Mean Streak

One of the few all-female thrash metal bands on record, Westchester County, NY's Meanstreak were formed in 1985 by guitarists Marlene Apuzzo and Rena Sands, who along with future bandmates Bettina France (vocals), Lisa Pace (bass), and Diane Keyser (drums) struck a blow against the traditionally "manufactured" state of girl groups by placing songwriting and musicianship ahead of commercial aspirations. This rare blend of talent and integrity would help land the quintet with the powerful Loud and Proud organization, which at the time also managed the careers of established bands like White Lion, Overkill, and Tyketto, and set up Meanstreak with great regional gigs, opening for bands like Manowar, Zebra, and Anthrax. In due time, these on-stage experiences naturally informed the band's aggressive yet melodic and always technically accomplished brand of thrash, so that when Meanstreak released their debut album, Roadkill, in 1988, through Mercenary Records, it showcased an extremely confident and competent heavy metal band. Unfortunately, the record nonetheless failed to stand out from the thousands of thrash releases crowding record stores in the late '80s, and despite quickly replacing departed drummer Keyser with Yael Devan so as to stay out on the road, Meanstreak gradually lost both their momentum and their once powerful backers, eventually winding down their activities by the early '90s, when two separate demos failed to garner record label interest. In the end, Meanstreak's brief career — though so promising to begin with — became something of a footnote in the greater scheme of metal history; yet the future of three of the band's musicians remained intertwined by the most amazing of coincidences, since Marlene Apuzzo, Rena Sands, and Lisa Pace all went on to marry members of progressive metal giants Dream Theater: drummer Mike Portnoy, guitarist John Petrucci, and bassist John Myung, respectively.