FRIDAY MANIA #4 - Women in Heavy Metal
Happy Friday once again fellow metalheads!
Most of you are probably at or on your way to Maryland Deathfest I hope! If you are, remember to stop by Hells Headbangers merch tent to view and purchase Speed Clothes. When you purchase something from Speed Clothes, you will receive a free Heavy Metal crop top! Speed Clothes will be at MDF the entire weekend so please stop by and get to meet the Metal Goddess and Creator of Speed Clothes, Tanza Speed!
Speaking of Metal Goddesses, I want to take the time and use this week’s blog to speak about the evolution of women in heavy metal history. Let’s be honest, the metal scene is a male dominated music genre that mainly sexualizes women as eye candy for music videos, album cover art and the midnight pleasures of rockstars.
Women of the metal scene started out as groupies of course. Who can forget notable groupies such as Sable Starr, Cynthia “Plaster Caster” Abritton, Bebe Buell and Pamela Des Barres just to name a few. Groupies are known for one thing only and that was sex. Although that may be true, groupies played a larger role in the lives of rockstars. They were literally the band’s aid ( Almost Famous movie reference). They were the ones who not only pleasured but took care of stars after concerts and being inspirations to major songs such as Plaster Caster by KISS and Sick Again by Led Zeppelin plus many more. Today, it is a very bad thing to be called "groupie", because women has a major roll in life today. All that machoism is changing...
“She come like thunder risin' from the ground
She takes you under she moves without a sound
She reeks of power, like no other man
Well now she's runnin'.. catch 'er if you can” - Lee Aaron (Metal Queen)
Those are powerful lyrics of the almighty Lee Aaron that self evidently show female frontwomen of metal are here to stay whether you like it or not! In the 1970’s The Runaways and Girlschool hit the music scene setting the standard for all female bands. Once the 1980’s started, women were playing a huge key role in metal music videos. Who can forget Bobbie Brown’s red lips and dancing around in daisy dukes for Warrant’s Cherry Pie music video! Or miss Tawny Kiaen dancing and rolling around on the hood of cars in Whitesnake’s Here I Go Again video. However, in the 80’s more badass metal front women were on the rise such as Doro Pesch, Lee Aaron and Kate De Lombaert to name a few were paving the way for women to be more than a band’s video or cover girl!
It is odd to think ten years ago men were actively fighting agaisnt women entering in Metal scene in the same way as a men. Women weren't "worthy" of be a metalhead, why? Well, you are women, girl! Today we have changed everything: We are more and more, better and better!
It is now 2016 and we rarely see any new female fronted metal band who share the same fame as before. Doesn’t mean they’re not there, what it is is that still many people do not welcome the idea of women to help lead the metal scene, but to be sincere that is pathetic and almost laughable. Sure we hear of amazing babes such as the Iron Maidens and Judas Priestess who have major talent and are amazing cover bands but not many people are down to support original material, original bands. So go support your local female fronted band because they are as rad as they can get and shred as hard like everybody else!
Keep The Faith!!!
Jocelyn Lopez
BTW! Check Tanza's band DEMONA
