Mia Priest has performed in 30+ cities spanning 20+ countries with her bands and recorded on 20+ releases since 2000. She currently plays in bands based in New York City, Phnom Penh and Singapore.
In Asia, Mia’s the guitarist and vocalist for her own bands ABSENCE OF THE SACRED, BLOOD DIVISION, NIGHTMARE A.D. and the lead guitarist of JŌHATSU. She is also the vocalist for ABYSSAL VORTEX (featuring members of MEGADETH and RUDRA) and the former lead guitarist for IMPIETY, one of Asia’s biggest Extreme Metal bands.
In the US, Mia’s a guest guitarist in SEV LEZU, an all-trans Black Metal project featuring members of CROSSSPITTER, FIREWALKER, MANAT and SONJA, as well as the guitarist of a secretive Black Metal band.
Aside from performing/recording music, Mia promotes and organises shows under GET IN THE PENH (accredited by UNITE ASIA) and is one of the co-organisers of the annual SLAM CITY ASIA festival in Cambodia. She is the original co-founder of COQ & BALLS (award-winning gastro bar specialising in cocktails, craft beer, fusion food and single malts) and the former owner of HELL’S LABYRINTH (record store/design studio) in Singapore.
Mia does layout and product design for both bands and businesses. She has done work for bands such as ANAL VOMIT, ANTIPOPE, AOSOTH, BREATHING HELL, CULT OF FIRE, DEMILICH, DRACONIS INFERNUM, DYING EMBRACE, GOATBLOOD, IMPIETY, KRYPTOS, RUDRA, SACRILEGIOUS RITE, SHADES OF DEEP WATER, SIGH, PSEUDOGOD and more, including her own bands.
Mia is the author of Negative Cognition: Fragmented Social Idealisms and Gratified Violence out on Blurb Books, with two more books currently in the pipeline. She is an anti-war veteran of the Singapore Armed Forces, as well as a strong advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community and Human Rights.
Read more on Mia’s background below:
ABOUT MIA
Mia is a Singapore-born creative force whose life has been defined by resilience and relentless artistic drive. Raised across Singapore, Australia, and the USA, she survived a traumatic childhood and found refuge in Grunge, Metal and Punk. Her passion for music led her to form and perform in Metal and Punk bands throughout the 2000s, recording gritty demos and playing underground shows that shaped her identity.
Her military service in the Singapore Air Force during the Afghanistan/Iraq War was marked by personal tragedy and psychological trauma, yet she emerged with a sharpened sense of purpose. After her service, she taught ESL (English as a Second Language) and began recording professionally—first with ABSENCE OF THE SACRED, whose debut album caught the attention of IMPIETY’s Shyaithan. Mia joined IMPIETY as lead guitarist, recording in studio and touring Europe, performing at iconic venues like LA LOCOMOTIVE in Paris and GLORIA in Helsinki. She co-headlined a tour with WATAIN and shared the stage with bands such as ENSLAVED, KEEP OF KALESSIN and NIFELHEIM.
Mia later founded HELL’S LABYRINTH, a record store and design studio that became a hub for Southeast Asia’s underground music scene. She collaborated with regional bands and labels, hosted international acts like MALEVOLENT CREATION and RUSSIAN CIRCLES, and formed BLOOD DIVISION, opening for bands such as KVELERTAK and NUCLEAR DEATH TERROR. Her design work supported dozens of bands across Asia and Europe, from album art to print layouts.
Her event production credits include operational work such as security and ticketing for major acts like SLIPKNOT (2005), OPETH (2012), and METALLICA (2013), and culminated in her co-organization of SCREAMS FROM THE MORGUE in 2014—a landmark regional fest featuring bands like EXHUMATION, ORATOR, and SAVAGE DEITY, and supported by key figures in Asia’s Metal scene.
In 2012, Mia co-founded the award-winning gastro bar COQ & BALLS, serving as marketing director and sous chef. Despite challenges from government nightlife restrictions, the bar gained acclaim and media coverage before being sold in 2016. Mia continued recording with BLOOD DIVISION and ABYSSAL VORTEX, releasing full-length albums and EPs that cemented her place in the region’s Extreme Metal legacy.
Seeking a fresh start, Mia relocated to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where she continues to freelance in design, record music, and support underground culture with her bands NIGHTMARE A.D. and JŌHATSU; she organizes local shows under the moniker GET IN THE PENH and is part of SLAM CITY ASIA, a collective that organizes the only annual Metal Festival in Cambodia. More recently, Mia has worked with bands in New York City, where she plays in a secretive Black Metal band and also guested guitars and songwriting for SEV LEZU, a Black Metal band comprising of members of MANAT and SONJA.
Today, she remains a vital force in Southeast Asia’s creative underground, driven by the same raw energy that first pulled her into the pit. Whether she's working on album art or creating the next sonic eruption, Mia’s journey is far from over—it's just evolving.
Photo by Adam Ziegenhals
Photo courtesy of HEHEMETAL
Photo by Steve Porte
Photo courtesy of LIVE-PICS.NET