Deb Levine of Lady Beast seems to never slow down! From running Metal Immortal Fest to volunteering, playing shows with her band and having her own business, working full time! We were lucky to catch up with her and find out what is going on in the band right now and of course a bit about the front woman herself!

TheNwothm: Hey there how are you doing? I hope you are well! How is the rest of the band doing?

Debs: Thank you!  We are doing well and staying productive in these colder and darker months!  The winter has always been a great time for us to write and record, and that’s exactly what we are doing!  

I want to first talk about something huge that was in your calendar this year! Back in September you put on Metal Immortal festival which had an absolute killer lineup! How did you find putting that event together while juggling every else going on in your life?

Debs: Its very difficult! Hahaha  I own my business and work full time, I volunteer weekly, manage and organize  Lady Beasts ventures and set up the festival!  I also have other passions and hobbies so juggling everything is difficult but I enjoy the challenge.  It has been so much fun over the last 3 years of the festival to curate a handful of bands that are unique, hardworking, good people and fantastic musicians! 

I try not to get involved with the clique bullshit and give everyone an opportunity to shine!  Im sick of seeing the same 5 bands on every festival because the have connections.  Its about creating a platform for people to see new music and older bands for the first time. This last year was particularly a blast having HIRAX join us!  What amazing humans and players!!  

TheNwothm: And how did this edition turn out? Did it all go as planned?

Debs: It was epic!!  The best one yet!  Everything went as planned because I put so much energy and effort into making sure of it.  Its always the biggest undertaking i’ve ever committed to and although we have never broke even yet, the fans and bands have the best time it makes it all worth the organisation!  Ive never focused on making money through music…. I want to facilitate safe and fun spaces for people to feel free to be themselves and enjoy heavy metal.  I do always like to pat myself on the shoulder for my festivals never running behind schedule or off timing.  A lot of that too has to do with the amazing team of friends and my band who help ensure that.

TheNwothm: So as I am aware this was the 3rd edition of the fest? What have you learnt along the way and what have you done differently from previous editions?

Debs: I am always learning and growing from past experiences!  That’s what life is all about and the best way to know that you have the power to make the changes for things to work better for you.  I would say since the festival keeps getting better and better and more having attendees I would say I am taking notes and applying and seeing the results! There are many hidden costs in these endeavour’s and I keep learning how to navigate it all!  I have decided for 2024 to take a year off of the festival. This will be a bummer for the fans, but I am a very realistic person and I know I need to take the time to focus on my own life and projects to ensure they are awesome. 

Adam and I are currently moving into a new home after 16 years in our old one.  This is the house Lady Beast started in!  We are also currently writing and soon to be recording our new album as well as repressing an old one.  We have plans to tour a bit this year and also attend some other festivals!  None of this would be possible if I were organising the festival.  It takes all my time, money and efforts.  I am doing myself a favour and giving myself the gift of focusing on my own projects for the first time in what seems like years!  It means a lot to me to provide the community and scene with live music but I need to step back for a minute to make sure my own passions are growing in the ways they should be!  Hoping for MIF 4 to return in 2025!

TheNwothm: I see that Lady Beast have been really busy this year with shows? How has that been as you seem to have been non stop!

I touched on that topic a bit above, but yes it been a bit non stop which is amazing and we are so thankful!!!  That’s the main reason I want to take a step back from organising and focus on producing!  This new album is going to be so epic!

TheNwothm: So music aside for a moment, social media tells us you have a snake! That is pretty awesome what’s its name and how long have you had an interest in snakes?

Debs: Yes!  Her name is snake and she is a 4 ½ foot long corn snake.  She technically belongs to Andy our guitar player but I asked if I could have her after a couple of years of her living with me.  I really enjoy her energy but I super enjoy collecting her sheddings!!  Snake skin is so beautiful and useful to me in my practice of Earth magic and other energy workings/rituals. It’s a great reminder too that we have the ability to shed old patterns, bad thoughts and things that are not serving us anymore. 

You also have some other interesting hobbies and things you do outside of music? Can you tell us more about those!

Debs: Sure!! I love volunteering!  I volunteer weekly at our local wildlife rehabilitation center for the last 5 years. I am also very invested and interested in herbalism.  When the pandemic hit and everything was shut down, including work, music and seeing other humans I really became familiar with plants.  I met a side of myself that I wasn’t so familiar with, a solitary side.  I am such an extrovert and was so used to a fast paced lifestyle I had a moment to pause.  I love creating magic, medicine and herbal remedies especially with a lot of plants that grow native to where I live.  I enjoy sharing this knowledge with friends and my community.

TheNwothm: How is Heavy Herbals going?

Debs: A bit slow moving at the moment!  I was very full steam ahead in the summer harvesting and medicine making.  I did a couple of local vending markets and sent some to friends all over the world to try!  I am in the middle of moving so things are pretty chaotic and Heavy Herbals has to go on the back burner for right now!  Once things settle and we finish the album I look forward to planting a huge garden and getting back to brewing!

TheNwothm: I am so excited because since we last spoke earlier on in 2023 you guys have been working on the new album! How has the whole process been going?

Debs: Its going really well!  We are just about done composing the songs and once we feel like they are solid we will hit the studio! I assume we should be recording no later than March.  This is the first time we will have recorded an album without playing any of the songs out live. That’s exciting! Super surprise!!  

TheNwothm: This time around how have you approached the whole writing process. What kind of themes can fans expect? 

Debs: We generally approach each album the same.  Its been 15 years of writing together so its very natural.  We don’t decide we are going to start writing a new album. It just starts happening. I think that fans can expect a lot of the usual themes from us!  Fantasy, realness, magic, optimistic anthems…. I don’t want to give too much away! Hahah  

TheNwothm: You seem to be quite a spiritual person. Do you feel that a lot of this runs through your music?

Debs: Yes definitely.  Again it was around the pandemic that allowed me to take time to start focusing on some different parts of myself that I didn’t before.  I was into witchcraft and ritual before, but I started dedicating a practice about 4 years ago.  I can see the shift through my albums as well.  What I was writing about, learning about turned into what I was singing about.  I see the transformation and sometimes I see my lyrics as spells in a way. 

Words gain power when you speak them.  And sometimes when I write songs about believing in yourself and living your dreams, when the fans sing it, its almost like they are manifesting it for themselves! I believe that life is a journey of gaining about the world, and about yourself.  We all have the ability, if you are willing to do the work within yourself, to become kick ass humans!

TheNwothm: Are you excited that the new album is going to be released via Dying Victim Productions?

Debs: We are beyond excited!  Its so fun building new relationships and I can tell that Florian is a down to earth easy to work with individual.  Its one of the best underground labels right now in my opinion releasing some amazing heavy metal.  Everyone I talk to just says the best things about the label and their releases.  So its an honour to be a part of it.  I am also hoping it will help our European distribution and make more connections to get back to Europe for touring!

TheNwothm: Can you tell us about some of the tracks on the new album and the musical direction you are going for? Will it be familiar or can fans expect some surprises? 

Debs: What I like about our band is that all of our albums sound different, but you always know its Lady Beast. We have our own style of heavy metal that is unique to us and we have no plans on changing that. We don’t follow trends, we just like to write music we love and stay authentic.  You can hear maturity on each of our albums and that’s the way it should be! So fans can expect the best Lady Beast they’ve heard yet!

TheNwothm: Have you started recording the album yet and if so who are the people behind the production?

Debs: No we have not started recording the album as I mentioned above but I am really looking forward to it!  We haven’t booked anything, but I assume we will go to the same studio as we always do here in Pittsburgh and use the same engineer our good friend Jason Jouver.  He has recorded all of our albums except for the very first self titled.

TheNwothm: So looking towards 2024 along with new music can we expect more shows? Maybe a European/UK tour?

Debs: Yes! We are definitely trying to get on the road in the US a couple times this year.  We have plans with our good friends in Sanhedrin in August to play a handful of shows as we make our way up to Wisconsin for Blade of Steel Festival.  As for Europe not this year unfortunately!  But I am hoping with the release of this new album this year we will have some hype and opportunities to get over there in 2025!  So keep your ears open for that!

TheNwothm: As a reminder where can fans find your music and merch?

Yeah! A good way for right now is through our Bandcamp page. 

Music | Lady Beast (bandcamp.com)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ladybeastofficial

TheNwothm: Is there anything else that you would like to mention to our readers?

As always I just want to say thank you!!  Thank you for supporting our music, our passion and us a people!  Everytime we see you guys at shows or yall buy merch it means the world to us.  We are looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the new album when its released!  And thank you again for taking the time to read my words here!  Cheers!