Doro
Named Dorothee Pesch, she is better known as Doro Pesch, just Doro, or even the "Queen of Metal." Doro has been singing since she was a little girl in Germany. She became famous as the lead singer of Warlock (1982-1988) where they gained notoriety opening for bands like W.A.S.P., Judas Priest, and Dio. In the late '80s Warlock got MTV airplay and Doro moved to New York. Legal issues and disagreements over songwriting led to her breaking up with Warlock, but she continued under her own name.
For decades she performed in the U.S. and Europe, finding better chart success in Europe. 13 times she was voted Best International Singer by the readers of the Spanish music magazine Heavy Rock in their annual polls. In 2011, she toured fronting Dio Disciples, a tribute band celebrating the life and music of Ronnie James Dio. In 2013 she was honored with the Golden God Legend award from Metal Hammer.
Doro has no husband or children and has said that she is married to her band, crew, and fans instead. She has also been careful to not just market herself as a sex symbol either, but as a legitimate musician and artist. Away from the stage Doro is an animal rights activist, graphic artist, and Thai boxer. She is also a supporter of Terre des Femmes for woman's rights and is looked up to by many younger female rockers.
Lzzy Hale
In 1997 Elizabeth "Lzzy" Hale co-founded the rock band Halestorm with her brother Arejay Hale. Since 2006 they have been touring heavily. I have never bought a ticket just for Halestorm, but in February 2006 I saw them open for Flyleaf, Shinedown, and Seether and Lzzy was impressive even back then. She has a killer voice. I since saw Halestorm three additional times and I never cease to be amazed by Lzzy's vocal power, range, control and command of the stage. Her brother is also an amazing drummer. Lzzy is, without a doubt, one of the most talented rock singers of today. Recently she has been open to collaborations with everyone from David Draiman to Machine Gun Kelly to Trans-Siberian Orchestra and has put out an album of cover songs. Halestorm has a new album Vicious slated for a July 27 release. Lzzy came out as bisexual in a Tweet in 2014. Although she didn't intend for it to be newsworthy, she has since continued to be an inspiration and supportive figure for the LGBTQ+ community. I look forward to her rocking stages for years to come.
Nita Strauss
Nita is only 31 years old and she has already made quite a mark as a member of bands such as The Iron Maidens, Femme Fatale, and Alice Cooper. She recently performed at Wrestlemania 34 playing a shredding rendition of Shinsuke Nakamura's theme song, making herself known to a whole new audience. She plans to continue touring with Alice Cooper and Nita is currently working on a debut solo album tentatively scheduled to melt faces in September 2018.
Morgan Lander
In 1996 Morgan co-founded the band Kittie in Ontario with her sister, Mercedes, on drums, Tanya Candler on bass, and Fallon Bowman on guitar. Kittie started as a nu-metal group and gained notoriety for being an all-female group of "underage" girls that were not afraid of the guys and not afraid of flaunting their feminine traits for some crowd appeal. Songs from their Gold-certified debut, Spit, like "Charlotte," "Spit," and "Brackish" still hold up today. Morgan soon gained the most recognition for her talents that could blend screams, growls, raps, and clean vocals. She also played guitar and piano/keys and added guest vocals to other artists like (Hed)PE and Kataklysm. Over the years, Kittie became more of a death metal band. They have famously tried to downplay their genders and said they don't want to be known as an all-female group because "you don't call Machine Head a boy-metal band, you call them a metal band...Why should they make an exception [for us] just because of the gender. It's almost the exact same kind of music, except we don't have penises" (MTV interview 2000). In 2014 Kittie put together a crowd-funded documentary celebrating their 20th anniversary. In March 2018 they released a live album entitled Origins/Evolutions. Mercedes has a side project called White Swan, but Kittie may not be done yet.
Alissa was co-founder and lead vocalist for the Canadian metal band The Agonist of which she was a part 2004-2014. After that time she replaced popular female metal singer Angela Gossow in Swedish metal band Arch Enemy. Angela had powerful growls, but Alissa is even more versatile on the microphone. As a straight-edge, vegan, atheist, female she said she felt like she had a bullseye on her forehead when she first started in a metal band. Now, however, she is well-respected with a four octave range and near the top of the ranks in her genre. She has lent her talents to Kamelot and Nightwish and is now working on a solo project.
Cristina Scabbia
Since 1996 Cristina has been a vocalist for Italian metal band Lacuna Coil. She does mostly clean singing while Andy Ferro also sings and does more of the unclean vocals for the band. Though she has never been formally trained, she has a more operatic voice than others on this list. Before she became famous for fronting Lacuna Coil, she was introduced to the American metal scene by being featured in Megadeth's A Tout Le Monde. She also has notable collaborations with Apocalyptica and Alter Bridge. Cristina is frequently cited as one of metal's hottest females. At age 45, she may not continue to be on those lists, but as a recent recipient of a "Best Live Act" award from the Metal Hammer Golden God Awards it doesn't look like she'll be fading away from the stage anytime soon.
Alexia Rodriguez
Alexia used to share the stage with her bassist sister, Anissa, and share vocal duties with Lindsey Vogt and a host of various guys, but now she is front and center on lead guitar and lead vocals in the band Eyes Set to Kill. With their sixth album being self-titled, they are poised to reinvent and reinvigorate the band despite changes to the lineup.
Otep Shamaya
I have liked Otep since I saw them in 2002. They are an amazing live band and frontwoman Otep definitely stood out as a girl who could growl as good as the boys. She can also rap, sing, or scream. My reverance for Otep has only gotten stronger as I admire her songwriting, but also her outspokenness about animal rights, politics, human rights, etc. She is active on social media where it is clear that she is appreciative of her fans and she can also expound upon her stances eloquently and supported by history and facts. She is openly lesbian and vegan, and can squat more than I can even begin to think about. As one of her latest tattoos says, she is "Boss." Otep's new album Kult 45 is scheduled to be out July 27.
Jada Pinkett-Smith
Maybe you remember her from A Different World, as Ms. Purty in the Nutty Professor, or as Niobe in the Matrix sequels. Nowadays, she's more famous for being Will's husband or the mother of Jaden and Willow. I will always remember when I saw her front Wicked Wisdom at a 2006 show at Starland Ballroom opening for Sevendust. Jada blew me away. She was oozing charisma. She could sing. And most astonishing of all - she was metal. Many people were skeptical, myself included; however she was a fan of the genre and really had to prove herself when Sharon Osbourne went out on a limb and put them on Ozzfest 2005 without a major release. Word soon spread that they were legit and Jada was awesome, even headbanging and inciting mosh pits. I honestly wish that her metal career lasted longer than it did. They only had one metal album and only perform on rare occasions nowadays. I also wish that more black women could make their mark in metal like Jada did.
Mixi
Alecia "Mixi" Demner founded Stitched Up Heart in 2010. It took until 2016 to release their major label debut, Never Alone. However, this time allowed them to become a polished and cohesive band with a great batch of songs. I first became aware of them when I stood two feet away from the stage as they opened for Gemini Syndrome in a small club in Stanhope, NJ. The band has heavy chugging guitars with Mixi swooning over top. It's a great juxtaposition that sets them apart from the rest of the bands in the metal world. The lyrics are really inspiring and uplifting as well. Mixi is a really talented singer and she has amazing energy on stage. Immediately after their set I went to the merchandise area to pick up a copy of the album. It was then that I learned that Mixi is also a sweetheart as she took the time to chat with me and offered to take a selfie of us together because she has "perfected" the technique. The band has been touring relentlessly for the last two years, most recently with other female fronted bands Halestorm, New Years Day, and In This Moment. With sponsors supporting them and new fans being made on the road, the band is likely to breakout and I personally can't wait until they release some new songs. If you don't know Stitched Up Heart or any of the other artists mentioned above, do yourself a favor and look them up. |
| Mixi and I, August 2017 |
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