Just out of curiosity – does Courtney LaPlante of Spiritbox sound in anyway similar to say, Kiarely “Kia” Castillo or Janel Monique Duarte (formerly) of Conquer Divide? Do Lizzie Hale of Halestorm and Fernanda Lira of Crypta share some common characteristic that defines what they sound like? Or are all of the bands just lumped together because of their gender? Do Babymetal and Jinjer belong in the same ‘female-fronted‘ genre when that description does absolutely nothing to describe what any of these artists sound like. Do ‘female vocalists’ carry more weight than say, female guitarists, bassists, drummers, songwriters, producers, or engineers?
Kawaii metal, progressive metalcore, melodic death metal, deathcore, symphonic doom metal – those are genres that actually define what an artist sounds like. So fucking what, it’s a ‘female-fronted’ band. Tell me what their music sounds like. We don’t say ‘male-fronted’ or ‘male vocalist,’ so if we’re talking about equality here, in its true theory – gender shouldn’t be mentioned. It’s not a factor in how a band sounds. Courtney LaPlante, Daniela “Dany” Villarreal Vélez of The Warning, Fernanda Lira, and Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil and their vocals don’t have a whole lot in common except for the fact that they often fall in women’s normal range – but that’s about it.
Zines like Sonic Cathedral trace the roots of not only the word ‘female-fronted,’ but metal’s own variation ‘femme-metal,’ all the way back to the 50s with the ‘doo-woop’ girl groups because, you guessed it – they’re all trailblazing women. But, ‘femme-metal’ became used to not only describe, but lazily market, symphonic doom metal bands like Nightwish or Within Temptation that started emerging in the late 90s, early 2000s, the actual description of the technicalities of the all-encompassing, gloriously skin-crawling structures that any one of the ‘femme-metal’ produced, reduced to a mere description of what society deemed to be feminine. The new genre description notably became prevalent with record-labels and magazines as journalists ran with this sensationalist story-angle, sectioning women off from the genre, suggesting that metal is inherently male at its default. Sensationalism and selling records – obviously – became far more important than the innovative nature of bands like Holy Moses, Theatre of Tragedy, and Lacuna Coil, further separating them from the ‘metal’ genre they were actively contributing to.
The sectioning-off of women from the metal genre not just suggested, but reinforced the subconscious – or conscious – belief that metal belongs to men, and ‘femme-metal’ and ‘female-fronted’ rock bands were merely variations and not naturally members of a genre, without prejudice, and yet, we still find ourselves cycling through the same terminology and the same conscious exclusion and belief that metal is masculine. But it’s a tale as old as time, women have existed in the same space as men since the beginning of Homo sapiens – females and males have existed since the beginning of life. So, why is it surprising or sensational that a woman is doing the same thing as a man? Why does a genre have an inherent gender?
But it’s a relevant question for the consistent highlighting of a vocalist’s gender when it is a woman behind the microphone. And then where do women like drummers Denise Dufort [Girlschool] and Meredith Henderson [VCTMS], guitarists Nita Strauss and Diamond Rowe [Tetrarch], and bassist Jo Bench [Bolt Thrower] fall in this entire conversation? Just straight up not apart of it because they aren’t the lead singer? Well, that is until they’re asked ‘What it’s like to be a woman in a band?‘ with expectant eyes from a male interviewer they’ve never met before, then women are apart of the equation. Men have never had to justify or highlight the fact that they were a man in an interview, an album, at a festival – yet there’s an expectation that women should not only be highlighted, but almost… (patronisingly) praised. ‘Ah, yes, you can be a part of this too. Look at you! Good job.‘ There’s a certain diminishing and chauvinist nature to this kind of labelling that is honestly more destructive than productive.
For the most part, women don’t give a fuck if it’s a male vocalist. It’s never been a point of comparison – “Yeah, he’s pretty good for a male vocalist” – rather, it’s “Yeah, he’s pretty good.” Why is it necessary to point out that “she’s pretty good for a female vocalist.” It’s an irrelevant, unnecessary, and quite honestly, lazy, description of any ‘female-fronted‘ artist. The Warning‘s melodic hard rock – as well as contributions from bassist Alejandra Villarreal Vélez and drummer Paulina Villarreal Vélez – is overshadowed by the fact that they’re a young, ‘female-fronted’ band; Crypta‘s soul-crushing death metal in which vocalist Fernanda Lira serving also as the bassist is overlooked; Within Temptation‘s pioneering steps into symphonic metal forfeited to be described in favour of a marketing ploy; Jinjer‘s progressive metalcore that doesn’t entirely set them apart from a rather legendary status, and Kittie‘s heavy metal become reduced to a mere three word description that doesn’t tell the listener, a potential fan, anything about the band except for their damn gender.
Calling bands ‘female-fronted’ doesn’t actually include women in metal spaces, rather it separates them, and creates a divide between how bands are categorised and identified sonically – women become commodities and inclusion becomes something to be ‘praised.’ Then, introducing that level of commodity leads to objectification, sexualised, and the oppression of women in heavy metal and rock spaces as their actions are then dictated by what sells – and we all know what sells. Instead of lauded for their accomplishments in their respective genres, women are pinned against each other, held to unrealistic beauty standards, taught that they can’t respond to others in the same way their male counterparts can, and reduced to visual entertainment rather than artists performing or promoting their artwork.
So, when you’re inevitably about to hit ‘post’ on that Instagram story, sharing one those ‘female-fronted’ playlists on streaming platforms on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, whatever, for this Women’s Month – don’t. You’re perpetuating the very same issue that you may find abhorrent. Instead, close the Instagram app and start adding those artists to your playlists that fit their genre, their ‘vibe.’ Do some research on what they’re about. Don’t rely on the word ‘female’ to be a tagline that is commodified and exploited for the sake of making men money. Go to your local record shop, buy a record from that artist. Support them directly – not because they’re women, but because it’s good music and you like it.
Pictured: Arch Enemy, Babymetal, Calva Louise, Conquer Divide, Crypta, Evanescence, Halestorm, Lacuna Coil, Jinjer, Kittie, Spiritbox, The Warning, Within Temptation
