Merel Bechtold
Merel Bechtold (born February 27, 1992) is a guitarist from the Netherlands. She was born in Blaricum. She started playing guitar in 2007 at the age of fifteen. Half a year later she founded the band Purest of Pain, in which she played lead guitar until its disbandment in 2020. Over the next two years, she began to play in larger, international events and festivals with bands like Suicide Silence, Unearth, MaYaN, Grave, All Shall Perish, Delain and others. In 2013, she released the single Momentum and in 2014 she starred at the large metal festival Wacken Open Air.
Merel Bechtold | |
|---|---|
 Merel Bechtold and Delain, Epic Metal Fest 2015 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | February 27, 1992 |
| Origin | Blaricum, Netherlands |
| Genres | Death metal, power metal, symphonic metal, hard rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Composer |
| Instruments | Guitar[1] |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Associated acts | Dear Mother, Purest of Pain, The Gentle Storm, Delain, MaYaN |
| Website | merelbechtold |
Musical acts
At the end of 2012, Bechtold performed her first performance with Delain. In 2013, for the first time, she filled in for Timo Somers, Delain's main guitarist. During the same period, she performed several concerts with the Purest of Pain group. In October 2014, she was contacted by Isaac Delahaye (Epica, ex-MaYaN) who had to leave MaYaN for other priorities. She played with two concerts in January 2015 as a replacement. At the second concert, the band asked her to become a permanent member.
In the summer of 2014, she became part of Anneke van Giersbergen's The Gentle Storm, with van Giersbergen's husband Rob Snijders. She then played several concerts with Delain alongside Somers. In 2015, she again accompanied Delain at other concerts with Sabaton. From October 2015 until June 2019, Bechtold was officially a permanent member of Delain.[2] In 2020 Bechtold formed the alternative/metalcore band Dear Mother, with an album expected in mid-2021.[3]
Instruments
Bechtold uses guitars from the Dutch custom guitar shop VanderMeij Guitars, based in Amsterdam. She is mostly seen on stage with her white sevenstring multiscale VanderMeij Magistra. As an amplifier, she uses the ENGL 650, Ritchie Blackmore Signature. For effects use only, Bechtold uses Strymon El Capistan digital tape echo and Octaver Polish Taurus. She uses Ernie Ball strings and Dunlop Jazz plectrums.
References
- "Interview with Merel Bechtold". Metal Exposure. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
- "Merel Bechtold". Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
- "MEREL BECHTOLD launches new band DEAR MOTHER – Arrow Lords of Metal" (in Dutch). Retrieved December 26, 2020.
