Power Ballads (3): Can women do power ballads? You bet.

 

Rock has historically been a pretty sexist business.  Women have usually struggled to break through, and when they do, I think it should be celebrated. I have several previous posts featuring women rockers.  In some cases, they were overtly political about sex and gender; in other cases they just went about their business, kicking down the doors, while letting someone else figure out what it meant.  

http://zapatosjam.blogspot.com/2020/07/girls-rock-1-pioneers-leslie-gore-suzi.htm

https://zapatosjam.blogspot.com/2021/03/international-womens-week.html

https://zapatosjam.blogspot.com/2021/03/international-womens-week-2.html

https://zapatosjam.blogspot.com/2021/03/international-womens-week-3.html

Now, here are two bands which will blow up every remaining stereotype you may have had about women in rock. 

 

 

Band-Maid

This may be the hardest-rocking listenable band since AC/DC.  The first song gives you an idea of their usual approach. The second is a ballad about a lost relationship.  If you’re into the technical stuff, listen with headphones, because the arrangements and mixing are phenomenal. In my opinion, their rhythm section is the best in rock since Geddy Lee and Neil Peart in the early days of Rush.

 

“Take me Higher”:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/z7mf96vcxlgkui0/BAND-MAID___05.%20Take_me_higher%21%21_Live.mp4?dl=0

 

“Daydreaming”:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCaeUkrItyY

 

 

Mary’s Blood

In the U.S., heavy metal has been on a thirty-plus year slog into ever darker, harsher and doomier territory.  I think it badly needs a re-imagining.  Mary’s Blood are one of a wave of all-female metal bands doing exactly that.  Their songs are catchy and sometimes even romantic.  These two songs are polar opposites, but each is anchored by that essential element of any metal song, the guitar solo.

 

“Marionette”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLM2unV0kwU

 

“Infinite Love”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06OvVV7aPAg

 

 

Who are your picks for best new musical acts of the last 10 years?

This post is a request from me to you. One of the reasons I do this blog is to learn about new music and new artists. As much as I like listening to old favorites, what I love most is finding great artists I hadn’t encountered before. That can include musicians who’ve been around awhile and I just didn’t know about them.  (This is what happened when I discovered folk-metal, on which I’ve done a few posts.) The most exciting thing, though, is finding truly new artists just as they are breaking through.

So, who do you think are the best new musical acts of the last 10 years?  They can be solo artists, bands, orchestras, or computers for all I care, as long as they meet a few criteria:  First, they should have meaningful traction (youtube views, commercial sales, successful live gigs, or critical acclaim are some but not all of the forms this might take); second, this traction is recent—they were unknown, perhaps didn’t even exist, ten years ago; and third, for bands or other ensembles, they aren’t a one-time thing, ie., their intent is to be around for more than one act.  I don’t care about genre (most genre definitions are arbitrary anyway), as long as the artists are great at what they do.

 

I’m going to base at least one post on your picks, so your commentary is important! Tell me why they belong on this list, what makes them special.  Get technical if you want, especially if you are a musician (several of you are)—I’m interested in musical theory, song structure and technical aspects of performance.

 

To submit your picks, please either reply to my email, or, if you are seeing this on facebook, send me a private message.  

 

Thank you!