Females Out Front: The Metal Evolution
DENVER- Women have always known how to rock. Im not going to try and pitch you that this is a new phenomenon. Janis Joplin, Heart, Joan Jett, Blondie, Lita Ford, Wendy O. Williams, the list of women who have kicked ass on the stage over the last half a century are numerous and many have become true rock n roll legends. What I am proposing is that recently I have seen a rise in the total number of female fronted rock, punk, and metal bands across the board. No longer is it just one icon out there and maybe a few local acts that are making some noise. There seems to be a serious and solid movement by the industry to push women into the spotlight on all levels of the national scene. I would like to showcase a few of these performers, obviously there are literally hundreds of acts on the road, but these are some I think deserve some respect.
(Groovey TVs fans have this to say about who deserves respect.)
Izzy Hale and Halestorm
Recently the Uproar tour came through Denver, headlined by Disturbed and Avenged Sevenfold. But the band that opened up the main stage was the hard rock outfit Halestorm. Halestorm has technically been together since 1998 but they were 10 years old then so Im not too sure how much that counts. They signed to Atlantic Records in 2005 to release an EP and then released their debut self titled album just last year. The front woman for Halestorm is Elizabeth “Izzy” Hale who has the voice and look of a rock icon in the making and she is slamming good on the guitar.
If you dig anthem style rocking tunes give Halestorm a try. And as a quick side note they were some of the nicest and hospitable rock stars I have ever met. I swear they would have made us meatloaf on their bus if my photog and myself would have asked.
Maria Brink and In This Moment
In This Moment which is fronted by vocalist Maria Brink is technically classified as a metalcore band which is the most overused and widely thrown about term in all of music. Which basically means its crap. Metalcore is the fusion of metal and hardcore and is applied to literally thousands of bands that sound nothing like each other. In This Moment is a good ol fashioned metal band and Maria Brink has a voice that can knock through concrete. They formed in 2005 and have released 3 albums so far with their latest being 2010s A Star Crossed Wasteland which debuted at #40 on the Billboard 200, selling approximately 10,500 copies in its first week of release. In This Moments next American tour starts in November and there are dates in New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada. Maria Brink says if she could levitate over the crowd while she performs she would. When you see her live you can tell shes actually trying to do just that.
Stella Katsoudas of Dirty Little Rabbits
Dirty Little Rabbits from Johnston, Iowa are an alternative pop rock band that have a great experimental groove to them and are just quirky enough to be awesome. Fronted by Stella Katsoudas, who has sited the Cocteau Twins and Kate Bush as vocal inspirations, just absolutely shines on all the tracks I have heard from Dirty Little Rabbits. They currently have 2 EPs and a self titled full length which was released this summer and heavy North American touring is underway. If you like quirky, indie, but yet poppy then please take a minute to check out their tunes, I think you will want to go see them live. Which I have been told is as much of a performance piece as a rock show.
Emma Anzai of Sick Puppies
Sometimes the most famous person in a band is not the singer. This next band I have listened to their new CD a hundred times and I have interviewed 2 of the members separately. And I could not tell you the dudes names in the band to save my life. But I can totally tell you about Emma Anzai who is the bass player for the Australian alternative rock band Sick Puppies. Emma Anzai has been called the “Female Flea” and her bass skills are stellar. She deserves that title and her back up vocals are golden as well. Her band Sick Puppies are playing stadiums and opening for some of the biggest bands in the world on a daily basis so I dont think Im out of line to say that someday Emma Anzai will achieve icon status if she hasnt already.
Like I said earlier there are hundreds of female fronted bands on the road these days from all genres so it would take a book to cover all of them. I am signed up to receive press releases from way too many publicity houses and the amount of bands with women at the helm is definitely increasing whether its the radio overlords Evanescance or the girl growlers like Iwrestledabearonce. Speaking of the growlers for the more adventurous of you please check out the work of some of the titans of the growling scene like Otep, Kittie, Arch Enemy, and Walls of Jericho. All amazing and powerful bands.