Happy International Women's Day, everyone. Thought I'd make this thread celebrating the ladies of metal and encourage y'all to participate.

Music links are obviously welcome but try to post comments please, not just list stuff mindlessly. [Edit: PLEASE NO EMBEDS, too many posts with embeds can create browser issues for some people. Post regular links instead. Thanks!]

(Pictures are OK too but anyone turning this into an ogling-fest will be shown the door, you have been warned.)

I'll start with some kick-ass ladies from my home country of Canada, because why not.

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Cauchemar - Heavy/doom from Québec with my bff Annick Giroux <3

[Bandcamp]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WYHp8o13P8

Whilst their later albums like Tenebrario are more polished, I have a soft spot for their debut EP. Le voile d'Isis and Le gardien de la terre are just damn memorable and probably still my favourite tracks by them.

Fun facts: Annick is not only the author of the Heavy Metal Cookbook, Hellbent for Cooking, she also did guest vocals (well, spoken lines) for the intro to Malokarpatan's latest album. Which I didn't even know at the time I checked out the album. Imagine my surprise checking out a Slovakian black metal band and the first lines I hear are my friend's strong Québécois accent reciting Émile Nelligan, haha. <3

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Blood Ceremony - psychedelic doom from Ontario, feat. Alia O'Brien

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU9LDakggAg

Probably the "leading" band in terms of female-fronted psych. doom at the moment. Alia has a great stage presence and her organ and flute playing is hypnotizing.

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I might post more later. For now, how about you, M-A?

Italy's White Skull are one of the better heavy/power bands out there in the vein of Grave Digger, etc. They've had the same female vocalist for most of their albums.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5vWKG9jL5k

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Wh ... ab_members

I'll start with the all time Queen of metal....Doro Pesch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMYv6O1lUbk

Next is a band from France, Elvenstorm, featuring vocalist Laura Ferreux
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk1qniPLpvA

That's all for now. More later.

November Grief are an awesome old death metal band from Montreal. The best OSDM band you've never heard of.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z7EbqljDJw

Holy fuck....how could I have forgotten Onielar??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhIey9vr-Fk

First things that come to mind are classic tracks and videos by Doro (All We Are) and Wendy O Williams (Butcher Baby).

Here we go!


Black Table are a post-black metal/blackgaze with some doom elements tossed in from the New York/New Jersey area. I really enjoyed their album Obelisk and think the band has a lot of potential that they can reach. The vocals of Mers are placed a bit back in the mix and I really feel that it helps them nab a cool, cohesive sound.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7Z_AK1pgOU

Immortal Bird are a fantastic death/black/crust hybrid. Rae (the vocalist) also plays drums with Thrawsunblat. If you get a chance to catch them live definitely do so as they put forth a shit ton of energy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DowLmJRjK7Y

Book of Wyrms are a stoner/doom metal/rock band who, if you like that fuzzed out doomy sound you should enjoy this. Some really cool twin harmonies and keyboard interjections on the debut album. The vocalist has a very laid back voice, almost seductive. Fits the music greatly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yihls0hV_kc

Female-centric? So I guess Axxion doesn't count then?

I guess their outfits are somewhat questionable, but had they been women no one would have given it a second thought.
(Hope this doesn't break the ogling-fest rule)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQWy9vkU5_Y

Any female-centric metal thread without a mention of Mary's Blood would be absolutely criminal, so I'm here to prevent such a crime from occurring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08GNcXDuSMY

Mansion. Self-proclaimed "cult rock", as opposed to that trendy "occult rock" you always hear about, with an image based on Kartanoism, a Christian sect that was active in Finland in the 20th century. While some of their songs go in a rock direction, a lot of the material is powerful and stirring doom metal. Lead vocalist Alma is my favorite current live performer. She is captivating playing the role of the preacher and leader of the sect/band on stage. They have finally recorded a debut full-length after a string of smaller releases. Should be released later this year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOWaSp7TGa8

Ancient Bards, symphonic power metal from Italy. They have three albums and just keep getting better after each album.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGjUf7YVEng

Seven Kingdoms, USPM. While they have released 4 albums so far, the last three are the albums with Sabrina on vocals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqui_qH ... enQDGvVwdK

MindMaze, another USPM band. Like Ancient Bards, they have released three albums so far.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlBK8rAZjyc

Triosphere, prog/power from Norway. Like most of the others, they have three albums.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z34IWpY ... T_&index=1

My contribution goes to Gallhammer, broken-up now but at the time they set the standard for female Black/Doom Metal somewhat helped by the publicity from Fenriz but they managed to stand on their own during all the albums that were released. Sungoddess from Thailand are another female majority led group of the same genre which emerged at around the same time are also great, despite being lesser known and having a shorter-span in Metal.

Edit, Sungoddess have re-grouped after many years dispanded with their second album released last month.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6balaHGQg38

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4x4VSq_CZc

Damnit, I was writing something Mansion but Doomsday was faster! <3 I'm a big fan of women in metal, especially doom.

Here's a song from Mourn's only album, a shame they didn't continue.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujnjY9uWUdc

There's a new Canadian/US band formed by some buddies, it's awesome epic doom. Check 'em out!

https://youtu.be/wSgqpBv1lHc

I also should've mentioned Abnormality (US) in my original post. Brutal and wicked fun death metal. The vocalist, Mallika is absolutely vicious too. Both of their full lengths are worth checking out, though I enjoy their second offering more than their debut.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEtRaoDKQhk

Autumn's Altitude is a favorite of mine. "Skydancer" is such a great song - so instantly memorable and perfectly written.

Lady Beast is a cool new band. Pretty sweet old school trad metal. Feels nice and raw and powerful.

Guys, please just post the raw Youtube URLs for your recommendations. The page tries to auto-load everything at once, even if they are hidden behind the embed tab, and it was already bogging the page down. I edited everything up to this point.

Obligatory http://www.metaladies.com/ plug.

Seriously, great site if you've never heard of it.

Except that isn't the kind of thread this is. Read the original post where Morrigan specifically asked people to avoid doing that, and post comments.

Only when you start them.

That's damn raw and brutal. Surprised I've never heard of them, they're from my hometown, but then again, only 2 demos in the early 90's, that's probably why. How'd you hear of them?


That said I think the DOBs on the artists are all wrong. No way the vocalist was only 10-12 years old on these demos hahah. I've actually filed a report and asked the member who edited that in to fact-check this.

Sometimes I wonder if this guy's only purpose in life is complaining about everything.

Okay. One of my fav bm bands is lead by a woman. Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult.

I have a soft spot for female fronted black metal and I know quite a few. Here are some of my favs:

Opera IX (cadaveria era) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Msr4n2XdxhI
Opera IX will never be the same without cadaver and cadaveria will never be the same ouside opera IX.

Astarte (RIP tristessa) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfcwwFkfEp4
She endured a long battle against blood cancer and died a couple years ago. It was a sad day when I heard the news. Respect.

Asagraum - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLZErFGiYn0
Listened to a couple songs a while ago and liked it. Nothing original but still good. Plus they are coming to my country so It's something you don't see ofter here.

Tymah - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1H3UXuqJro
I didn't know the vocalist was a female until some years later. Her vocals are insane

Darkestrah (till 2014) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHSzgy44EAw
They had a woman as vocalist until 2014. They have a unique sound of their own and they are from Kyrgyzstan. For seekers of exotic metal from unusual countries.

Bestial Holocaust - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lzHnUgodrs
The best metal band from bolivia is lead by a woman. Powerful and hateful vocals.

Lucifera - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fU2KbdMCTo
This one is from my country. Their two recent albums are awesome, they are making a name on their own in the underground scene.

Sierpes - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1bk9v13iFs
A female vocalist drummer. Found them a couple months ago by accident. Well done black/thrash metal with catchy riffing

Special mention to hetroertzen. Their main songwriter and guitarrist is a lady.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7iXcPbSIyQ

I just came across this cool stoner/doom metal/rock act named Black Moth, and they just happen to have a pretty kickass female vocalist! I've only listened to one song so far, but I'm liking it. New album out as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLgk1hednsg

Oh oh and Acid King!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVgMOtWkTj4

I saw it posted on another forum recently, and I think I came across them once previously while searching for Novembers Doom.

Looks to legitimately be from the 90s - there's info in a book from 2004, it was added to MA in 2004, and there are live videos from the 90s that look it. More likely just a n00b adding incorrect DOBs.

Nothing speaks to me as female fronted Metal as Epica, the first Metal band I was exposed to of this demographic. Their music is an epic combination of sweeping scores, beautiful vocals and a contrast between heaviness and beauty. I have a lot of nostalgia with them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhN7lYJopzM

Epica was my first love after Iron Maiden!
Check out this song. The riffs and arrangement are fantastic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIXA5DtmSUs

Some of Saber Tiger's best work came in the 90s with a female vocalist:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeakUdFCbPs

I was actually just bumping some Crystal Viper the other day. Their debut is so killer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Tsrzt6ZT48

In all my years I haven't really heard any stand-out female-centric metal, and I've tried listening to a fair share. Not to place judgment on anybody considering metal is viewed as an aggressive genre and it doesn't attract too much attention from women. There are certainly some very talented women in metal - Zorgh from Darkspace comes to mind. Not sure if her contributions are meaningless in this thread's context merely because she doesn't share the company of women but I think she's worth mentioning. I can appreciate that there's diversity in metal for those looking for it, but I personally don't get obsessed with relatively minor details such as someone's sex. Having said that, if there's a female-fronted band that kicks as much ass as Defeated Sanity - I'd be listening to them (if they existed...maybe they do....I'll keep scanning the thread).

A Sound of Thunder are a super awesome heavy/power metal band from Texas, with the badass Nina Osegueda on vocals. Their style is a mix of lots of classic heavy metal tropes from the big ones like Maiden, Priest and Dio with a cutting modern production and a lot of young ferocity. They can just as easily pull off sharp, speedy numbers, mid-tempo stompers or even spooky epics a la King Diamond. Truly fantastic shit.

Love this thread! Happy International women's day to any female posters here.

UNLEASH THE ARCHERS:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqUPGa15Oto

SATAN'S HALLOW:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWsgo_qXyRc

Thanks jimbies. Was gonna post Satan's Hallow myself, you beat me to it. (Though I have to edit your embeds to simple links for browser performance reasons, please check OP about that.)

Well, since I was beaten to Satan's Hallow (probably my album of the year 2017 tbh), I'll share Derkéta then:

Derkéta (doom/death, USA)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sAdnmkm9RY
[bandcamp]

Amusingly, I don't even usually like doom/death much. But I came upon this band randomly and enjoyed them, and that surprised me. Then after the fact I realized they were all women, so I thought to myself, "figures, you need women to get it right!".

This thread would be incomplete without a mention of the mighty Coven! While not strictly metal themselves, they certainly had plenty of influence on our beloved genre. Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls is fantastic, seamlessly combining straight-faced satanism with the catchiness and pop sensibilities of the era that spawned it. Jinx Dawson was an absolute force, and it's a damn shame that none of the other material she's performed on has been worth much.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn31rnq8eTc&t=1916s

Can't believe I forgot Chalice! Metantoine recommended them to me a while back and I finally got around to picking up their EP on Bandcamp.

...I just now realized that their version of Gaudete changed the lyrics around and made it all heathen. Instead of praising Jesus as he is born, they celebrate his death. Tee hee.

Shit, sorry! I got so excited about the thread (I had come here to make a thread very similar to this) that I just posted without reading all the way through.
I agree that Satan's Hallow was one of the best releases of 2017, and Unleash The Archers may have been a little underrated.

Not familiar with this Chalice, so I might as well post the other female-fronted Chalice, a gothic/doom metal act from Australia who are really good at crafting ponderous, melodic tunes that evoke a unique atmosphere.

Well, you guys posted a lot of the bands that came to my mind, so here are three that have yet to be mentioned.

I'm always surprised The Order of Chaos isn't more popular. They do very well in combining traditional heavy metal with thrashy riffs and blend melody and aggression nearly perfectly. Killer vocals as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZiTvltuhKk

Helion Prime is another good one. They are no longer female-fronted, but their debut album was one of my favorite power metal releases of 2016.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0VfnqLUs8M

I also almost forgot that Nightmare now has a female vocalist. They've been at it quite a while and although their track record is a bit inconsistent, I was more than impressed with their latest album.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0Y8knz7Ri0

Kinda surprised no one has mentioned Jo Bench in this thread yet. Not many bassists deserve to have their playing called crushing but I'd say she's one of the few who get's that distinction.


Sympuls-e old second vocalist, Kristina Kolesikhina, is one of my all-time growlers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv68IdL58qs



You beat me to it, but I gotta second Book of Wyrms here. Especially the song Leatherwing Bat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE63hFstYr8


Rie a.k.a Suzaku is a criminally underrated shred guitarist. Her playing tends to be a bit mid-paced for my tastes, but when she solos, she fuckin' solos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6Z2GD5SqNs
(skip to about 3:00 for the solo on this one)


Also gotta mention Fuki of Light Bringer and Unlucky Morpheus. She's just got this wonderfully deep voice that's super addictive to listen to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnDCUAEgB3s

No mention of Thorr's Hammer yet? Let's correct that. Sadly just one EP, classic death/doom fronted by Runhild Gammelsæter. Bandcamp

edit: ^^^^ ha!

Huh, I had no idea that Nightmare had a new vocalist. Crazy, Jo Amore had been with them forever and was a large part of their distinctive sound. I like this new singer, though, especially how she continues the raspy vocal tradition.

First to come to mind for me however is the utterly world demolishing Thorr's Hammer, presided over by Runhild Gammelsaeter. The local metal radio show I've been listening to for like 30+ years had a phase in the late 90s when they'd begin every episode with "Norge," which felt like a perfect, hypnotic incantation for all the black, death, thrash, doom, power, and speed metal that would follow. I still get a tingle of anticipation when I hear those first stirrings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdIenxU44Ns

And of course there's Ludicra, usually hailed most for their album The Tenant; my first exposure to them was Hollow Psalms, which I found in a used CD bin, no idea as to who they were or what they sounded like, going only by the logo, art, and song titles. Turned out to be a wise blind buy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzukY0F1kPA
(I think some of the members have a new non-metal band which I keep forgetting to check out. Must remedy this.)

Cretin's vocalist is actually a trans woman. Really good grindcore with some delightfully fucked lyrics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIBUoYZ52pk