I want to start a new tradition on here and socials! I want to share some of my favorite femme metal and rock songs every Friday! I listen to music six to ten hours every day, and a lot of my listening habits are made up of women in bands, which is my ultimate bias. Whether it’s new or not or just new to me, I have my favorite tracks of the week. This week, the theme is “COVERS”. Below is some of my all-time favorite covers featuring a female lead singer! Many of these covers I prefer to the original, because there’s something about the different heavier take on these songs that make it exciting. Some people don’t enjoy covers, but I think it’s a fun way to tribute influences or get a band’s name out there by doing an original take on an old favorite. Despite beliefs, covers are incredibly difficult to do well, and the covers below are some of the best I have ever heard.
Please share your favorite covers in the comments below or go to X and let me know!
Happy Femme Metal Friday! What is your favorite cover song by a band with a female lead?
Power Metal band from DeLand, Florida has been on fire since last fall and their successful tour with Unleash the Archers and Aether Realm, and this year’s Power Metal tour with Beast in Black and Striker. I knew once I witnessed Seven Kingdoms live in person, I was witnessing the greatest Power Metal band in America. We don’t get bands like this here. But to be frank, their quality and consistency are unmatched anywhere. With tracks like After the Fall, Empty Eyes, Monster, and epic ballad Valonqar this band knows how to deliver impactful songs. Every member is vastly talented and the chemistry is that of a band that’s been playing for two decades. I have never been more impressed with an opener (well, not since System Divide).
Now, the wait for the crowdfunded album “Zenith” has begun. With the debut original track, Universal Terrestrial, we got absolute speed, dynamic vocals, and amazing melodic solos. The track is simply addictive with unique qualities that I am not hearing anywhere else. The unique tonal quality of Sabrina Valentine Cruz’s voice is divine and surprising: I’ve never heard anything like it, and I can’t seem to get enough of it. I foresee a lot more Reaction videos coming their way soon. The first release from Zenith was insanely surprising: A Power Metal rendition of Joan Jett’s classic “I Hate Myself For Loving You” that screamed. It is one of the best covers I have ever heard, with musical and vocal perfection. It’s a huge upgrade to the original, which in my opinion long outlived its usefulness. The soaring screams and high notes elicit a jaw-dropping experience and “WOWs”. It’s one of those times when you think “why isn’t this going viral?” “Zenith” may be just what this band needs to skyrocket into a bigger fandom that they unequivocally deserve.
Today, Seven Kingdoms dropped the emotional powerhouse of a track “Diamond Handed”. I am forever impressed by this band, but this song brought it to a new level. I love every aspect of this track. It’s classic Power Metal mixed with modern touches in this beautiful emotionally heavy and inspiring track. I am a sucker for dueling guitar solos and Cam and Kevin delivered perfectly fast, technical, melodic solos over Keith’s pocket-perfect metronome double bass. It’s very different from any song they’ve done before, to me, but keeps within the typical Speedy-riffing soaring Power Metal that SK always delivers on. Sabrina’s range on this track is unbelievable, in that I believe she uses a lower section we haven’t heard before. And then, she roars into harmonic screams that seem to resonate forever. It’s vastly impressive. There’s nothing quite like this track, and you really have to play it multiple times to get every tidbit of deliciousness.
For fans of Blind Guardian, Beast In Black, Unleash the Archers, Halestorm, Nightwish, Sonata Arctica, Heart
Metal Valkyrie 