 21, 2008) was an American
hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
guitarist known for being a member of the bands
Phantom Blue and
Meldrum
Meldrum was a multinational heavy metal band formed by ex- Phantom Blue guitarist Michelle Meldrum.
History
American guitarist Michelle Meldrum started her first band Wargod with Strapping Young Lad drummer Gene Hoglan, later going on to f ...
.
Biography
Meldrum was born in
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
, to a family of musicians and actors (grandfather Thomas Hubbard and Great Uncle
Elbert Hubbard
Elbert Green Hubbard (June 19, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher. Raised in Hudson, Illinois, he had early success as a traveling salesman for the Larkin Soap Company. Hubbard is known best as the ...
). The family moved to
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
when she was 13. She started playing guitar at age 14.
Uli Jon Roth
Uli Jon Roth (born Ulrich Roth; 18 December 1954) is a German guitarist who became famous for his work with the hard rock band Scorpions and is one of the earliest contributors to the neoclassical metal genre. He is also the founder of Sky Aca ...
and
Michael Schenker
Michael Schenker (born 10 January 1955) is a German guitarist. He played in the rock band UFO and leads the Michael Schenker Group. He was an early member of the hard rock band Scorpions, a band co-founded by his elder brother Rudolf Schenker. ...
were her main influences after listening to albums such as the
Scorpions
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...
' 1976 album ''
Virgin Killer''. Her first move was forming
thrash metal
Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...
band Wargod with later
Dark Angel,
Death
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
and
Strapping Young Lad
Strapping Young Lad was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver in 1994. The band started as a one-man studio project; Townsend played most of the instruments on the 1995 debut album, ''Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing' ...
drummer
Gene Hoglan
Eugene Victor Hoglan II (born August 31, 1967) is an American drummer, acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including use of abstract devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms. Though his pla ...
, then moving on to become both co-founder and
lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...
ist in
Phantom Blue, an all-female
heavy metal band. Phantom Blue released their
self-titled debut album on
Shrapnel Records
Shrapnel Records is an American record label founded in 1980 by record producer Mike Varney.
History
Guitarist Marty Friedman (formerly of Megadeth and Cacophony), one of the label's most successful artists, first appeared on the album ''Unsu ...
in the US (
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock bands. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City.
History
The label was launched in 1980 in t ...
in Europe and Japan, and on to a major label deal with
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint.
Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...
). The band toured internationally with much success.
Meldrum married
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
guitarist
John Norum
John Norum (born 23 February 1964) is a Norwegian-Swedish guitarist and one of the founders of the rock band Europe. Concurrent to his role with Europe, he also maintains a career as a solo artist.
Biography
As an infant, Norum moved with his p ...
in 1995 and they moved to Sweden, where she went on to form
Meldrum
Meldrum was a multinational heavy metal band formed by ex- Phantom Blue guitarist Michelle Meldrum.
History
American guitarist Michelle Meldrum started her first band Wargod with Strapping Young Lad drummer Gene Hoglan, later going on to f ...
, a multi-national hard rock band. In 2005, Meldrum toured for three months with
Zakk Wylde
Zachary Phillip Wylde (born Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt; January 14, 1967) is an American musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and as the founder, lead guitarist, lead singer, songwriter and producer of the heavy meta ...
's
Black Label Society
Black Label Society is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1998 by guitarist/singer Zakk Wylde. To date, the band has released eleven studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, one EP, and three vide ...
, appearing in sold out venues across the US and Europe. In the fall of 2005, Meldrum joined
Motörhead
Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...
as special guests on their 30th anniversary tour throughout Europe. Meldrum has also toured with
Sepultura
Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera,Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. the band was a major force in the groove metal, thra ...
,
Danzig and
Nashville Pussy
Nashville Pussy is an American rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. Initially called Hell's Half-Acre, the band's name comes from Ted Nugent's introduction to "Wang Dang Sweet Poontang" on the '' Double Live Gonzo'' album.
Following the initial ...
, among others. In addition, she performed with her former Phantom Blue bandmate
Linda McDonald
Linda McDonald is an American musician best known as the drummer of the all-female tribute band The Iron Maidens (billed as the "World's Only Female Tribute to Iron Maiden"). In addition, she was a member of the Ozzy Osbourne tribute band Th ...
and
The Iron Maidens
The Iron Maidens are an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 2001 as an all-female tribute act to English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The band currently consists of drummer Linda McDonald, bassist Wanda Ortiz, lead vocalist ...
on a handful of gigs in late 2006.
Death
Michelle fell into a coma on May 18, 2008, and died three days later on May 21 due to complications of a
cyst
A cyst is a closed sac, having a distinct envelope and cell division, division compared with the nearby Biological tissue, tissue. Hence, it is a cluster of Cell (biology), cells that have grouped together to form a sac (like the manner in which ...
ic growth on her brain that had restricted the oxygen and blood flow, rendering her brain-dead. She was 39 years old. She is survived by her parents, her husband John Norum and their son, Jake Thomas.
Meldrum had just completed writing and recording a new album at the time, which the surviving band members released in 2009 in tribute to her.
The band, along with the surviving members of Phantom Blue, participated in a benefit concert at
Whisky a Go Go
The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed "the Whisky") is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boul ...
in Hollywood, California, on May 26, 2009, in memory of Michelle.
The Iron Maidens Forums – Phantom Blue Reunion Show on May 26, 2009.
/ref>
Discography
Wargod
* ''1985 demo''
* ''1986 demo''
* ''Thrash Metal Attack compilation''
* ''Speed Metal Hell Vol. 2 compilation''
* ''Metal Massacre 8 compilation''
Post Mortem
* ''Post Mortem'' (EP)
Phantom Blue
* '' Phantom Blue'' (1989)
* '' Built to Perform'' (1993)
* "My Misery" (4-track CD-single)
* '' Prime Cuts & Glazed Donuts'' (1995)
Meldrum
* ''Loaded Mental Cannon
''Loaded Mental Cannon'' is the debut album by the heavy metal band Meldrum. Guest appearances on the album include Brian Robertson (formerly of Thin Lizzy), Marcel Jacob (of Talisman) and founder/guitarist Michelle Meldrum's husband John Norum ...
'' (2002)
* ''Blowin' Up the Machine
''Blowin' Up the Machine'' is the second album by the Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Meldrum, featuring a modified lineup compared to that of their 2001 debut ''Loaded Mental Cannon''. The album features a guest appearance by Motörhead vocal ...
'' (2007)
* ''Lifer'' (2009)
References
External links
Meldrum Rocks MySpace
Michelle Meldrum MySpace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meldrum, Michelle
1968 births
2008 deaths
American heavy metal guitarists
20th-century American guitarists
Guitarists from Detroit
20th-century American women guitarists
21st-century American women
Women in metal
Phantom Blue members