Your morning dose of righteous anger

[kaberett]

[Thing the zeroth: if you'd like to reply to this post, please don't feel you have to respond to both points!]

Thing the first: I am currently after recs for metal with clever, feminism-compatible lyrics and competent guitar lines.

Thing the second: this is because the new boy is a metalhead and a guitarist, and as we know I am very, very lyrics-driven.

Every time I've been anywhere in public with That One Gentleman, I'm pretty certain we've been read as a cishet couple. (Well, except when we were also out with That One Lady, at which point I still get read as a cis woman but people's heads explode a little more.)

As a result, I am currently bristling pre-emptively about the charge that I'm only pretending to be interested because my boyfriend is, which is typically levelled at women, and is clearly bullshit. So: it's misogynist in terms of dismissing women's legit interests as subsumed to A Big Strong Manly Male, and of constructing women as conniving and only out for money; and it's shitty on a human level, because it negates the power of introducing stuff you love to people you love (and reciprocally, taking an interest in stuff that people you love love).

And it is also ableist as all get-out. Because, actually, listening to unfamiliar music takes a lot of my brain and energy, more so when it's in an unfamiliar genre I don't understand the conventions of. (To be clear: when I listen to unfamiliar music - even new music by an artist I know I like - I begin by disliking it. How intense that dislike is lets me know whether it's worth persevering.) Having someone think about what I already like, and make deliberate and careful choices about where to get me started to minimise the shock, is a really big deal - it massively reduces the barrier to getting into a new thing. But it doesn't remove it, so of course I am going to prioritise energy allocation on those things that have the most potential to make people I love happy.

There. That's a bit of a rant. Over to you.

Comments

[joshuaorrizonte]

To be honest, I have no idea if either of these bands would constitute having feminist lyrics, per se, but I am in love with Delain and Within Temptation. Both are fronted by women who have astounding (IMO) talent, and Delain's last album (We Are the Others) was inspired by Sophie Lancaster's murder. The title track is a beautiful song and well worth a listen.

As for Within Temptation, nothing exactly stands out to me as being feminist, specifically, but I haven't heard a song by them that I don't like.

I can put together a zip of a couple of my favorites by them, if you like!

[kaberett]

Hence "feminist-compatible" -- what I'm actually after is not making me screech to the skies in horror at the appropriation/misunderstandings/superficial approach to anti-depressants :-)

[alexseanchai]

All I got is Metallica. Which is...I don't actually know how feminism-compatible their lyrics are, but feminism is certainly not a thing they go out of their way to be explicit about. So probably not what you're looking for.

I might have more but actually I'm shit at telling genres apart. Joan Jett is straight-up rock, I think...yeah, Wiki says rock, hard rock, and punk rock. So she's not what you want right now either.

A+ rant, but I have no words about it right now.

[kaberett]

I don't need explicit feminism - I just don't want to be howling to the skies about how WRONG people are being :-)

(Joan Jett is someone I like anyway!)

[shehasathree]

I have enjoyed Metallica over the years, although i don't think i've analysed whether it's particularly feminist-compatible. Nothing jumps to mind as being awful, though.

[kaberett]

I thiiiiiiiiink TOG has gone on at me about them a bit. Hmm.

[highlyeccentric]

I have enjoyed Metallica and especially the album they did with the San Francisco Symphony, and I don't recall anything hideous in their content. However I know SRS Metal fans who regard them as uncreative/generic/dull, so if you are after SRS Metal they might not be a good use of your energy!

[elialshadowpine]

Hmm. Are you looking for bands with songs specifically about feminism, or...? That's harder to find. Most of the metal I tend towards is very storytelling focused, as opposed to concept focused, if that makes sense. I can't give guarantees about everything, but I can probably give some suggestions in that case. However, a lot of the music I listen to does deal with problematic or disturbing content, so whether that's an issue is something I would want to know if you're sensitive to in order to recommend better.

For songs dealing more directly with feminism, My Ruin's "Terror" comes to mind. There's also the entire riot grrl subset of metal/punk that is very feminist driven (I personally don't like the sound, preferring symphonic or orchestral metal for the most part, so it doesn't work so well to me but it's a direction I might look if you're looking for specific feminist music).

[kaberett]

Songs don't have to be about feminism, but I'd rather not be howling to the skies about appropriation and HOW VERY WRONG people who sneer about anti-depressants turning their takers into sheeple are ;)

[elialshadowpine]

Okay, off the top of my head, female-fronted bands.

Nightwish
Tarja Turunen
Delain
Within Temptation
Brave
Lullacry
Xandria
After Forever
Angtoria (has songs which deal with heavy topics like CSA, but EXCELLENT music)
Leaves' Eyes
Lacuna Coil
Theatre of Tragedy (newer work)
Inkubus Sukkubus (not QUITE metal, but definitely rock, and very pagan and feminist themed)
Flowing Tears
Emilie Autumn (again, not quite metal, more industrial, but I count as close enough... a lot of her work deals with her own mental illness)
Elysion
Beautiful Sin
Sinergy
Arch Enemy (a woman sings death metal)
Kittie

Do you want male-fronted bands as well? I have some that do excellent music but it sounded you were more interested in women-fronted. :)

[kaberett]

Thank you!

Male-fronted bands are fine provided as above they don't make me screech in horror. :-) The idea is very much to find some of the overlap between my taste + the boy's taste, not least because it would probably be quite nice to go to gigs together that aren't just the ones I chose!

[elialshadowpine]

Off the top of my head:

Kamelot (note: the song Ghost Opera deals with rape as part of the story; it's not trivialized but I mention because it may be upsetting)
Falconer
Sonata Arctica
Freedom Call
Avantasia (a metal opera!)
Blind Guardian
Hammerfall
Stratovarius
Dream Theater
Tiamat
The Tea Party (... I should mention, in no way related to the actual Tea Party; the band is from the 90s... I recommend "Sister Awake" in particular)
Bathory, Norse themed metal, specifically recommend the album Blood on Ice; I'm less familiar with their other work because they have a different sound which I don't like as much, so I cannot vouch for those
In Extremo, German folk music set to metal (also some songs are in other languages besides German)
Turisas, especially Battle Metal and the song "One More"
Sabaton, for their AWESOME metal about historical wars... "Price of a Mile" is amazing, about the battle of Paschendale, and very heavy.
Thanateros, pagan metal. Harder to find but good stuff.

[evilsusan]

I'm not a dedicated metalhead, but Doctor Google says...

http://phyteclub.org/2010/08/11/girls-girls-girls-essential-metal-for-feminists/

http://feministmusicgeek.com/tag/heavy-metal/

etc.

[kaberett]

Cheers! Am quite after specific recs (see above re listening to new stuff being Hard) but will attempt to wade through these :-)

[evilsusan]

Sorry I can't be more helpful, other than to confirm that some metalheads think feminist metal exists. Good luck on your search.

[auguris]

I'm not huge into metal but I enjoy Nightwish. (They get called "metal opera" so not sure that's what you're looking for?) Lady singer and nothing problematic that I've picked up on. Their album "Once" is far and away my favorite. I have a few songs from Rotting Christ and Bring Me The Horizon in my playlists. I haven't listened to the full biography of either but they seem all right.

[kaberett]

Metal opera sounds fine by me. :D Thanks!

I heard a rumour...

[hairyears]

I stumbled on this post, looking for the address for a party...

How metal do you want to be? If you're talking to serious guitarists, anything with John McGeogh playing in it gets a free pass.


...And feminist lyrics? Happy House, from The Siouxsie and the Banshees album Kaleidoscope.

Be warned, it's *dark* material: it doesn't have to be uplifting to be feminist, it merely needs to be truthful; and this isn't the kind of truth to contemplate when you are feeling vulnerable.

Take a deep breath before continuing and, maybe, think of continuing some other time.

Happy House, by Siouxsie Sioux, was written with cold overtones of unacknowledged domestic violence in the perfect suburban household, and the hidden mistreatment of the mentally ill. When you know a little bit about who she was, before becoming who she is, it's a protest to haunt us all.

After that, revisit the album Juju; John McGeoch's guitar, again, but there is much in the lyrics that I never heard in anything written or sung by a man - not Feminism as a political identity, nor even as a feminist statement; but I am wary of those who seek to narrow down the definition of 'feminist' media, writing and art.