tunesday – the rad women of heavy metal

It’s no secret that we here at frankie love celebrating women in music, especially in niche genres that are usually dominated by men, and heavy metal is a perfect example of that. Lacey Walker has jotted down some of her very favourite women in heavy metal music, with a head-banging playlist to rock out to down below.

SACRED BRUTALITY – OKKULTIST Starting things off strong with one of my favourite female-lead heavy bands, Okkultist is a Portuguese band that is fronted by the incredible Beatriz Mariano, who is one of the best guttural growlers (a type of vocal technique that is pretty much a staple of the entire genre). I discovered Okkultist when Beatriz was dating the vocalist of another one of my favourite bands, Cancerslug, and Okkultist has since become a staple in my metal playlists.

ZOMBIES – LACUNA COIL Don’t be fooled by the first verse, that’s just male frontman Andrea Ferro. The band’s second vocalist, Christina Scabbia, comes in at the chorus with her stunning vocals. Lacuna Coil is an Italian band that has two vocalists, a man and a woman, which I think is just awesome. “Zombies” is an excellent example of the two singing together, and the band have songs with just Christina’s vocals as well.

IN THE EYE OF THE STORM – ARCH ENEMY Known for her trademark blue locks, Arch Enemy vocalist Alissa White-Gluz is no stranger to the alternative music scene. Her long-time partner is Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein (an elaborate stage name) who is the guitarist of the legendary punk band, Misfits. Based in Sweden, Arch Enemy is one of the most commercially successful female-fronted death metal bands ever and has released 11 albums to date. This song, “In the Eye of the Storm”, appears on their most recent album and never fails to blow my mind that this is a woman singing. I usually prefer clean vocals, but Alissa’s throaty screaming is pretty appealing.

HOLLER – OUTRIGHT There’s only one thing I love more than female heavy metal vocalists: Australian female heavy metal vocalists. Melbourne’s own Outright is fronted by Jelena Goluza. The band’s sound is what I would call a pleasantly angry mix of metal and punk. In bouts of rough screaming, Jelena delivers the poetically iconic line, “There is no compliment to be found in my dehumanisation.” At the very end, she prompts us to “holler back”, so next time someone speaks out of line to you, make sure to stand up for yourself. This is a sentiment cherished amongst the women of heavy metal and for a pretty good reason.

UNCOMFORTABLE – HALESTORM This band smashes gender stereotypes right off the bat with this track, including the phrase, “I did it all to break every single preconceived notion that you have.” Vocalist Elizabeth "Lzzy" Hale delivers lyrics in her timeless signature hardcore rock style – reminiscent of female rock pioneers like Joan Jett and Suzi Quatro – but with a much more brutal backing sound. I wholeheartedly believe this is the best riot grrrl song that is not actually from the time period and is an essential track for anyone fed up with being questioned on their unrelenting individuality. I adore the idea of doing things so unapologetically it makes others “uncomfortable.”

YORKTOWN – BUTCHER BABIES Butcher Babies give us two kickass female vocalists; dual frontwomen Carla Harvey and Heidi Shepherd share a unique brutish girly aesthetic, evidenced well in “Yorktown”, where they’re screaming one second and reciting schoolyard counting rhymes the next. This is such an iconic juxtaposition, something we just don’t get with male metal singers. My favourite line is something I’d love to see on a t-shirt; “I’m not afraid bitch, I’ve got nine lives.” Before forming the band, Carla worked as a reporter for Playboy, then studied mortuary science and became a funeral director and embalmer. It doesn’t get much more hardcore than that!

SCISSORS – JINJER In this Ukrainian metal group, vocalist Tatiana "Tati" Shmayluk maintains one of the most consistently brutal singer styles of all time. This song, “Scissors”, appears on their 2012 album Inhale, Do Not Breathe, and hides a nice inner mushiness behind Tati’s growling. This is evidenced best in the line, “Each time you cry you make me feel like I wanna die.” In early 2022, the band paused their musical career to focus on relief efforts in Ukraine but has since returned to touring as ambassadors of the nation. Respectfully, that’s metal as hell.

GARY HEIDNIK – SKYND (FEAT. JONATHAN DAVIS) Now, for those not in the know, SKYND is a band that sings exclusively about some…questionable subject matter, but even if you’re not a true crime junkie, try listening to their music instead for the awe-inspiring genre warping. Plus, I just had to include them because they’re from Sydney! I love the mysteriousness of this band, as the vocalist of this duo is known only by her stage name Skynd, and her multi-instrumentalist fellow member is known only by his stage name, Father. To add to their techno alternativeness, they are joined by Korn frontman Jonathan Davis on this track, who is also a self-professed true crime addict.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA – NIGHTWISH Opera meets heavy metal – what? Let’s depart from screaming and growling for just a second to delve into the world of the Finnish symphonic metal band, Nightwish. If I were to make a fantasy flick, this is what the princess listens to when she abandons her gown and slippers for a sword and armour. Like Lacuna Coil, most of their discography includes both a male and female vocalist. She’s since left the band but continues a solo career. And yes, if you didn’t guess, she’s a classically trained professional Lied singer, with a three-octave vocal range.

GHOSTFLOWERS – OTEP Since their formation back in 2000, the Los Angeles band, Otep, have had one consistent member: vocalist and metal queen Otep Shamaya. Like a couple of others in the playlist today, she can go from harmonic singing to brutal screaming in the blink of an eye, which is truly impressive. In “Ghostflowers”, we get the line, “You want to see me burn / I am living fire!” This is such a powerful mantra of reclaiming hate, like, you want to burn me? Well, guess what: I am fire!