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Whether your heart breaks or races along with the captivating stories told through her cherubic vocals, den Adel’s talents have kept this legendary band alive and relevant for 25 years. The band that introduced you to the dark side in high school has come a long way from “ Angels” and “ Our Farewell” to their most recent sensation “The Purge,” but the enduring talents of the angelic den Adel at the helm remain as moving as ever. Where symphonic-metal outfits go through vocalists like water, Within Temptation ’s Sharon den Adel has held on to her throne at the very beating heart of the genre since 1996.
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Take the hissing attitude of “ Make Me Wanna Die,” the iconic summer anthem through “ Messed Up World (F’d Up World),” the doomed “Going To Hell” and the gloriously filthy “My Medicine”-she’s not here for your entertainment, simply to make music in her own inimitable devil-may-care way. With her gravelly vocals offset by her signature blacked-out eyes and suspenders, Momsen is an all-around powerhouse frontlady who bends all of your stereotypical expectations of a female vocalist. Gossip Girl? We don’t know her-we know Taylor Momsen as the sultry tones commanding metal’s sassiest frontrunners the Pretty Reckless. SKYND’s dedication to her theatrical persona (plus the ability to keep her real identity a secret), her iconic look and the creation of lore around her exposition of real-life crimes is a mystery the metal world may never solve, but perhaps it never should. Tackling a new real-life mystery with each track, covering the disappearance and mysterious death of “ Elisa Lam” and the doomed cult following of “Jim Jones,” SKYND’s haunting vocals tell each tale as if they were acting out in front of you. True crime has never been more compelling than at the hands of Australian electronic-metal sensation SKYND and their mystifying frontwoman of the same name. Check the sassy leading line from “Love Bites (So Do I)” as an example of this phenomenal lady’s ability to step beyond musical expression and into aural artistry. We couldn’t pay tribute to Hale without also recognizing her guitar talents. From the vitriolic masochism of “ I Miss The Misery” to the heart-wrenching “ Here’s To Us,” Hale’s vocal range reaches each extreme of moving emotion and devastating attitude. If you haven’t heard of the colossal Halestorm and their show-stealing frontlady Lzzy Hale by now, how’s it been living under that rock? Out here in the real world, both rock and metal have been battling to claim Halestorm and Hale’s presence since the band’s first EP, (Don’t Mess With The) Time Man, in 1999. Read more: 10 new releases from Finland that show why it’s the most metal country Lzzy Hale Where symphonic icons Nightwish and Within Temptation blazed the trail for female leaders to step toward center stage, new blood such as SKYND and Ad Infinitum have taken the torch and run with it.įrom guttural screams to the heavenly tones that offset some of the dirtiest riffs, here’s our countdown of 20 women who are driving metal right this minute. All across the genre’s many subcategories, from folk to black metal, powerful female figures are putting their stamp on a genre that’s finally coming to terms with the inclusivity of the present day.