IT sounds like a band from the new Spinal Tap movie, but Velvet Metal are no musical joke.

The classical-style trio are donning their leather pants and snake skin boots to tackle head-banging songs by iconic rock and heavy metal bands like Metallica, Black Sabbath, Audioslave and Led Zeppelin.

Alex Hey is on the mosh-pit cello, Aaron Graham on acoustic axe, and fronting the power trio is Davina Liana, a classically trained soprano from Perth.

“It really started through a deep regard for the genre, particularly the emotional scale and sense of longing,” Liana says.

“I wanted to explore the raw beauty of the lyrics and harmony without the usual weight.

“I don’t see it as reinventing these songs, but as revealing what is already there.”

• Davina Liana will be singing heavy metal classics in a new intimate framework.

The band will Mozart their way through metal and hard rock classics including Kashmir (Led Zeppelin), The Unforgiven (Metallica), Like a Stone (Audioslave), Heaven and Hell (Black Sabbath) and Master of Puppets (Metallica).

“Master of Puppets probably undergoes the biggest transformation,” Liana says.

“Without layers of rhythmic drive, the song’s harmonics start to emulate a bit more of the grief and fear that sits underneath. I’ve really come to appreciate how sophisticated the writing is, so much more than sheer volume.

“Heaven and Hell and Master of Puppets have been the most revealing to work on. Heaven and Hell in particular as Ronnie Dio had a natural bel canto quality in terms of vocal ethos and it becomes much more expansive in an acoustic context.”

All the band members hail from Greater Perth and their gig at Fringe World will feature a guest vocalist from Fremantle.

When she’s not performing, Liana is a vocal coach and involved with ensembles.

An experienced cellist, Hay has played with a diverse range of WA  musicians, poets, dancers and visual artists, from boutique concerts to large orchestral ensembles. 

Last but not least is Lord of the Strings Aaron Graham; the multi-instrumentalist has performed in more than sixteen countries over two decades, playing everything from rock and metal to quieter acoustic material.

This new line-up of Velvet Metal will make their debut at Fringe World, putting some famous rock paintings in new baroque frames.

Liana says sometimes less is more when singing intense songs.

“There’s a temptation to lean into too much rubato or sentiment, but the material asks for tension and breath instead,” she says.

“Emotionally, it’s also challenging without the use of multiple instrumentation within the ensemble.

“It’s exposing but I think that’s the point.”

As part of Fringe World, Velvet Metal are playing Evergreens, Leederville Hotel, 742 Newcastle Street on January 30 and 31 Tix at fringeworld.com.au.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK