Today is International Women’s Day and while we cannot cover them all, we wanted to play homage to a handful of the women currently taking charge in Rock and Metal.
Lzzy Hale of Halestorm
Lzzy Hale is not only the lead singer of one of the most popular bands in modern rock, but also one of the biggest rock stars in the world. She started Halestorm as a teenager with her younger brother Arejay in their hometown of Red Lion, PA. After releasing their self-tilted debut album in 2009, there has been no looking back. In 2020 they released a 10th anniversary edition of their 2010 live album Live in Philly.
Currently, Halestorm is held up in Nashville working on their fifth studio album; a follow up to their 2018 album Vicious.
Maria Brink of In This Moment
In the world of heavy rock and metal, one of the most recognizable frontpersons is Maria Brink, lead singer of In This Moment. As the story goes, when In This Moment guitarist Chris Howorth was forming the band, he didn’t hire Maria at first. The reason… for being a woman. He later apologized and asked her to join the band. That was obviously the correct move. Maria has been named “Rock Goddess of the Year” twice.
Maria told us that is currently working on piano renditions of In This Moment songs.
Taylor Momsen of The Pretty Reckless
Taylor Momsen has become one of the powerhouse females in Rock fronting the band The Pretty Reckless. Taylor first gained notariety as a young actress staring in How the Grinch Stole Christmas as Cindy Lou Who (2000), and then as Jenny Humpfrey in Gossip Girl (2007-2012). In March of 2009, Momsen announced her retirement from acting with plans to focus on her music career with her band The Pretty Reckless (TPR).
In 2009, TPR released their debut album Light Me Up. Just last month they released their fourth studio album called Death By Rock N’ Roll. The band has toured heavily over the last 10 years which has helped make them a mainstay in rock.
In May, when the new album’s release date was announced, Taylor joined Cutter and Kaytie for a conversation about the inspiration behind the album and a ton more. She also spoke with Cutter in January just before the album dropped. You can listen to both conversations below.
Amy Lee of Evanescence
Let’s not forget about Amy Lee of Evanescence. Singer Amy Lee and original guitarist Ben Moody first started the band in 1995 after first meeting at a Youth Camp. The band has released 4 full length albums and gone through a number of member changes since their debut album Fallen came out in 2003. Even with some of the controversy, Evanescence is still going strong and are set to release their 5th studio album, The Bitter Truth, on March 26th.
Amy Lee is respected throughout the creative and philanthropic community for both her music and her work with epilepsy awareness. In 2008, she received the Songwriter Icon Award from the National Music Publishers Association. In 2012, she won Best Vocalist at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards and was also named Rock Goddess of the Year at the Loudwire Music Awards. In 2015, she was awarded Best Film Score by the Moondance International Film Festival for Indigo Grey: The Passage. Lee is also the American chairperson for the international epilepsy awareness foundation Out of the Shadows.
In October of 2020, Cutter had a conversation with Amy about the upcoming album, new music, and the state of the world during the pandemic.
Bones UK
Carmen Vandenberg and Rosie Bones first met in their hometown of Camden Town, London while at a local venue called The Blues Kitchen. The group, which also features drummer Heavy, has released a few singles but finally dropped their debut album through Sumerian in 2019. Their first single “Pretty Waste” was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Performance in 2019.
Bones UK opened Razor Edgefest 2020 while on tour with Breaking Benjamin and Korn. Before the show, they stopped by the Razor studios to talk music and play a few songs acoustically. You can watch and listen to that performance below.
These are just a few of the women who have made their impact felt in the rock and metal community. Lets not forget about former Flyleaf frontperson Lacey Sturm, or Mixi Demner from Stitched Up Heart. There’s also Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey (Butcher Babies), Cristina Scabbia (Lacuna Coil), Hayley Cramer (Pop Evil drummer), Dorothy (Dorothy), Emma Stone (Sick Puppies bassist), Jeanne Sagan (former All That Remains bassist), Reba Meyers (Code Orange guitarist), Ash Costello (New Years Day), Nita Strauss (Alice Cooper guitarist), Sean Ysuelt (White Zombie bassist), Kittie, Stefanie Eulinberg (Kid Rock drummer), Elize Ryd (Amaranthe vocalist)… the list continues.
