Tony Cummings takes a look at the life and music of Mexican American metalcore rocker ZAHNA

Zahna

American singer Zahna has triumphed over massive disappointments and life threatening illness to become the premier female in Christian rock and metal music. Faith has been her driving force. She spoke to HM magazine. "When you cultivate faith and allow it to shape you, it permeates every aspect of your life. I've always found it strange when artists hesitate to call themselves Christian musicians, as if they can separate their faith from their work. I can't do that. My faith is part of who I am, and since I'm the one creating the music, that faith will naturally be reflected in it. That being said, I don't always write songs with traditional Christian lyrics. I tried to be honest about the dark times, the moments when hope feels distant. Looking back on my own struggles, I honestly don't know how people get through life without God. I don't know what kind of false hope they cling to, or how they see the future. Faith itself is a kind of vision - a choice to believe God's promises over fear and doubt."

Zahna was born Suzy Martinez. She emigrated from Mexico and grew up, in Texas, bilingual. She spent a year in Mexico as an exchange student when she was 11. Later she studied at the renowned Christ for the nations institute when she emerged with a bachelor's degree in 2014. She considered becoming a minister/evangelist until the Lord made it clear to her that she should pursue music as a career. Her musical tastes were wide-ranging, taking in everything from Céline Dion to rock to metalcore. Her professional career began when she joined the Christian rock band ILIA who were seeking a new lead vocalist. Songs Zahna had written and recorded in acoustic form as 'Our Divine Romance' were given full-on rock arrangements and became ILIA's 2014 EP 'Reborn'. But after two years of gigging across the USA ILIA folded and in 2017 Zahna released her first solo single "Underneath".

The song would go on to chart at number four. In 2018 she released her first independent album 'Red For War'. It was favourably reviewed by Cross Rhythms who enthused, "The one strand that is carried throughout every track on this record is passion. Zahna appears equally comfortable with scream and clean vocals and the power and passion in her voice comes through whether it is a full-on assault on the ears or more refrained and reflective. This is a very strong start for an artist who clearly has a talent for producing passionate, hard hitting proclamations of spiritual truth." The tracks "Die For Something", "I'm Sorry" and "Defiler" were chosen for the Cross Rhythms playlist.

But while establishing herself as a critically praised rock artist and a passionate Christian communicator Zahna was battling with ill health. She was diagnosed with the life-threatening medullary kidney disease. The transplant of a kidney from her mother in 2019 saved her life. But then years of pain and indie artist struggle followed.

The singer's 2018 album 'Stronger Than Death' gained over 3,000,000 Spotify streams. A single from it, "Pile Of Pills", was, in her own words, "my heaviest yet." She told HM magazine, "When I wrote 'Pile Of Pills' it was about two years post-transplant, In the middle of the pandemic. I had no income, I had been laid off from all my gigs and I was constantly thinking about death because I'm immunosuppressed. I have a weaker immune system than most people and I was terrified that if I caught COVID-19 that would be the end for me."

Zahna continued, "I had worked so hard to get this transplant, to live, and then for years after that, it felt like none of it even mattered. There was the sickness going around that I could still succumb to. It was three years of survival mode - financially, physically, emotionally. My relationships were suffering. It was just this piercing darkness I existed in for years. With 'Pile Of Pills' I was just so sick of taking all this medication. It made me feel terrible. It was insanely expensive. And I felt like I had no options left. When I walked into the studio, I wanted an extremely aggressive song that let me RIP my screams because of the desperation I was feeling."

Zahna has since signed with XOVR Records, the company owned by Brian 'Head' Welch, the legendary guitarist with Korn. In 2025 the first single, "Defiler", from the XOVR/ Zahna connection was released. It featured Welch adding his considerable talents and made rock playlists, both mainstream and Christian, around the world. On its release Welch said, "I'm always so mesmerised by vocalists who have incredible power, incredible range, melody and tone. And on top of all that, having the strength to be so vulnerable - to share such an intense health crisis experience with the world while still dealing with the raw emotions and trauma from it - it melts my heart. It touches my soul. I'm a huge fan of Zahna for many reasons, and I'm confident you will be too."