Beauty, Brains, And Brutality: The 'Girls of Metal' Release 2008 Calendar

Chicago-based Girls of Metal are proud to announce the 2008 release of their annual Girls of Metal calendar. The calendar features female heavy metal musicians and supporters and calendar sales benefit the American Brain Tumor Association.

The Girls of Metal is an alliance of females in heavy metal with the purpose of bringing recognition and respect to women in the genre. Combining looks, talent, and a passionate love for heavy music, The Girls of Metal work hard to convey their message of gender equality within a male dominated scene. Jon Wiederhorn of Revolver magazine exclaimed "Move over, Suicide Girls!" in an April 2007 interview.

In a recent interview, Girls of Metal member DanYell said the following about the formation of the organization: "The Girls Of Metal were formed a couple of years before the 2007 calendar was unleashed. Our founder is Melissa Zappa, and she, along with the help of some of the other GOM spent the early years planning and shaping our mission and goals. Once we had a firm idea of what we wanted to do as far as raising money for the charity, and how to put out a calendar we began work on the 2007 edition which was the first calendar."

All proceeds from Girls of Metal calendar sales will be donated to The American Brain Tumor Association in memory of late DEATH frontman Chuck Schuldiner who died from a brain tumor in 2001. "While none of us personally knew Chuck, we all were/are certainly touched by his music and contribution to the foundation of death metal as we know it. It's rare to have such raw talent in this world, and Chuck certainly possessed such. He absolutely helped to shape the sound of the underground metal world, and his influence is still very prevalent today," says GOM member DanYell.

In response to the reaction from the metal community, Girls of Metal member DanYell says: "We have received an extremely positive response to the calendar! Since the release of the 2007 edition we have had some great press on the Girls of Metal via Revolver magazine, The Onion, and other online mags. We have also had a lot of girls that identify with our mission, and want to join the Girls of Metal. It's fantastic that what we are doing is bringing more women in the metal scene together and showing people that we are definitely a force to be reckoned with!"

For additional information about the Girls of Metal or to order a 2008 calendar, visit www.myspace.com/girlsofmetal.