24 heavy bands with notable frontwomen

Pennsylvania native Joan Jett's career started whe she was a founding member of the assembled all-girl group The Runaways, which she eventually fronted. After just four years, The Runaways dissolved in 1979 and Joan Jett assembled her backup band, The Blackhearts. In her almost-50 year career, she's not only been crowned "The Queen of Rock 'n' Roll," she's founded Blackheart Records and produced several punk, riot grrl, grunge, and electroclash albums by other female artists.

As Kyoto, Japan's Otoboke Beaver took their name from a short-stay hotel in Tokyo (also known as a "love hotel," that, um, charges by the hour), it's a good bet it was intentionally chosen to be provocative and ironic. The band began in 2009, and started touring internationally in 2016, bringing the world their face-melting mix of angular post-punk and hardcore. Song titles like "I Am Not Maternal," "Love Is Short!!", and "Dirty Old Fart Is Waiting for My Reaction" tell you exactly what you are in for.

A list like this is incomplete without Bikini Kill. Formed in Olympia, Washington, Kathleen Hanna, Tobi Vail, and Kathi Wilcox joined together while attending Evergreen State College in 1990. At the forefront of the Riot Grrl movement, early shows were marked by Hanna leaping into the audience to confront male hecklers and ejecting them from shows herself. By 1993, they were working with Joan Jett and Hanna was cowriting songs on Jett's 1994 album Pure and Simple. The band has split and reformed a few times, but Hanna has also continued her message with Le Tigre and The Julie Ruin.

L7 has been around for awhile, and you've probably heard their biggest hit "Pretend We're Dead" (originally titled "Pretend We're Men"), but they've been on an absolute tear since their 2015 reunion. They're not only great musicians and songwriters, they're also magnificent trolls. Back in the '90s, the band auctioned off a chance to sleep with their drummer, and hired skywriters to fly over Warped Tour and Lilith Fair dates (two tours they were excluded from) to say things like "Warped Tour Needs More Beaver" and "Tired? Bored? Try L7!" If they come to your town, don't skip it!

Reykjavik, Iceland's Börn sounds like the unholy love child of Killing Joke and Christian Death. The three ladies and one guy tackle themes of feminisim, body image, and dehumanization. Most of the songs are in Icelandic, but with Alexandra's tortured vocals, there's no mistaking what they are going for.

Portland, Oregon's Blackwater Holylight formed in 2018, and were rising quickly before tour plans were sidelined by COVID-19 lockdowns. During that time, the band recorded a new album of their take on psychedelic doom rock. The band deals with major themes of heartbreak, loss, and depression with the goal of making it cathartic rather than self-wallowing.

Canada's Kittie got kind of a raw deal from the get-go. Their debut, Spit, came out when they were teenagers, and at the height of nu metal. While they were moderately popular, they also caught a lot of criticism. They soldiered on and split in 2017, but no sooner did they break up when a documentary stirred up renewed interest. Now the band is back together and a new album is imminent, and they're ready to be taken seriously.

France's Deathbell sort of formed in 2014, but didn't really become a serious concern until 2016. The band members bonded over a shared love of psychedelic rock and doom metal, and set out to make music to open up the imagination and create something familiar, yet challenging. Heavy and fuzzy, their songs tackle themes of introspection, the occult, and nature. You know, witchy things.

Philadelphia's Heavy Temple has had a revolving door or musicians since its founding in 2012, both women and men. Make no mistake, however, this psychedelic rock juggernaut is led by High Priestess Nighthawk, and don't you forget it. The band made their name touring relentlessly, the majority of the time with only a few EPs under their belt (their first full-length LP didn't come out until 2021). At any rate, audiences love Nighthawk, and whoever she brings along to fill out Heavy Temple's ranks.

One would be forgiven for thinking that Lucifer rolled right out of 1978. The logo, the look, the sound — all of it is a perfect soundalike for classic records of that era. Their sound is a mix of hard rock, doom, new wave of British heavy metal, '70s kitsch, and just a splash of pop sensibilities. They've not quite made it big in the United States, but they're the perfect soundtrack for sitting on an orange shag carpet in a basement covered in wood paneling.

Hailing from Brooklyn, and now most recently Los Angeles, post-punk band Second Still carry a strong Siouxsie and the Banshees vibe. But the band is not just a carbon copy, they've evolved beyond the standard post-punk and added more cold wave and dream pop elements, and lyrics that are often purposely mysterious. Put on your blackest eye shadow, turn down the lights, and spin this one a few times. 

Swedish-born singer / guitarist Linnéa Olsson moved from Stockholm to Berlin and served time in Sonic Ritual, The Oath (with Lucifer's Johanna Sadonis), and Beastmilk before striking out on her own as Maggot Heart. Named after Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain" and Ann & Nancy Wilson's band Heart, Olsson plays a mix of post-punk beats with heavy guitars that's not quite gothic but also not quite metal. Also heavy is how Olsson advocates for women to carry switchblades to take back their cities.

Olympia, Washington's Sleater-Kinney formed in 1994 and were instrumental in the riot grrrl movement. Their music is primarily punk rock, but after their breakup in 2006 and reformation in 2014, they experimented more with noise pop, arena rock, post-punk, synth pop, and alt rock. They currently play shows regularly — though founding member Janet Weiss departed in 2019 with no permanent replacement on the drums — and their themes of progressive politics and feminism have resonated with fans for three decades.

Karolina Engdahl was known in her native Sweden as the singer of pop/punk/indie band Vånna Inget. Engdahl cited boredom with the Swedish music scene, plus a desire to sing in English that caused her to start True Moon. The band draws inspiration from The Mission, Killing Joke, and Joy Division, and the result is a dark post-punk band that sounds like "what if Stevie Nicks was an actual witch and liked goth and frequented The Batcave?"

This Minneapolis trio was formed by self-taught guitarist Kat Bjelland. Bjelland recruited members who didn't know anything about playing instruments in the hopes that what resulted would be more imaginative than just standard rock music. The early results were brash, abrasive, and obnoxious, but soon the band grew into something special and were soon championed by Sonic Youth, producer Jack Endino, and famous British DJ John Peel.

The members of Ex People cut their teeth in London's punk and riot grrrl scenes before coming together to write songs that sound like The Breeders harmonizing on a pre-fame Soundgarden record. While they have songs about apocalypse and dystopian futures, they also throw in some lyrics about catcalling and mansplaining.

If you were alive between 1987-1989, you may have heard Lita Ford. If not, the odds are slim. While Runaways alum Joan Jett went more rock, Ford leaned more into a more metal, shredding style. While she may have peaked commercially in the late 80s, she is a survivor. After getting swept under the rug by grunge, she endured a highly publicized abusive relationship, and took over a decade off to raise her kids. Ford's been back since 2009, flying under the radar, but constantly touring with an incendiary live show.

Heavier and darker than most rock bands, but never quite approaching metal or goth, DOOL carve out a unique sound. They exist at some mythical crossroads of post-rock, prog-rock, and doom. They sound like finding an unfamiliar religious ritual in the woods on a winter's night, both appealing and unsettling. Frontperson Raven was born intersex, but has lived most of her life as a woman. They have recently embarked on a journey to (in their words) reclaim their "hermaphroditic nature."

Brooklyn's Made Out of Babies play a swirling blend of sludge metal, noise rock, and post hardcore, and they sound like they're going to fly off the rails at any moment. Singer Julie Christmas delivers her vocals, often in one take, immediately and with urgency while singing/screaming about relationships and the apocalypse.

Gaupa (Swedish for lynx) is a psychedelic rock band from Falun, Sweden. The band mix influences of doom and folk into their sound with surrealist lyrics, and singer who has a healthy dose of Bjork worship. While they have yet to make a big impact stateside, they are crushing audiences all over Europe with their live show.

Skunk Anansie have made some waves with their charismatic, and sometimes terrifying, frontwoman Skin. The British band mix a blend of influences such as metal, rock, electronica, and dub, with controversial and provocative songs ("Selling Jesus", "Little Baby SwastiKKKa") about religion, politics, and black feminist rage.

Alunah formed in Birmingham, UK in the shadow of Black Sabbath, and it's readily apparent in their sound. While one wouldn't say that they are a carbon copy, they definitely draw from the same blues, psychedlia, and rock that Sabbath mined. Fronted by Sophie Day, the band has had high-profile shows opening for The Obsessed, Mondo Generator, and Paradise Lost, as well as playing festivals all across Europe.

Seattle's 7 Year Bıtch was part grunge, part punk, and all riot grrrl. The group featured songs about female empowerment and raged against double standards against women. Drummer Valerie Agnew was co-founder and one of the primary organizers of Seattle based anti-violence organization Home Alive, formed after the murder and rāpe of The Gits' singer Mia Zapata.

Germany's Doro (full name Doro Pesch) fronted heavy metal band Warlock through most of the 80s, but went solo in 1989 with Force Majeure, which is her only charting album in the States (at number 154). During the 90s when labels shied away from metal, her label refuse to promote her in North America, but she continued on in Europe where her popularity has never waned (especially in Germany and Switzerland).