Based on their commitment to their craft, their work ethic, talent and musicianship, Toronto-based progressive heavy metal band Scarlet Sins should already be at the top of the record industry mountain.

But it ain’t that easy.

It takes time, time for the CD-buying or music-downloading public to hear the musical Gospel as preached by this intense, yet accessibly melodic power quartet. It takes publicity, press, promotions, and gigs, gigs, gigs.

But in the six months since the band’s self-titled debut CD has been on the open market, the band has gleaned fan interest from throughout Canada, some nibbles from south of the 49th parallel and even from across the pond in Europe.

Scarlet Sins has even been touted by none other than the Human Air Raid Siren himself, Iron Maiden lead singer Bruce Dickinson.

Fans in the Midland area will have a chance to see Scarlet Sins up close and personal as they top the bill on a veritable heavy metal music extravaganza taking place at the Georgian Bay Native Friendship Centre, 175 Yonge St., Friday, April 18.  Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the cost is just $8.

The one thing that anyone speaking with Scarlet Sins will recognize is their absolute dedication to creating and performing music. It is something that brought the four members, vocalist Sylvya NuVynska, guitarist Cristina Bishop, bassist Tanya Nicklaus and the newest member, drummer Elie Bertrand.

“It feels like we’ve all been working at this for our entire lives … Music is something we’ve been working on since our childhood, and when I moved to Toronto a few years ago, I wanted to put a band together. I put an ad out, and I found Syl, and we had a lot in common, clicked right away,” Bishop said, adding that the coming together of Scarlet Sins was almost too easy.

“When I first met Cris, we had great chemistry. It was like love at first sight. And it was just like we knew we had common goals and the same dream, and you know it’s something that you both want to do,” added NuVynska.

“And for Cris and myself, we want to do music full time. Music is first and everything else is second. And so we just realized we had the same level of commitment, so that’s why it works so well, and that’s why, with the four of us together, we’re unstoppable now. We’re all on the same page. We all want the same thing.”

And that thing is to be able to make a living playing music. To be able to travel the world performing, to write music that both entertains and impacts on the listener emotionally.

The band’s music somewhat defies exact designation. It is undoubtedly heavy. The CD has elements of early Metallica and Megadeth, as well as the more melodic ‘Hair Bands’ of the 1980s.

There’s a little bit of Tool here, a touch of industrial speed metal, some Seattle Grunge in parts, and even snippets that sound reminiscent of metal icons Iron Maiden, Dio-era Black Sabbath and Judas Priest.

But it’s all wrapped up in its own unique package, making the appeal of the songs very broad.
There’s a powerhouse ballad, With You, as well as the chord-crunching No Arguments and the leadoff track Let Go.

Backstabber is a raucous track that should make any man who ever mistreated his woman think twice about ever doing it again, while the CDs most obvious single, Drown, is a finely-crafted tune that includes a memorable vocal hook, along with an insistent tempo that will have even the most jaded headbanger, well, banging their heads.

Like any true musical artist, Bishop, NuVynska and the rest of Scarlet Sins draw on their own life experiences to create their music. The two primary songwriters, Bishop and NuVynska both see the process of making music like a form of emotional therapy.

“Music has always been a special thing for me. Since I was as young as five, when I first started just experimenting with instruments, I could sit in front of a piano for six hours and just play. I was the kind of kid my mother never had to watch … until I was 14,” Bishop said with a laugh. “But I could just sit there and play, and that’s how, whenever I was upset or something, I could just completely lose myself.”

NuVynska spoke of the same sort of emotional compulsion to write, especially during trying or traumatic times.

“I use music as therapy. It’s a lot easier for me to sit and write when I am upset or down. It just comes so easily. It’s a lot harder to sit when you’re in a happy place and everything’s going great. What are you going to write?” she said.

“It’s about all the stuff I went through and was faced with, the heartache and pain and loss. Sometimes you don’t even know what you’re writing until you’re done.”

Bishop moved from her home in Ottawa not long after a lifelong friend died suddenly. She was driven to put together a band so she could find an outlet for her grief.

“That was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever been through, so immediately music started pouring out of me. And a lot of the songs on the album, I would say a good six or seven of then, I wrote right after her death,” she said.

“So, yeah, that’s pretty much were that came from. I just needed that outlet. I needed not just to write these songs, but to perform them with a band and record them, that’s when I contacted Syl.”

At this point, the obvious must be stated.

Scarlet Sins is an all-female band, playing a style of music normally associated with the more testosterone-laden segment of the population.

Simply put, there aren’t many women playing heavy metal, and it is still a novelty enough that it has impacted on how many media pundits and others within the industry have taken Scarlet Sins.

“It’s not even so much a bad reaction but a lack of reaction, or lack of response from media that we’ve tried to contact and stuff. And I think it’s because of the stereotype that females in hard rock just suck,” said Bishop.

“Even from other musicians you hear it all the time about chicks and rock music. ‘Girls singing rock, that shouldn’t be,’ or whatever. It’s like, what the hell, but you just let it roll off your shoulders,” added NuVynska.

“I guess for some people, it’s not their cup of tea, or they just think, ‘oh yeah, girls and rock, they can’t do this. They can’t pull it off.’ They think you’re just playing four chords, or doing punk, garage punk or whatever … it lasts until they see us play. And once they see us play it’s like, ‘oh man, I had no idea.’ It’s like their mouths drop. They’ve got no idea that girls could actually do this ... and it’s an insult, because it shouldn’t matter. Girls or guys, we’re doing the same thing.”

The band toured for much of the fall throughout southern Ontario, and has also played selected dates in Montreal, and ever a few shows in Seattle. Plans are for a more extensive set of engagements this summer, including an expected stop in Barrie, as well as traveling more in Quebec.

Someday, in the near future, they would like to travel the world, spreading their unique brand of melodic metal to the masses. But Bishop and NuVynska both said they are in this for the long haul, and are willing to put in the work necessary to achieving their goals.

For more information on the band, click either of the links provided. 

-    Jim Barber is the Arts, Sports and Lifestyles Editor for the Barrie Advance. Contact him at jbarber@simcoe.com.