Female metal singers receive attention as the “queens” and “warriors” of metal, but their musical expression and compositional work is often marginalized and overlooked. This is the much-needed chronological history of the developments of female artists in metal across the full range of metal music subgenres.

Female vocalists contribute as lead singers in all genres of metal music, including heavy metal, thrash, metalcore, death and death-doom, gothic, black, power, symphonic, folk, alternative, nu, and post-metal.

Featuring female vocalists Amy Lee, Rami, Lzzy Hale, Alissa White-Gluz, Cristina Scabia, and more, this critical listening guide for 100 songs from the 1980s to the present covers all genres of metal music and all styles of vocal expression (singing, belting, screaming, grunting, and growling).

Each analysis is written to communicate a story of gendered subjectivity that emerges in the song with attention to the lyrical content and the musical expression, aiming overall to reshape the discourse on women in metal.