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

, 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 ...

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.
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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