June 2002: Women In Metal
A Rant by JP
Since 1970 the number of female performers in metal bands
has been less than one-tenth of a percent. Since 1995 there has been a
huge increase in the number of women in the genre. Even though their
representation is still less than 1% overall, why the sudden increase in
numbers, skill and popularity of female metallions?
To celebrate International Women's Day this year I did a special on
my radio show and I was thinking to myself, "There are so many
female performers lately?, automatically thinking of Nightwish, The
Gathering, Edenbridge, Dark Moor, Arch Enemy etc… In preparation for
the show I made a list and was surprised that I could only come up with
a hundred or so bands that have a female performer. It got me thinking,
that there has been a massive increase but they (women) still represent
only a tiny fraction of the total. And of those 100+ bands a large
percentage are newer bands formed in 1995 or later. Why?
A very brief overview perhaps is in order. In the first decade or so
female performers were virtually non-existent. You could probably count
them on one hand, Girlschool, the Runaways etc… Around 1983 as Metal
had it's commercial explosion a few pioneers emerged, usually singers.
These women often used their sexuality and sexual imagery to their
advantage to get noticed. These women include Wendy O' Williams, Lee
Aaron, Lita Ford, Betsy Bitch and a few others.
As time progressed women entertainers realized that they did not
always have to use the sexual imagery to succeed, that talent alone
could carry a band. Bands like Meanstreak, Phantom Blue, Femme Fatale
proved they could rock with relying on imagery but these acts were few
and far between and unfortunately regarded by some industry types and as
ignorant fans as novelties. For almost 10 years there were not many
advances in metal until the sudden and massive increase in women
performers, especially in Europe.
So…why now? How did this happen?
As Death metal evolved bands started to bring in new and diverse
elements. One very common musical technique in metal is the
juxtaposition of two sounds, one soft, one heavy, each accenting the
other. Many death bands started adding female background vocals, the
sweet clean style acting as a foil to the male growls. It worked, the
formula was rapidly embraced as new an innovative, even though Celtic
Frost had dabbled with the concept and sound years earlier. Suddenly,
Therion, Tristania and others were doing brisk sales.
Suddenly dozens of bands in Europe had guest female vocalists and
even full time members. The move spread into other genres, power metal
especially where range, power and emotion are the standard and who
better than a classically trained vocalist to front an act to make you
stand out from the crowd.
By the late 90's the trend was in full swing and inevitably there
came a few negative consequences of this trend. Once the barriers were
broken down a number of derivative acts appeared. Big labels started
signing acts and heavily emphasizing the fact that the members were
female. One such instance is Lullacry with a cheesacake, cleavage shot
on the cover of their CD. Sex does indeed sell especially to metal's
predominantly male audience and the labels, managers and even band
members are acutely aware of the historical connection between sex and
rock'n'roll! Bands like Lullacry can have fun with the convention but
there is a darker more disturbing side to the story.
A worst case scenario is the band Kittie. A slick and commercial unit
deftly marketed as the next big thing, these four young attractive women
were thrown into the gears of "the machine." Despite being
highly derivative and lacking in originality they were
"female" and sex sells. The label got heavily involved and
suddenly a lame, mallcore, clone with no future are the next big
"metal" act. Ozzfest, videos, lame cover tunes, and the use of
sexual imagery and lyrics put Kittie on the top of the mallcore heap but
not without consequences. As the rigors of the industry took it's toll
and two members have since quit the band.
However the sheer numbers of talented female performers (not to
mention industry people, mangers, labels reps, PR people, journalists
etc…) seem to ensure that the current increase in numbers is not just
a novelty trend but a legitimate acceptance of women into the metal
community. No longer to be seen as merely sex-objects many women artists
are extremely innovative, technically proficient in their chosen craft.
In genre like Metal where talent is embraced and rewarded I predict that
we will see many more excellent performers that will one day ultimately
be recognized for their talent and not their gender.
Note: The author would like to congratulate himself on not making
any jokes or rude comments about women in this editorial.
“No, I’m not here to meet men, I
actually like the music.”
By Ice Maiden
Being the only female staff member, I’ll probably have
a slightly different slant to my essay. The topic for this essay was “Women
in Metal,” which, of course, can be interpreted in a myriad of ways. I’ll
break it down in three ways: (i) my personal experiences in the metal
scene; (ii) types of women I’ve seen involved in metal as fans; and
(to a lesser extent) (iii) observations regarding reactions to female
metal artists.
In some ways, being a female metalhead is like being a
female involved in any male-dominated hobby or profession. You are
either: (i) examined more closely by your male counterparts because of
being female; (ii) you are treated the same way as a male; (iii) or you
are dismissed offhand. Typical examples of how I am treated in some of
these ways:
-
I’m guessing I’m the only staff member who gets
the “you are so hot” emails from 12 year olds. And it isn’t
because the guys on staff aren’t hot (for, indeed, they are the
hottest!), and it isn’t because I actually am hot (please-I’m
the ICE Maiden-how could I be hot?). By virtue of being female and
involved in the metal scene, however, some men assume that you are
out to seek male attention. I don’t think anyone assumes that a
male metalhead is reviewing cds and shows because he is trying to
meet women, but this assumption frequently happens with us gals.
Of course, some of the treatment of female metalheads is
because female metalheads, in general, seem to fit into some standard
categories. (Of course, inherent in all categories of people, there are
exceptions-I’m talking generalities here.)
1. The Gothic Vampiress: Tends to dress in
various forms of tight, black plastic garb, often with some form of
netting and corsetry involved. Paleness and extremely dark eye and lip
make-up are mandatory. Some of these gals are true Goths who have a
genuine interest in a music style/lifestyle. Some find that their Dani
Filth fetishes pass at their 14th birthday. Along with the ‘80s
Slut, these gals will most often be the ones dressed in very skimpy
attire and ogling various band members.
2. The ‘80s Slut: Tends to dress in clothing
that is a flashback to the ‘80s-tight short skirts, high heels, some
form of midriff-baring top. The hair generally involves some form of
blond bleaching process, normally with the dark roots showing. These
gals loved the scene in the ‘80s when metal was more of a societal
norm. Some (not all) of these gals might be better advised to get a
style update and just go to a “normal” club-because what they
really DO want is to meet men. Men with big hair that matches theirs.
3. The “I’m More Guy Than Most Guys” Gal:
These are the gals who talk, walk and act butch. Generally, they
appear androgynous, or even more male than most men. You’ll often
see these gals in the middle of the mosh, throwing elbows.
4. The Handbag and Borrowed Black T-Shirt Wearers:
These are the gals who typically really aren’t into the music, and
really ARE there because of their boyfriend. The boyfriend wanted to
go to a show, so they will go along just to hang out. It’s cool that
they will support a scene that they really aren’t interested in, so
these gals get special kudos.
5. The Straightforward Concert Goer. These are
the gals in the jeans wearing the concert T-shirts. They probably aren’t
wearing much make-up (if any), and their hair is probably long.
6. The True Metalhead Female. The problem is
that the true metalhead female might LOOK like any of the above. Or
something different altogether. Which is why you shouldn’t assume
that any woman you see in the metal scene is anything other than a
person interested in the music, until proven otherwise.
Women as artists in the metal community face many of
the same issues as women as fans, plus some additional ones. First,
appearance is often the first thing mentioned about a female artist,
whereas it is an issue rarely raised with respect to men. I mean, who
ever hears people say, “Oh, that Luca Turilli, he looked HOT last
night. He was wearing….” I’ve intentionally tried to comment on
the appearance of guys in some reviews, just to make the point of how
ridiculous it is. Second, female artists in metal often have to
overcome the “novelty” call-“Did you hear her? She totally
sounds like a guy but is really pretty!” Again, you rarely hear
those kinds of comments made about men.
I guess that the bottom line is that women in metal
are just a subset of women in general. Some are there because they are
interested, some are there for other reasons. Some have talent, some
don’t. As in society at large, women in metal should be evaluated
for the substance they bring, and not on the basis of their gender.
Crikey-I almost sound like a feminist! ;)
Women in Heavy Metal
By Michael De Los Muertos
Women in metal...that's a big subject! I'm not sure exactly where to
go with the topic (or where to go that others haven't already covered
more adequately than I could).
While I don't think anyone has ever analyzed metalheads as a
demographic group, it seems safe to say that it's an overwhelmingly
male-dominated subculture. That being said, women probably play an even
more significant role in metal than they would if their numbers were
proportional with the percentage of women in society as a whole.
I think women in the metal subculture probably face a lot of extra
difficulties simply because of their gender. When introduced to a group
of male metalheads, a woman may have to "prove" to them that
she's really a metalhead, and really into it for the music. This would
be especially true if she's dating a metalhead, because it would be very
easy to make the assumption, "There are so few women into metal,
that the chances are good when we see a woman who appears to be into
metal dating a guy who's into metal, she's just along because of her
boyfriend." Unfortunately this assumption is made all the easier to
jump to because it IS common to see women at metal shows who are NOT
real metalheads, and who ARE there merely because of their boyfriends.
(I took a non-metalhead girlfriend to a Megadeth show one time, and even
gave her a metal shirt to wear so she wouldn't look out of place). While
I suppose it's happened, how many times have you seen a female metalhead
dragging her non-metal boyfriend with her to a concert?
On the other hand I would think gender stereotypes could also work in
a female metalhead's favor on occasion. Scenario for the guys reading
this: say you're starting a death metal band. You need a guitarist and
place an ad for one. Out of 5 auditions, one of them is an attractive
woman who's obviously as much into death metal as any of the other guys.
Admit it--if she can play death metal guitar on a comparable level with
the other four auditioners, aren't you inclined to give the gig to her?
It would certainly be easy for fans to remember your band as "that
death metal band with the chick guitarist."
I can't speak a lot about the relationship of these two scenarios to
reality because of course I'm a male metalhead, not a female one. I can
tell you what I think. Is it important to have women in the scene? Yes.
Is it important to emphasize the differences between a woman's approach
to metal and a man's? I don't think so, because I don't think there is
much of a difference. I seriously doubt a woman's reaction to Iron
Maiden is going to be different than a man's simply because of her
gender. Does the presence of women in a particular band make me more or
less interested in purchasing their album or going to a concert? Not in
the slightest. I like Nightwish, Edenbridge and Bolt Thrower, but the
presence of women in those bands is only relevant to the extent their
gender makes a difference in how the music sounds and how good it is.
(In Bolt Thrower, for instance, where the woman is not the vocalist, it
makes no difference at all). Was Tarja nice to look at on stage when
Nightwish played Wacken two years in a row? Of course. But I imagine a
lot of the female metalheads in the Wacken crowd had bands they
particularly enjoyed seeing because they thought a man in a certain band
was cute!
Women certainly belong in metal, and it would be nice to see greater
numbers of them. I'm hopeful that the "sisterhood of metal"
will increase in the future.
Women in Metal
By EvilG
This long overdue topic of women in metal is one that can be
approached from several angles. The idea that more women are involved
in heavy metal BANDS is what I'll be ranting about.
In the 80's most "women in metal" basically meant women in
metal videos. Not many women were actually playing/singing metal. Many
of those that were, were in fact window dressing. For example watch a
Lita Ford video or Lee Aaron's "Metal Queen" video…it's all
about SEX! Of course, as a perverted teenager I loved it. But
looking at it form the shoulders up it's not really about their musical
ability. You can argue that most of them had talent, but the real
"talent" that got them exposure was not their playing. There
were some females in heavy metal back then who were not just about looks
and who were serious performers. For example there was Doro Pesch from
Warlock. She is still putting out hard rock/metal albums under the name
"Doro" today. There is also the much lesser known Ann Boleyn
from Hellion and vocalist Sabina Classen who joined Holy Moses in '84
(until they broke up in 1992). There have always been women in metal;
it's just that they were not all equally known. Back in the 80's you
would see much more revealing pics of Lita Ford in the metal rags then
other musicians who didn't flaunt it so much.
Since then, what has changed? I think attitudes have partially
changed. Until the end of time, guys will always ogle over metal chicks
and that's just being human, but it's also clear that there are more and
more women who are not just in a band for window dressing. Some of that
still exists of course. For example, check out Angela Gossow, lead
vocalist for the Swedish extreme metal band Arch Enemy. Her promo pics
are the type that makes most red-blooded males go wild….but beneath
the cheap gimmick of "flesh for press" is a brutal death growl
that stands shoulder to shoulder with most male death metalers. On the
flipside is Kimberly Goss who happens to be one of my favorite female
vocalists. She is a co-founder/writer, vocalist and lyricist for
Sinergy. Her appearances prior to Sinergy mainly come from the
"black" metal scene with bands like Avernus and Dimmu Borgir.
She is one example of a strong willed and highly talented female who
leads a heavy metal band and she is making it because of her great
voice. Another example is Elisa C. Martin from the lesser known Spanish
power metal band Dark Moor. They currently are on their third album and
her vocal style is in the German power metal style (Helloween, etc). It
is true that most females in metal today are doing vocals, and sometimes
bassists. There are not as many lead guitarists or drummers out there
but of course there are always exceptions!!
There are women in metal who do not actually sound metal or who are
not actually "metal" in and of themselves. A perfect example
of this is Tarja Turunen from the Finnish melodic metal band Nightwish. She does not sing like a metal
singer at all, yet she is in a melodic metal band. Her voice is
powerful, but it's not aggressive like say Kimberly Goss. Tarja's vocals
are opera influenced and are what sets Nightwish apart from other
similar bands. One gimmick which I have come to dislike is that of
mixing together the male death metal vocals with the "angelic"
pop sounding female vocalists. That is the one style of female singing
found in some metal bands that I am not a fan of at all and you can find examples of this in
death/black metal and even moreso in the questionable gothic
"metal" style.
I know I haven't mentioned EVERY female vocalist in metal here, and
that isn't the point of my rant. What I have done is focus on some that
I happen to be a fan of. More women are involved in metal bands now than
before but they still are the minority. Heavy metal is still a
"man's world" despite what spin you try to put on it.
Attitudes have been changing in that you don't always hear people
questioning the talent of a woman just because she's in a band. People
are open to the idea thanks to the pioneers from the 80's and will
listen before they judge. Perhaps the reason why there are fewer females
in metal bands is as simple as the fact that most metal fans are not
female. Go to any metal gig and look at the crowd…eliminate the women
that are there with their boyfriends or are the wives/girlfriends of the
bands. How many are there? Not a lot. Perhaps it's a throw back to the
traditional roles of men being more brutish, savage and ogre-like then
the fragile refined woman?!? I dunno...what do you think? Let us
know! :-)
There are and always will be differences between the sexes (thank you
Satan) but it's always nice to see a women kicking ass as hard as any
"dude" in a metal band. That's my 2 cents anyway!
Links for women in metal / hard rock who deserve recognition:
Doro Pesch - www.doropesch.com
Kimberly Goss - www.sinergy.net
Dark Moor - www.darkmoor.es.org
Arch Enemy - www.archenemy.net
Karyn Crisis - www.krisis.nu
Ann Boleyn - officialhellionsite.freeyellow.com
Kathie Jarra - www.lionmusic.com/jarra
Phantom Blue - www.phantomblue.com
Lizza Hayson - www.mahavatar.net
etc...
As an addition to my above rant I had some correspondence with Angela
Gossow herself!!
Some of what she had to say was "I know, I did an excellent
album with Arch Enemy, I know, I am a good front person and we are
touring our asses off at the moment. I don't wear feminine clothes to
get coverage, I do it cause this is MY STYLE."
What I was trying to say above was that for Arch Enemy it's NOT a
"gimmick" used to gain attention. The band on it's own is
killer and doesn't need a gimmick. I was trying to point put to people
who think that her presence in Arch Enemy is a gimmick that she is as
good as any other extreme singer and that she has the "balls"
to kick ass as hard as any other, even though she is not afraid to show
her beauty. Perhaps I didn't make that clear. I was trying to challenge
some perceptions that some people have. I'm sorry if anyone took it the
wrong way, that was not my intention.
From an interview with Angela from the Texas regional press here is
some words that relate to this topic:
Question:
Forgive me for saying so, but you are an extraordinarily beautiful
woman. In a largely male-dominated genre such as death metal, you
probably put up with a lot of men hitting on you. But when they see or
hear you perform, do they back off? I imagine your style is intimidating
to some of them.
Answer:
There are some people out there, thinking sex appeal and death metal
doesn't match. I think, sex and aggression are strongly related to each
other. The beast in the beauty. Some guys are shocked, when they hear me
first time. But more in a positive way. I met Marco, the The Haunted
vocalist recently after we performed live at Hulsfred festival, Sweden.
He told me, I made him almost cry. He loves what I am doing. Needless to
say, I am a big fan of his vocals. His reaction means a lot to me. I get
the feeling, the stuff I am doing on stage, attracts men more than
intimidating them. And it attracts women too, hehe. The best compliments
I usually get from women. Female support means more to me than male, to
be true. I really want to encourage women, to be feminine, sexy and kick
serious ass at the same time. They don't have to be cute and soft
spoken. They can be as loud as they want to. They will still be the most
beautiful thing that walks this earth. All women are beautiful.