Halford, Tate, Garm, Anneke van Giersbergen: the Greatest Female Voice in the Underground Metal Family

Let's be honest, "female-fronted metal" is a meme. Just like "viking metal," it refers to certain details of certain bands that really have no place defining their style. It's 2018, my dudes. That doesn't mean we don't think about the great female singers out there in metal, that we don't notice an exceptionally talented woman standing out in a male-dominated art. And, just like how the voices of Rob Halford, Geoff Tate, and Garm of Ulver tend to stand out from their peers', so, too, do certain female singers'.

Let's be honest once again. It's kind of difficult to think about who the "female Halford/Tate/Garm/Dickinson" would be. Some fans might think of Cristina from Lacuna Coil, perhaps even the ladies from Arch Enemy, but we're patricians here. If we look at all the great music that slips past Loudwire and Revolver's notice, into the great, mysterious world of the metal/alt-rock underground, in my eyes, there is one woman, one female singer who stands out, who is an easy pick for the "female Halford" of Metal. One artist who has collaborated with other notable upper-underground artists, one recognized enough to have the liberty to leave her established band to start and maintain her own new project, one with such a bold, passionate and outstanding voice. I am talking about Anneke van Giersbergen.



And now that we are being honest, I will be honest: I prefer the style of her replacement in The Gathering, Silje Wergeland. I just love an ethereal voice like Wergeland's, I love how it fits into The Gathering's atmospheric and dreamy music. It's fantastic stoner and driving music, just great for kinda zoning out and taking in the feelings or scenery. But I would not argue at all that Wergeland is a more outstanding singer than Anneke. No, I don't think any woman in rock music has that honor.

Listen to The May Song.

Listen to her passion, how her vibrato flows, how it bursts meaning and feeling into her words.

Listen to Shrink.

Listen to how Anneke joins herself in her harmonies, how those harmonies round out this crushing image of fragile desperation and heartbreak. The little changes and shifts in her singing voice, how she can bring the feelings in, then just let them out. Like crescendocore metal, boxed up in this woman's voice. Like you turn on the fuckin' shower, and Anneke's voice is the water, going from cold to warm, bathing you in its familiar comfort and washing away the shivers.

Listen to Devin Townsend project performing "Life" on the By A Thread DVD, when Devy had Anneke singing with him as she has on his albums. Listen to "Kingdom" too, from the same DVD, while you're at it.

Listen to how much she adds. Listen to how "Kingdom" fucking soars when she joins Devy on the high "I'm Fiiiine!" That's exactly what I mean, guys. Anneke is a powerful fucking singer. Giersbergen's voice has that same emotional power as Geoff Tate's on Mindcrime, the same "awe" factor as Halford's in his prime, the same passion as Bruce Dickinson.

I feel kind of shitty distinguishing Anneke as a "great female singer," I feel like she has every right to just be recognized as a "great singer." But as I said, we're being honest here. Honest that a female singer in a male-dominated industry does stand out to an extent. And honest that, while there are certainly a number of talented women singing in metal and alternative rock, the first that comes to my mind when we're thinking about legends is Anneke van Giersbergen.

Albums of the decade so far

Each year of the 2010s has showcased the great diversity of modern metal. 2016 is also shaping up to be a memorable year, and we have yet to hear new Be'Lakor, Meshuggah, and Gojira! Below I will share ten of my favorite albums of the 2010s so far, in no order.

Thy Catafalque - Sgurr

Sgurr feels like a sleek, cold utopian future. Sgurr feels like climbing mountains, taking in all the sights of nature, like a stream of water. Sgurr feels organic as it feels mechanical. Thy Catafalque's sophomore Season of Mist release continues the project's indifference towards boundaries of music, much less subgenres. Songs blend and shift from black metal, to industrial, to thrash/death metal, all styles featuring heavy electronic undertones. Mastermind Tamas Katai's immense creativity shines through the songwriting, as well as his fantastic senses of dynamics and melody. Some of these songs have enough good ideas for entire EPs!

Mgla - Exercises in Futility

Exercises in Futility is an inviting experience of a modern black metal album. While Mgla play dark, ominous music and bark rasping, nihilistic lyrics, their music is very melodic, and even features midtempo headbang grooves. One of the first things you will notice about Mgla is their phenomenal drummer. Blast beats abound in Mgla's work, but drummer Darkside accents the beats with fascinating syncopated cymbal-work. Mgla play hypnotic, modernized-Burzum-school black metal, and Darkside's work on the kit keeps every riff interesting.

Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel

Explosive. Epic. Progressive. Melodic. Internet-metal sensation Ne Obliviscaris delivered a possibly-timeless progressive extreme metal album in 2014's Citadel. "Progressive extreme metal" because these guys don't solidly fit into one subgenre. Their melodic black metal influence is perhaps more noticeable than others, but their music is overall a massive synthesis of styles, featuring jazzy breaks not unlike a more upbeat Opeth. Citadel features some outstanding songwriting, each of the three metal tracks presenting a musical journey through buildups, massive dynamic explosions, and in most cases a moving climax, though not in the spirit of "crescendocore."

NeO stick in a listener's mind from their fantastic attention to detail and incredibly satisfying explosiveness. Notably on Citadel, the harsh and clean vocalists sometimes simultaneously sing different lyrics - this is music worth following the lyrics for.

Mare Cognitum - Phobos Monolith

Melodic/atmospheric outer space black metal done very, very well. On Phobos Monolith, Mare Cognitum present thoroughly great songwriting, a fantastic sense of melody and dynamics, and outstanding musicianship. All four songs on this album feature fantastic layering, enveloping ambiance, and outstanding drumming. Mare Cognitum also incorporate some death metal riffs, which never feel out-of-place in this majestic journey through mystical space. The dynamic releases on Phobos Monolith are particularly satisfying.

Moonsorrow - Jumalten Aika

Moonsorrow are, straight-up, a phenomenal band. They've never let up on their originality, ambition and epic scope. Jumalten Aika is in those ways what you would expect from Moonsorrow, yet it is its own beast, and in many ways sees Moonsorrow evolve further. There are more parts per song on Jumalten Aika than on the similarly-dark and aggressive Verisakeet, and each of these parts tend to feature more noticeable layering. Jumalten Aika features outstanding songwriting, loads of memorable riffs and dynamic changes, and a captivating vibe that is equal parts folk metal-fist-pump and an epic journey through cold and treacherous landscapes.

Ash Borer/Fell Voices - Split LP

The best songs of two of the best post-black metal bands today. Ash Borer and Fell Voices' split LP turned heads in the underground black metal scene when it was released, and remains a hidden monolith of the style. The cryptic artwork and lack of song titles or lyrics give a decent impression of the vibes you're in for. Both bands clearly put their all into these 17-20+ minute songs. Ash Borer's track jumps right into intensity, and moves from part to part of flowing, tense black metal riffs, until a focused buildup into one of the greatest releases in post-black metal I've experienced. Fell Voices' song is a somber, cold and lonely experience, with a larger dynamic range than most of Ash Borer's part of this split. Both tracks feature phenomenal drumming, Ash Borer's drumming entailing interesting syncopation and Fell Voices' sometimes breaking to ludicrous blast beats.

Altar of Plagues - Teethed Glory and Injury

With Teethed Glory and Injury, Altar of Plagues created a work of art out of modern black metal. There is a strong and very dark industrial vibe throughout this album. One of the first differences you'll notice between Teethed Glory and Injury and Altar of Plagues' earlier works are the number of songs and their lengths. Both White Tomb and Mammal featured four ~10+ minute songs of 'crescendocore' post-black metal done very well. Teethed Glory and Injury retains its post-black metal songwriting style, but completes its ideas in shorter times, with faster tension. Parts of this album are jarringly dissonant, as others are somber and captivating. Altar of Plagues ended their career with this album - in my opinion, this was a great artistic decision, as Teethed Glory and Injury feels like a statement in this style.

Uneven Structure - Februus

Top-tier prog-djent. Uneven Structure once called themselves "post-metal without guitar cabinets," which fits them funnily well. This is indeed post-metal, utilizing massive ambient soundscapes and huge dynamic releases - the main difference versus most post-metal is Uneven Structure's infectiously groovy djent riffs. Februus is packed with memorable riffs! This is a nuanced album, very worth multiple listens. Their lyrical concept of an entity learning its place is also worth a Google.

Alcest - Ecailles de Lune

Alcest at the top of their game, in my opinion. Neige's songwriting benefits greatly from the added dynamic range of black metal, versus the very light blackened influences on preceding album Souvenirs(...). Ecailles de Lune is full of warm, melancholic and heartbreaking melodies. Parts will hypnotize you, others will move your neck as well as your heart. Neige's shrieks on Ecailes de Lune are great - they feel like a drowning spirit, screaming as it falls into the ocean.

Behemoth - The Satanist

The Satanist is something else. Crafted with newfound resolve after mainman Nergal's struggle with leukemia, this album is furious, dark and massive. The Satanist is full of memorable riffs, haunting ambiance, huge blast beats and Nergal's exceptionally angry-sounding screaming, and there is no filler to be found. This is twisted, evil music, and you will have riffs such as on "Ora Pro Nobis Lucifer" playing in your head for days. This album shows a band done fucking around, I am very curious to see how this revived fury carries over to Behemoth's next album.

Thank you for reading, I hope at least one metal nerd finds an album they enjoy from this. What are your favorite albums of this decade so far?

Mare Cognitum - Phobos Monolith

Phobos Monolith is a stunning example of modern atmospheric black metal. With this album, Mare Cognitum features intricate instrumentation, creative use of nuances, and frantic dynamic shifts, all held together by a beautiful sense of melody. At times, the layers and dynamic changes throughout Phobos Monolith can feel overwhelming, suffocating; this is the experience! It is a thrilling, emotional ride through majestic imagery of outer space.

Mainman Jacob Buczarski displays a fantastic sense of melody throughout, aided by notably clear production. While Phobos Monolith usually has a lot going on, you are bound to notice the bold and enticing leads, flowing organically around crisp and very intense drumming. Even the rhythm guitar is spotlighted, from the frantic, death metal-esque riffs on "Entropic Hallucinations" and "Ephemeral Entities," to flowing arpeggios aside keys on "Noumenon." Atmospheric black metal, a nuanced genre, sometimes risks overdoing its native drone influence. With this level of detail in the instrumentation, this is never the case on Phobos Monolith. Just as you attune to all the layers in a given moment, a twist or complete turn is thrown in, consistently keeping your attention.

Of note besides Phobos Monolith's melodicism are the downright stunning dynamic shifts. Mare Cognitum's dynamic play sometimes nods to crescendo/climax-based post black metal, such as in the insanely satisfying blast-beat releases on opener "Weaving the Thread of Transcendence." This nod is not constant, however, as these dynamic shifts are sometimes very sudden. Closer "Ephemeral Entities" just keeps building a suffocating melodic black metal assault, while "Entropic Hallucinations" is a frantic bombardment of interchanging riffs. This album covers a lot of ground within modern melodic black metal, both a synthesis of existing styles and a unique product.

The 2010s have been a fantastic time for black metal. There are artists pushing almost every aspect of this diverse family. With artists like Mare Cognitum delivering melodic/atmospheric black metal of this caliber, the future of black metal looks brighter still... Darker still? Better.

Thank you for reading!