I can honestly say that I am not a fan of the mainstream music scene, it is full of garbage and talent-less hacks. It is a shame more people listen to the radio then really trying to go out and hear new music that they may be unfamiliar with. When you have horrible musicians such as Katy Perry and Carrie Underwood ruling the airwaves with brain numbing lyrics and simple and inefficient musicianship you really worry for the future of humanity. I have grown up around incredibly strong and respected women in my life and the sea of fake, soulless, Hollywood plastic female musicians that are out there is just a serious insult to what true music is. Acts like this push me away from the mainstream because it makes me sick to my stomach, the further I can avoid this horrible form of music the better off I will be.

What I am hopeful for is the massive amount of amazing, classy and just extremely talented female-fronted bands that are out there in the metal and dark rock world. There are countless bands who run thousands of circles around these mainstream acts with sheer beauty and skill with strong lyrics, and songwriting abilities. There are four bands/acts I would like to share with you that epitomize respect and integrity to the art form of musical expression. I would go out of your comfort zone and please give some of these musicians a chance and listen carefully and with an open-mind. You may surprise yourself and then begin to think differently about underground acts that may have “scared” you because it was different then what you are used to on your utterly stupid top 40 radio stations…

The Gathering

The Gathering are a diverse, progressive and just amazing band out of the Netherlands with consistently strong and confident female vocals. They cover every genre of music seemingly from death metal, trip hop, ambient to just plain rock. Every album is different and each one puts you into a different musical journey upon hearing. When I have heard The Gathering over the years I always found something new to experience in their music. They have gone through multiple female vocalists over the years, but the one who stand out above all others is Anneke van Giersbergen. She was the heart and soul of The Gathering for many years and has gone on to do amazing solo work as well as guest vocal work for some pretty well known musicians like Devin Townsend and Jamie Cavanaugh of Anathema. After Anneke The Gathering found another amazing vocalist Silje Wergeland who has an airier almost bluesier vocal style that still effectively melds with The Gathering’s ever-changing style.

Most Accessible Album: “How to Measure a Planet?”

Bandcamp: https://thegathering.bandcamp.com/music

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegatheringofficial

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGatheringband

 

Emma Ruth Rundle

Emma Ruth Rundle of Los Angeles, California is the next generation of female singer/songwriters, her music is utterly captivating as well as heart breaking. There is such honesty and integrity in her vocals as well as guitar skills. There are moments of utter desolation with some of her songs when she incorporates post rock/shoe gazing elements to her electric guitar tones. The songs she writes that has this aspect tend to be some of the most moving music to be heard in a long while. The one thing you will notice about her voice is how natural and real it sounds. You feel like you are there with her going through her personal trials and tribulations. Her lyrics are amazingly relatable and you cannot help but feel the pain and hope she is trying to convey. If you ever been through a rocky relationship or dealt with some painful family issues give her music a listen and you immediately will feel like you aren’t alone in your personal journey.

Most Accessible Album: “Some Heavy Ocean”

Bandcamp: https://emmaruthrundle.bandcamp.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emmaruthrundle/

Homepage: http://emmaruthrundle.com/home

 

Worm Ouroboros

Hailing from Oakland, California Worm Ouroboros are an incredibly unique and stunning band that evokes imagery of nature and man’s relationship to it emotionally and philosophically. Fronted by two female vocalists Lorraine Rath (guitar), Jessica Way (bass) and former Agalloch drummer Aesop Dekker; they evoke stunning imagery of barren winter wastelands with white lights adorning the skeletal birches, oaks and aspen. The dichotomy between cold/warmth, light/dark, and optimism/pessimism are common threads throughout their meandering soundscapes of subdued guitar, warm bass lines and calm drum fills. Worm Ouroboros is one of those great bands to listen to in the comfort of your home with candles lit and a glass of wine or fine scotch on a cold winter night. The music envelops and then throws you into a realm of twilight and perpetual snowfall.

Most Accessible Album: “What Graceless Dawn”

Bandcamp: https://wormouroboros.bandcamp.com/music

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WormOuroboros/

Label: https://profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/worm-ouroboros

 

SubRosa

SubRosa come from Salt Lake City, Utah a city you would not expect to have such a wonderful metal scene with some amazing bands. Their music is best described as sludge/stoner metal with quiet ambient moments sprinkled throughout their songs. They incorporate exceptional female vocals with screaming male vocals and powerful, loud and immersive instrumentation (guitar, violin, cello, bass, drums, and keyboards). The music has peaks, valleys and even lakes in-between. The songs are consistently different the only constant is an incredible heaviness to the sound. There is a sense of power, anger and triumph in SubRosa’s music and it sticks with you long after you hear it. The albums I have heard from them are all incredibly different but amazing. I would say they are one of the lesser accessible bands to dive into if you are not at all familiar with the underground metal scene. If you are open to taking a sonic adventure that you will never forget give SubRosa a try.

Most Accessible Album: “More Constant than the Gods”

Bandcamp: https://subrosausa.bandcamp.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SubrosaSLC

Homepage: https://subrosa.cc/

Do you recommend any other strong female-fronted bands you would like to share? Please comment below!