Solo Music
“The Truth” is an electro-industrial song with metal-style vocals exploring the inner conflict against one’s own demons and repressed shadow. The split of the personality is represented by the changes between clean and harsh vocals, while the lyrics open inside the landscape of the mind, gradually transitioning to the real world as the beast within begins to take over and break free. Written, recorded, and “forgotten” about in 2019, this song explores a central theme of DestroyerMariko as an entity.
Although I performed this song at open mics before the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, it was not until Jade invited me to perform with her at the Eternity metal aerials showcase (video below) that I finally came back to it and decided to release it as a single.
This track is available for download on Bandcamp.
Released in 2018, this conceptual music project looks at the difficulties of being an asexual* person, while also breaking the conventions currently prevalent in asexual creative culture. I drew heavily from my own experiences to inform my lyrics, rather than relying on the usual clichés about things like cake, and stubbornly defied the paradoxical difficulty of talking about asexuality without having to mention sex. I also did this in my own sonic style, influenced by my background in industrial and heavy metal music, genres usually untouched by explicitly asexual music and musicians.
However, the EP was important to me for more than just its exploration of this one aspect of my life. It also came about after a long period of depression, so deep and dark that I hadn’t been able to make any music in that time, and which resulted in the ongoing hiatus of my previous band Rainbow Death Ray. Being able to come out of that depression and return to my music as a soloist, even performing on stage, has done so much to restore my confidence in myself as a creative artist.
The EP is available for download on Bandcamp.
*Asexuality is the lack of sexual attraction to others.
Collaboration: A.D.Destroyer
4 years in the making, A.D. Millennium and DestroyerMariko deliver a sonic fuck you to a world in decay with the debut EP, “Generation Excess”
Released in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, A.D.Destroyer is an industrial metal collaboration by noisemaker A.D. Millennium and myself on vocals as DestroyerMariko. It is easily my most exciting project to date, and while mostly completed together online, we do have plans to eventually gig once lockdown restrictions sufficiently ease. To stay up to date with future events, follow our page on Facebook.
I first came into contact with the multi-talented A.D. through a mutual Facebook friend, but had already been familiar with his work in Viral Millennium. We quickly connected over our shared misanthropy and disdain for the failings of society, and merged our perspectives into A.D.Destroyer to produce our debut EP “Generation Excess”. An aggressive critique of humanity, this release explores a number of themes including war, ecological destruction, and interpersonal conflict.
The EP is available for download on Bandcamp, and is also streaming on all major platforms including Spotify.
Covers
Every now and then I like to challenge myself by putting my own spin on other people’s songs. It’s always an interesting exercise, given my unusual combination of high female singing with false cord screaming/growling, so sometimes I will also do multiple versions using different vocal stylings as part of my experimentation. The covers themselves are collected in this playlist on my YouTube channel, and some of the earlier videos also contain a link to a longer version where I liked to discuss my thoughts about vocals involved.
Guest Vocals
Clawoo’s “Schism” (feat. DestroyerMariko), 2021
Fireland’s Forged In Fire album, 2019
While my main priorities are my own solo project and finding a local band to join, I do also take occasional guest vocal opportunities. If you have an idea you think would work well with my voice, you’re welcome to use my contact form to get in touch. Please note however, at this time I’m not offering writing services. You must have lyrics and a basic idea of melody/rhythm as a guide for me to follow.
Past Band: Rainbow Death Ray
In late 2015, my band Rainbow Death Ray successfully crowdfunded and released our debut EP. Combining electronic pop and heavy metal vibes, our music was a taste of something a little different.
On this record, I performed vocals, played a 5-string electric violin, and programmed the backing tracks including drums.
For me, this EP was a big deal. I’d been in other bands before, but this was the first one where we put together a professionally made release. Adding to that accomplishment, I personally poured a huge amount of myself into the record. The songs on this EP were all written by me, and I also took on the role of recording engineer, graphic designer, and general manager, while simultaneously taking charge of our crowdfunding campaign. This EP was one of my biggest achievements at the time, and I thank my band members, friends, family, and our wonderful fans for their contributions and support.
Download the free digital version of the EP from our Bandcamp page, or purchase the physical CD from the shop.