Laura Bradley is an LA-based musician/composer in addition to the founding member and lead singer of the LA Symphonic Metal band, The Longing.
Born in Toronto, Bradley grew up in Miami, Florida, where the musical influences are as diverse as the multicultural population. Singing from earliest childhood, and self-taught on piano and guitar into her early teens, her diligence and tenacity paid off in a music scholarship for operatic voice. Bradley simultaneously studied opera while singing rock, expanding her multi-octave range and developing the finely tuned vocal control that distinguishes her in the crowded field of singer-songwriters. Always ready to push creative boundaries, The Longing joins Laura in blending buoyant, aurally addictive hooks, searing guitar work, multi-layered rhythm to enhance Bradley’s tormented vocals.
Bradley has toured nationally as a solo artist in support of her first two solo projects, ‘Rain’ and ‘Storm’ (distributed by eOne), and became the opening act for both Colin Hay and Dionne Warwick & Friends at Miami’s Bank United Center. Singles from ‘Rain’ and ‘Storm’ were in rotation on multiple Clear Channel stations, and the track, ‘Choosing You’ was featured on the season finale of MTV’s ‘The Real World — Down Under in Sydney’. Bradley also has a great passion for film and co-composed the score for William Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’, as well as writing and performing the theme song, ‘Sword and Stone’.” ‘Rain’ was featured on the soundtrack for Benny Bliss and the Disciples of Greatness (feature film, Sundance Film Festival: Official Selection 2009), and ‘Love Song’ the theme song on ‘Butterflies’, a short film presented in Cannes 2009.
The Longing are a 5-piece band who take a tight hold on raw progressive metal, mix it with a fusion of gritty rock and deliver a uniquely hitting sound. Bradley has the ability to harness the power of her trademark angelic vocals, unleashing her voice with the spectral force of an emotional whiplash – that’s what instantly brings audiences to a standstill. Fuse this with Bradley’s impeccable poetic lyrics and compositional style, which injects a jagged, rhythm-driven musical perspective, and you begin to experience the energy igniting the ever-expanding fanbase of The Longing. In addition to Laura, the band consists of guitarists John Huldt and Mashadi Maximus, bassist Michael Wallace and drummer, Tom Plumb – all formally trained, seasoned session and touring musicians with numerous high-profile production and engineering credits. The chemistry amongst this collection of outstanding musicians is phenomenal, as they create music that’s tempting the world.
The Longing, has performed at numerous rock venues with a unified vision and sound that electrifies an audience. Impressed by her playful theatrics and easy rapport with an enthusiastic crowd at The Viper Room, Music Connection Magazine reviewer, Lisa Elaine Scott wrote, “Laura is an accomplished composer and a sophisticated performer. Her risk-taking lyrical story lines, combined with stellar musicianship and a spellbinding stage presence, make for an outstanding live show. Unafraid to stray from the familiar formula, Laura Bradley and The Longing are creating aural art at its best.”
There’s a divine place, which suspends itself deliciously between distinct musical genres. A place, which proudly and effortlessly beams a smile of non-conformity, never needing to wedge itself into that perfectly chiseled square box. It’s here that you’ll find The Longing, swimming in their own unique musical sea, which bridges the gap between over-simplistic genre categorization. Transcending expectations of symphonic metal, they hover gloriously over the void between raw progressive metal and rock. This is a sound that audiences are hungry for, proven by the band’s success both sides of the Atlantic. Previous singles ‘Wicked’ and ‘Frozen Ground’ received tremendous airplay in the UK and 18 countries worldwide, whilst ‘Wicked’ earned a UK Record of the Week. The Longing’s prior album release, “Bleed” hit #138 on the US iTunes Metal Sales Chart and garnered national and international press accolades.
The current album, Tales of Torment has been highlighted in Prog Magazine along with features and rave reviews by PureGrainAudio.com, Songwriting Magazine, Paste Magazine, Noize Machine and many more. Troubled and anguished, Tales of Torment is a storybook of alternative tales, the type of narratives told from the perspective of the wicked witch and the twisted villain…those tormented cruel souls fighting against the injustice inflicted upon them. Tales of Torment is a realization of life, a battle with our inner demons – a journey that you won’t want to miss.
Filthy Princess Records is pleased to announce the deluxe edition of Tales of Torment – the critically acclaimed album now featuring additional unreleased bonus tracks as well as containing FIVE rock radio favorites (What If, Come On, 40 Days, How Do You Know and Monsters).