Girl metal - Girlschool, Kittie, Lita, etc

I love the girl metal bands such as:

Edited by AtomicCrimsonRush - 21 May 2010 at 9:53pm

Black metal band Astarte.

Raff wrote: As a woman, I have to say I don't particularly like the use of the term 'chick metal', but I understand it is not used with malice. Anyway, I remember both Girlschool and Rock Goddess from the NWoBHM days, and also some other all-girl bands, though of a more glam-metal persuasion.

No offense at all as thats a term all my mates used for this type of metal. We love it! Nightwish, After Forever and Epica are awesome too though not total girl band. The Runaways are definitely pioneers too of the heavier style of metal. i wish they were here on the MMarchives as they are one of the first all girl bands to use heavier sounds along with Suzi Quatro.  

1. Within Temptation (Sharon den Adel)
2. Ex-Sirenia (Monika Pedersen)
3. Mandragora Scream (Morgan LaCroix)
4. Xandria (Lisa Middelhauve)
5. Nightwish (Anette Olzon)
6. Lacuna Coil (Cristina Scabbia)
7. Epica (Simone Simons)
8. Tarja Turunen

Well ACR,

Seems not too many Metalheads like "Chick" Bands, I for one never understood that, its just
another aspect of Metal (and Prog) that I enjoy.  But there are not too many All Female Bands,
but have incredible Singers (Though their are many Bands that have Female Instrumentalists).

I wonder if you agree Raff that Women are not taken seriously in Metal?

Some fave Bands that are Female fronted/Vocally (and Musicians):
1. Aghora (Math Metal)
2. To-mera (Math Metal)
3. Gaia (Math Metal)
4. Stream of Passion (Darkwave/Metal)
5. After Forever (Prog Metal)
6. Leaves Eyes (Darkwave/Folk Metal)
7. Mythologic (Tech-Prog Metal)
8. Within Temptation (Darkwave/Metal)
9. Drain STH (Heavy Metal) Just discovering what I missed!
10. Lita Ford (Heavy Metal) Earlier stuff for me.
11. Doro (Heavy Metal/etc.)
12. Warlock (Heavy Metal)
13. Arch Enemy (Death Metal) Though I prefer the years with Johan Liiva on Vocals,
which has more to do with the "music" compositions.
14. Charisma (Tech-Prog Metal)
15. The Gathering (Heavy Metal/Darkwave/Prog Metal)
16. Chastain (Heavy Metal)
17. Znowhite (Thrash Metal) "Nicole Lee" may have been the 1st Female Thrash
Vocalist.
18. Saraya (Hard Rock/Heavy Metal)
19. Epica (Darkwave/Metal)
20. Nightwish (Darkwave/Metal)
21. Unexpect (Avant Garde Metal)
22. Diablo Swing Orchestra (Avant Garde Metal)
23. Sleepytime Gorilla Museum (Avant Garde Metal)
. . . I seem to be forgetting some others




Edited by MAVIIIVAM - 11 Jul 2010 at 10:11pm

MAVIIIVAM wrote: Well ACR, Seems not too many Metalheads like "Chick" Bands, I for one never understood that, its just another aspect of Metal (and Prog) that I enjoy.  But there are not too many All Female Bands, but have incredable Singers (Though their are many Bands that have Female Instrumentalists). I wonder if you agree Raff that Women are not taken seriously in Metal? Some fave Bands that are Female fronted/Vocally (and Musicians): 1. Aghora (Math Metal) 2. To-mera (Math Metal) 3. Gaia (Math Metal) 4. Stream of Passion (Darkwave/Metal) 5. After Forever (Prog Metal) 6. Leaves Eyes (Darkwave/Folk Metal) 7. Mythologic (Tech-Prog Metal) 8. Within Temptation (Darkwave/Metal) 9. Drain STH (Heavy Metal) Just discovering what I missed! 10. Lita Ford (Heavy Metal) Earlier stuff for me. 11. Doro (Heavy Metal/etc.) 12. Warlock (Heavy Metal) 13. Arch Enemy (Death Metal) Though I prefer the years with Johan Liiva on Vocals, which has more to do with the "music" compositions. 14. Charisma (Tech-Prog Metal) 15. The Gathering (Heavy Metal/Darkwave/Prog Metal) 16. Chastain (Heavy Metal) 17. Znowhite (Thrash Metal) "Nicole Lee" may have been the 1st Female Thrash Vocalist. 18. Saraya (Hard Rock/Heavy Metal) 19. Epica (Darkwave/Metal) 20. Nightwish (Darkwave/Metal) 21. Unexpect (Avant Garde Metal) 22. Diablo Swing Orchestra (Avant Garde Metal) 23. Sleepytime Gorilla Museum (Avant Garde Metal) . . . I seem to be forgetting some others

Thats quite a list! I grew up with er........ girl bands after getting heavily into Runaways, Quatro (surely a pioneer_ and Girlschool. There are way more girl bands now but they are a fabulous sub genre - this is a male dominated  genre, metal, so its great that girl bands are beginning to make a mark, esp all the Goth bands such as Nightwish, Epica, After Forever and Within Temptation. i love the mixture of power metalriffs and operatic female singing. Its incredible music if you give it a chance.  

I am not a big fan of operatic female vocals (unless we're talking about 'real' opera, of course), while I like powerful, gutsy female voices. The one that most impressed me when I first heard it was Veronica Freeman of Benedictum - simply put, a female version of Ronnie James Dio (RIP), with a pair of forge bellows instead of lungs. Totally awesome - I'd kill to have a voice like that!

Its too bad, just recently noticed that Benedictum was removed from my fave Internet Station, so I guess
they didnt deem them "Progressive" Metal anymore . But at-least I have the album.
She does indeed (Veronica) has a set of . . . eh-em LUNGS, very powerful voice and its no surprising
that "Uncreation" has 2 Dio era-Sabbath songs, "Heaven & Hell" and "Mob Rules".
I just learned that she was in a Dio Tribute Band called "Evillution" .

As to the "Operatic Voices, Raff, I used to feel the same but am now re-discovering many of those
Females that have made it (in)famous.  But a particular fave right now, Floor Jansen of the now
disbanded "Forever After".  I tell you, their last self-titled album astounds me, not only the
Orchestra Arrangements, the Heaviness and subtle complexity of the Music (Much like an
Orchestra, I'm sure thanks to a Young Joost Van Den Broek on Keyboards). And Floor has soo
many different ranges to her voice, to the melodic "Singing", "pretty" and Heavy Metal style, but
when she sings in her Soprano voice, its like a guest Opera Singer comes in (Along with
Guitarists Sander Gommans "Cookie Vocals" for a bit of flavour). Floor has her own Band now
called ReVamp, have not heard them yet.
"Evoke" (Good example of her ranges):


Floor's ReVamp "Disdain":

Wow! She does the harsher style as well.

Znowhite "War Machine":


Aghora "Atmas Heave":


Benedictum, "Shell Shock":


And now the more extreme . . . Arch Enemy!


Various styles that some folks may have missed


Edited by MAVIIIVAM - 29 May 2010 at 3:18am

Out of that lot of youtube clips Aghora really sounded great - the clean female vocals and  crunching riffs wor brilliantly. it is almost a progressive feel.

As a happy fan of glam metal, might I add that Vixen are quite a good band. I like thier guitar solos, clean, gustsy and very 80's drunken party style.