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Women and heavy metal

May 18, 2024

Metal is hard, aggressive, and loud. Since its beginnings in the 1970s, the scene has been dominated by men, so goes the cliché. But women have always been there! Let's meet female talents at Germany's biggest festival.

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Scenes from the annual heavy metal festival Wacken Open Air
Image: DW

When heavy metal bands like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath emerged in the 1970s, the scene was dominated by men. It was mainly due to gender roles back then. Metal was considered hard, aggressive and loud, which did not correspond to "traditional female" attributes. Yet from the very beginning, women were part of the scene as fans and musicians. In 1990, Ax'n' Sex, a band with a female lead singer, performed in Wacken. In the following years, the band from Kiel played there again repeatedly.

Metal Queen Doro Pesch on stage  at Heavy-Metal-Festival Wacken Open
Image: picture alliance/dpa

The same goes for metal icon Doro Pesch, who performed at the renowned heavy metal festival Wacken for the first time in 1993. Join us in Wacken, where we dive deep into the history of women in the metal scene and meet key bands and singers such as Doro Pesch, Burning Witches, Slave to Sirens or Nervosa. These iconic metal musicians show us just how women are conquering heavy metal! 

Members of the female Brasilian heavy metal band "Nervosa" at Wacken Open Air
Image: DW
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Arts Unveiled — Experiencing and understanding the art world

Arts Unveiled dives deep into the international creative scene, uncovering new ideas and explaining cultural phenomena that shape our history, present and future. Who are the artists? What are their greatest works of art? And how are they having an impact? Where can we find their exciting projects?