Posting this here because the metal community seems to be entirely links to tracks and I’m not sure how well received this would be there. Also, I’m open to anything that goes more on the punk rock side of things. I like a little punk in my metal and a little metal in my punk (which is very subjective anyway).
Basically as the title says. I’m bored of my current selection of heavy music and looking for new stuff. To per-emptively get ahead of these answers: yes, I’ve heard Kittie, Nightwish and Arch Enemy before (actually haven’t listened to Kittie since the nu metal days and maybe I should check them out again).
Two bands that I have found in recent years that I absolutely love are:
In This Moment. They started out as pretty much straight metalcore but have a noticeable evolution with each album, to the point that the most recent album sounds like this. Evolution is something I appreciate in a band.
Butcher Babies. Just straight up chaotic. And good shit. And they’re even named after an old school punk song. Chaos and attitude is something I also appreciate in a band. Pity that one of the vocalists left though, having two vocalists was something that really set them apart.
Any other suggestions?
Edit: wasn’t expecting so many great suggestions here. I promise I’ll make my way through each post and suggestion here but it’s going to take time. In the mean time, thanks everyone. At this rate I’m going to have more than enough new (to me) stuff to listen to.
- L7
- Lunachicks
- Veruca Salt
- Bikini Kill
- The Muffs
- Cibbo Mato
- Blonde Redhead
- The Evens
- Shonen Knife
Some of this is more punk or pop-punk.
To add to this already awesome list
- The Gits
- Bad Cop Bad Cop
- Amyl and the Sniffers
Missing babes in Toyland here
Babymetal and Band-Maid.
Heard of Babymetal but first time I’ve heard of Band-Maid. Currently listening to a track called ‘Thrill’ (I think lol) and it rocks. Definitely gonna give these guys a solid try.
Another Jpop/metal band is Necronomidol. Whereas babymetal is jpop with metal, I think they are more metal with jpop.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYN932VzxV0
Female fronted, Halestorm
All female, Kittie
Birthday Massacre, Within Temptation, Lacuna Coil, Eths, Infected Rain, Amaranthe
Amaranthe’s awesome. My workout playlist is mostly them.
So female fronted metal is my jam. Your examples have a solid range, but here’s some of my picks:
- After Forever
- Beyond the Black
- Ad Infinitum
- Delain
- Within Temptation
- Unsun
- Cellar Darling (and earlier Eluveitie if you don’t mind male and female singers mixing)
- Amaranthe
- Stream of Passion
- Illumishade
- Lacuna Coil
- Leaves’ Eyes
- The Murder of My Sweet
You’ll find a ton of female fronted bands in what (I think) is referred to as "scandi-metal) (Sacndinavian Metal).
Brutus. Stefanie Mannaerts is the lead Singer and drummer. Simultaneously! She is absolutely amazing and has so much power in her Voice. My favorite Band of 2025.
Check out Unleash The Archers
Fuck yeah this is cool. We actually need more female vocalists doing the old school falsetto style (although not really falsetto in this case, I guess).
Spiritbox and Conquer Divide!
Spirit Box, Rolo Tomassi, Cellar Darling.
Poppy, more her new music than old. Some people don’t like her style but it’s not strictly just hard metal.
+1 for Spiritbox!
Kittie, Jack Off Jill, One Eyed Doll
Jinjer
Battle Beast
Battle Beast
Noora Vuorinen’s voice should be on the UNESCO world heritage list
Otep
If you’re willing to go more the punk route, look into the riot grrl genre. Sleater-Kinney is a good starting point.
I have dabbled in Riotgrrl. I enjoy Bikini Kill but more in an ‘appreciation of history’ kind of way than in a ‘my new favourite thing’ kind of way. Really liking the sound of Sleater-Kinney here though. Just listened to the track ‘Jumpers’ and I’ll definitely be listening to more. Thanks for the suggestion. Might even start a new topic specifically about Riotgrrl one of these days. Also starting to get a bit bored of my current punk selection.
Try Sharptooth
Entheos!
I love Myrkur’s stuff. How heavy it is varies widely from album to album, anywhere from straight traditional Danish folk music to the lighter end of black metal, but I like both ends of that spectrum
There’s also Feminazgul, who I’m not super keen on but their name is so good that they deserve a mention anyway