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by Pedro Andrade
Hail Wikibrothers!
Since I started visiting Wikimetal, I've never read many articles involving women in metal, and I've never written anything to contribute to the site either, so I decided to do so now. Keeping with the "6 something" tradition that exists here, I decided to list 6 female voices that, in my opinion, are well worth listening to.
Most of the names below are women who are prominent in the Symphonic Metal scene, a genre that gives more space for the exploration of more technical female vocals. Let's go:
6 – Alissa White-Gluz (The Agonist)
Alright, I'm not a fan of The Agonist (or Death Metal in general), but I decided to put Alissa in 6th place to make a list not completely dependent on my musical taste, and because her ability to alternate between violent guttural vocals and clean, beautiful vocals without much effort is at least interesting.
Another detail that makes me admire her is the fact that she declares herself completely against the use of drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes. It's a great example that helps to dissociate Rock/Metal from that image that doesn't completely reflect reality. Well, there's a tip for those who like Death Metal but think that Angela Gossow is the only woman in the scene.
5 – Doro Pesch (ex-Warlock, Solo Career)
Known as the Queen of Metal, the German singer Doro is a pioneer when it comes to women leading a group of men in Heavy Metal. Even though she doesn't have the most technical vocals or manage to hit the highest notes, she has produced very good work since her time in Warlock and continues into her solo career, playing traditional Heavy Metal that sometimes sounds a bit like Power Metal (which the Germans know and do very well).
Extremely charismatic, she is an icon and was certainly very important in bringing more women into the world of Metal later on.
4 – Simone Simons (Epica)
The most coveted red-haired mezzo-soprano among headbangers! But I definitely didn't include her here for her beauty, but rather for her voice, which manages to be powerful and delicate at the same time. She's been the frontwoman of Epica since the band's inception, sings beautifully, hits very high notes, headbangs at shows, and does it all without losing her charm.
The soul of Epica is contained in her voice. For those unfamiliar with their sound, it's quite heavy; don't be fooled by Simone's pretty face alone, but her way of singing brings peace to our ears, even amidst the heavy sound and some of Mark Jansen's (guitarist) guttural vocals.
3 – Manuela Kraller (Xandria)
Xandria has been a revelation for me lately. I never paid much attention to them, but after I started listening I was surprised; one song is better than the next! Although they've been around for a while (they already have 7 studio albums), I didn't really know them until recently. Manuela Kraller is new to the band; only their last album (Neverworld's End) features her on vocals, but that alone was enough for her to be in 3rd place here. This album is one of the very few in Symphonic Metal that rivals any Nightwish album.
She sings beautifully, she's doing an exceptional job in Xandria, and her vocal style is very similar to Tarja's... I'd venture to say that many might even confuse them at times.
2 – Tarja Turunën (ex-Nightwish, Solo Career)
The eternal diva not only of Metal but of music in general. I know there will be a lot of people saying she should be in first place (and she very well could be), but I decided to create a list that's a bit more authentic than what can be found on the rest of the internet, and I have good reasons for that too. In short, her ability and technique in operatic singing are simply impeccable.
Several of the vocalists listed here have stated that Tarja is an inspiration. She and Nightwish are largely responsible for the growth of Symphonic Metal and the boom of operatic female vocalists in the Metal world that has existed since the late 90s. She continues to do very interesting work in her solo career, with special appearances by several musicians already established in Rock/Heavy Metal, quite unusual covers and her own songs as well.
Even the most hardcore headbangers who refuse to listen to Nightwish, claiming it's "girly metal" (nonsense, but some people say it, right?) should salute this woman when she walks by, fact!
1 – Floor Jansen (ex-After Forever, Revamp, Nightwish)
For many, it might be a surprise to see Floor in 1st place, but it's more than fair, after all, she was the big surprise of 2012, wasn't she? When Nightwish announced Anette Olzon's departure in the middle of a world tour, Floor was hastily called in to take over the vocals, and comparisons between her and the former vocalists were inevitable, along with criticism, as no one could ever compare to the former Tarja, and some still strongly supported Anette.
Behold, the Dutch singer took on the responsibility of doing the impossible, humbly completing the tour and silencing all those who thought they would criticize her. I never thought I would live to see someone singing Nightwish's old songs so well, and sometimes even better (yes, I said better) than Tarja (just listen to Everdream or Ghost Love Score live with her). I had the opportunity to witness her at the Nightwish show here in São Paulo on 12/12/12, and I still get goosebumps remembering what she did on that stage. Afterwards, I became interested and sought to discover more about her from her time with After Forever, where on her first album, when she was only 18 years old, she already showed with the track "Withering Time" that she was one of the best and most technically skilled vocalists that Metal would ever see.
More than 10 years later, Floor has managed to evolve even further (believe me), she has an extremely powerful voice (befitting her 1.81m height), sings lyrics as well as Tarja, and is still extremely versatile, managing to fit in several different vocal styles without losing her identity.
Note: Not just anyone can sing "The Evil That Men Do" better than Bruce, and Maiden is my favorite band! Congratulations, Floor.
*This text was written by a Wikimate and does not necessarily represent the opinions of the site's authors.