Although there’s still a lot of work to be done, heavy metal has come a long way when it comes to female representation in the scene. Some years ago, you might hear two or three prominent metal bands featuring women at a hard rock/metal festival, but nowadays, these same festivals are featuring a greater number of bands that include women.
During a recent chat with Riff X’s Metal XS, Lzzy Hale of Halestorm talked about the greater presence of bands featuring women playing at festivals and how “very proud” she is of her “sisters having success” in the metal scene.
Prior to expressing this gratitude, Hale talks about the band’s early days when they were “absolutely sexualized,” including her involvement in Revolver’s “Hottest Chicks In Metal” feature. According to Hale, she took such opportunities with hopes of being featured in the publication and having the chance to talk about the band’s music.
Talking about the band’s early days and her involvement with Revolver’s “Hottest Chicks In Metal” feature, Hale shares the following (as transcribed by Blabbermouth):
“Years ago, when we were first starting to tour and you’re trying to get yourself into magazines and get attention for this or that, I was involved in a lot of that where… and, in a lot of ways, I kind of felt a little left out ’cause I’ve never been one to really bare it all, you know? And so I’d be like in Revolver magazine for ‘Hottest Chicks In Metal’ or whatever and be like the only one fully clothed. [Laughs] But, yeah, you’re kind of forced into it because if that is the publication, you want attention for your band and you wanna talk about the music and everything.”
“But, yes, we were absolutely sexualized through the years. I think for me, you kind of turn that around and in what you say in your songs and you can kind of always have the last laugh, so to speak, in that. But it’s definitely changed. And it was only a few short years ago that I was probably the only girl at one of these festivals, and that’s just not the case anymore.
“So I’m very proud of that and it’s just great to see all of my sisters having success.”