Lola Black

Fronted by the intense frontwoman Lola Montez, the Colorado hard rock five-piece Lola Black takes its name directly from its leader. She launched the group in Aurora in 2008 alongside her husband, Chris "Crispy" Dellinger. Drawn from various Denver-area acts, the first version of the band leaned heavily into punk and hardcore territory, yielding just one release, Plastic Dashboard Jesus. A personnel shift prompted their 2012 return via the punk-charged Dia de Los Borrachos. Fueled by a rowdy, hedonistic vibe, that EP delivered a high-energy fusion echoing the Distillers and Joan Jett. In 2014 the quintet forged a tie-up with Jagermeister and recruited producer Sid Riggs (Seether, Saliva) for the follow-up, Til Death Do Us Part. The denser, goth-metal direction introduced a fresh vocal approach for Montez that featured raw, blood-curdling screams reminiscent of Brody Dalle. Their swelling hometown audience and string of local music awards fueled further momentum, bringing support dates with In This Moment and Queensrÿche plus slots on major U.S. rock festival bills throughout summer 2016. That same year the lineup of guitarists Taylor Steele and Paige O'Meara plus drummer Kyle Aravais released the single "Sorrow and Sin." Crafted with Bob Marlette (Rob Zombie, Seether, Alice Cooper) at the helm, the goth-metal cut landed with force comparable to Halestorm, Stitched Up Heart, and Bellusira.