Merel Bechtold (born February 27, 1992) is a Dutch guitarist. She was born in

Blaricum Blaricum () is a municipality and village in the province of North Holland, the Netherlands. It is part of the region of Gooiland and part of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (Metropoolregio Amsterdam). It is known for ...

. 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 2018. In 2013, she released the single "Momentum" and in 2014 she starred at the large metal festival

Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a Heavy metal music, heavy metal music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all ...

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 Purest of Pain. In October 2014, she was contacted by Isaac Delahaye ( Epica, ex-MaYaN) who had to leave MaYaN for other priorities. After two concerts in January 2015 as a replacement, the band asked her to become a permanent member. She left MaYaN in 2023. 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 A sabaton or solleret is part of a knight's body armour, body armor that covers the foot. History Sabatons from the 14th and 15th centuries typically end in a tapered point well past the actual toes of the wearer's foot, following poulaines, f ...

. From October 2015 until June 2019, Bechtold was officially a permanent member of Delain. In 2019 Bechtold formed the

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...

metalcore Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...

band Dear Mother, with David Pear and former Delain member Joey de Boer.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bechtold, Merel 1992 births Living people Dutch rock guitarists Rhythm guitarists People from Blaricum 21st-century Dutch guitarists Mayan (band) members Delain members 21st-century Dutch women guitarists Seven-string guitarists