Say what? Even more Female Fronted Metal Bands? You can bet on that! 😈
Here's another entry for the Music A to Z Challenge #T by 
- 2 bands starting with the letter T:
1) Theatre of Tragedy
Style: Metal / Gothic Metal
Country: Norway
Back in 1993, Theatre of Tragedy was one of the first Metal bands in the world to include a soprano singer in their music... Little did they know at the time that experiment would kick off a big change in the Metal scene and they would be responsible for girls all over the world to start listening to more Metal, as well as many of them wanting to become Metal vocalists themselves.
I still remember how this was met by many Metal fans with outrage and indignity, as they've felt that their male dominated world was changing, as many girls started to make a stand and said: "Hey, Metal is for us girls, too! Don't you dare telling us what we can do or not!" 😈
Liv Kristine Espenæs was the girl chosen by Theatre of Tragedy to kickoff this new genre of Metal and from that point, nothing would ever be the same again. Whether some fans did like it or not, that mattered very little... they were powerless to do anything about it.
Over the following years, female vocalists started to pop up like mushrooms, often to add a beautiful and soft female voice to contrast with the harsher voice of a male vocalist.
This genre became known as Gothic Metal... and later would spawn a new style altogether, called Symphonic Metal.
I guess we can say that Theatre of Tragedy were the pioneers in this movement, as they've quickly became of of the most famous names in Metal in the mid-90's...
Ten years later, however, Liv Kristine wasn't happy with the path the band was taking, as they started to become more an Industrial Rock band than a Metal band. Due to her divergences with the rest of the band's members she was fired... by e-mail! 🤯
In 2004, Nell Sigland is hired as the new vocalist... and only 2 years later, the band understood that maybe Liv Kristine was right after all.
In 2006, they returned to the sound they were know by... in their earlier albums. 😂
They delivered 7 full albums, one live album and one live DVD... and eventually disbanded in 2010.
And When He Falleth..., released in 2001, is my favourite song from this band. Here's a phenomenal live performance of that song, with Nell Sigland in the vocals:
The song includes an excerpt from the movie "The Masque of the Red Death (1964)", a dialogue between the characters played by Jane Asher and Vincent Price:
[Prince Prospero]
That cross you wear around your neck; is it only a decoration, or are you a true Christian believer?
[Francesca]
Yes, I believe - truly!
[Prince Prospero]
Then I want you to remove it at once! And never to wear it within this castle again!
Do you know how a falcon is trained, my dear?
Her eyes are sown shut. Blinded temporarily, she suffers the whims of her God patiently, until her will is submerged and she learns to serve - as your God taught and blinded you with crosses.
[Francesca]
You had me take off my cross because it offended...!?
[Prince Prospero]
It offended no one. No! It simply appears to me to be discourteous to... to wear the symbol of a deity long dead.
My ancestors tried to find it. And to open the door that separates us from our... Creator.
[Francesca]
But you need no doors to find God! If you believe....
[Prince Prospero]
Believe?! If you believe you are gullible.
Can you look around this world and believe in the goodness of a god who rules it?
Famine, Pestilence, War, Disease and Death! They rule this world.
[Francesca]
There is also love and life and hope.
[Prince Prospero]
Very little hope, I assure you.
No. If a god of love and life ever did exist... he is long since dead.
Someone... something... rules in his place.
If you want to listen to And When He Falleth... again... with the original vocalist this time around, here is an older but equally awesome performance. The video quality is not so good but the audio is just fine!
Still one of my favourite songs to this day! 😍
You can see why many fans preferred Liv Kristine on the vocals. She really is a marvellous singer.
Who can say who's the better singer, though? Liv Kristine or Nell Sigland? I love them both and see no reason to fight over it.
2) Tracktor Bowling
Style: Metal / Metalcore
Country: Russia
And now let's listen to something completely different. One of the best Metalcore bands from Russia. Unfortunately they are no longer active but the vocalist Лусинэ Геворкян (Lousine Gevorkian) has been singing with her new band - Louna - since the days Tracktor Bowling was still around.
(You can read more about her and that band in one of my earlier entries for this challenge: LaScala & Louna.)
In comparison with Louna, Tracktor Bowling was an heavier band... at least in the musical aspect. If we study the lyrics instead... then Louna remains the heavier band. 😁
That happens because Tracktor Bowling was more about the music, while Louna's main focus are on the message it wants to convey.
Tracktor Bowling released 5 full albums and they have so many excellent songs that I will just roll a dice and pick this one, called Черта (The Edge):
Yep, all of their lyrics are in Russian. I guess you'll have to deal with that. 😂
Through the years, I've learned to enjoy music regardless of the language they use... whether I understand the lyrics or not, music is music.
I hope you have liked these 2 bands. 😁
If you want to join the challenge, visit the announcement post, here: Music A to Z Challenge #T and use the tag #a-zmusic.
See my previous entries here:
- A) The Agonist & Arch Enemy / Atakama & Amely Sky [Metal]
- B) Багира & Blind Ivy [Metal]
- C) Conquer Divide & Cripper [Metal]
- D) Dark Tranquility & Dead Sara [Metal / Rock]
- E) Eths & Expellow [Metal]
- F) Fine Fine Titans & Frantic Amber [Metal]
- G) Green Jellÿ & GWAR [Comedy Rock / Comedy Metal]
- H) Hiromi Uehara & Haggard [Jazz / Metal]
- I) In Evil Hour & Infected Rain [Punk / Metal]
- J) Jinjer & Joss Stone [Metal / Soul]
- K) Koalas Desperados & Katzenjammer [Reggae / Hip-Hop / World Music / Folk Rock]
- L) LaScala & Louna [Rock / Alternative Rock / Fusion]
- M - Part 1) Mayra Andrade & Mariana Aydar [World Music / Popular Brazilian Music]
- M - Part 2) Moonspell & Mortad [Metal]
- N - Part 1) Nneka & Norah Jones [Reggae / Soul / R&B / Jazz]
- N - Part 2) Nightwish & Nevermore [Metal]
- O) Onuka & Otep [Electro-Folk / Metal]
- P) Patricia Barber, Pink Freud & PJ Harvey [Jazz / Electro-Jazz / Rock]
- Q) Queen Ifrica & Quique Neira [Reggae]
- R) Rodrigo y Gabriela, Room Eleven & Rage of Light [Rock / Flamenco / Jazz / Metal]
- S) Spoil Engine & Straight Line Stitch [Metal]