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.
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).
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Battle Beast
Noora Vuorinen’s voice should be on the UNESCO world heritage list
When I’m not yelling at clouds, I like Tsunami Bomb
Lambrini Girls, a little more political punk than metal. A little lighter than that but mannequin pussy when you’re feeling a little more melodic
Hanabie
Especially this live performance and their album from 2021 has some real bangers.
If you like death and a more extreme sound you have to listen to Crypta. All female band and they are honestly one of the best out there. Impeccable riffs, drums and singing.
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
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.
War on Women is a group I really like from Baltimore. feminist punk metal. https://waronwomen.bandcamp.com/track/white-lies
Loved War on Women but they are tainted for me personally after I read this. https://lambgoat.com/news/35416/ex-war-on-women-guitarist-nancy-hornburg-speaks-out-against-band/
Noooooooooooooooooo! Aw man.
Just want to say, after reading that, including the statement from the band themselves, it reads to me like these members got kicked out, then vented their frustrations. Maybe I’m missing something but this all sounds like pretty standard band politics to me, especially when egos and perfectionism are concerned. At least I don’t see anything about nazi salutes or groupie abuse or some shit in there.
Anyway, sorry for the late reply. Got to this late. Finally got everything listed and categorized and decided to start to with the punk kind of stuff first. Just started listening this morning and I was hooked from the first track on the first album. I can even say it’s exactly the kind of punk rock I’ve been missing and looking for for a long time now. So thanks for this suggestion!
Animal Alpha - Bundy is a favorite I return to every now and then. I don’t know the rest of their music
Loved this song on while playing burnout
Jinjer, Arch Enemy, Unleash the Archers, spiritbox (and iwabo), Devil Electric
Brothers of Metal (despite the name). If you’re into symphonic stuff, Epica and Beyond the Black are worth looking into. I also love Halestorm, but I think they’re somwhere between hard rock and heavy metal.
Synlakross is pretty decent but it’s got both male and female vocals .
Castle Rat is a fantastic thrash metal band also (I think they’re thrash. All the subgenres get confusing)
Jenner, theyre a Serbian thrash metal band.
Along similar lines, System Divide, though I think they only had one album.
Nobro is pretty good, they toured a bunch with Billy Talent so if you like that flavour of garage punk they might be up your alley