Girls to the Front: Women in Rock, Metal and Punk

“GIRLS TO THE FRONT!” This was the battle cry for Bikini Kill when they spearheaded the Riot Grrrl movement and celebrated women in the male dominated space of punk rock. Women have been making history in rock, metal and punk for decades. These genres were male dominated spaces…both on stage and in the crowd. For this entry we are going to look at major women figures in rock, metal and punk. I’ll also try to add some contemporary artists as well.

Grace Slick / Jefferson Airplane: Somebody to Love

The late 60s and early 70s was a peak time for women in rock. Grace Slick was at the front of the pack with her work in Jefferson Airplane. This band would take various forms throughout the decades, but Grace was a constant. I thought her best work was fronting the rock band before the went pop. Her powerful vocal will lay the track for another woman fronting a rock/metal band. I think Jefferson Starship’s up and down history with pop has made Grace’s contribution to rock underrated. It is worth revisiting the early days and witnessing how much a boss Grace Slick is.

Stevie Nicks: Edge of Seventeen

Not many people successfully fronted one of the most popular rock bands ever and then had an iconic solo career….Stevie Nicks did. Fleetwood Mac reached new heights when her vocal raw power became the band’s calling card. She then proved that women could have a successful rock solo career with her solo projects in the 80s. I adore Stevie Nicks and her ability to have reserved beautifully fragile tracks and then unleash pure vocal power on the same record is out of this world. Nicks’ vocal and stage presence will break ground for the Riot Grrrl movement in the 90s.

The Runaways: Cherry Bomb

Joan Jett, Sandy West, Lita Ford, Cherie Currie and Jackie Fox were an all woman rock / proto punk band who broke on the scene in 1975. Some of the band couldn’t even vote yet, but they were pedal to the metal rock. Joan Jett was one of the first women rock guitarists and having an all woman band in a male dominated genre was rare. The success of the Runaways proved that an all woman band could rock and be successful in that genre. This will come back to play when we get to the 90s.

Meg White / The White Stripes: The Hardest Button to Button

Outside of a few all woman bands, there were not a lot of women drummers. One of my favourites is Meg White. I think her raw and visceral drumming served as The White Stripe’s spine and gave that lo-fi sound the punch it needed. In true rock style, she just went for it and beat those drums within an inch of their lives. Her drive behind the sticks acted as the perpulsive force that drove their sound and made The White Stripes one of the most successful rock bands of the last 20 years.

Bikini Kill: Rebel Girl

Bikini Kill coined the phrase “Girls to the front!” and led the Riot Grrrl movement in the 90s took The Runaways and dialled it up to 11. Singing about feminism, LGBTQ+ themes and just plain rocking out, Bikini Kill changed the face of 90s punk with their trash guitar, pounding drums and napalm vocals. They became an inspiration for thousands of women and led to contemporary rock/punk bands today.

L7: Deathwish

Another band that ran throughout the Riot Grrrl movement and beyond was L7. Grunge…punk…and aggressive…L7 took no prisoners with aggressive lyrics, powerful vocals, crunchy guitars and a rock and roll attitude. Amazing live, the band would work crowds into a frenzy with their primal energy. At a time where grunge and punk was largely seen as male dominated, L7 showed that an all woman band could rock out with the best of them.

Amy Lee / Evanescence: My Immortal

The early 2000s saw a metal renaissance…mainly led by Amy Lee’s heart wrenching and emotionally deep vocals. Her ability to mix power, depth, fragility and soul in her vocals made some of the most interesting metal / power ballads of the early 2000s. Behind her vocal Evanescence took the metal scene by storm and helped usher in other bands of the time, which gave metal a needed shot in the arm. I finally got to see them in concert this year and she was incredible.

Backxwash: Wake Up

Genre exploding artist Backxwash is part hip hop, part slam poetry and part death metal. She is taking music to new places and expands the boundaries of metal. Her new record shows that metal can’t only channel rage, but also can be a healing and introspective genre. Backxwash comes out fresh every record and is a must listen for all metal fans.

Angela Gossow / Arch Enemy: Nemesis

There are not a ton of woman fronted death metal bands, but a pioneer who has ushered in a new woman led death metal movement is Angela Gossow. Her raw vocal has all the terror and rage you would expect from death metal and doesn’t miss a beat. Since Gossow’s success, there has been an influx of woman fronted death metal bands, which has given death metal a bit of needed variety.

Amy Taylor / Amyl and the Sniffers: Hertz

Aussie punk has had a resurgence lately and at the head of the pack is Amy Taylor and her band Amyl and the Sniffers. They have a classic 80s / early 90s punk energy, which is back to basics with raw arrangements and high octane vocals. Her vocal and endless energy on stage embodies everything great about punk music…it’s all energy and reckless abandon.