2025 is halfway through! It has been an incredible year for women in music. We’ve had releases from Epica, Halestorm, Evanescence, Spiritbox, Messa, Beyond the Black, Within Temptation, and so many more! There are still so many releases to come, so it’s hard to generate a best of list early on. BUT, I want to know your favorite woman or top three women in Rock and Metal of 2025! VOTE or Comment below!
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!
In the age of social media, everyone is a critic with biased uneducated opinions and we are subjected to constant negativity from old washed up Rock stars that play to a backing track. “Rock Is Dead” seems to be a go to trope when you don’t know what Youtube or Sirius Xm are and think that you’re the last rock star. I am so very tired of the misinformation that “Rock is Dead”. Is Rock suffering monetarily, because big corporations continue to shove their Pop and Rap down our throats? Yes, Rock is not as big as it was in the 1980s and 1990s, and everyone continues to blame Hair Metal and Grunge. Are there good Rock bands? YES there are million good Rock bands still putting out absolutely fantastic music that has progressed without the crutch of technology. Below is a comprehensive list of Rock bands catering to a wide range of tastes! Rock IS NOT DEAD! It’s just been shut out from the mainstream by big corporate radio.
Blondshell- Indie Rock Solo Musician from Los Angeles left Pop to create throwback music like The Cranberries, The Cardigans, Yeahyeahyeahs
The Hellacopters- Swedish Garage Rock band formed in 1994, reformed in 2016. Inspired by Early Punk Rock and Grunge
The Band Camino- American Rock and Electropop with slick guitars and anthemic nostalgic sound
The Warning- Mexican High Octane Rock and Heavy Metal with great riffs and huge vocals and technicality. My favorite band on this list. Prepare to be blown away by these three sisters
Eva Under Fire- Detroit Hard Rock band with 1980s Arena Rock sounds and early 2000s Metalcore. Hell of a voice
Halestorm- Pennsylvania Hard Rock band and Grammy Award winners, this band is still underrated and should be the pinnacle of Rock. One of the greatest singers of all time, Lzzy Hale should be a household name. Like Skid Row, Pat Benatar, Alice Cooper. and so many classics
Chevelle- Chicago brothers bring a dark new feel to Hard Rock with heavy riffs, Proggy drums, and melancholy vocals. These guys don’t get enough credit.
Nonpoint- Groove Heavy Metal with soulful vocals and heavy riffs came out in the Nu Metal era.
Squid- British Post Punk formed in 2016, sounds like The Offspring, Talking Heads, Queens of the Stone Age with Jazz elements
Breaking Benjamin- Pennsylvania Hard Rock band consistently puts out catchy, heartfelt, bass heavy music with expert vocals. Gets looked over a lot due to Christian labels and mistaken for a Radio Rock band despite having one of the greatest Rock albums of the 2000s.
Currents- Connecticut Metalcore band formed in 2011 always changing their sound and evolving to create technical, progressive, heart wrenching music.
The Pretty Reckless- American Grunge and Blues Rock band brings back the glory of American Rock with heavy riffs, vocals with character and power, and great grooves. Akin to Soundgarden, The Winery Dogs, and Southern Rock. You can’t say Rock is dead with these guys around
Illumishade- On the heavier side of things, this band breaks genre constructs and brings Symphonic Metal, Blues, Soundtrack, and Prog Metal altogether with heavy riffs, great solos, and a dynamite vocalist. They have something for everyone.
Plush- Alternative Rock all girl group formed in 2020 aims to bring Rock back to its former glory with epic powerful vocals, insane music chemistry, and great riffs and hooks. One of the best bands on this list, Moriah Formica is one of the most underrated singers of our time, sounding like she could be Chris Cornell’s daughter.
Lords of the Trident- Wisconsin Power Metal band might be a little heavy for Rockers, but they bring a throwback sound that is sure to please an 80s Metalhead. They have neoclassical guitars and dueling solos, Meatloaf and Hagar-esque vocals, and great hooks that are sure to get stuck in your head for days.
Seven Kingdoms- Florida based Heavy Power Metal band bringing back Iron Maiden dual guitars, Speed Metal, 1980s Metal and Rock, and powerful female vocals. One of my all-time favorite bands.
Mammoth WVH: The Son of Eddie Van Halen has launched his solo project. He writes all the songs and plays all the instruments, and not surprisingly creates some of the best Rock I have heard in ages.
Copy and Paste this list in a memo to check out all my recommended bands:
Great information on why Rock Radio died: https://loudwire.com/how-rock-bands-radio-got-screwed-90s/
Support Indie Rock and Metal bands at: https://bandcamp.com/discover/-rock
Follow my new X account for daily recommendations and updates: https://x.com/KeepMetalErin
Metal Valkyrie 