At the Citadel, we’ve always believed metal isn’t just about some tooo-ight riffs, it’s a living, mutating culture shaped as much by fans as by the bands themselves. And in 2025, some of the loudest voices in that culture aren’t only on stage, they’re on your For You Page. This is where Claire comes in, better known as “Overload” or “Cruedom”, a fellow Canadian metalhead who’s turned TikTok into her own pit, amassing over 50,000 followers.

We caught up with her to talk about how a Queen obsession snowballed into Megadeth tattoos, why the Vancouver scene punches above its weight, and how women are shaping the future of heavy music both online and in the pit. Check out what she had to say!

To kick things off, can you introduce yourself and tell us how your love for metal and content creation on TikTok came to be?

My name is Claire, but most people know me as "Overload" or "Cruedom" from TikTok. I am from Vancouver, Canada and ever since I was born, my life has been surrounded by music. I mostly grew up listening to classic and hard rock that my family would play. Although my parents both came from the grunge scene in the 90s, heavier music wasn't really a thing in my house so I discovered metal by myself.

I had a huge Queen phase growing up and I was always drawn to their album Sheer Heart Attack with the epic 3-minute guitar solo in Brighton Rock. From there, I expanded into heavier and heavier music.

The TikTok side of my metal obsession didn't start until early 2024. I remember scrolling through my For You Page with my brain full of funny jokes that I was just yearning for someone to tell. I got so desperate to share my jokes and ideas with the world, so I started my own account.

Originally, I posted mostly mainstream rock and glam bands that I grew up with, but I realized over the first few months of being online that there is a demand for more underground and heavy music online, so I didn't let that stop me from expanding my horizons into the type of content that I create now.It's been about a year and a half now and my page has expanded to about 50,000 followers with over 7 million likes, and I can't be more grateful for the community I have created.

As a fellow Canadian metalhead, what are your thoughts on the Canadian metal scene today? Are there any specific regions or communities that you think are particularly thriving?

From what I am told, the metal scene across all parts of Canada vary greatly depending on geography. I can't speak for other scenes, but as Vancouverites we are very lucky to be a border town that gets a good amount of bands that come up from the US to play. Our local scene in particular has quite a good variety of bands from the tech death geniuses of Archspire to the classic thrashers of Terrifier to the stone-faced legends of Blasphemy, and our local promoters do a great job of keeping us entertained with solid lineups for the most part.

If I could dream for one thing, it would be more large-scale open-air festivals. The closest to me are Loud as Hell and Armstrong Metal Fest which are both great, but I sometimes wish Canada had our own Waken. My secondary wish would be that bands hit up other parts of Canada rather than just the big 3 (Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal).

I have friends across the country who need to travel for so many shows, so I really hope bands can visit lesser-travelled areas of our country. I know it's big and travel is expensive but please!

What are your top 3 favourite metal bands of all time?

It's no secret to the people who know me that Megadeth has and always will be my number one favourite band. I even have Vic Rattlehead tattooed on me! Thrash is my all-time favourite subgenre and Megadeth was the band that really got me into the fast and powerful riffs. The technicality combined with the catchiness of each song really drew me to them.

My second favourite band without question is Bathory. The fact that Quorthon was able to jump from first wave black metal to viking metal to thrash metal back to viking metal again is a feat in its own, but to do it successfully, he was on a whole other planet. Nordland I and II is my go-to study music and I couldn't tell you how many times I've listened to Hammerheart.

My third favourite band always changes depending on my mood, but right now I would say it's probably Judas Priest. From my list, you can tell I really am drawn to the namesakes in metal, and Priest is no exception. Everything from their signature sound down to their aesthetic is perfect in my eyes, and Painkiller is one of my all-time favourite songs to practice on the drums.

Do you have any rare band merch? Old band shirts, signed merch, etc?

I have a 1 of 1 signed rocker from the modern lineup of Acid Bath addressed to me by Sammy Pierre Duet. I was supposed to meet up with them when they played in Seattle, but some logistics didn't work out. My friend who works for the band managed to get a hold of this patch and have them all dedicate it to me, which is one of the greatest gifts I've ever recieved.

I also have an original 1996 vinyl copy of Hero of the Day by Metallica, signed by James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Jason Newsted in 1997 (I know this because Jason wrote "97" next to his autograph). I bought this off of a local seller and I am waiting for the right time to try and get Kirk to sign it too!

Lastly, I have a 1990 first pressing of Rust in Peace by Megadeth that I got signed by Dave Mustaine in September 2024. I want to believe that having this pressing signed by a member is fairly rare, because I haven't really been able to find any comparisons online.

Some honourable mentions, I have a signed katana from the entire lineup of Enforcer, confetti, exclusive poster, and wristband from Ozzy Osbourne's final show, an original mint condition D.R.I. banner from 1988, two original Megadeth tour shirts from the early 2000s, and many other things!

With wicked bands like Witch Club Satan, Crypta and Dogma how do you feel women are shaping the metal scene today, both online and in real life?

I do believe that the demand for all-women and female-fronted bands is increasing, which is amazing. In my opinion, the Vancouver scene in particular has done a great job at highlighting female metal musicians. Online, I honestly see women as mostly being the spokespeople in metal. Most of the biggest creators and pioneers behind large metal-related accounts that I interact with are women and I feel like we should continue to keep it this way.

Alternative women are often fetishized online (in real life too, but on social media more so) so having these strong figures in the scene is really healthy in inspiring more young girls to attend metal shows, and to inspire local communities to make it safer for women to attend shows.

Bands that I would like to see get more recognition are trans women-fronted bands. Some of my favourites to name a few would be Orbital Gate, Cordyceps Corpse, and The Hallowed Catharsis.

What's been the most rewarding part of connecting with other metalheads and fans through your TikTok content?

I would say the ability to see the fruits of my labour come to life in the real world. It's so easy to believe that the content you put out into the ether is "fake". Because everyone is behind a screen and an alias, right? However this year, I was able to work alongside brands that I look up to like Valco, who created Megadeth's branded headphones, I got to meet up with Nuclear Blast Records and get backstage access to Slayer's show in London.

I was able to meet up and collaborate with other creators and bands such as Motorhead, Battle Jackets London, Meganxrattlehead, and many more. But most importantly, I was able to meet so many people who watch my videos. It's really a surreal moment to be standing at a show, or in a train station, or in a pub and a complete stranger knows exactly who you are and what you're about. I am so excited to be able to talk to people who follow me online and get to know my audience in real life.

And now what's been the worst part?

Probably the hate comments. It will always be the hate comments. It's always just basement-dwelling trolls who have nothing better to do than to comment on your looks or tell you what you can or can't listen to, but I've been getting better at not caring/reading comments. It's a sad reality, but in order to be a face on social media you do have to become immune to hate. I have gotten death threats before, but luckily nothing too serious. You just have to block and move on.

What's the most controversial belief you have when it comes to metal? (bands everyone loves that you don't, overrated sub-genres, etc.

Everyone who knows me knows I can't stand nu metal. It's something about the vocals, I don't know! A lot of my friends got into metal through nu bands like Korn, System of a Down, Mudvayne, etc. but I never had that phase and I always saw it as corny but not in a fun way, in a more "poorly-delivered joke" way.

We heard you attended the Back to the Beginning gig, Ozzy's final live show before he passed, tell us everything, what was it like?

I was shocked I even got tickets to this! It was crazy, definitely an experience I will not take for granted at all. I was standing mostly in one place for a total of 15 hours that day, I could barely walk after, but it was worth it.

I want to say the atmosphere was electric, which it was especially for all the amazing and huge opening bands, but once it was Ozzy and Black Sabbath's turn, you couldn't help but feel this overwhelming sombreness pressing down on the venue. Everyone knew what was coming and no one was ready for it. But in person, Ozzy sounded great, the whole band sounded tight almost as if they hadn't had any time off. I was so stoked to see Bill Ward with them again.

The crowd around me was quite rowdy, but again this was my first metal show in the UK so I didn't know what to expect. I don't even want to know the total amount of beer I had poured on me that day. I don't think I told anyone outside of my friends and family that I went all by myself, so I guess now I'm saying it haha! I did the entire cross-continental trip and attended the show solo.

I started going to metal shows by myself so I'm used to it, but it 100% is a different animal going to a show of this scale on your own with no one to help you if you get in trouble. But, it felt like I had a whole world of metal fans around me (which technically I did), so I completely forgot that I did this whole trip by myself! Definitely a core memory for me that I will never forget.

10.What's the best live show you've attended and why?

I would have to say Slayer, Amon Amarth, Anthrax, Mastodon, Hatebreed and Neckbreakker in London.

I went to this show the day after Back to the Beginning. I arrived in a terrible mood because my train from Birmingham to London broke down and extended my commute by an hour. I was sweaty, drenched from the on and off downpour, exhausted from a lack of sleep, and hadn't eaten a full meal in 2 days by the time I arrived.

I missed the first little bit but eventually met up with Louis of Battle Jackets London and we got to hang out for a while. Anthrax came on and my energy completely shifted. I moshed to Madhouse and crowd surfed to Metal Thrashing Mad which instantly put me in a good mood. I met up with my friend from Nuclear Blast Records after the set and they surprised me with backstage access to the show.

I got to see what it's like backstage at a show of that size. I met Scott Ian, Joey Belladonna, Charlie Benante, Brann Dailor, Gary Holt, Tom Araya, and Kerry King all in one night, I ate their complimentary ice cream sundaes, I relaxed on their special benches, it was incredible. Literally an experience money cannot buy.

Every set at that show was amazing. So tight, so well-orchestrated. The energy when Slayer came on to resume their touring career is indescribable. I wish to live that moment again.

We love our movies at the Citadel, tell us your top 3 Metal movies of all time and why!

I'll be honest, I'm not much of a movie person! Maybe my attention span has been messed up from too much TikTok haha!

But I will say, I love Heavy Metal Parking Lot. I'm so envious of the metalheads who got to experience the scene in the 80s when the culture around metal was an entirely new concept. These characters you see are real and to me it's mind-boggling. There are definitely some questionable moments here and there but it's raw and it's real. As a history major, I really appreciate these lenses into worlds that we in the more modern era wouldn't have otherwise seen had someone not documented it!

Alright, tell our readers how they can support your content, and what you have goin on in your life (upcoming gigs you're gonna attend, etc.)

You can follow me on TikTok (@cruedom) which is where I post the most frequently, or on Instagram (@cruedom_tt). I am hoping to expand my horizons into a different, more elevated type of content within the next few months (working with bands, perchance?) so stay tuned for that!

The next shows on my list that I'm super excited for are Symphony X (my all-time favourite prog band), Dark Angel, Gwar, and Death to All which will be my first show in Eastern Canada, so I can't wait to see what the scene is like over there! Until next time!

Thanks again for having me in the Heavy Metal Citadel guys!

All Hails, Claire!