For more details on the System Divide tour and album, see the press release below.

Rock Hard \m/

Extreme metal formation System Divide (featuring members of Fear Factory, Aborted) recently recorded a new single entitled “Ephemera” to be released online right before the band hits North America on their upcoming tour with Epica, Alestorm, and Insomnium. The single was be mixed by infamous producer Pete Rutcho (The Ghost Inside, Revocation, Bury Your Dead…) and will be released online as a free streaming track to serve as teaser for the bands upcoming second full‐length album due out on Metal Blade Records in 2013.

Comments vocalist Sven De Caluwe:

“We are extremely excited to get this out, having just completed the mix of the tune, it has been amazing to see Pete transform this into the mastodon it turned out to be. This is without a doubt the most epic and challenging material the band has EVER worked on just the tip of the iceberg in regards to what we have in store for the second album. I hope people will be as excited about it as we are, it has been a lot of hard work and we cannot wait to play the song live on our upcoming North American tour with Epica! See you all out there to crush some skulls in the name of metaaaal!”

System Divide – North American Tour with Epica, Alestorm, and Insomnium:

10/23 Washington, DC Howard Theater
10/24 Richmond, VA Kingdom w/ Alestorm **
10/25 Philadelphia, PA The Trocadero
10/26 New York, NY Irving Plaza
10/27 Worcester, MA The Palladium
10/28 Ottawa, ON Maverick’s w/ Alestorm **
10/29 Quebec City, QC Imperial de Quebec
10/30 Montreal, QC Metropolis
10/31 Toronto, ON Opera House
11/01 Buffalo, NY Broadway Joe’s w/ Alestorm **
11/02 Cleveland, OH Peabody’s
11/03 Pittsburgh, PA Altar Bar
11/04 Joliet, IL Mojoes
11/05 St. Paul, MN Station 4
11/07 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater
11/08 Salt Lake City, UT The Complex
11/10 Vancouver, BC Fivesixty
11/11 Seattle, WA El Corazon
11/12 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theatre
11/13 S. Lake Tahoe, CA The American Legion (headliner) **
11/14 San Francisco, CA The Grand Ballroom at the Regency
11/15 San Diego, CA House of Blues
11/16 West Hollywood, CA House of Blues
11/17 Tempe, AZ Marquee Theatre
11/18 Lubbock, TX Jake’s Sports Bar (headliner) **
11/19 Dallas, TX Trees
11/20 Houston, TX Scout Bar
11/21 San Antonio, TX Backstage Live
11/23 Louisville, KY Headliner’s Music Hall
11/24 Baltimore, MD Soundstage
**Not part of tour

Credit: Steve Ladanyi/Yell! Magazine

Just as we did for Black History Month in February with our article 11 Blacks Who Kill It in Heavy Metal & Hard Rock, we’re honoring women during Women’s History Month with our tribute to 11 Women in Heavy Metal & Hard Rock Who Matter.

One thing was certain when we set out to make this list: we didn’t want any label-produced, cotton-candy, pink-bunny-rabbit women in heavy metal. Yes, we’re talking to you, Black Veil Brides (oh, wait, you’re dudes). We wanted real modern women who take their craft seriously, who are influencing other young women, and who are making an impact on the metal scene.

It’s truly amazing to see how far women in heavy metal – hell, in music in general – have come since the days of Janis Joplin, Grace Slick, Joan Jett, Vixen or Lita Ford. All of them are talented, but most assuredly exceptions to the conventions of their time. Truth be told, labels wanted hot chicks so that albums would sell. Just look what became of Heart when their label told Ann Wilson to lose weight. Perhaps due to the advent of the Internet and the digital era, women in heavy metal have more options to get heard than ever before.

Here is Yell! Magazine’s 11 Women in Heavy Metal & Hard Rock Who Matter:

No.11 Krysta Cameron

Iwrestledabearonce

Kicking the list off is Krysta Cameron of Iwrestledabearonce. The band is spastic, fast, heavy, creative, interesting, diverse, technical, chaotic, regulated, and led by Krysta Cameron on vocals. Her vocals masterfully range from death growls to metalcore screams to straight, Lisa Loeb-ish tones, but shush on that last point, since Krysta is actually influenced by Bjork, which you can hear as well.

If you’re one to judge looks, Iwrestledabearonce might at first appear to be some hipsters trying to be “ironic”; however, they’re just a bunch of nerds with too much talent having some fun, the kind of fun in which they interrupt a song to play the Inspector Gadget theme song.

Formed in 2007, Iwrestledabearonce has a self-titled EP (2007), and two albums on Century Media: It’s All Happening (2009) and Ruining it for Everyone (2011). Initially from Louisiana, the band now calls Alabama their home and has a big world to conquer. Let’s all give ‘em a big bear hug and wish ‘em well.

Stick around. We’ve barely begun this list of women in heavy metal and hard rock who matter…