Jump to content

Is it rare for girls to be thrash metal fans?


Miss_Teala

Recommended Posts

Hey guys, I am very new to this genre, and I found that I enjoyed it a lot, so this is exciting for me. ^-^
However, one thing that I have noticed a bit is that it seems very rare for girls to be into thrash metal, at least among my circle of friends and acquaintances, and I believe I only know boys who are thrash metal fans.
I am 18 myself, so maybe it is less common for girls of my generation, but what are your impressions?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Sheol said:

I'd say there's not many thrash fans at all right now. Death metal and black metal reigns supreme. Thrash had a huge upsurge in the 00's but it's largely been replaced by death and black.

Oh, thanks, that explains it.
I have had a bit of that feeling myself, although it seems as if it is more popular among guys.

My ex-boyfriend sometimes listened to music that he said was thrash metal though, and I think I started becoming curious of it from there in small steps.
That was about a year ago.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

59 minutes ago, Sheol said:

I'd say there's not many thrash fans at all right now. Death metal and black metal reigns supreme. Thrash had a huge upsurge in the 00's but it's largely been replaced by death and black.

Not sure that is true. The Metallica v Megadeth argument never dies.

....You will know them by the trail of high top sneakers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Miss_Teala said:

Ah yeah, that is true.
I just feel as if it is less common for girls to be fans of metal, at least compared to boy fans.

For what it is worth, I went to see a gig on Friday night at my local pub that, to my disappointment, was sold out; but I stayed for a beer and noted plenty of women there of all ages. This was more stoner rock than thrash, but my observation is that metal, like everything else, is just more open than it used to be.

I have a 12 year old daughter so have a vested interest in ensuring the barriers keep coming down. It would be great if she liked metal - because at least then we'd have something in common - but fine if she doesn't. We'll always have Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, JonoBlade said:

For what it is worth, I went to see a gig on Friday night at my local pub that, to my disappointment, was sold out; but I stayed for a beer and noted plenty of women there of all ages. This was more stoner rock than thrash, but my observation is that metal, like everything else, is just more open than it used to be.

I have a 12 year old daughter so have a vested interest in ensuring the barriers keep coming down. It would be great if she liked metal - because at least then we'd have something in common - but fine if she doesn't. We'll always have Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

 

That is nice to know. ^-^
I am not sure why I have been "concerned" about whether there are a lot of female fans or not, but for some reason it felt important in some way - at least when it comes to the fact that I seem to be alone with this passion among my friends.
But it is great to have a lot of fellow fans on this forum. ^-^

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Keep in mind that this is totally anecdotal, but just in my own experience I've noticed that black metal and stoner doom always seemed to be the genres that attracted the most women to them. Not to say I've never known or seen girls who enjoy other styles, but those two genres always seem to be the ones I've noticed with the largest number of female fans...

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thrash metal comes and goes as do the fans. We used to have heaps of girls coming to shows in the 80's, the downside was there was also sleezy shitheads at most of the gigs who spent more time in the pit copping a feel rather than thrashing. It never stopped completely but thanks to the unity of the crowds who often went to the same shows week in week out plenty of the fans grouped together to help remove the pricks that thought that was the best way to thrash. By the 90's thrash was becoming less popular and death metal was taking over, as it did the some of those females fans moved with it. But thrash never really died. I don't think the numbers of females ever got back up to the numbers of the 80's but there is still plenty of females into thrash, although I also think they like many of their male counterparts they are into multiple genres.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, Miss_Teala said:

Ah yeah, that is true.
I just feel as if it is less common for girls to be fans of metal, at least compared to boy fans.

Welcome to the forum miss t. I hope you've enjoyed your time so far.   I've been to a thrash concert last year of acid reign who were in the British big 4 and whilst most of the fans were boys(actually mostly old boys 😂) there was a few females there having a great time.    Other metal genres have a majority female fans like nightwish. A forum member used to post about this subject because he said alot of females like heavy metal.  Out of interest who are your best thrash bands. Surely Mettalica is in there. Am I right😁

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, blaaacdoommmmfan said:

Welcome to the forum miss t. I hope you've enjoyed your time so far.   I've been to a thrash concert last year of acid reign who were in the British big 4 and whilst most of the fans were boys(actually mostly old boys 😂) there was a few females there having a great time.    Other metal genres have a majority female fans like nightwish. A forum member used to post about this subject because he said alot of females like heavy metal.  Out of interest who are your best thrash bands. Surely Mettalica is in there. Am I right😁

Thank you, blaccckdoommmmfan. 🤗
Ah yes, I have heard the Metallica songs from their first 3 albums, and they have been really good.
I am still getting used to it, but I feel good about it.

It is a very different experience for me, in a lot of ways;
partly because of my personality, and partly because of the kind of music that my friends and I have been into.
My personality is about as far away as one can get from the attitude of thrash metal music - I am really really meek and non-confrontational, pretty quiet, and moved to tears really easily, and my friends and I have mostly been fans of slow ballads and boy bands.
So I am very fascinated by thrash metal, since it is so very different from all that.
It was a bit scary in the beginning, but now it is mostly energetic. ^-^

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/15/2022 at 1:39 AM, Miss_Teala said:

Thank you, blaccckdoommmmfan. 🤗
Ah yes, I have heard the Metallica songs from their first 3 albums, and they have been really good.
I am still getting used to it, but I feel good about it.

It is a very different experience for me, in a lot of ways;
partly because of my personality, and partly because of the kind of music that my friends and I have been into.
My personality is about as far away as one can get from the attitude of thrash metal music - I am really really meek and non-confrontational, pretty quiet, and moved to tears really easily, and my friends and I have mostly been fans of slow ballads and boy bands.
So I am very fascinated by thrash metal, since it is so very different from all that.
It was a bit scary in the beginning, but now it is mostly energetic. ^-^

Great to hear from you miss teala.  The early Mettalica albums are fantastic and lightning is one of my favourite albums now although initially I did not like the first two that much. Well done for listening to different music. Thrash is along way from boy bands

Heavy metal can be confrontational although that's bit of a stereotype as there's lots of variations out there, the atmospheric doomy/death metal I listen to is not so confrontational just sorrowfull 😁but with excellent clean singing in there to lighten the mood. The kind of records that few people buy. 😁But I like them. Ave Maria is even more niche. I got a full album of this one track which includes a wonderful soprano female singer and  funeral doom with it. It was bit different for me to buy. It's been great though.  

I hope you carry on enjoying thrash and heavy metal music in general. What band do you want to hear next. Slayer perhaps or testament. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think females are pretty rare in thrash but there's certainly more now than in 1980s.  Indeed only Holy Moses comes to mind as having a female member in 1980s/early 1990s. 

 

Out of modern era Nervosa is an all lady thrash band.  Nocturnal had a female vocalist for a several years and Cripper had a female vocalist before they split.

 

There might be more scattered around the place.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/14/2022 at 2:57 AM, Sheol said:

I'd say there's not many thrash fans at all right now. Death metal and black metal reigns supreme. Thrash had a huge upsurge in the 00's but it's largely been replaced by death and black.

I wouldn't say that. Bands like Municipal Waste and Toxic Holocaust have brought thrash to more modern fans. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Sheol said:

They're 00-bands for me. At least it feels like that's when they had their breakthrough. I might be misremembering.

They are 00 bands, MW started in 2001 and TH in 1999, but they do seem to have been a bit more productive with shows than many other bands in the last decade, maybe that keeps the fans they first broke with still interested. Although for me TH's 2019 Primal Future was not a a great album.

 

8 hours ago, RelentlessOblivion said:

That’s true to some extent, but I would argue they do it in the least interesting way possible. Vektor, Black Fast and Ritual Carnage stand out more to me for modern thrash

 Vektor are a 00 band too :) I went off them for some reason, not entirely sure why because I don't hate any of their albums. I remember hearing Ritual Carnage's debut The Highest Law when it came out, it got pretty good reviews but I never really followed them. I should change that and see what they have done since then. Think I might also check out Black Fast, don't think I've heard them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

KK I loved that Toxic Holocaust album.

Sheol,

As for modern thrash there is plenty of it and the major thrash bands are still major draw cards and more so than DM or BM ones.

Don't think DM or BM reigns supreme (it did in early 00s).  Scene is lot more diverse these days.   And it also seens locked in stasis with not much evolution let alone revolution.

 

And modern thrash bands that achieved some popularity in addiiton to MW, Vektor and Toxic Holocaust inclide Evile, Warbringer, Bonded By Blood, Gama Bomb, Power Trip and Havok.  Many others such as Lich King have achieved lesser notoriety 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess I really need to stop pretending to know what's going on in the larger overall modern metal world. Mainstream metal in particular has totally gotten away from me over this last decade or two and I can't honestly say that I know who or what is popular with the masses (or why) anymore these days. Not that I care.

That said, I think it might be human nature to assume that the kinds of music we like personally is more widely popular than it actually is. If you're into contemporary era (post 2000) thrash and/or the more major label mainstream metal of today then it's understandable that you're probably gonna feel like that stuff is king of the hill. But if you happen to be into something else then you're likely to have a somewhat different perpsective. I have personally been feeling for awhile now that at this point in metal's evolution, mainstream metal has really evolved to become a completely different and separate animal from the underground metal that I prefer. Apples and oranges if you will, related but different.

Also I think one's perception will inevitably depend quite a bit on what part of the world they're from. I do believe that in parts of northern and western Europe especially, like for instance Sweden where Johan is, death and black metal do clearly reign supreme at least as far as just within the metal world. Unlike here in the states and most of the native English speaking countries around the world where they don't reign at all, they're all but unknown.

To someone like me, watching certain people try to use the fact that mainstream metal sells better and is more widely known to support their theory that it must be somehow 'better' or that it 'reigns supreme' is not really any different than people who think shitty insufferable pop music must be the best music in the world because it sells so much more than rock or metal or jazz or anything else. Neither of these examples are even close to being head to head comparisons, so I don't think there is much of value to be concluded from them. Because of course mainstream metal by defintiion with it's overproduced sounds and lip-synched videos with pyro and makeup budgets is going to get more mainstream media attention and be more widely known and more widely purchased, listened to, and appreciated than the more obscure less promoted, less accessible 'underground' stuff. That all obviously goes without saying. 

So when Johan says black and death metal reign supreme, he means with actual metalheads in his country and around the world, not just with the mainstream masses who have always preferred more accessible and palatable sounds and always will. Not saying there's anything wrong with being a mainstreamer, just that it's mostly two different worlds that even though they're related and have some overlap, they really aren't on an even footing so it's basically pointless and unfair to compare them head to head and think you're drawing any meaningful conclusions. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...
On 2/19/2022 at 5:54 AM, Dead1 said:

There is no underground anymore.  And these days the sub mainstream (ie below Metallica or Korn or Iron Maiden) you get death, thrash, black, etc etc.  

The scene is really fragmented though which makes being aware of stuff outside of the sub mainstream difficult.

I must've missed this post back in February. I am confused. You say there is no underground anymore, but then you say stuff outside of the sub-mainstream is difficult to find. So if it's hard to find unless you have a pretty good idea what you're looking for, then wouldn't that make it the underground?

Which begs the question, what does 'underground' actually mean to you? To me it's the stuff outside of the 'sub-mainstream' as you call it. Or let's say two stratum below, because I think there is some stuff that lives in between the sub-mainstream and the really obscure kvlt stuff which even most metalheads don't bother with. I think sub-mainstream is a good phrase because when I say mainstream what I usually really mean is the sub-mainstream. And that's because I'm already assuming that as rabid metalheads we are completely disregarding the true mainstream to begin with because there's nothing there of any value for most of us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Join Metal Forum

    joinus-home.jpg

  • Our picks

    • Whichever tier of thrash metal you consigned Sacred Reich back in the 80's/90's they still had their moments.  "Ignorance" & "Surf Nicaragura" did a great job of establishing the band, whereas "The American Way" just got a little to comfortable and accessible (the title track grates nowadays) for my ears.  A couple more records better left forgotten about and then nothing for twenty three years.  2019 alone has now seen three releases from Phil Rind and co.  A live EP, a split EP with Iron Reagan and now a full length.

      Notable addition to the ranks for the current throng of releases is former Machine Head sticksman, Dave McClean.  Love or hate Machine Head, McClean is a more than capable drummer and his presence here is felt from the off with the opening and title track kicking things off with some real gusto.  'Divide & Conquer' and 'Salvation' muddle along nicely, never quite reaching any quality that would make my balls tingle but comfortable enough.  The looming build to 'Manifest Reality' delivers a real punch when the song starts proper.  Frenzied riffs and drums with shots of lead work to hold the interest.


      There's a problem already though (I know, I am such a fucking mood hoover).  I don't like Phil's vocals.  I never had if I am being honest.  The aggression to them seems a little forced even when they are at their best on tracks like 'Manifest Reality'.  When he tries to sing it just feels weak though ('Salvation') and tracks lose real punch.  Give him a riffy number such as 'Killing Machine' and he is fine with the Reich engine (probably a poor choice of phrase) up in sixth gear.  For every thrashy riff there's a fair share of rock edged, local bar act rhythm aplenty too.

      Let's not poo-poo proceedings though, because overall I actually enjoy "Awakening".  It is stacked full of catchy riffs that are sticky on the old ears.  Whilst not as raw as perhaps the - brilliant - artwork suggests with its black and white, tattoo flash sheet style design it is enjoyable enough.  Yes, 'Death Valley' & 'Something to Believe' have no place here, saved only by Arnett and Radziwill's lead work but 'Revolution' is a fucking 80's thrash heyday throwback to the extent that if you turn the TV on during it you might catch a new episode of Cheers!

      3/5
      • Reputation Points

      • 10 replies
    • I
      • Reputation Points

      • 2 replies
    • https://www.metalforum.com/blogs/entry/52-vltimas-something-wicked-marches-in/
      • Reputation Points

      • 3 replies

    • https://www.metalforum.com/blogs/entry/48-candlemass-the-door-to-doom/
      • Reputation Points

      • 2 replies
    • Full length number 19 from overkill certainly makes a splash in the energy stakes, I mean there's some modern thrash bands that are a good two decades younger than Overkill who can only hope to achieve the levels of spunk that New Jersey's finest produce here.  That in itself is an achievement, for a band of Overkill's stature and reputation to be able to still sound relevant four decades into their career is no mean feat.  Even in the albums weaker moments it never gets redundant and the energy levels remain high.  There's a real sense of a band in a state of some renewed vigour, helped in no small part by the addition of Jason Bittner on drums.  The former Flotsam & Jetsam skinsman is nothing short of superb throughout "The Wings of War" and seems to have squeezed a little extra out of the rest of his peers.

      The album kicks of with a great build to opening track "Last Man Standing" and for the first 4 tracks of the album the Overkill crew stomp, bash and groove their way to a solid level of consistency.  The lead work is of particular note and Blitz sounds as sneery and scathing as ever.  The album is well produced and mixed too with all parts of the thrash machine audible as the five piece hammer away at your skull with the usual blend of chugging riffs and infectious anthems.  


      There are weak moments as mentioned but they are more a victim of how good the strong tracks are.  In it's own right "Distortion" is a solid enough - if not slightly varied a journey from the last offering - but it just doesn't stand up well against a "Bat Shit Crazy" or a "Head of a Pin".  As the album draws to a close you get the increasing impression that the last few tracks are rescued really by some great solos and stomping skin work which is a shame because trimming of a couple of tracks may have made this less obvious. 

      4/5
      • Reputation Points

      • 4 replies
×
×
  • Create New...