Can I Play with Madness?

Metal and tattooing are a match made in heaven and Alisha Gory is their love child. Gory fell in love with metal as a teenager living in South Korea. Today, she’s one of NYC’s hardest rocking tattoo artists. And in the immortal words of Wendy O. Williams, this femme fatale is “the baddest bitch around.”

How did you first get into metal?

I’ve never been into conformity. I grew up listening to John Lennon and Stevie Wonder, then my cousin got me into Led Zeppelin and I fell in love with classic rock. In a way, I wanted to piss off my parents and find some way to release all of my teenage angst. You don’t always understand your feelings very well when you’re young and you have to find other sources to release. Heavy metal made me feel alive.

What are some of the metal tattoos you have on your body?

I have tattoos for bands like Metallica, Judas Priest, The Melvins, Death, Dio, King Diamond, Type O Negative, etc. They’re my favorite metal bands and I will love their music for the rest of my life.

Which one is your favorite?

My King Diamond with the burning church.

Who’s the hottest metal singer of all time?

Chuck Schuldiner from Death. I have a tattoo of his guitar piercing through a heart that says “Chuck” on my hip. Whenever someone who isn’t into metal sees it, they’re like, “Who the fuck is Chuck?”

What’s your favorite metal show that you’ve been to?

Judas Priest. But that’s a tough choice because I’ve been going to shows for my whole life.

Have you done any metal tattoos for your clients?

I’ve done a Lenny portrait, a Till Lindemann portrait and a Plasmatics piece recently.

Who’s one metal musician, alive or dead , that you’d love to tattoo?

Forever Daddy, Rob Halford.

Alisha Gory’s Playlist

We all know Alisha Gory loves her heavy metal, but her go-to playlist of songs covers all genres.Eyehategod“Dixie Whiskey”This is something I used to love as a teenager because it’s super angry.DJ Khaled ft. Drake“POPSTAR”This song kept me going through 2020.Mötley Crüe“Kickstart My Heart” It gets me amped, it’s such a fun song.Bob Marley“Jamming” It’s such a happy song and it makes it such a good time when you’re tattooing.Bad Bunny“Vete”I don’t know what he’s talking about, but I like it.Plasmatics“Rock N Roll”Wendy O is fucking badass.Nine Inch Nails“Terrible Lie” I have so many favorite Nine Inch Nail songs, this is just one of them.Metallica“Seek & Destroy”This has always been one of my favorite songs. It’s so hard.Travis Scott ft. Young Thug and M.I.A.“FRANCHISE” The beat is made to turn up to.

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