The "problem" with women in metal is their vocal range. Instrument playing, no difference. However, women don't have the deep voices that men do, usually anyway, and I think that has, and will continue to inhibit the rise of women in singing positions.

It's kinda like...Germans...they have a gutteral speech. How many women could sound like Till from Rammstein? Even a lot of men would have trouble taking over that spot, because of the type of power that is invoked by his voice. Women, on the other hand, can perform very well when that deep sound isn't needed.

I think this will continue to be a problem until we can make a sound type that will account for the range variances between men and women. Nobody wants our Till's and Milan Fras's singing country music. On the flip side, Shania Twain and Britany Spears would not be able to musically service Rammstein and Laibach appropriately

more ppl would listen to rock bands with women as their leading singer if they heard about that band.i think they just need more publicity.also it would suck if women had Till's voice don't u think?.i love bands with a woman as their vocal because of their voice.it would be boring to listen to male voices all the time.and kinda gay .

There are a few prominent women in metal, but most musicians are male:
The vast majority of fans are male
Metal is typically agressive, female vocals are typicaly more sensitive sounding (thus more female vocals in less agressive metal like gothic)
Most talented musicians are male. I'm not sure why but maybe girls aren't as used to sometihng as phallic as a guitar.
Females are often more shy about performing.

An interesting side point: Emo has alot of female fans, probably more than male fans, so why are there almost no girls in emo bands?

there are plenty of girls in emo bands actually. i think it's just really discouraging when a whole genre is dominated by men.

Written by [user id=5431] on 18.08.2006 at 11:08

There are a few prominent women in metal, but most musicians are male:
The vast majority of fans are male
Metal is typically agressive, female vocals are typicaly more sensitive sounding (thus more female vocals in less agressive metal like gothic)
Most talented musicians are male. I'm not sure why but maybe girls aren't as used to sometihng as phallic as a guitar.
Females are often more shy about performing.

An interesting side point: Emo has alot of female fans, probably more than male fans, so why are there almost no girls in emo bands?

Gothic metal isn't necessarily less aggressive. Female vocals in doom/gothic bands are used to evoke a sense of bittersweetness, especially due to the typical minor scales involved. They also act as a counterpoint to any harsh male vocals. Female vocals help to soften the gothic sound, but it can still remain pretty aggressive (c.f. Tristania, Sirenia). Other than that, you make some pretty good points. Perhaps there is some stigma about female guitarists; it has always been seen as a male instrument, and so has never been signifcantly broken into by female musicians? Not too sure if I agree about the 'phallic' attributes, though...

Written by [user id=14673] on 18.08.2006 at 08:24

The "problem" with women in metal is their vocal range. Instrument playing, no difference. However, women don't have the deep voices that men do, usually anyway, and I think that has, and will continue to inhibit the rise of women in singing positions.

It's kinda like...Germans...they have a gutteral speech. How many women could sound like Till from Rammstein? Even a lot of men would have trouble taking over that spot, because of the type of power that is invoked by his voice. Women, on the other hand, can perform very well when that deep sound isn't needed.

I think this will continue to be a problem until we can make a sound type that will account for the range variances between men and women. Nobody wants our Till's and Milan Fras's singing country music. On the flip side, Shania Twain and Britany Spears would not be able to musically service Rammstein and Laibach appropriately

Exactly! I like finnish Male singers, like Sentenced's vocalist Ville Laihiala! So groovy and dark.

Why is this such a big thing? All of you have more or less said the same thing.

"Of course they can! But..." Men can rock. Women can rock. Holy shit, I think I'm on to something.

It's not a big thing, it's an observation. That observation coupled with personel preference leads to what I said previously. Women can do just about anything men can do and vice versa, save for a few biological functions (guys don't give birth..yet). However, women, due to their physical make up, don't have the same kind of voice as men. Having a preference in vocal style is not wrong. So I like Rammstein over Nightwish, so what. They're both great at what they do. I just prefer one over the other.

I would wager that when a woman sounds like a man, something is afoot.

I think the universal question here, is why do certain things attract certain people. There are commons generalizations like: black people don't like hockey, girls don't like metal, etc. These are stereotypes just like anything else, like the notion that Mexicans are dirty. The thing is, some of the generalizations and stereotypes are readily observed...the fact is, only about a dozen black people play hockey in the NHL, if that. So, it is my opinion, that when someone asks a question like the one this thread is based around, it's just a more specific version of asking about generalizations.

Of coure girls can rock! I don't see any distinction between an man and a woman when it comes to metal. Yes, it's true that only a very small number of women are present in the metal scene, but those who are there can surely stand up against their male colleagues.
I have to say that one of the gigs at graspop metal meeting this year that rocked the most (well, at least IMO) was After Forever. Floor has such a powerful voice. They played all their loudest songs, and hell yeah, she kicked ass adding a lot of power to the songs by only singing! Oh yes, women can definitely rock.

Another example: Lori linstruth from Stream of Passion. She plays lead guitar, and of man, she can rock! The solos she does go right through you. And above all: SHE'S HOT LIKE HELL. Check out this picture:
http://lorilinstruth.com/images/site/kj-guch.jpg

Women have trouble rising to prominence in metal music not for any performance-related reasons but simply because metal is traditionally a machismo and testosterone based genre. Think about it - all the phallic guitars, the huge drum sets, the male arrogance etc. What a lot of people interpret as aggression or strength is simply masculinity, which metal is at the core a celebration of. Women are reduced to sex symbols, curiosities or... groupies. Sad but true.

And then, there is the Gathering IMO - the only metal (well, now rock) band that has a female singer who is fully capable of matching the intensity of a man without actually pretending to be one.

Written by jupitreas on 25.08.2006 at 16:04

Women have trouble rising to prominence in metal music not for any performance-related reasons but simply because metal is traditionally a machismo and testosterone based genre. Think about it - all the phallic guitars, the huge drum sets, the male arrogance etc. What a lot of people interpret as aggression or strength is simply masculinity, which metal is at the core a celebration of. Women are reduced to sex symbols, curiosities or... groupies. Sad but true.

I totally agree. People always find it strange that women play in a metal band. They think this kind of heavy music requires testosteron, but it's not true imo. A woman can add as much power and feel to a metal song than a man can do. It's a sad misunderstanding.

One of these days, I will prove all sexist metalheads out there WRONG!!!!! I can't believe people forget so easily that there are female-fronted bands that are top in modern times right now. Does Angela Gossow ring a bell? Now, she rocks. I don't see how guys or industries may be ashamed or even intimidated about the idea. I do however think that some female-fronted bands suck. For Example, Lacuna Coil. Christina is all sexy and seductive but there is no voice or power behind the music. Don't be offended, it's my opinion.

Written by {aud}devil on 25.08.2006 at 17:58

One of these days, I will prove all sexist metalheads out there WRONG!!!!! I can't believe people forget so easily that there are female-fronted bands that are top in modern times right now. Does Angela Gossow ring a bell? Now, she rocks. I don't see how guys or industries may be ashamed or even intimidated about the idea. I do however think that some female-fronted bands suck. For Example, Lacuna Coil. Christina is all sexy and seductive but there is no voice or power behind the music. Don't be offended, it's my opinion.

I don't think that we forget the female fronted bands. Especially bands like Nightwish.. Nightwish would be absolutely nothing if there wasn't Tarja.. Where are they now?? The Gathering is another perfect example. Anathema use female vocals, too. About Lacuna Coil..I 'd say I like them. Arch Enemy - even though I 've heard so much times that Angelica is trans - are a female-fronted band too. So much examples, prooving that girls can rock. I believe that.

Rachel Heyzer-Kloosterwaard(ex vocalist from sinister) is a good example of a female singing(growling) like a man.
i generaly think that woman are not good for singing metal,that is why there are so few women comparing to men in metal bands.of courese there are exceptions.some women vocalists are good and give the music something apart(usualy in gothic metal), but i don't like this genre, not my cup of tea.i also dislike this gothic -dark image of most of this women,which most of the times is confused with the band image.
aboutr playing instruments, i don't say women can't.it's just that men are more talented and try harder.

Women in metal rock... My only negative comment about chicks in metal is they dont make great drummers... Fine guitarists, the best vocalists, Some awesome bass players, and some women are amongst my favorite songwriters. Including Simone Simons.

Hey, dudes, have you listened to voice of Arch Enemy vocalist Angela Gossow? She says on of her favourite singers is Jeff Walker of Carcass in past. Yeah, I see!

Well, women can rock, but just few of them. There are many bands with women vocals but they are total SHIT:wall: But thare are few bands with women that realy rock:banger: And the best band with woman for vocalist is the great Arch Enemy. (damn they rules).
In melodic black blands women for vocalists is a good idea, but only if they are back vocals. All other bands with women ARE TOTAL SHIT!!!:necro:

No offense, but I hate the band Gretchen, and all of the other psuedo nu-metal bands that sound exactly like them. See, the thing is that I don't doubt some girls can probably rock (and decently as well), but it's just that I've never seen it. Most female fronted bands suck in rock and metal.

Most of female fronted metal bands are boring and not real metal

it isnt really a problem with female vocalists. its the problem with the listeners who dont give the vocalists a try. most people, metalheads or not, are usually turned off by female vocals simply becuase they arent many around. or if there are, then their image is over run by the likes of britney spears, or jessica simpson. (i wont include christina agulaira in that list becuase her voice is much different). and these teeny boppers are fucking up the image for all other vocalists. and that screws up the image for any other vocalist of any other type. let it be operatic, growls(they can indeed growl. i know a few that can growl better than me!), folk(yo-dels), ambient, screams, speach etc etc etc.... and when people hear 'female vocalist' they automatically put the image of 'britney spears' and say 'suck fest!' right away.

female musicians can get rather annoying. reason being-feminests, or as i call em, femi-nazis. no, i dont mean they hate jews. i mean women that just bash guys simply becase guys are male. no other reason...just 'hey look, that thing over there has a penis. lets kill it!'. their attitutdes are fucked up. i'm not saying that goes for ALL of them. nor am i saying its in the majority. but the acts like 'The Great Kat'(she is an insane guitarist!) but her attitude is rather...well. the band 'L7' arent all that far apart. its just that these musicains fuck up for the normal musicans.


now, normally when people who do not know what metal is, wont know who Tarja is. i'm not saying she is the best singer in the world. nor is she in the top 100(she is good...but i'm sure there are others out there....and it is also opinion). and they would automatically say 'nightwish? female fronted bands? yeah i dont like that kinda music coz the girls keep crying about how their boy friends broke up with them and they wont get a cock today. so i say "no to female vocalists"'. but if you shove the music in their ear, then they would eitehr say 'she has talent' or 'meh, not for me'.



i did that with a few people who were anti-female vocalists. i gave em bands like Theatre Of Tragedy, The Gathering, Nightwish and others....and by the end of my 'lecture' they were fans. not devoted fans, but fans none the less.



people keep associating shity musians, or fucked up musicians with really good musicians. chicks can indeed rock. just no one really cares for em. or a really tiny portion of the population care for emm. me being one of the female vocalist fans. so yup...

Written by [user id=1333] on 31.08.2006 at 06:54

Most of female fronted metal bands are boring and not real metal

Not real metal? Care to elaborate?

Written by Anathemani@c on 26.08.2006 at 10:42

Written by {aud}devil on 25.08.2006 at 17:58

One of these days, I will prove all sexist metalheads out there WRONG!!!!! I can't believe people forget so easily that there are female-fronted bands that are top in modern times right now. Does Angela Gossow ring a bell? Now, she rocks. I don't see how guys or industries may be ashamed or even intimidated about the idea. I do however think that some female-fronted bands suck. For Example, Lacuna Coil. Christina is all sexy and seductive but there is no voice or power behind the music. Don't be offended, it's my opinion.

I don't think that we forget the female fronted bands. Especially bands like Nightwish.. Nightwish would be absolutely nothing if there wasn't Tarja.. Where are they now?? The Gathering is another perfect example. Anathema use female vocals, too. About Lacuna Coil..I 'd say I like them. Arch Enemy - even though I 've heard so much times that Angelica is trans - are a female-fronted band too. So much examples, prooving that girls can rock. I believe that.

Nightwish would still be one of the best power metal bands around even if they had a generic male singer. Tuomas's ability to write songs far, far exceeds bands like Hammerfall and Dragonforce.

Written by RavenLord on 18.08.2006 at 13:17

Written by [user id=5431] on 18.08.2006 at 11:08

There are a few prominent women in metal, but most musicians are male:
The vast majority of fans are male
Metal is typically agressive, female vocals are typicaly more sensitive sounding (thus more female vocals in less agressive metal like gothic)
Most talented musicians are male. I'm not sure why but maybe girls aren't as used to sometihng as phallic as a guitar.
Females are often more shy about performing.

An interesting side point: Emo has alot of female fans, probably more than male fans, so why are there almost no girls in emo bands?

Gothic metal isn't necessarily less aggressive. Female vocals in doom/gothic bands are used to evoke a sense of bittersweetness, especially due to the typical minor scales involved. They also act as a counterpoint to any harsh male vocals. Female vocals help to soften the gothic sound, but it can still remain pretty aggressive (c.f. Tristania, Sirenia). Other than that, you make some pretty good points. Perhaps there is some stigma about female guitarists; it has always been seen as a male instrument, and so has never been signifcantly broken into by female musicians? Not too sure if I agree about the 'phallic' attributes, though...

Of course, but usualy it's the male vocals that provide the agression, Tristania being by far my faovurite example. Sometimes clean female vocals can be pretty agressive though (See After Forever's Living Sheilds) but it's the exception rather than the norm. Brutal Death Metal, Grindcore, Thrash etc have little or no need for soft and/or emotional parts to their music so don't tend to have female singers.

Written by [user id=5431] on 01.09.2006 at 12:51

Written by Anathemani@c on 26.08.2006 at 10:42

Written by {aud}devil on 25.08.2006 at 17:58

One of these days, I will prove all sexist metalheads out there WRONG!!!!! I can't believe people forget so easily that there are female-fronted bands that are top in modern times right now. Does Angela Gossow ring a bell? Now, she rocks. I don't see how guys or industries may be ashamed or even intimidated about the idea. I do however think that some female-fronted bands suck. For Example, Lacuna Coil. Christina is all sexy and seductive but there is no voice or power behind the music. Don't be offended, it's my opinion.

I don't think that we forget the female fronted bands. Especially bands like Nightwish.. Nightwish would be absolutely nothing if there wasn't Tarja.. Where are they now?? The Gathering is another perfect example. Anathema use female vocals, too. About Lacuna Coil..I 'd say I like them. Arch Enemy - even though I 've heard so much times that Angelica is trans - are a female-fronted band too. So much examples, prooving that girls can rock. I believe that.

Nightwish would still be one of the best power metal bands around even if they had a generic male singer. Tuomas's ability to write songs far, far exceeds bands like Hammerfall and Dragonforce.

The thread says: "who said that girls can't rock" and you talk about Nightwish.. Anyway.. It was just an example. However, a band is not only the songwriting, but how they stand on stage. Tarja was doing that perfectly for Nightwish and now she's gone they won't go that well in their concerts. Don't insist. Tarja was Nightwish. No one else will give so much energy as Tarja did. And I didn't say that Hammerfall and Dragonforce are better. They suck for me. Nightwish would have surely been a smaller band than they are now.

Written by [user id=5431] on 01.09.2006 at 12:56

Of course, but usualy it's the male vocals that provide the agression, Tristania being by far my faovurite example. Sometimes clean female vocals can be pretty agressive though (See After Forever's Living Sheilds) but it's the exception rather than the norm. Brutal Death Metal, Grindcore, Thrash etc have little or no need for soft and/or emotional parts to their music so don't tend to have female singers.

Good point. I just wanted to be sure that you weren't stereotyping Gothic metal as the only genre that female singers can sing in, or that it is solely governed by female singers...Tristania are my best exception to the Gothic female rule, especially on Beyond the Veil (Vikebe plays a more prominent role now, which is quite unfortunate, because I prefered her vocals used sparingly...made them all the sweeter ).

Written by Damnated on 15.08.2006 at 11:12

The reason why I don't like girls in metal, is that, you allways have to find out, that they are GIRLS. I mean they make a big deal out of it. They should not. Music should not now gender. But it does. At least the fans are so exited to like a 'female band'.

That's true. And it's weird that there is actually a genre name that highlights the gender. For example, Amaran is (I mean was, because they are not around anymore) described as "female fronted melodic death metal" and no one sees a problem with that - but what if a band like Blind Guardian was labeled as "male fronted power metal"? Would anyone have some questions about that?

There however is a problem with listening to metal bands that have females in them:
a) You like a female fronted metal band. People think you like the band just because there are female members, they think you just want to tell everyone "girls can rock too!" instead of simply enjoying the music.
b) You hate a female fronted metal band. People think you hate the band just because there are female members, they think you just want to tell everyone "girls cannot rock!" instead of simply enjoying something else.
c) You like/hate a female fronted metal band the same way you would like/hate any metal band for that matter. People think you're doing this just because you want to tell everyone "don't treat bands depending on their genders because it doesn't matter" instead of simply liking/hating the music.

You can't win.

Written by Daru Jericho on 31.08.2006 at 16:38

Written by [user id=1333] on 31.08.2006 at 06:54

Most of female fronted metal bands are boring and not real metal

Not real metal? Care to elaborate?

What ? did u heard Dark Moor with eliza ?? or did u went to a Ensiferum concert and see Meihu banginghead or see Angela Gossow on stage ?? i think u dont heard real metal

There is always... Otep, Nightwish, Kittie, Arch Enemy, Tristania, The Sins Of Thy Beloved, Lacuna Coil, Genitortures (awsome,) Drain STH, L7 and I am sure others. All of these bands are pretty mainstream and trendy (except maybe two of them) but that's how it goes I guess. I don't think there are enough females that try to front a metal band, maybe I am wrong though, I imagine the industry is predominantly controlled by men so perhaps they don't want to hear a female singer, be it the consumer or the companies that put out music.
This feature or lack there of, in metal does not bother me because I like the male a male voice sounds in death and black metal, it's rough, raw and mean - although I bet a woman could make an interesting bm vocalist, hell Dani Filth is half way there.

/\ dani is a dude...unless you mean he sucks at it and sounds like a girl crying or soemthing...

anyways, just to add to that list, The Gathering, Xandria, Elis(not anymore. their lead died recently ) Draconian, To-mera(the next nightwish perhaps), Theatre Of Tragedy, Leaves Eyes, Midnattsol....

a lot of these bands are comming out of Norway. a country more famous for Black metal than anything else.


oh, and another female musican is this one right here:



shes like the yngwie malmsteen of female guitarists. dont really see that that often, now do you? although The Great Kat isnt all that photo-genic. she cant seem to have her mouth closed for some reason. its almost as if she is trying to bite the air around her

Written by Bitter Dawn on 09.09.2006 at 03:54

There is always... Otep, Nightwish, Kittie, Arch Enemy, Tristania, The Sins Of Thy Beloved, Lacuna Coil, Genitortures (awsome,) Drain STH, L7 and I am sure others. All of these bands are pretty mainstream and trendy (except maybe two of them) but that's how it goes I guess. I don't think there are enough females that try to front a metal band, maybe I am wrong though, I imagine the industry is predominantly controlled by men so perhaps they don't want to hear a female singer, be it the consumer or the companies that put out music.
This feature or lack there of, in metal does not bother me because I like the male a male voice sounds in death and black metal, it's rough, raw and mean - although I bet a woman could make an interesting bm vocalist, hell Dani Filth is half way there.

L7 I has seen those girls in TV one clip, long ago and thay was sexy and music hard(ho car can be that time rock) and thay remaind me Tong

and 7 :rollin: seems osfp was popular in US athat time
I and Alougua post some good femaile metal band sin metal arena ''best female frotent band'' or something, therer are seme good bands