Alexis Hollada was born in Houston Texas on July 17th, 1976. She is a vocalist and bassist for both of the bands that she is currently involved in and takes inspiration from artists of all different genres. Her inspiration started at a young age and she started playing bass in her late teens.
“You take Maiden and Priest, you have Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford. You have those operatic vocals, so that really appealed to me a lot. It was reflective of what I wanted to sing. On the other hand, my parents listened to a lot of different stuff. From The Beatles to Neil Young, a lot of soul music and old country – Patsy Cline was always a favorite. There were certain feminine aspects from what my parents and mom used to listen to that resonated. I think a lot more of that has resurfaced during the past couple years of my life, as I have been exploring more into music and for my own creative purposes, especially what I want to do with my voice.”
Alexis Hollada (Doomed and Stoned 2015)
Although the artists she mentions are not “Texan” she does have country influences which mostly came from Texas and southern states. Although we talked about groove metal with Pantera there are similarities between them and her band’s music. And with Pantera’s popularity in the ’90s, they influenced the entirety of the metal genre as a whole creating this new groove metal sound. All subgenres like doom, stoner, groove, and sludge metal are all tuned down and slower sounding. These genres started mostly in southern states including Texas and Louisiana.
She started with a band, Project Armageddon in 2009 where she was introduced to doom metal and expanded her career in the metal community. Doom metal is one of the many subgenres in Metal where the tempo is slower and the guitars are tuned lower to give a heavier and thicker sound. The music and lyrics are written to give the listener a sense of despair, darkness, and of course impending doom. The band released 3 full-length albums with their last being released in 2015.
I’m hoping to bring some fresher blood to the Houston Doom Brigade family to kinda take the reigns or at least some of the slack in covering what’s happening around the state and beyond.
Alexis Hollada (Outlaws of the Sun 2017)
She created the Houston Doom Brigade which is a community page online that notifies members of concerts coming up in the city. With Doomstress being well known at this point in the city she wants to recognize other bands and artists that have a smaller following and give them the spotlight in the community. There is a lot of underground metal that comes from Houston and surrounding cities that are featured on this page.
Considering there is a large enough number of metal bands emerging in the Houston area it is important to look at the venues that host concerts specifically for metal bands including Alexis’ bands. A notable one is Rudyard’s Pub. This venue is a pub with a music venue upstairs that “has become a pillar of Houston’s homegrown metal scene”(Houston Press). Alexis even mentions it in an interview with Houston Press:
Houston Press: You’re returning to Houston as a megastar. Which venue would you select to host your triumphant return show and who is your opening act?
Doomstress Alexis: Rudyard’s Pub because I love the intimacy and sound, and I could afford to hire a crew to move all the gear up and down those stairs!
After Project Armageddon decided they would go on hiatus, Alexis and the guitarist Brandon Johnson created a new project “Doomstress” which is the band she performs with today. Doomstress is in the same subgenre continuing the Doom Metal sound that they have worked on over the past 12 years. There is a large Doom metal scene in the Houston area and Doomstress has become a popular name in the scene. Doomstress has released one album so far in 2019 titled, “Sleep Among the Dead”.
Alexis is a trans woman which has been a huge part of her journey in the metal scene and living in Texas. She wants to give back to her community in Houston and the LGBTQ+ community. After coming out herself she has not reported many issues occurring but says that there are always going to be people out there that hate you but you just have to be true to yourself.
I’m a transgender woman in the metal scene in Houston, Texas, down here in the southern Bible belt. The metal community and the community in general here in Houston has been very supportive. Regionally, as well. Nationally and internationally, I’ve been amazed by the amount of people that have reached out for me, commending me on being me, and doing what I do. Just to say, hey, we love your music and we love what you do and what you represent. So that’s been really awesome. So having all that support and feedback has really pushed me to be more active in numerous communities here in town.
Alexis Hollada (Doomed and Stoned 2015)
After her generous work for Houston and LGBTQ+ members of the city, she was honored with her own day that would be recognized in Houston every July 5th. Every time that day comes each year she hosts a benefit event for LGBTQ+ support and Transgender awareness. She also works events for homeless youth, homeless LGBTQ+ youth, and abused children.
The kids are the future of this world so creating a positive change in their lives can hopefully give them hope.
Alexis Hollada (Midnight’s Children 2017)
During 2020 the band was on a break from writing due to a member living in Ohio instead of Texas. Although they planned to release something sooner they are still touring currently around Texas. For the future, she always looks forward to writing and working on new music so I am sure we might see a new album or single released soon.
Sources:
“Alexis Hollada.” Alexis Hollada – Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives, https://www.metal-archives.com/artists/Alexis_Hollada/270073.
Cantu, Stephanie V. “An Interview with Doomstress from Project Armageddon.” Doomed & Stoned, 29 July 2015, https://doomedandstoned.com/post/125325925613/projectarmageddon.
Harris, Emily. “Interview with Doomstress Alexis of the Texas Doom Band Doomstress!” Midnightschildren, Midnightschildren, 17 Mar. 2019, https://www.midnightschildrenblog.com/post/2017/12/13/interview-with-doomstress-alexis-of-the-texas-doom-band-doomstress.
Houston Press. “Houston’s 10 Best Metal Bars and Clubs.” Houston Press, Houston Press, 30 Nov. 2021, https://www.houstonpress.com/music/houstons-10-best-metal-bars-and-clubs-6512917?storyPage=2.
Outlaws Of The Sun. “An Interview with Doomstress Alexis from Doomstress.” Outlaws Of The Sun, 1 Jan. 1970, https://outlawsofthesun.blogspot.com/2017/10/an-interview-with-doomstress-alexis.html.
Sendejas, Jesse. “If I Were Famous: Doomstress Alexis.” Houston Press, Houston Press, 17 Sept. 2021, https://www.houstonpress.com/music/if-i-were-famous-doomstress-alexis-9106848.
