Veronica Freeman (born December 17, 1977), also known by her stage name "The V", is an American singer and the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band

Benedictum Benedictum is an American heavy metal band formed in 2005 in San Diego, California that now resides in Phoenix, Arizona. Their current lineup consists of vocalist Veronica Freeman, guitarist Pete Wells, bassist Aric Avina, and drummer Rikard S ...

. Her most recent album with Benedictum is ''

Obey Obey may refer to: *Obedience (human behavior), the act of following instructions or recognizing someone's authority * Obey (surname) * ''Obey'' (Brainbombs album), a 1995 album by the Swedish band Brainbombs * ''Obey'' (Axis of Advance album), a ...

'', released through

Frontiers Records Frontiers Music – formerly Frontiers Records – is an Italian record label, predominantly producing hard rock. It was founded in 1996 by Serafino Perugino and is based in Naples. History In 1996, Serafino Perugino started working in the m ...

in 2013. In 2015, she released her first solo album, ''Now or Never'', which includes two songs written and produced by

Stryper Stryper is an American Christian metal band from Orange County, California. The group's lineup consists of Michael Sweet (lead vocals, guitar), Oz Fox (guitar), Perry Richardson (bass guitar), and Robert Sweet (drums). Formed in 1983 as Roxx ...

frontman,

Michael Sweet Michael Harrison Sweet (born July 4, 1963) is a singer and guitarist from Whittier, California; he is the co-founder, songwriter, guitarist and lead singer of the Christian metal band Stryper. He's also had a successful solo career, and briefly ...

Biography

When she was introduced to metal she felt in love with the power and the energy of it and was encouraged to try singing by her longtime friend

Craig Goldy Thomas "Craig" Goldy (born November 6, 1961) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist of the rock bands Dio and Giuffria. Early musical life Goldy was born in San Diego, California. Before Dio, he played in the bands Vengeance, R ...

. Freeman and

Pete Wells Pete Wells is the restaurant critic for ''The New York Times''. He has held the position since November 2011, succeeding Sam Sifton. Wells was adopted as an infant and grew up in Rhode Island. He lives in Brooklyn and is married to the novelist ...

became close friends and she has said that there is something about his playing that inspires her to this day. They started writing together and were in a few bands together, including Medusa and the Malady. They felt that after playing quite a few local shows in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

that it was time to move forward and see what they could do musically on a new level and that is when they embarked on the project that is now

. With some help from Craig they were introduced to the musician

Jeff Pilson Jeffrey Steven Pilson (born January 19, 1959) is an American musician best known for being the bass player in the glam metal band Dokken and currently classic rock band Foreigner. He has also had an extended stint with Dio in the 1990s. He is ...

, who helped promote the group. Freeman got married in 2007. In July 2015, Freeman as The V, will release her debut solo album, ''Now or Never'', which features numerous guest appearances including

as writer and producer on the tracks, "Again" and "Love Should Be to Blame"; Tony Martin as vocalist on "King For a Day", and Chastain vocalist,

Leather Leone Catherine Anne Leone, known professionally as Leather Leone, is an American metal vocalist, best known for fronting the groups Rude Girl and Chastain in the 1980s. She released one solo album, ''Shock Waves'', in 1989, before taking a twenty-y ...

on "Kiss My Lips".

Influences

Her influences include

Ronnie James Dio Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted and founded numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and H ...

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

Melissa Etheridge Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and its lead ...

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

and

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...

Discography

With Benedictum * '' Uncreation (2006)'' * '' Seasons of Tragedy (2008) '' * ''

Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

(2011) '' * ''

(2013) '' As The V *''Now or Never (2015)''

Albums (guest sessions)

Grave Digger * ''

Ballads of a Hangman ''Ballads of a Hangman'' is the 14th studio album by the German heavy metal band Grave Digger, and was released on 27 January 2009. It is the first Grave Digger album to feature two guitarists, the only one to feature Thilo Hermann who co-wrote ...

(2009)''

A Sound of Thunder "A Sound of Thunder" is a science fiction short story by American writer Ray Bradbury, first published in '' Collier's'' magazine in the June 28, 1952, issue and later in Bradbury's collection ''The Golden Apples of the Sun'' in 1953. Pl ...

* ''Queen of Hell (2013)'' (duet vocals on title track) Vastator * ''Machine Hell (2010)'' Lyraka * '' Lyraka Volume 1 (2010)'' * ''Lyraka Volume 2 (2012)''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Veronica 1977 births American heavy metal singers American women heavy metal singers Living people Musicians from San Diego Singers from California 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers