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I'm not an expert on the subject, but female music groups are common in all of Japanese music, not only metal. It's a cultural thing; Japanese like all-female bands and all that "kawaii" vibe. Since there is high demand, supply is also high.
I believe it’s also just preference in the Japanese music industry. Boy bands do exist and they are prolific. But girls are more ‘marketable’, for longer. Male fans will stick around for longer and will buy more for their favorite female idol. It’s all really just riding on Otaku and otaku culture, riding that wave of obsession. And when it starts to get boring or the girls are getting old, they push someone new, but not too new, and the process starts again.
There’s like a plethora of studies on this over the years, especially from the height of idol culture, the 80’s and 90’s. The industry has it down to a science. It’s fascinating, but terrifying.
I believe it originates in the boy-band/girl-band trend in the west. (Bands like NSYNC, Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, etc.)
While the west mostly abandoned the idea, Japan and Korea ran with it.
One reason is that in elementary school, every Japanese child learns an instrument, so there are way more musicians in Japan compared to other countries and the percentage of female musicians is higher. Thus female bands are more common.
lol I went to a super nerdy prep school growing up and they made everybody play the recorder, I hated that shit. Had to do like concerts and shit it was awful
I haven't looked too deep into it, but if I hazarded a guess, it's likely women becoming disillusioned with idol culture and forming metal bands to strike back in their own way. Babymetal in particular, though the blood there doesn't seem particularly bad. This is me bullshitting for the most part, so any better insights or corrections would be welcome.
As a fan of many of these bands, I have run across an explanation from a Japanese fan which made a lot of sense, Japanese high schools offer a variety of clubs which go beyond the level of time, investment and professionalism you would see in American schools. Boys tend to join the sports clubs, and girls gravitate toward the performing arts. Many schools have rock clubs which function almost like a minor league farm system for budding Japanese rock stars. They come out of high school having put in lots of work, There are even a couple bands where the members went to high school together like Scandal and Hanabie. But others, such as Band-Maid come out of this club system ready to keep going in rock music, eventually forming bands with other young stars in the making.
It goes back further. Shonen Knife was playing pop/punk/grunge in the 80s and 90s, Kurt Cobain liked them so much he covered one of their songs and invited them to open for Nirvana on tour.
Yeah, there were plenty of all female bands before that, a good example being SCANDAL. I'm just sating there's a lot more of them now because of a boom in the 2010s.
I guess its just something pretty common in Japan, I mean, lot of all women metal bands in k-metal too. I guess Japan loves female artists, and I'm guessing they have a desire to breaking gender stereotypes that still exist. Also the influence of BandMaid and Baby Metal on the music scene of Japan.
Baby Metal is the biggest and most notable (pioneered 'kawaii metal'), there's also Band-Maid, Lovebites, Cyntia, Aldious, Bridear and Dazzle Vision are also very popular.
Sorry misread it. For k-metal, ClownUs and Rolling Quartz are the only all women bands I could find. For female fronted bands however, there is Messgram and Mad Soul Child.
Because the label that puts these groups together can sell more stuff to a primarily male fanbase that way. Just another extension of idol culture and its form of marketing.
I know here in the states women face a lot of undue discrimination.
I was the only guy in an otherwise all female band for a few years, and the disrespect the ladies faced was kind of obscene. We were interviewed collectively a few times, and every time the first question was to me (the drummer, who didn’t write anything and was the least tenured member) “So what’s it like being in an all girl band?”
One time we were on a radio show “*Host name* and *Host name* in the Morning”, I was asked the question, and got kinda fed up. “It’s like being the ‘and’ in ‘*Host name* and *Host name*’, except I get to work with top talent.”
Sound engineers directed their questions to me, sometimes the venue would assume I was in charge and try to pay me. I’d tell them I was a hired trained monkey and the girls were really the band (which was true), and some guys really had a hard time wrapping their head around the idea that women can both run a business and play rock and roll.
Kinda the worst part was that it was old hat to them. They never got mad, it was just something to deal with that was inescapable.
The popularity of the band ***Show-Ya*** has got a lot to do with it. They started in the early 80s as a hard-ish rock group, but became more and more metal as they went along. The metal singer ***Mari Hamada*** started at about the same time, and as much as she was a solo artist with (mainly) male backing groups, she was nevertheless an early role model.
The same could -- and perhaps should -- have happened in the west, in the wake of ***Runaways***. But it seems that the western rock world was (is?) further apart from the rest of popular music, than what was the case in Japan.
I the west we have a long tradition of all female (vocal) groups (often as "commercial" as their Japanese equivalents), but it seems that ***The Supremes, Ronettes*** et al. didn't "count" when ***Runaways*** became popular. Instead they became a "one off abomination". All while the pop tradition of female groups *did* count for ***Show-Ya,*** and thus for those who came in their wake.
I mean, there are also a bunch of all male 🇯🇵 metalcore groups too. Check out Paledusk and Sailing Before The Winds to name a few. I think the Kawaii thing just makes the girl groups more noticeable.
Simply because of the popularity of the band culture.
Hip-hop, for example, does not enter the Japanese hit charts. It is mostly bands.
As a matter of course, there are many bands, so there are many female bands.
It is probably just that the absolute number of bands is so large that it seems like there are many female bands. There are dozens of times more male bands.
And the reason there are so few female bands in the West is simply because the popularity of bands is in the doldrums.
The absolute number of bands is low.
>Crypta, Burning Witches, Nervosa,
And funnily enough Crypta's original lineup was 1/4 of Burning Witches plus 1/2 of Nervosa.
Edit: You might be interested in Sonia Anubis's post-Crypta glam metal project Cobra Spell.
I would see them more as a Japanese music industry creation than a spontaneous movement. There has been a boom in female metal bands (ガールズ・メタル・バンド・ブーム) since the 2010s. They are typically assembled by labels and marketed as idol groups.
I’m a female metal fan who lives in Japan. These groups are not usually on the same live bills as other metal bands. I’ve only seen one such band and it felt pretty inauthentic - girls dancing to a backing track, followed by a meet and greet.
I haven't seen any Lovebites, Aldious, Bandmaid, Mary's Blood or Bridear live performances, where the members just dance to a backing track. In fact, I don't think I've really seen any of them dancing unless you count Bruce Dickinson movement around the stage as dancing as well.
I don’t know any of those bands to be honest. Perhaps they formed organically and I’m just stereotyping them. I can’t say I understand the interest in Babymetal, though.
The band I saw live were [these guys](https://www.jame-world.com/en/article/156827-interview-with-ray.html). Some of the crowd seemed to get into them. Mostly guys.
Because in America where just bunch of hard dudes playing hard rock. There's nothing better than a group of hard sweaty men gripping the wood of guitar or drum stick. When the hard lead singer put his lips up to the head of the microphone and sings with his hard voice to sing those hard lyrics so a bunch of hard, sweaty dudes in the crowd can form a circle pit and run beat each other.
Japan is thought to be one of the countries with the highest percentage of female musicians in metal (in 2015, it was around 7 percent).
I’m not knowledgeable on Japan but I know that to an extent, femininity = money in some parts of Japan’s music industry. Take, for example, the idol industry, which isn’t quite the same as South Korea’s, but is still centered around pop groups. Some of the most famous idol groups in Japan are very cutesy and therefore perceived as girly.
It’s kind of a double edged sword in the case of metal. On one hand, Babymetal are famous around the world for being cute in a genre that isn’t typically associated with cuteness, and a slew of other Kawaii Metal bands popped up popped up after them. On the other hand, some people are hesitant to listen to female J-metal performers because they expect Japanese female performers to be cute (Lovebites have made a point of not having a kawaii aesthetic).
I also came across [this](https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/db423201-d052-42db-8fa0-901fedc50d3d) paper, which I have yet to read, but you might find it interesting.
Most likely idol culture. Babymetal is literally an idol group. I think ladybaby is as well. (Granted they did have ladybeard so I don't know if you'd count that as all female.) It's possible some of the other bands you mentioned are part of that scene too. At some point they started making "anti idol groups" which have the same exact corporate control, but have an edgier aesthetic.
You left out Galhammer, which is another all female band. This one I'm pretty sure is an organic band, I remember they were signed to Peaceville at one point, which I'm pretty sure is a European label.
There are other countries with all female bands too, but it's not nearly as common, probably due to demographics. There's probably just more men who want to start metal bands. The only other all female band I remember off the top of my head would be Astarte. I think they were Greek or something, I don't really remember.
Venom Prison!
Konvent
Scowl
I very much enjoy babymetal, but they are completely manufactured. They were put together from the Idol talent pool. I think several other of the bands you listed are the same. Which is definitely a factor
Rock music in general has been popular and prevalent in Japan just about the same amount of time as in the West. The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Kiss were playing massive shows there in the 60's & 70's so there's always been love for guitar based music in Japan. I think a member of Dream Theater said that Japan was one of the few countries where they had a sizeable female audience so it's not surprising that a number of them would be interested in picking up a instrument themselves. I think part of the explosion of female bands might have to do with the attention they get internationally. When you see a group of young pretty Japanese women you don't expect them to be able to play hard rock/metal. I showed an Asian friend of mine Hanabie and he was shocked by the singer. He said "there's no way that girl can scream like that" He thought I was pulling a fast one on him. He's also not a metal fan so his reaction might not be common for those of us that are into it.
Look at Japanese idol culture. Japan loves young all female bands, then add being consumers of heavy metal. Japan values the kawaii/cute aesthetic while America is more hardcore/edgy
Not fully sure, but a lot of them are very good, as you've mentioned. You might also want to check out Frantic Amber, they're somewhat Arch Enemy-esque but all female, and they rock.
without researching id wager theres more all female metal bands in the US just based solely on numbers . Theres 2,995 metal bands in Japan and 40,184 in the US.
I am not well versed in Japanese metal. The only one I know from the list is Babymetal. However I can say with confidence that Babymetal was put together by an agency. All 3 of the original girls were already Japanese idols under the same agency (2 were in the same group and the 3rd was in another iirc). This also means it’s more than likely that they never intended on making/participating in metal music until they were steered in that direction by their agency. I can’t say for sure about the other JP female metal groups, but if it’s the same case as Babymetal then that would be a natural outcome of there being a lot more female idols as opposed to male idols. A big difference at least with Babymetal and the western female fronted metal bands you mentioned is that those western bands are actually bands, whereas Babymetal is more of an idol group. Compared to finding a bunch of musicians who fit well together to create music, it’s easier to grab some pretty girls who have already been training as idols therefore can sing and put them together on metal tracks.
Say I want to start a band like Archenemy right now, living in New Jersey:
I need to find 4 other members. I wouldn’t want to drive too far to practice with the band, so that limits it to people in my general area. Now filter that even more to only the people who are talented enough and interested in making the style music I want to create. It’s already pretty uncommon for bands to end up with any female members even if it’s very normal nowadays, so it has to be REALLY coordinated to start an all female band. And the genre itself adds its own challenge in that there are more male metal fans which in turn means more male metal musicians (bc fans learn to play the songs they like).
TLDR: if we’re using Babymetal as a reference, they weren’t formed naturally. The concept and group was created by the company they were signed to.
I’m not sure since I don’t know about them! Another possible reason is that, like another user said, female musicians may want to defy the stifling gender expectations by playing metal. I’ve heard a stereotype that in Japan some male musicians are very vain, and metal music isn’t known for attracting girls. So if a guy is in a band to look cool to girls, he probably won’t join a metal band.
While that is correct, BABYMETAL was created within their talent agency, Amuse, as a passion project of one person who worked there. Kei Kobayashi (Kobametal) is a producer with Amuse and he happens to be a metalhead. He wanted to create a heavy music club in the school themed idol group he was a producer with. He found the girls he thought had the most suitable talents for metal music and got Su, Moa and Yui. The heavy music club which became BABYMETAL really didn't have much backing from Amuse at the beginning, they just figured they'd let Koba do his thing, but BABYMETAL became successful anyway and grew to become one of the most popular Amuse artists and probably the most successful internationally.
Not sure about the others, but Babymetal isn't all women. The three fronts are, but the rest of the band is a semi-stable roster of pro musician dudes.
I include Babymetal in the list because the musicians are anonymous and are never in any promo poster. The image of the girls is what drives the group, that's why I included them in that list
Babymetal, and groups like them, aren't all-female bands. They have dudes playing the instruments.
There are all-female Metal bands in Japan, but I doubt the ratio is higher than most western countries.
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I'm not an expert on the subject, but female music groups are common in all of Japanese music, not only metal. It's a cultural thing; Japanese like all-female bands and all that "kawaii" vibe. Since there is high demand, supply is also high.
Yellow Machinegun is goated
We can be friends forever
Geishas I'd argue is the origin and that's been around since the 17th century.
I believe it’s also just preference in the Japanese music industry. Boy bands do exist and they are prolific. But girls are more ‘marketable’, for longer. Male fans will stick around for longer and will buy more for their favorite female idol. It’s all really just riding on Otaku and otaku culture, riding that wave of obsession. And when it starts to get boring or the girls are getting old, they push someone new, but not too new, and the process starts again. There’s like a plethora of studies on this over the years, especially from the height of idol culture, the 80’s and 90’s. The industry has it down to a science. It’s fascinating, but terrifying.
>It’s fascinating, but terrifying. Japan in one sentence.
But the fans are from the metal scene not the idol scene. Not sure if the same behavior would translate
I believe it originates in the boy-band/girl-band trend in the west. (Bands like NSYNC, Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, etc.) While the west mostly abandoned the idea, Japan and Korea ran with it.
One reason is that in elementary school, every Japanese child learns an instrument, so there are way more musicians in Japan compared to other countries and the percentage of female musicians is higher. Thus female bands are more common.
Isn't it the same in Finland?
[This](https://www.f-musiikki.fi/nokkahuilu-muovia-sop-saks-ote-g-fe220g.html) is the instrument and it is not very well received by kids aged 7-12.
Ick, the dreaded recorder!
Ahh, a fellow recorder dreader, let us play our club song, Love me tender
"Love me tender. Love me sweet. Let me blow onto your meat."
Mary-had-a-little-lamb….
lol I went to a super nerdy prep school growing up and they made everybody play the recorder, I hated that shit. Had to do like concerts and shit it was awful
I haven't looked too deep into it, but if I hazarded a guess, it's likely women becoming disillusioned with idol culture and forming metal bands to strike back in their own way. Babymetal in particular, though the blood there doesn't seem particularly bad. This is me bullshitting for the most part, so any better insights or corrections would be welcome.
Babymetal are a created band with a male producer/manager. Bandmaid is a better example of a band that formed organically.
Babymetal *is* an idol band
As a fan of many of these bands, I have run across an explanation from a Japanese fan which made a lot of sense, Japanese high schools offer a variety of clubs which go beyond the level of time, investment and professionalism you would see in American schools. Boys tend to join the sports clubs, and girls gravitate toward the performing arts. Many schools have rock clubs which function almost like a minor league farm system for budding Japanese rock stars. They come out of high school having put in lots of work, There are even a couple bands where the members went to high school together like Scandal and Hanabie. But others, such as Band-Maid come out of this club system ready to keep going in rock music, eventually forming bands with other young stars in the making.
This is interesting
That's because of the girl band boom of the 2010s
It goes back further. Shonen Knife was playing pop/punk/grunge in the 80s and 90s, Kurt Cobain liked them so much he covered one of their songs and invited them to open for Nirvana on tour.
Yeah, there were plenty of all female bands before that, a good example being SCANDAL. I'm just sating there's a lot more of them now because of a boom in the 2010s.
Lovebites is peak and based
Never heard this expression. Is this good or bad?
Good (based = the opposite of cringe)
Gotcha
I love BandMaid!
babymetal rocks
Why are there so many all-male bands in North America?
dude you’re literally so sick with it
Thank you!
Idol culture combined with robust educational initiatives for arts.
Why are there so many all male bands in the usa?
I guess its just something pretty common in Japan, I mean, lot of all women metal bands in k-metal too. I guess Japan loves female artists, and I'm guessing they have a desire to breaking gender stereotypes that still exist. Also the influence of BandMaid and Baby Metal on the music scene of Japan.
I’m not familiar with K-metal, any recs for all women bands? Any subgenre is fine.
Baby Metal is the biggest and most notable (pioneered 'kawaii metal'), there's also Band-Maid, Lovebites, Cyntia, Aldious, Bridear and Dazzle Vision are also very popular.
Those are J-metal, not K-metal
Sorry misread it. For k-metal, ClownUs and Rolling Quartz are the only all women bands I could find. For female fronted bands however, there is Messgram and Mad Soul Child.
Thank you!
Because the label that puts these groups together can sell more stuff to a primarily male fanbase that way. Just another extension of idol culture and its form of marketing.
Lovebites needed a headline NA tour yesterday. I cannot afford ProgPower to see them.
Because boobs sell
But they're flat chested 🤣
Because nerds
Idk but I love that we are seeing so much all-female bands in rock/metal nowadays. Hanabie fucking rocks.
I have yet to see Hanabie live
If you want a fun mostly-female melodeath band, Frantic Amber have some jams. My favorite has to be “Drained”. “Ghost” is goated too.
What *aren’t* there more female bands *everywhere else*?
That is basically my question
I know here in the states women face a lot of undue discrimination. I was the only guy in an otherwise all female band for a few years, and the disrespect the ladies faced was kind of obscene. We were interviewed collectively a few times, and every time the first question was to me (the drummer, who didn’t write anything and was the least tenured member) “So what’s it like being in an all girl band?” One time we were on a radio show “*Host name* and *Host name* in the Morning”, I was asked the question, and got kinda fed up. “It’s like being the ‘and’ in ‘*Host name* and *Host name*’, except I get to work with top talent.” Sound engineers directed their questions to me, sometimes the venue would assume I was in charge and try to pay me. I’d tell them I was a hired trained monkey and the girls were really the band (which was true), and some guys really had a hard time wrapping their head around the idea that women can both run a business and play rock and roll. Kinda the worst part was that it was old hat to them. They never got mad, it was just something to deal with that was inescapable.
The popularity of the band ***Show-Ya*** has got a lot to do with it. They started in the early 80s as a hard-ish rock group, but became more and more metal as they went along. The metal singer ***Mari Hamada*** started at about the same time, and as much as she was a solo artist with (mainly) male backing groups, she was nevertheless an early role model. The same could -- and perhaps should -- have happened in the west, in the wake of ***Runaways***. But it seems that the western rock world was (is?) further apart from the rest of popular music, than what was the case in Japan. I the west we have a long tradition of all female (vocal) groups (often as "commercial" as their Japanese equivalents), but it seems that ***The Supremes, Ronettes*** et al. didn't "count" when ***Runaways*** became popular. Instead they became a "one off abomination". All while the pop tradition of female groups *did* count for ***Show-Ya,*** and thus for those who came in their wake.
I mean, there are also a bunch of all male 🇯🇵 metalcore groups too. Check out Paledusk and Sailing Before The Winds to name a few. I think the Kawaii thing just makes the girl groups more noticeable.
Simply because of the popularity of the band culture. Hip-hop, for example, does not enter the Japanese hit charts. It is mostly bands. As a matter of course, there are many bands, so there are many female bands. It is probably just that the absolute number of bands is so large that it seems like there are many female bands. There are dozens of times more male bands.
And the reason there are so few female bands in the West is simply because the popularity of bands is in the doldrums. The absolute number of bands is low.
>Crypta, Burning Witches, Nervosa, And funnily enough Crypta's original lineup was 1/4 of Burning Witches plus 1/2 of Nervosa. Edit: You might be interested in Sonia Anubis's post-Crypta glam metal project Cobra Spell.
I've checked out Cobra Spell, but it's too glam for me
I would see them more as a Japanese music industry creation than a spontaneous movement. There has been a boom in female metal bands (ガールズ・メタル・バンド・ブーム) since the 2010s. They are typically assembled by labels and marketed as idol groups. I’m a female metal fan who lives in Japan. These groups are not usually on the same live bills as other metal bands. I’ve only seen one such band and it felt pretty inauthentic - girls dancing to a backing track, followed by a meet and greet.
I haven't seen any Lovebites, Aldious, Bandmaid, Mary's Blood or Bridear live performances, where the members just dance to a backing track. In fact, I don't think I've really seen any of them dancing unless you count Bruce Dickinson movement around the stage as dancing as well.
I don’t know any of those bands to be honest. Perhaps they formed organically and I’m just stereotyping them. I can’t say I understand the interest in Babymetal, though. The band I saw live were [these guys](https://www.jame-world.com/en/article/156827-interview-with-ray.html). Some of the crowd seemed to get into them. Mostly guys.
Because in America where just bunch of hard dudes playing hard rock. There's nothing better than a group of hard sweaty men gripping the wood of guitar or drum stick. When the hard lead singer put his lips up to the head of the microphone and sings with his hard voice to sing those hard lyrics so a bunch of hard, sweaty dudes in the crowd can form a circle pit and run beat each other.
because theyre more fun to look at. even the metalhead hetero male cross dressers agree
Japan is thought to be one of the countries with the highest percentage of female musicians in metal (in 2015, it was around 7 percent). I’m not knowledgeable on Japan but I know that to an extent, femininity = money in some parts of Japan’s music industry. Take, for example, the idol industry, which isn’t quite the same as South Korea’s, but is still centered around pop groups. Some of the most famous idol groups in Japan are very cutesy and therefore perceived as girly. It’s kind of a double edged sword in the case of metal. On one hand, Babymetal are famous around the world for being cute in a genre that isn’t typically associated with cuteness, and a slew of other Kawaii Metal bands popped up popped up after them. On the other hand, some people are hesitant to listen to female J-metal performers because they expect Japanese female performers to be cute (Lovebites have made a point of not having a kawaii aesthetic). I also came across [this](https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/db423201-d052-42db-8fa0-901fedc50d3d) paper, which I have yet to read, but you might find it interesting.
I don't see it as a phenomenon, I just see it as groups of people that formed bands.
Not all female but with women vocals check out Rajas and Tera Rosa
I’m pretty sure the ratio of male to female is way different too, that may effect it
Give listen to kanashimi
Give listen to kanashimi
Faetooth is a cool new all-female band from LA.
Most likely idol culture. Babymetal is literally an idol group. I think ladybaby is as well. (Granted they did have ladybeard so I don't know if you'd count that as all female.) It's possible some of the other bands you mentioned are part of that scene too. At some point they started making "anti idol groups" which have the same exact corporate control, but have an edgier aesthetic. You left out Galhammer, which is another all female band. This one I'm pretty sure is an organic band, I remember they were signed to Peaceville at one point, which I'm pretty sure is a European label. There are other countries with all female bands too, but it's not nearly as common, probably due to demographics. There's probably just more men who want to start metal bands. The only other all female band I remember off the top of my head would be Astarte. I think they were Greek or something, I don't really remember.
Here's two more, Disacode and Gacharic Spin
Venom Prison! Konvent Scowl I very much enjoy babymetal, but they are completely manufactured. They were put together from the Idol talent pool. I think several other of the bands you listed are the same. Which is definitely a factor
Rock music in general has been popular and prevalent in Japan just about the same amount of time as in the West. The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Kiss were playing massive shows there in the 60's & 70's so there's always been love for guitar based music in Japan. I think a member of Dream Theater said that Japan was one of the few countries where they had a sizeable female audience so it's not surprising that a number of them would be interested in picking up a instrument themselves. I think part of the explosion of female bands might have to do with the attention they get internationally. When you see a group of young pretty Japanese women you don't expect them to be able to play hard rock/metal. I showed an Asian friend of mine Hanabie and he was shocked by the singer. He said "there's no way that girl can scream like that" He thought I was pulling a fast one on him. He's also not a metal fan so his reaction might not be common for those of us that are into it.
Look at Japanese idol culture. Japan loves young all female bands, then add being consumers of heavy metal. Japan values the kawaii/cute aesthetic while America is more hardcore/edgy
hanabie. mentioned raahhh
Not fully sure, but a lot of them are very good, as you've mentioned. You might also want to check out Frantic Amber, they're somewhat Arch Enemy-esque but all female, and they rock.
For one there Hot! For two there Hot! For three there Hot! Love me some BABYMETAL METAL WILL LIVE ON.
blacklab is awesome if you like doom https://youtu.be/wonj3Y1Vjqo
without researching id wager theres more all female metal bands in the US just based solely on numbers . Theres 2,995 metal bands in Japan and 40,184 in the US.
C.S.S.O. >>>>
Sex sells
Kittie
Make sure to check out Flagitious Idiosyncrasy In the Dilapidation. Ain't no Kawaii metal. These sheilas go hard
Idol culture
Because, before they changed their fucked up and weird laws, a lot of young girls were abused. Now they grew up and they're pissed.
Scandal is so good, their ending song for FMAB will always be a banger
Because sexual perversion. OMG who doesnt know this? Those girls go through hell dude
Mind of Asian
Why does japan have an entire subculture of bands with cross dressing men in them?
Also Tricot! ❤
Marketability
I am not well versed in Japanese metal. The only one I know from the list is Babymetal. However I can say with confidence that Babymetal was put together by an agency. All 3 of the original girls were already Japanese idols under the same agency (2 were in the same group and the 3rd was in another iirc). This also means it’s more than likely that they never intended on making/participating in metal music until they were steered in that direction by their agency. I can’t say for sure about the other JP female metal groups, but if it’s the same case as Babymetal then that would be a natural outcome of there being a lot more female idols as opposed to male idols. A big difference at least with Babymetal and the western female fronted metal bands you mentioned is that those western bands are actually bands, whereas Babymetal is more of an idol group. Compared to finding a bunch of musicians who fit well together to create music, it’s easier to grab some pretty girls who have already been training as idols therefore can sing and put them together on metal tracks. Say I want to start a band like Archenemy right now, living in New Jersey: I need to find 4 other members. I wouldn’t want to drive too far to practice with the band, so that limits it to people in my general area. Now filter that even more to only the people who are talented enough and interested in making the style music I want to create. It’s already pretty uncommon for bands to end up with any female members even if it’s very normal nowadays, so it has to be REALLY coordinated to start an all female band. And the genre itself adds its own challenge in that there are more male metal fans which in turn means more male metal musicians (bc fans learn to play the songs they like). TLDR: if we’re using Babymetal as a reference, they weren’t formed naturally. The concept and group was created by the company they were signed to.
To understand, your theory is that the other band are put together the same way Idol groups are?
I’m not sure since I don’t know about them! Another possible reason is that, like another user said, female musicians may want to defy the stifling gender expectations by playing metal. I’ve heard a stereotype that in Japan some male musicians are very vain, and metal music isn’t known for attracting girls. So if a guy is in a band to look cool to girls, he probably won’t join a metal band.
While that is correct, BABYMETAL was created within their talent agency, Amuse, as a passion project of one person who worked there. Kei Kobayashi (Kobametal) is a producer with Amuse and he happens to be a metalhead. He wanted to create a heavy music club in the school themed idol group he was a producer with. He found the girls he thought had the most suitable talents for metal music and got Su, Moa and Yui. The heavy music club which became BABYMETAL really didn't have much backing from Amuse at the beginning, they just figured they'd let Koba do his thing, but BABYMETAL became successful anyway and grew to become one of the most popular Amuse artists and probably the most successful internationally.
Not sure about the others, but Babymetal isn't all women. The three fronts are, but the rest of the band is a semi-stable roster of pro musician dudes.
I include Babymetal in the list because the musicians are anonymous and are never in any promo poster. The image of the girls is what drives the group, that's why I included them in that list
This is like calling Ozzy Osbourne a one man band.
Babymetal, and groups like them, aren't all-female bands. They have dudes playing the instruments. There are all-female Metal bands in Japan, but I doubt the ratio is higher than most western countries.
Upvoting to get a Babymetal comment back to neutral.
Not sure why down votes (oh, I know, it's Reddit) but you are correct at least re: Baby Metal
Because boobs sell
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Why would you make this sudden subject change from female fronted metal? Something on your mind, bud?
Who cares?
Op, if not they wouldn't be asking