But now comes Central Florida’s Sulevia to smash the patriarchy by besting it at its own game. Sulevia is the solo project of Del Brooks, a Melbourne native and former Orlandoan who’s played here in acts like thrash-metal band Lacerate and new-wave band Key. She’s a young guitar prodigy who’s not just stepping out into the lead with this new vehicle, but doing it all herself.
Even more than noise, Brooks is making a statement with her emergence. “I grew up listening to metal and rock, but truthfully turned away from the genre for a while because I didn’t feel fully accepted,” she says. “I also belong to the LGBT community. And there is a lot of bigotry and misogyny in the rock scene. But I firmly believe that metal is all about freedom of expression. And everyone deserves to have a voice in this genre.”
With Sulevia, Brooks isn’t testing the more open and progressive halls of alt-metal. Instead, she’s crashing the gates of the ultra-orthodox temple of traditional heavy metal head-on. Sulevia’s new debut collection, Riddled Land, is a clinic in old-school metal shredding built on the classic 1980s pillars of thrash, death metal and black metal. There’s no droning sludge, no stoned bronto riffs, no post-anything here. Instead, this seven-song mini-album is a high-riding cavalry charge of sick fretwork and triumphant solos.
With all the music, lyrics and production done by Brooks herself, Riddled Land is a DIY feat. But more than anything, it’s a showcase for her dazzling guitar work. However incidentally, it’s also a declaration. It’s a planting of a flag that claims space in heavy metal for, if not all women, at least for this one virtuoso.
“Misogyny is definitely something all women face, especially those in male-dominated fields like rock and metal. But at the end of the day, I don’t see being a woman as an obstacle. I try to see the ways in which it helps me or affirms what I want to do musically or artistically, especially as I continue to evolve as a musician. I don’t concern myself with the haters.”
Sulevia’s Riddled Land now streams everywhere and sits atop TLU’s Spotify playlist.
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This article appears in Jul 23-29, 2025.