Women have always secretly ruled the world of metal, from Jinx Dawson, the vocalist of Coven, one of the first metal bands ever, to 80s supergroups like Girlschool, to today, and this year is no different. Here are some of the women who are making the biggest waves in heavy metal in 2015, and whom we anticipate will keep rising in success as the year goes on.
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1. Dorthia Cottrell
This lovely lady is a good friend of mine, and I am stoked to get to include her in this list. Her band, Windhand from Richmond, recently got signed to Relapse and are currently in the process of recording their third studio album in Seattle. Dorthia also has her own solo record out via Forcefield Records, which has been receiving some great attention and praise. I don't bring up my association with Dorthia to namedrop, but rather to highlight how much she deserves this success; she has been a singer and songwriter since her formative years and has always had an incredible voice and knack for writing songs. As the year goes on, we anticipate even more great things from Windhand and from her solo work.
2. Mlny Parsons
Royal Thunder have been getting all kinds of positive attention this year, and this is due in part to the lovely vocals and proficient bass chops of bassist/vocalist Mlny Parsons. Their new record, Crooked Doors, was released this year to much critical acclaim. This is only the group's second record, and they are bound to be on an upward spiral. We wouldn't be surprised to see a solo release from Parsons in the future, or even more awesome Royal Thunder material very soon.
3. Alissa White-Gluz
We've all reacted to the buzz by now that Arch Enemy have a new singer, who is also female, just like their last singer, Angela Gossow. Annoying accusations of the group harping on a gimmick by wanting another girl in the group aside, White-Gluz is an awesome vocalist; she was great with The Agonist and has already released a solid record with Arch Enemy. We hope to see some more amazing work from the group with their new member this year.
4. Julie Christmas
It wasn't clear if Julie Christmas, beloved vocalist of Made Out of Babies and Battle of Mice, was going to do anything else in the metal world after those two groups became defunct, but we are so glad she did! Recently, she recorded vocals for a track on the new Spylacopa EP. The group is a collaboration of members of Isis and Dillinger Escape Plan, and her vocals make this even more of a supergroup. While this was just one experimental side project EP, we are hoping that she is back in the game and planning to contribute more to the music world in the coming year.
5.The Women of Hellcats
This group is all-female, and they are being called the first of such bands to come out of Slovenia, of all places. This band really rocks and puts on a good show, and while they might not be the cup of tea of every die-hard brutality fiend out their, they still rule. They just released a new video this month, and should be doing big things this year.
6. Juliette Lewis
Speaking of super-groups featuring members of Dillinger Escape Plan, actress and singer Juliette Lewis of Juliette & The Licks is going to take over vocal duties for the supergroup Giraffe Tounge Orchestra, featuring members of DEP, Mastodon, Dethklok, and Mars Volta. This adds even more star power to their lineup, and marks one of the first times a successful actress has turned successful metal singer. We can't wait to see what the group has to offer during the coming year.
7. Christine Davis
Christian Mistress have already proven themselves to be one of the strongest groups to bring back the female-centric, goddess metal thing pioneered by groups like Coven. They are finally due to release a new record, and are headed into the studio to work on it now. Since they got started, this sub-genre has attracted even more bands pulling off this kind of sound, and Christine Davis has such a strong and powerful voice that we can only imagine they are going to keep on crushing it!
These are just some of the amazing women coming up in the metal scene right now; there are many more, and they all completely rule. Feel free to shout out with women you think should have been on this list, but stuff the gender hate, please, and no Babymetal jokes.
