By Rebecca Clark | Photos Courtesy of Avora Veil

There are so many incredibly talented women making their mark in rock and metal, but there is still a need for more of them to be heard, recognized and given the attention their talent deserves. Every time a new artist comes along who has something genuine to say and the talent to back it up, it is worth paying attention.

That is exactly what I hear when I listen to Avora Veil.

Her voice has a power and intensity that immediately grabs your attention, but it is more than just what she can do vocally. There is a conviction behind the music and a thoughtfulness behind the person creating it. I heard that same combination when I had the opportunity to speak with her.

Avora Veil is young, but she speaks about her music, her goals and the direction she wants to take her career with a wisdom that feels well beyond her years. She knows what she wants, she knows why she is making this music, and she is clearly ready to step into what comes next.

Based in Toronto, Canada, Avora Veil is the new hard rock, female-fronted project. She has been making music since she was just three years old, starting with piano before discovering her voice and eventually teaching herself to play other instruments.

After years of performing in cover bands and various projects, Avora Veil represents something new, a reinvention and a new chapter in her musical journey. “This is definitely a new chapter,” she said.

That idea of a new beginning is woven into Avora Veil from the very start, including the meaning behind the name itself. But this isn’t simply about creating a new persona. It is about stepping into a version of herself that she feels ready to share with the world.

And with the release of her debut single, “The Monster I Am,” Avora Veil is doing exactly that.

“I would say it’s definitely like a new birth and a new chapter,” she said. “and I’m looking forward to what it brings.”

After years of making music through various bands and projects, Avora Veil is stepping into a harder, more aggressive sound with a new project that she describes as active American rock and hard rock. Her debut single, “The Monster I Am,” officially began introducing that new chapter to the world, but the song itself carries something much more personal beneath its heavier exterior.

The track explores what happens when someone else’s actions bring out a side of you that you never wanted to see.

“It was kind of like a play on somebody who’s done you wrong in life,” Avora Veil explained. “It could be a relationship, it could be a family member, it could be a friend, it could be whoever (has hurt you.)”

That idea of becoming a version of yourself you don’t recognize is at the center of “The Monster I Am.” Rather than simply telling the story of a bad relationship, the song looks at the aftermath and the realization that sometimes leaving someone behind is the only way to find yourself again.

“At the end of the day, you realize that maybe they’re not the best and they’ve brought out a part of you that you never really wanted to bring out,” she said.

For Avora Veil, the song ultimately became about taking back that power. “It was the last straw and it was just time to show them this is the monster that you created and it’s time to live my life without you.”

That message is especially apparent in the song’s bridge. The music pulls back, giving Avora’s vocals room to become more intimate and reflective before she unleashes the words “without you” with a much more forceful delivery.

It is one of the song’s most powerful moments, and it was intentional from the beginning.

“I wanted it to be super emotional vocally,” she said. “I really wanted the bridge to be more of a silent kind of not silent per se, but more tame and more within yourself and reflecting on whatever experience that you were going through.”

Then comes the release. “I wanted that to be a release of all this pent up emotion that you were dealing with and kind of just allowing yourself to be free of that.”

For Avora Veil, screaming those words wasn’t simply a vocal choice. It was part of the emotional story. “I feel like what better way to do that than to scream it.”

That aggression was also something relatively new for Avora Veil.

Although she has been involved with music since she was three years old, beginning with piano before moving into vocals and eventually teaching herself other instruments, she says previous projects didn’t necessarily allow her to explore the heavier side of her voice.

Working with producer and songwriter Scott Stevens changed that.

The connection between the two began somewhat unexpectedly. Avora Veil had reached out to Stevens after growing up listening to his former band, The Exies, hoping for an opportunity to open for one of their reunion shows. She didn’t initially realize he was also a producer.

Instead of simply considering her for a show, Stevens heard something in her music and asked if she was working with a producer.

The rest became the beginning of Avora Veil. “I wasn’t even looking for a producer at the time,” she said. “I approached him hoping to open for his band. I didn’t even know he produced music at the time, to be honest with you. And then he reached out and said, ‘I would love to work with you.’”

The collaboration became an opportunity for Avora Veil to push herself vocally in ways she hadn’t before.

“The more aggressive vocals definitely surprised me because in previous projects, I never really was one to scream or do any kind of aggressive vocal sounds,” she said.

Stevens encouraged her to lean into that side of her voice rather than staying within what was familiar. “He kind of just knew, he knew how my voice worked better than I did,” Avora said.

That meant long studio days, plenty of repetition and a level of vocal direction she hadn’t experienced with previous producers.

“He would tell me, ‘I know you can do this and I want you to hone it in,’” she recalls. “I want you to sing it this way, or I want you to pronounce it this way, or I want you to sing in head voice, chest voice. I want you to scream this part.”

Rather than seeing that direction as restrictive, Avora found it helped bring something new out of her. “With Scott, it’s more like, I want you to sing it this way and we’re gonna try and keep doing this until you get it, which to me is what makes the song,” she said. “I think that’s very important.”

Even the name Avora Veil was chosen with the idea of reinvention in mind.

Avora is a variation of the name Alora, which she initially chose because of its association with new birth. The spelling eventually evolved, with the “L” replaced by a “V” to give it a sharper edge.

“Veil” was added because of what the entire project represented. “It’s like an unveiling of a new persona,” she explained. “So, I thought that it really fit with what I was trying to do.”

That concept of unveiling feels particularly fitting for an artist who has spent years making music but is now introducing audiences to a different side of herself.

The project had actually been developing quietly for more than a year before “The Monster I Am” was released. Much of the music was already finished and waiting for the right moment.

“All this music has been done and kind of sitting in the Dropbox folder for over a year,” Avora said.

There was plenty happening behind the scenes before audiences ever heard a note. “Starting a new project is a lot of work on the back end,” she explained. “Getting all the content ready and stuff like that before you even start a project (takes a lot of time.)”

Now that the first single is out, the next phase is beginning.

Avora Veil isn’t ready to reveal everything just yet, but there is more music coming, including an EP and eventually a music video. Live performances are also in the works, although she isn’t ready to announce specific details.

For now, she’s focused on introducing Avora Veil to both longtime listeners and people discovering her for the first time. “It’s really, it’s a lot of work, but it’s very exciting too,” she said.

That excitement comes through when she talks about eventually bringing this music to a stage. “I love to bring the energy and get the crowd involved whenever I can.”

And while the title “The Monster I Am” might suggest something darker about its creator, Avora Veil is quick to set the record straight.

“I’m not really a monster,” She laughed. “I swear I’m not a monster, unless you get on my bad side,” she jokingly added.

The joke comes naturally, but underneath it is a much more serious point. The monster in the song isn’t really Avora Veil. It’s the version of yourself that can emerge after being pushed too far, hurt too deeply or betrayed too many times.

And sometimes, recognizing that version of yourself is what finally makes you realize it’s time to walk away. “Sometimes it takes somebody to bring out the monster in you to realize that this person is not the best for you and it’s time to move on.”

That is part of what makes “The Monster I Am” so easy to connect with. The song doesn’t require one specific story. It leaves room for listeners to find their own.

Avora Veil said that’s exactly what she wants. “I love music that people can interpretate however they want.”

She isn’t trying to erase everything that came before. She’s taking everything she’s learned, pushing her voice somewhere new and allowing listeners to meet the artist she’s becoming.

And if “The Monster I Am” is the introduction, there is clearly much more of Avora Veil still waiting to be unveiled.