Women’s Month feels like a double-edged, or even triple-edged sword at times (despite that not being possible) – there’s a certain amount of gratitude that we’re being recognised, annoyance that it takes a special occasion like Women’s Month to be respected, and irritation that we still need to bring gender into the discussion in 2025, in any way shape or form. True equality means not noticing a gender, and noticing a person, and their skills – period.
It’s the same argument that was outlined in Using Female-Fronted Now As A Genre Is Just As Lazy As It Was 30 Years Ago – gender is fucking irrelevant, and we can sing about that until the cows come home. There shouldn’t be the immediate reaction of, ‘Oh, damn!‘ to hearing that guitar solo you found intriguing to be produced by a woman, but there is. Gender became a marketing scheme, a cog in a greater plot of just selling products, something spectacular and unexpected in the metal genre. And while yes, metal is a predominantly male culture, it doesn’t belong to men. It isn’t men’s. Music isn’t men’s. It’s everyone’s. So, why highlight the obvious? Why is there shock and awe? Can’t we just pay some damn respect to good music? And just care about the good music.
So – that’s what this list is. An acknowledgment of skill and talent, things that make good fucking music. These are 10 artists that rip and are worth giving some time, love, and attention (maybe even a dollar or two) throughout not just the rest of the month, but the whole year, regardless of Women’s Month.
Roman Candle
Roman Candle is currently signed to Sumerian Records and are gearing up to release their newest record on the 24th of April. A melodic thumping post-hardcore essence carries itself throughout the heart of the band. Urgent in places and resigned in others, Roman Candle play with dynamics to make you feel what they’re saying as intensely as possible, but never in a way that feels controlling, but guiding. It works.
Heriot
Heriot have regularly been hailed as people’s “new favourite band” as their most recent LP received love from publications like NME, Pitchfork, The Guardian, Metal Hammer, Rock Sound, Kerrang!, Revolver, and Knotfest, and bands like Trivium and Lamb Of God have brought them on the road. Their most recent Audiotree session shows the dexterity and precision the post-metal group have developed since their beginnings in 2014 in the UK.
Crypta
Crypta has been a name that has begun circling death metal conversations as of late. From social media threads to internet forums asking ‘who are some of your favourite death metal groups at the moment?,’ Crypta is regularly mentioned. The Brazilian trio creates soul-incinerating blaze of death metal for those who are looking to melt into their chair and blast their brain with a symphony of death metal to drown it all out.
Cage Fight
Cage Fight are a UK-based, French-influenced (their lead singer Rachel Aspe is a French national) melodic metalcore group that features growls that wouldn’t be entirely out of place in a death or black metal setting. Signed to Spinefarm at the moment, they’re getting ready to release their newest record, Exuvia, on May 1st, their newest single, “Un Bon Souvenir” a promise of choruses that glide off the tongue and verses that howl.
Tetrarch
Tetrarch are Atlanta-natives, grinding since 2007, crafting out a charged blend of metal that grabs from thrash, doom, death, and classic subgenres. There’s a lot to unpack with Tetrarch, with skin-peeling guitar solos and melodic breaks that give you time to breathe. The now LA-based group released their most recent record, The Ugly Side Of Me, last year which was hailed by Louder as “no-nonsense, earwormy” piece of work.
Nervosa
Nervosa brings something a little new to the thrash table, the Brazilian group occasionally weaving their native tongue of Portuguese into their tracks that focus particularly on social issues such as “Cultura do Estupro” which translates to “Rape Culture,” and “Guerra Santa” which means “Holy War.” Despite the occasional inclusion of their culture, their thrash metal is nearly textbook – Nervosa are precise, unrelenting, and upbeat.
Calva Louise
Calva Louise have one of the most unique origin stories of all time – with the lead singer fleeing Venezuela at 14 to move into a convent with nuns in France and chastised for playing the electric guitar. While not classically trained, Calva Louise use classical Spanish elements on the guitar and piano, singing in Spanish, screaming like a banshee, and growling like a demon, there’s technicality and obscure aspects to their music as they dance around deathcore with electronic and cultural elements.
Bronco Forte
Bronco Forte is our obligatory stoner inclusion, with their gritty and groovy forthcoming record a necessity when appreciating good music. Their swinging guitars and smooth melodies make for a discography that is swampy in places with bright tones chiming in on occasion. Their newest single, “Lightning Scar,” is a gleaming, sunny track with thunderstorms that finish as soon as they start, a dynamic dance that glitters with essences of classic rock.
A.A. Williams
A.A. Williams is known for her epic, folk-rooted heavy tones, a trait that gained her notoriety from Robert Smith of The Cure and Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins for the release of her solo-cover collection recorded during the pandemic. Currently signed to Reigning Phoenix Music, Williams is already receiving praise for her recent singles off her upcoming record, Solstice, out on June 5th. Moody, ethereal, and cinematic, A.A. Williams‘ newest track will delight.
The Callous Daoboys
The Callous Daoboys have made a name for themselves as activists, and a band that puts their money where their mouth is. Their eclectic punk-fusion is as addictive as it gets, with funk and prog elements tucked into corners that aren’t always visible at first glance. Their protests and consistent action against the current administration aside, their punk exploration is balanced with soaring choruses that are easy to follow.
