Violent Vira

Dark alt-rock singer with lyrics dripping with blood

Violent Vira views mosh pits as therapy. Of course, there are other bands that use music as an outlet, but few do so as confrontational and catchy as this rising metal star. Singer Amy Gonzales' personal troubles serve as fuel for furious metalcore with a 2000s edge – full of melodic hooks and devastating screams. And for that, she has more than enough source material. She grew up in a trailer park in Idaho, the daughter of first-generation Mexican immigrants. There was plenty to eat, but the broken American system made life difficult for the family. Especially during the freezing winters.

Those winter winds also began to blow increasingly emphatically through Amy's personal musical taste. From Mexican pop-girly, she evolved into a melodic metalhead, with influences such as Evanescence, Linkin Park, and Three Days Grace. She quickly discovered music as her ideal outlet. She started playing on street corners with her ukulele and entered various talent shows, but she experienced her real global breakthrough in 2021, when the single "I Don't Care" went mega-viral.

Against all odds, Amy fought her way to Gen Z rock stardom with hundreds of millions of streams and a tour with Babymetal to her name. Now that she has conquered the internet, it is time to reap the rewards and tear European pop venues apart. On November 21, Violent Vira will be at De Helling for her very first show on Dutch soil, and she does so with a brand-new album in tow.

SUPPORT: CL ⚡ AUDIO

Close your eyes and it feels just like you're at a rock show, but with a generous extra dose of Shazam and Ka-bang during CL ⚡ AUDIO's DJ set. With over ten years behind the turntables, he is a regular in London's alternative nightlife. Under the DJ alias of London-based Claudio Traina, he blows the place away from the DJ booth with a mix of emo, rock, pop-punk, and nu-metal. That isn't the metal of today, but the real rock and metal bangers from the '90s and 2000s, à la Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, and Deftones. He combines iconic tracks from the '90s and 2000s with modern alternative favorites that will make you sing your lungs out [read: scream] . But not too loud, so you save some of your voice for Violent Vira.