Michelle Meldrum
Encyclopedia
Michelle Meldrum-Norum was an American hard rock
guitar
ist known for being a member of the bands Phantom Blue
and Meldrum
.
, to a family of musicians and actors (grandfather Thomas Hubbard and Great Uncle Elbert Hubbard
). The family moved to Los Angeles, California
when she was 13. She started playing guitar at age 14. Ulrich Roth
and Michael Schenker
were her main influences after listening to albums such as the Scorpions
' 1976 album Virgin Killer
. Her first move was forming thrash metal
band Wargod with later Dark Angel
, DETHKLOK, Death and Strapping Young Lad
drummer Gene Hoglan
, then moving on to become both co-founder and lead guitar
ist in Phantom Blue
, an all-female heavy metal
band. Phantom Blue released their self-titled debut album
on Shrapnel Records
in the US (Roadrunner Records
in Europe & Japan, and on to a major label deal with Geffen Records
). The band toured internationally with much success.
Meldrum married Europe
guitarist John Norum
in 1995 and they moved to Sweden where she went on to form Meldrum
, a multi-national hard rock band. The band, fronted by Moa Holmsten's mammoth vocal style, combined aggressively melodic vocals, mind bending guitar riffs, along with a rhythm section creating fiercely bombastic grooves, giving Meldrum their unique, cutting edge sound. In 2005, Meldrum toured for three months with Zakk Wylde
's Black Label Society
, appearing in sold out venues across the US and Europe. In the fall of 2005, Meldrum joined Motörhead as special guests on their 30th anniversary tour throughout Europe. Meldrum has also toured with Sepultura
, Danzig
and Nashville Pussy
, among others. In addition, she performed with her former Phantom Blue band mate Linda McDonald
and The Iron Maidens
on a handful of gigs in late 2006.
Meldrum had just completed writing and recording a new album at the time, which the surviving band members plan to release in 2009 in tribute to her. The band, along with the surviving members of Phantom Blue, participated in a benefit concert in Hollywood, California
, on May 26, 2009 in memory of Michelle.
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist known for being a member of the bands Phantom Blue
Phantom blue
Phantom Blue was an all-female American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1987. Phantom Blue were the first and only female artists to be signed to Mike Varney's Shrapnel Records, only three months after forming....
and Meldrum
Meldrum
Meldrum is a multi-national 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 form Phantom Blue, with whom she released two albums and an EP...
.
Biography
Meldrum was born in Detroit, MichiganDetroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, to a family of musicians and actors (grandfather Thomas Hubbard and Great Uncle Elbert Hubbard
Elbert Hubbard
Elbert Green Hubbard was an American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher. Raised in Hudson, Illinois, he met early success as a traveling salesman with the Larkin soap company. Today Hubbard is mostly known as the founder of the Roycroft artisan community in East Aurora, New York, an...
). The family moved to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
when she was 13. She started playing guitar at age 14. Ulrich Roth
Ulrich Roth
Ulrich Roth , more commonly known as Uli Jon Roth, is a Germanguitarist and one of the earliest contributors to the neo-classical metal genre. He is also the founder of Sky Academy and inventor of the Sky Guitar. He is the older brother of fellow guitarist and artist Zeno Roth.-Career:In the early...
and Michael Schenker
Michael Schenker
Michael Schenker is a German rock guitarist, best known for his tenure in UFO, in addition to his solo band. He first rose to fame as a founding member of the Scorpions, then achieved fame in the mid 1970s as the lead guitar player for UFO. Since leaving UFO in 1978, he has been leading the...
were her main influences after listening to albums such as the Scorpions
Scorpions (band)
Scorpions are a heavy metal/hard rock band from Hannover, Germany, formed in 1965 by guitarist Rudolf Schenker, who is the band's only constant member. They are known for their 1980s rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and many singles, such as "No One Like You", "Send Me an Angel", "Still...
' 1976 album Virgin Killer
Virgin Killer
Virgin Killer is the fourth studio album by the German heavy metal band Scorpions. It was released in 1976 and was the first album of the band to attract attention outside Europe. The title is described as being a reference to time as the killer of innocence. The original cover featured a nude...
. Her first move was forming thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
band Wargod with later Dark Angel
Dark Angel (band)
Dark Angel was an American thrash metal band from Los Angeles, California. Their over-the-top style earned them the nickname "the L.A...
, DETHKLOK, Death and Strapping Young Lad
Strapping Young Lad
Strapping Young Lad was a Canadian extreme metal band formed by Devin Townsend in Vancouver, British Columbia, 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
Gene Hoglan
Eugene "Gene" Victor Hoglan II is an American drummer. He is acclaimed for his creativity in drum arrangements, including usage of odd devices for percussion effects and his trademark lengthy double-kick drum rhythms...
, then moving on to become both co-founder and lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
ist in Phantom Blue
Phantom blue
Phantom Blue was an all-female American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1987. Phantom Blue were the first and only female artists to be signed to Mike Varney's Shrapnel Records, only three months after forming....
, an all-female heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band. Phantom Blue released their self-titled debut album
Phantom Blue (album)
Phantom Blue is the debut album by American all-female heavy metal band Phantom Blue. It was released in the U.S. by Shrapnel Records and on the rest of the world by Roadrunner Records. Marty Friedman co-produced the album...
on Shrapnel Records
Shrapnel Records
Shrapnel Records is a guitar-oriented record label started in 1980 by record producer Mike Varney. Guitarist Marty Friedman , one of the label's most successful artists, first appeared on the album Unsung Guitar Heroes II in 1980 with the band Vixen. Vixen would later change their name to Hawaii...
in the US (Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
in Europe & Japan, and on to a major label deal with Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
). The band toured internationally with much success.
Meldrum married Europe
Europe (band)
Europe is a Swedish rock band formed in Upplands Väsby in 1979 under the name Force by vocalist Joey Tempest, guitarist John Norum and drummer Tony Reno. Although widely associated with glam metal, the band's sound incorporates heavy metal and hard rock elements...
guitarist John Norum
John Norum
John Norum is a rock music guitarist and founder of the Swedish band Europe . Concurrent to his role with Europe, he also maintains a side solo project...
in 1995 and they moved to Sweden where she went on to form Meldrum
Meldrum
Meldrum is a multi-national 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 form Phantom Blue, with whom she released two albums and an EP...
, a multi-national hard rock band. The band, fronted by Moa Holmsten's mammoth vocal style, combined aggressively melodic vocals, mind bending guitar riffs, along with a rhythm section creating fiercely bombastic grooves, giving Meldrum their unique, cutting edge sound. In 2005, Meldrum toured for three months with Zakk Wylde
Zakk Wylde
Zachary Phillip Wylde , best known by the stage name Zakk Wylde, is an American musician, songwriter, and occasional actor who is best known as the former guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and founder of the heavy metal band Black Label Society. He was the lead guitarist and vocalist in Pride & Glory,...
's Black Label Society
Black Label Society
Black Label Society is a heavy metal band formed by Zakk Wylde, with nine studio albums, one live album, two compilation albums, one EP, and three video albums released since formation of the band.-Formation and Sonic Brew :...
, appearing in sold out venues across the US and Europe. In the fall of 2005, Meldrum joined Motörhead as special guests on their 30th anniversary tour throughout Europe. Meldrum has also toured with Sepultura
Sepultura
Sepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte, formed in 1984. The band was a major force in the death metal, thrash metal and ultimately groove metal realms during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments melding nu metal, hardcore punk and industrial.Sepultura...
, Danzig
Danzig (band)
Danzig is an American heavy metal band, formed in 1987 in Lodi, New Jersey. The band serves as a musical outlet for the singer/songwriter Glenn Danzig. Danzig can be seen as the third stage in Glenn Danzig's musical career, preceded by the horror punk bands The Misfits and Samhain...
and Nashville Pussy
Nashville Pussy
Nashville Pussy is an American hard rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. Their musical style mixes boogie rock, Southern metal and psychobilly. Much of the band's lyrical themes mostly revolve around sex, drugs, drinking, fighting, and rock 'n' roll...
, among others. In addition, she performed with her former Phantom Blue band mate Linda McDonald
Linda McDonald
Linda McDonald is the drummer of the all-female tribute band The Iron Maidens . In addition, she is a member of the Ozzy Osbourne tribute band The Little Dolls and the cover bands Valley Dolls, Crabby Patty and Unholy Pink...
and The Iron Maidens
The Iron Maidens
The Iron Maidens are an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 2001 as an all-female tribute act to English heavy metal band Iron Maiden...
on a handful of gigs in late 2006.
Death
Meldrum fell into a coma on May 18, 2008 as a result of a cerebral hemorrhage. She died on May 21 due to a cystic 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. A memorial tribute benefit was arranged at Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood CA on May 26, 2009.Meldrum had just completed writing and recording a new album at the time, which the surviving band members plan to release in 2009 in tribute to her. The band, along with the surviving members of Phantom Blue, participated in a benefit concert in Hollywood, California
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
, on May 26, 2009 in memory of Michelle.
Phantom Blue
- Phantom BluePhantom Blue (album)Phantom Blue is the debut album by American all-female heavy metal band Phantom Blue. It was released in the U.S. by Shrapnel Records and on the rest of the world by Roadrunner Records. Marty Friedman co-produced the album...
(1989) - Built to PerformBuilt to PerformBuilt to Perform is the second full-length album by American heavy metal band Phantom Blue. In contrast to the first album's glam metal sound, Built to Perform displays a more raw, heavy metal sound. It also features songwriting credits by all five of the band members plus former member Nicole...
(1993) - "My Misery" (4-track CD-single)
- Prime Cuts & Glazed DonutsPrime Cuts & Glazed DonutsPrime Cuts & Glazed Donuts is a collection of previously recorded demos released by manager Mark Dawson and Linda McDonald of the American all-female heavy metal band Phantom Blue. Song writers Michelle Meldrum and Nicole Couch and bassist Kim Nielsen-Parsons were no longer in the band...
(1995)
Meldrum
- Loaded Mental CannonLoaded Mental CannonLoaded Mental Cannon is the debut album by the heavy metal band Meldrum. Guest appearances on the album include Brian Robertson , Marcel Jacob and founder/guitarist Michelle Meldrum's husband John Norum ....
(2002) - Blowin' Up the MachineBlowin' Up the MachineBlowin' Up the Machine is the second album by the heavy metal band Meldrum, featuring a modified lineup compared to that of their 2001 debut Loaded Mental Cannon...
(2007) - Lifer (2009)
External links
- Meldrum website (inactive and parked as of 2010-10-22)
- Meldrum rocks MySpace
- Michelle Meldrum MySpace
- Michelle Meldrum - Obituary and Tribute