Former Butcher Babies vocalist Carla Harvey has introduced the full lineup of her new project, The Violent Hour. Joining her in the band are Kiana De Leon on lead guitar, Allie Kay on rhythm guitar, Jewel Steele on bass, and Sasha De Leon on drums.
Kiana and Sasha De Leon previously performed together in the Pantera tribute band Far Beyond Hostile as well as the cover project Vixen Vendetta.
Reflecting on the group’s formation, Harvey shared: “I’ve dreamed of having an all girl band my whole life. After a long search I finally found them. Four incredible women who share the same drive, passion, and fire that fuels me. We are the @theviolenthourband and we are your new favorite band.”
So far, Harvey has released two singles with The Violent Hour, “Sick Ones” and “Hell Or Hollywood”. Released in June through Megaforce Records, “Hell Or Hollywood” features Pantera guitarist and Black Label Society frontman Zakk Wylde. The accompanying video, filmed at West Hollywood’s iconic Rainbow Bar & Grill, highlights the venue that inspired Carla’s move from Detroit to Los Angeles.
Directed by Vincent Cordero of Industrialism Films (Black Veil Brides, Kat Von D), the “Hell Or Hollywood” video explores Harvey’s early years in Los Angeles. It has been described as a “swampy metal induced rocker” reflecting the gritty, chaotic, and euphoric experiences she faced in L.A.
“Shooting the “Hell Or Hollywood” video at the Rainbow was a full-circle moment for me,” said Harvey. “As a kid growing up in the Midwest, I saw the Rainbow in rock mags and iconic Guns N’ Roses videos… It exuded that gritty, dangerous, rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle I craved. When I moved to L.A., I practically lived there. I made my first friends at the Rainbow, found my first bandmates there, and got into plenty of trouble. The Rainbow is more than a backdrop; it’s a living, breathing piece of rock history.”
She continued: “This video tells the story of chasing a dream to L.A. (both the pleasures and the pitfalls) and toys with the question: do you have to sell your soul for rock ‘n’ roll? Is this “Hell or Hollywood”? The answer reveals itself at the end of the video. It was important for me to have Lemmy (played by Luke Edwards of Killed By Death) in the video as one of my ‘tempters’ because of his iconic presence at the Rainbow. You’ll spot a Janis Joplin too (actress Shannon Corbett) and I had to throw in a little tongue-in-cheek humor as well with a Kurt Cobain lookalike (Gabe Maska) because let’s be real, if Kurt showed up at the Rainbow, you’d definitely be in hell.”
Harvey’s fiancé, Anthrax and Pantera drummer Charlie Benante, who wrote the music and recorded all instruments for the EP, commented: “Carla grew up loving Guns N’ Roses, and since they were so heavily influenced by Aerosmith, I wanted to write something that paid tribute to both.
The riff on “Hell Or Hollywood” is the kind that stands on its own — even without vocals, it’s got a swagger to it. And having Zakk Wylde on the solo? He brought this raw, six string grit that rips through the track. You hear it and instantly know — it’s him.”
In April, Harvey released a video for “Sick Ones”, the first single from The Violent Hour, featuring Mötley Crüe guitarist John 5.
“”Sick Ones” is a rock ‘n’ roll anthem about cutting the toxic people out of your life,” said Harvey. “It’s a call of freedom, a fist-to-the-face to anyone who has tried to hold you down, hold you back or dim your light. It was written at a vulnerable time in my life when I was forced to end relationships I thought would last forever.
When choosing a theme for this song, I thought about a phrase I had scrawled across a journal from 1999: ‘Cut The Sick Ones Loose.’ Those words became my mantra over the last couple years and felt perfect to chant over Charlie‘s guitar riffs. “Sick Ones” also features an absolutely shredding guitar solo by John 5 that brings this thrasher to a whole different level.”
Benante added: “”Sick Ones” has a modernized NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) vibe to it. The riff is very catchy and stays with you like a good riff should. “Sick Ones” is just the tip of the iceberg for this project. Many of the songs we crafted for The Violent Hour are unlike anything Carla has ever done as a vocalist, reflecting different moods and a new beginning. The music flowed out of me because I had this motivation, this drive… it was unstoppable.”
The video for “Sick Ones”, directed by Vicente Cordero of Industrialism Films, featured Harvey taking on five different characters.
“While “Sick Ones” is about cutting toxic people out of your life — those who constantly devalue you — I wanted to flip that narrative for the video,” Harvey explained. “I’ve always been interested in the idea that sometimes the most dangerous person to confront is yourself. The video explores what it means to face those darker versions of who we’ve been and whether we can truly leave them behind… or, as the ending suggests, learn to coexist peacefully. Vicente took my vision and brought it to life. I came to him with a wild idea and no clue how to execute it — and we made it work! I loved getting a chance to play multiple larger-than-life characters.”
In addition to her music career, Harvey has also worked as a comic book author and embalmer. She has released six albums, multiple comics, and her 2014 novel Death And Other Dances. Despite her achievements, she describes herself simply as a “blue-collar kid from the Midwest with big dreams.”
