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| Above: Three of Dreaded Mortuary's members (L-R): Paul, Len, and Mark. Below: Tormentress with Gwen Cañete who is in the extreme right. |
Overseas
Foreign Workers Rockers: Filipino rockers Dreaded Mortuary and Gwen Cañete
find their audience abroad.
by rick olivares
Gwen
Giselle Cañete works as a nurse in a hospital in Singapore. On certain nights,
she trades her nurse’s uniform for jeans, a black shirt, boots, and with a
Washburn MG30 strapped in front of her body.
Cañete,
who hails from Cebu, plays guitar for the all-female thrash metal Singaporean
band, Tormentress. The band was signed by French record label, Inferno Records,
in 2014 and they released their debut album succinctly titled, “Operation
Torment” to good reviews.
“If
I wasn’t in a band and if there was no music scene in Singapore, I wouldn’t
have lasted this long here (six years and counting),” said Cañete. The Cebuana
grew up listening to punk during her formative years and even played in a
grindcore band. Gwen was looking to form a punk band in the Lion City when an
opportunity to join Tormentress presented itself.
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| Gwen on guitars! |
“I joined the band in 2011 which was my first year in Singapore,”
recounted Cañete. “I used to go to shows alone and one time, a friend of mine told
me that Tormentress was looking for a bassist. So I sent Neez, the vocalist, a
message and for some reason they asked me to play guitars instead. A few weeks
later, I met up with the other guitarist Mas, and learned some of their songs
and it turned out well so they asked me to officially join them.”
“It’s cool to be in an all-girl thrash metal band. We will
be opening for Kreator and Vader (German and Polish metal bands respectively)
on the 31st of August. I never thought that I would ever get a chance to open
for them. I am excited but the pressure is on because we don’t want to mess
things up during our set.”
Gwen
and Tormentress isn’t the only band living out its rock ‘n’ roll dream.
Quezon
City-based thrash metal band, Dreaded Mortuary, after enduring a lot of tough
times back home, found themselves signed by a Japanese label, Rock Stakk, who
released their second album internationally and to terrific reviews.
Furthermore, they were twice invited to partake in True Thrash Fest in Osaka,
Japan alongside their heroes, Exciter and Violator (from Canada and Brazil
respectively).
“We
went from playing small crowds in Quezon City, Marikina – sometimes with no one
watching at all – to playing wild and moshing crowds in Japan,” stated bassist
and lead singer Len. “And they weren’t only Japanese in the crowd. There were
Caucasians too.”
Upon
the urging of a friend, the band submitted a demo to Rock Stakk who in turn
picked up 10 CDs of the Dreaded Mortuary’s self-produced debut, “All Out
Killing!”
‘We
got in touch with the label,” added guitarist Mark, “and they told us they sold
out all 10 CDs on the day it arrived. We sent a second batch of eight CDs and
that sold out in a day as well. That is when the label asked if we’d like to
release an album under their label.”
“We
thought it was a joke,” smiled Paul, the band’s other guitarist. And no, it wasn't a cruel joke. The band's second album, "Vulgar Way to Die" was pressed and printed in Japan complete with the obi. “That was like a dream. We couldn't believe it. We were like kids looking at the CD and the obi. And when we
got invited to play in True Trash Fest, we didn’t believe it until we were on a
plane to Japan.”
During
the show, one of the organizers told the band that they had to go outside to
meet some fans. “Fans,” wondered Len. “We have fans? We still kept thinking
everything was one big joke.” Outside there were indeed fans holding up their
CDs and wearing their merchandise.
“We
didn’t bring a lot of shirts and they sold out really quick,” added Mark. “The
medium and large sizes sold quick. What was left were the XL or XXL. There were
these guys who had small frames and they bought whatever shirts were left even
if they were several sizes bigger.”
“We
went, ‘wow!’ this is insane,” smiled Paul at the memory.
“We
have fans from all over the world – France, Argentina, Canada, Japan, and
Germany posting pictures of themselves holding up the CD and saying they like
our music,” shared Mark who is still in disbelief at the response they have
gotten from metal fans from all over the world.
The
international release has somewhat helped Dreaded Mortuary’s popularity back
home.
“The
kind of music we play is somewhat niche here in the Philippines,” said Mark. “Fortunately,
we found an opportunity abroad.”
With
all that has happened for Dreaded Mortuary since 2014, the band has been given
hope. “We’re looking to record our third album that will reflect everything we
have experienced over the past few years. And we also hope to shoot our first
video. If possible too, play abroad once more.”
“There
are offers,” summed up Mark. “But let’s see what happens.”
On
her part, Gwen admits that her parents grudgingly listen to Tormentress’ album.
“My parents used to play our cd and they’d tell me they
don’t like this kind of music but they only do so because I’m in the band.”
“My friends though are forever supportive,” she said by way of a
comeback. Their label on the other hand, has tireless promoted the Singaporean
outfit in Europe much to the girls’ appreciation.
Outside Singapore, Tormentress has played in Sabah and Malaysia.
Tormentress only recently returned to active duty after two of the
members took a leave after they became mothers. “We have not played for two
years because work and family.” admitted Cañete. “But after a long hiatus, we
are planning to write new songs and play some shows. We also have a few invites
to play overseas. I hope all goes well so we can go. I love travelling and
checking out the local scenes so I'm sure it’s going to be fun.”
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| Dreaded Mortuary's bassist and vocalist Len |
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