page_title: Heavy metal music
section_title: Women in heavy metal
hierarchical_section_title: Heavy metal music / Women in heavy metal
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Finnische Band Nightwish live am Tuska Open Air 2013English: Finnish band Nightwish at Tuska Open Air 2013
context_page_description: Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and the United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock, and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and loudness. The lyrics and performances are sometimes associated with aggression and machismo.
  In 1968, three of the genre's most famous pioneers, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple were founded. Though they came to attract wide audiences, they were often derided by critics. Following the blueprint laid down by Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, several American bands modified heavy metal into more accessible forms during the 1970s: the raw, sleazy sound and shock rock of Alice Cooper and Kiss; the blues-rooted rock of Aerosmith; and the flashy guitar leads and wild party rock of Van Halen. During the mid-1970s, Judas Priest helped spur the genre's evolution by discarding much of its blues influence; Motörhead introduced a punk rock sensibility and an increasing emphasis on speed.
context_section_description: The history of women in heavy metal can be traced back as far as the 1970s when the band Genesis, the forerunner of Vixen, was formed in 1973. Another hard rock band that featured all-female members, The Runaways, was founded in 1975; two members, Joan Jett and Lita Ford, later had successful solo careers. In 1978, with the rise of the new wave of British heavy metal, the band Girlschool was founded, later collaborating with Motörhead under the pseudonym Headgirl in 1980. In 1996, Finnish band Nightwish was founded and has featured women as vocalists. This was followed by more women fronting heavy metal bands, such as Halestorm, Within Temptation, Arch Enemy, and Epica among others. In Japan, the 2010s brought a boom of all-female metal bands including Destrose, Aldious, Mary's Blood, Cyntia, and Lovebites.
  Women have had an important role behind the scenes, such as Gaby Hoffmann and Sharon Osbourne. In 1981, Hoffmann helped Don Dokken acquire his first record deal. Hoffmann also became the manager of Accept in 1981 and wrote songs under the pseudonym of "Deaffy" for many of band's studio albums. Vocalist Mark Tornillo stated that Hoffmann still had some influence in songwriting on their later albums. Osbourne, the wife and manager of Ozzy Osbourne, founded the Ozzfest music festival and managed several bands, including Motörhead, Coal Chamber, The Smashing Pumpkins, Electric Light Orchestra, Lita Ford and Queen.
caption: Floor Jansen, a lead vocalist of Nightwish, at Tuska Open Air Metal Festival in Helsinki, Finland, in 2013
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