Grant Henry, better known by his stage nameStemage, is an American guitarist and composer. He is known for his involvement in several video game cover projects, including Metroid Metal and Viking Guitar. He is also known for his video game and television soundtracks, including Cartoon Network's animated showSteven Universe.
Career
Stemage began writing and performing music in high school, and a joined a band named MiniVoid in 1998 while in college. In 2003, Stemage formed Metroid cover project Metroid Metal, later recruiting other artists such as Danimal Cannon. While the group were initially simply recording cover songs to release online, Metroid Metal made their live debut at MAGfest 7 in 2009, and became a recurring act at the event. Stemage released several albums with the group over the following years. During this time, he released a number of albums as a solo artist, both in the form of cover projects and original material. Stemage had a brief tenure with LONELYROLLINGSTARS, working on their 2014 album CARNIVORTEX and performing live at MAGFest 12 to support the release. His departure later in the year was announced by the band in the form of a music video. During the video, Stemage walks out midway through a performance of Royal Rainbow Road to be replaced by new guitarist Mega Beardo.
Viking Guitar
Stemage joined Viking Guitar in 2014, alongside Travis Morgan, Mega Beardo, and founder Erik Peabody. Viking Guitar originated as a solo act fronted by Peabody, with which Stemage had featured as a guest on several occasions. The new incarnation of the band released their debut studio album Legion later that year, while continuing the annual Danse Macabre projects that Stemage had been involved in earlier. In 2018, the group released their second studio album, Warpath.
Soundtracks
Stemage's work with soundtracks began in 2005 with his work for the comedy film For Catherine. In 2010, Stemage was hired to perform the soundtrack for the Xbox Live game Alpha Squad. In an interview shortly before the game's release, he described composing for video games as "acting on a blue screen with a director telling you that the Master Control Program is off in the distance, and it's big – except that there's no director, and the MCP is a sketch of a dude with a gun." In addition to the opening theme for the second season of Cartoon Network's Steven Universe, Stemage worked on guitars throughout the remainder of the show. The first volume of the Steven Universe soundtrack reached #22 on the Billboard 200. A second volume followed in 2019, peaking at #28 on the Billboard 200, and #12 on the US iTunes chart. Stemage also co-composed . In 2019, Stemage worked on the Bubsy: Paws on Fire! soundtrack, which was released via videogame music labelMateria Collective. When discussing the album, Stemage indicated that it was a challenging but enjoyable project, adding "If you hear a hi-hat playing Morse code during one of the songs, don't say I didn't warn you."
Super Strikers
In 2018, Stemage joined a band called Super Strikers, along with video game composers Keiji Yamagishi and Manami Matsumae. The group performed live at MAGFest 2018.
Style and influences
He has described his music as "Catchy, high-energy space rock mixed with metal, pop, and prog". He has cited stylistic influences such as Failure, Stone Temple Pilots, Self, Hum, Meshuggah, and Shiner.
