"Female-Fronted" Metal Bands

[AngelCityOutlaw]

In recent times, there has been a fair bit of controversy surrounding the label of "female-fronted" metal bands ever since Floor Jansen did this interview a few months ago.

 

Today, I read this new interview with the group "Amaranthe". I really like this interview because there is a whole section where Elize, Jake and Olof share their take on the title.

 

Personally, I've got to agree with Floor, Olof and Jake on this subject. I don't think the title of "female-fronted" is relevant anymore since there are a myriad of different metal sub-genres and bands with female singers now. Like, I could give you a massive list off the top of my head of bands fronted by women that all sound completely different. In the comments section of one of the sites that posted the Floor Jansen interview, I saw the argument repeatedly made that "women sound different from men, so the label is justified because it tells you that it's a woman singing" which I personally believe is the most profoundly stupid argument anyone could make regarding the subject since A) It doesn't matter and B men sound different from other men just as women sound different from other women. It's as ridiculous as calling metal "7-string metal" because the guitarists use 7-string guitars and they "totally sound different from six strings, bruh!!" 

 

As a side note, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the discussion between the members of Amaranthe on the subject of sexualized female singers in metal and I completely agree.

 

 

Elize: That’s also something that, as a female, I’ve never seen anyone selling through sex. We have fashion or there are certain type of clothes of people who listen to metal like. They can be leather, tight, whatever, chains. It doesn’t even have to be sexy. It can be not-so-good looking, but still people think, ‘Oh, she does that just to sell her body or sell her music through looking in a certain way.’ That’s also a judgement I don’t agree with. It’s a preconception. So if I wear a dress today, it’s not because I want you to look at my awesome legs and think that I’m super hot or something, it’s because it’s warm outside and I like dresses and they’re designed for women. I’ve had a lot of criticism for my clothes also. It’s funny, because I don’t even think about it when I put them on, but then when I read the comments, people really that I’m showing off when I’m wearing more clothes than Johan [bass] because he’s completely bare.

 

Olof: If you look at metal bands with female singers, I think it’s rare to see any of the women being sexualized. I think the sexualization comes more from the fans.

 

Elize: Exactly.

 

 

 

So what do you all think? Should the title of "Female-fronted" be dropped entirely or nah?

[Paladin]

I've never given it any thought before, but it does seem a bit odd. The way I see it, though, "female-fronted" is just another pointless classification in heavy music, along with all the sub-genres within sub-genres that don't need to exist.

[timaeus222]

I think it's pointless too (although 7-string guitars do sound different than 6-string guitars, especially the low reach ). I personally know the lead singer for a local metal band and yep, she's a girl. And I've heard them live before. It was good. No one should be surprised if a girl is singing lead in a metal band.

 

https://www.facebook.com/5timesover

[AngelCityOutlaw]

I think it's pointless too (although 7-string guitars do sound different than 6-string guitars, especially the low reach ).

 

You can set up a six string to reach that low or get a baritone though 

[Meteo Xavier]

BabyMetal.

End of thread.

[thebitterroost]

I don't think "female-fronted" has ever really been thought of as a subgenre to most folks. More of a tag than anything. Probably should be dropped if it's being used as anything more than that.

Were magazines/critics/etc using that term when people like Doro and Lita Ford were fronting metal bands, I wonder?

[AngelCityOutlaw]

I don't think "female-fronted" has ever really been thought of as a subgenre to most folks. More of a tag than anything. Probably should be dropped if it's being used as anything more than that.

Were magazines/critics/etc using that term when people like Doro and Lita Ford were fronting metal bands, I wonder?

 

Definitely. Lita came to prominence from playing in The Runaways and when I first heard Kiss Me Deadly via my mother's cassette tapes at a young age, mom told me about how Lita, along with Doro was a "girl rocker" and that's what made her stand out at the time. If you look up the IMDB entry on The Runaways movie or even the wikipedia page about the band, "all-girl rock band" is in the very first sentence every time. Now, it's important to remember Lita, Doro and a handful of other women are likely going to get the "female rocker" or whatever label with greater relevance because they were the first celebrity women in the genre. This is more about how the label is or should be meaningless now.

 

Ironically, Blabbermouth themselves also posted this recent article about Battle Beast.

 

 

 

Finnish female-fronted metallers BATTLE BEAST have parted ways with.....

 

Literally the first fucking words of the article lol

 

This type of branding is not a common occurrence in other genres. Consider that The Runaways being a famous all-girl rock band even has its Wikipedia page starting with "The Runaways were an all-female..." but Salt N Pepa, one of the first all-female hip-hop groups does not mention the fact that they were one of the first until much later in the first paragraph. 

 

Here is an article from Bloody-Disgusting from 2 years back about In This Moment

 

 

 

Female-fronted metal band In This Moment is going to release a special edition of their latest album Blood, which will include a live DVD

 

Once again, first words in the article. Looking up Shania Twain or Reba, I don't see them anywhere say "female country singer Shania Twain" or whatever. Also, if you go on YouTube and search something to the effect of "girl guitarist" you will find a shitload of videos of "best girl guitarists" or something like that and almost all of these women are playing rock and metal genres.

 

To top it off, anytime I've ever tried to form a metal band (had a girl as the lead singer most recently) I always got at least one woman responding to my ad asking "are you okay with girls in the band?" 

 

I know western society is now this increasingly "politically correct" where the Dukes of Hazzard are apparently evil and racist and need to be censored from TV now and people blow stuff way out of proportion, but the more I think about it, the more I think there is a legit issue here. 

[thebitterroost]

I guess it'll still be considered a novelty or a gimmick because of gender stereotypes (omg women being crass and aggressive!) and the fact that a lot of metal is known to have a very male-centric fanbase. I recall a joke I heard years ago that was something like "What has 1000 legs and 8 tits? A Cannibal Corpse show." The gap is closing (esp. in Europe), but the perception will linger, I guess. Just another tally on the "disappointed in humans" wall, eh?

 

On the positive side, there might be less of that approach with smaller labels/audiences. I just got into Christian Mistress recently, and I haven't read much that over-sensationalizes their lead singer (yet, at least). Check em out, btw. Good classic stuff.
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16350-possession/

[Brandon Strader]

I didn't read the articles or anything but I just want to point out that usually the term female-fronted is a marketing tool, for people specifically looking for female-fronted metal or even rock bands. It does seem demeaning as if it's some huge accomplishment that women are playing metal. But many of these bands specifically choose to have female vocals because of the difference in sound and image that it brings to their band. 

 

One band that never really pushed the whole female-fronted thing in your face was Arch Enemy, UNTIL they got their new singer. Gossow was never about image when she was in the band, but that became an aspect of Arch Enemy when they put out the new album. 

 

It's less an argument of whether it's right or wrong to refer to bands as female-fronted, but people noticing female-fronted (or baby fronted) metal as usually being a gimmick or a marketing tactic. That is not ALWAYS the case. But it's very common. Calling them female-fronted metal for marketing purposes is akin to black metal bands screeching about Satan and wearing black and white makeup. 

 

 

I like this band but they've gone through female singers like KFC goes through chicken

[AngelCityOutlaw]

I didn't read the articles or anything but I just want to point out that usually the term female-fronted is a marketing tool, for people specifically looking for female-fronted metal or even rock bands. It does seem demeaning as if it's some huge accomplishment that women are playing metal. But many of these bands specifically choose to have female vocals because of the difference in sound and image that it brings to their band.

 

Do they really, though? Which bands specifically chose a female singer because of a different sound and image it would give their band? I mean, I don't doubt that this is a thing that's happened, but I can't think of any band that actually did this.

 

Like, Tarja was in Nightwish because she and Erno were friends on account of having the same music teacher. Amaranthe has Elize because she was friends with Jake and Olof years before. In This Moment has Maria Brink as singer because she is a founding member who met Chris through mutual friends.

 

Most of the most famous metal bands with a female singer didn't actually chose her for any other reason than fate as far as I can tell.

 

 

 

One band that never really pushed the whole female-fronted thing in your face was Arch Enemy, UNTIL they got their new singer. Gossow was never about image when she was in the band, but that became an aspect of Arch Enemy when they put out the new album. 

 

I recall back when Gossow joined the band it was a big deal that they had a girl in their band as the death metal growler/screamer, but I don't remember the band themselves making a big deal out of it - the media did. Also, Angela was one of the only women doing death growls at the time in a band signed to a label giving their music international distribution and touring. So, I would agree that having a woman fronting your death metal band while headlining tours back in the early 2000s worked to Arch Enemy's favor, was it really something the band exploited, or was it their label, agents and the press?

 

Calling them female-fronted metal for marketing purposes is akin to black metal bands screeching about Satan and wearing black and white makeup.

 

 

I don't think this is at all an equivalent comparison. How is this marketing exactly? Black Metal is a legit genre of music for composition and production reasons and the lyrics and image are a part of the genre. Sure, maybe its shock-value works in marketing, but I still don't see how this is at all the same.

[Brandon Strader]

I don't even know what you're trying to argue. It's image and marketing. Sometimes the bands are in on it, sometimes they're not. Even examples where I'd say it is blatant use of image for marketing such as Sirenia or To-Mera, someone else could say "No you dumbass, the singer for To-Mera is the guitarists' 8th ex-cousin/fiancee 4 times removed. They've known each other for years." Either way, at the most base level, there's nothing wrong with the phrase "female-fronted metal" being used. One could argue it's demeaning, another would argue that female pride is nothing to be ashamed of and they're as entitled to be a part of metal as anyone else. However I do think we should draw the line at African American Black Metal if that ever becomes a marketing term. 

 

At any rate, our white guy crocodile tears won't change a damn thing! Never have, never will.  

[AngelCityOutlaw]

I don't even know what you're trying to argue. It's image and marketing. Sometimes the bands are in on it, sometimes they're not. Even examples where I'd say it is blatant use of image for marketing such as Sirenia or To-Mera, someone else could say "No you dumbass, the singer for To-Mera is the guitarists' 8th ex-cousin/fiancee 4 times removed. They've known each other for years." Either way, at the most base level, there's nothing wrong with the phrase "female-fronted metal" being used. One could argue it's demeaning, another would argue that female pride is nothing to be ashamed of and they're as entitled to be a part of metal as anyone else. However I do think we should draw the line at African American Black Metal if that ever becomes a marketing term. 

 

At any rate, our white guy crocodile tears won't change a damn thing! Never have, never will.  

 

I'm arguing that "female-fronted metal" probably is sexist because despite the fact that women can and do sing in all the same vocal styles as men do in the genre and there are plenty of women singing or otherwise playing in metal bands, the media still (as exemplified by the articles I shared that you admitted you did not read) makes a point of saying "this band has a girl singing, you guys" usually right in the first sentence while other genres of music traditionally seen as "male" genres do not get the same treatment.

 

 

 

I do think we should draw the line at African American Black Metal if that ever becomes a marketing term.

 

I agree, because what race the person singing or playing is tells you nothing about the music - just like how a person's sex tells you nothing about the music or style.

[Brandon Strader]

I disagree strongly. Women don't sound like men, and they shouldn't have to. If nothing else, it's important to note for categorization. I enjoy female-fronted metal because of the difference in voice. 

 

 

There's also a distinct difference in the clean voice, ya know. 

 

I don't think there should be categorization based on race, however I think the diversity of voice and influence should be respected, not swept under a rug.

 

 

In this 1 instance I think the attempt to be PC is more sexist than otherwise

 

 

Listen to this and tell me again "a person's sex tells you nothing about the music or style" and tell me her vocal performance is not unique from what you'd get from a man. 

[AngelCityOutlaw]

I disagree strongly. Women don't sound like men, and they shouldn't have to. If nothing else, it's important to note for categorization. I enjoy female-fronted metal because of the difference in voice. 

 

 

There's also a distinct difference in the clean voice, ya know. 

 

I don't think there should be categorization based on race, however I think the diversity of voice and influence should be respected, not swept under a rug.

 

 

In this 1 instance I think the attempt to be PC is more sexist than otherwise

 

 

Listen to this and tell me again "a person's sex tells you nothing about the music or style" and tell me her vocal performance is not unique from what you'd get from a man. 

 

I'm not saying that women don't have a different vocal tone from men or that classification is never necessary, I'm saying the media, critics etc. fixation on it is unnecessary in the context they use the term. Like, why was it at all necessary in that blabbermouth article to begin with "Finnish female-fronted metallers..."? Like, they actually could have saved themselves time by not typing that because the fact that the band has a female singer had absolutely no relevance to the article at all. As I've stated before, I haven't been able to find articles by similar media that begin with "Female-fronted country/pop group Lady Antebellum"... This isn't like tagging your YouTube video, SoundCloud or a list on Wikipedia where if someone is in just such dire need to hear a woman sing metal or rock music they will now have a term they can punch in and get a list of bands.

 

Listen to this and tell me again "a person's sex tells you nothing about the music or style" and tell me her vocal performance is not unique from what you'd get from a man. 

 

 

That is exactly what I'm going to tell you lol. Her vocal performance IS unique yes, but it's unique to her. Sure, listening you can tell it's a woman singing, but her performance is going to sound different from even what another woman would do. Also, her style is not at all unique as far as the genre goes. Maria Brink literally does everything from metalcore style screaming, operatic clean and 90s sounding Nu Metal half-rap vocals like what she does in that song - which is also my least favorite In This Moment song 

 

Here are what I feel some better examples to demonstrate my point.

 

 

 

She sounds more manly than Dio.

 

 

 

Now for some classic rock

 

 

 

 

You mean to tell me that those women all sound so different from the men who sang the originals that there is good reason for magazines and stuff to make a point of calling them "female-fronted" anytime the band is the subject of an article, even when the article has nothing to do with the topic of women in metal specifically?

 

You know, Sam Phillips once said this about Elvis Presley:

 

"If I could find a white man who had the Negro sound and the Negro feel, I could make a billion dollars.'"

 

At the start of his career, many assumed Elvis to be black because of his accent, especially when he was on air on Dewey Phillips' radio show in '54.

 

If I'm understanding this correctly, you're against racially categorizing genres of music because you seem to feel that accents or tone ("diversity of voice", which you feel should be celebrated) which, depending on where you're from, some might associate with a particular race or ethnic group is an unnecessary distinction to make. However, you're for "celebrating the diversity of voice" so long as it's about women?