72. Leanan Sidhe (Beholder) – Italian vocalists Leanan’s band Beholder released three albums in the early 2000s. Their sound was kind of thrashy power metal. She alternated vocals with Patrick Wire in just about every song. Unfortunately, she was only on the scene for a short time, as far as I know.
71. Stefanie Thinius (Aavas) – Stefanie is a German singer who has released one album that I know of with the Gothic metal band Aavas. Her style is semi-operatic. I hope to hear more of her amazing voice in the future.
70. Sabrina Valentine (Seven Kingdoms) – While I wasn’t a fan of the first Seven Kingdoms album, they brought in Sabrina for their second, and she added a whole new scope to the vocal work of the band. Her voice is more rock-oriented. She has so far released four albums with the band.
69. Tanja Kemppainen(Lullacry First) – So, to be honest, I know her mostly from Lullacry. She was their first vocalist and sang on their first two albums. Her style is more modern and less operatic.
68. Melissa Bonny (Ad Infinitum) – Melissa is a relatively new singer on the scene and came out with her first album with Ad Infinitium in 2020. The band has four albums out at the time of this writing.
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67. Ruby Roque (Witchbreed) – Ruby is from Portugal. With only one album from Witchbreed, Ruby has proven to be a very powerful vocalist. I am hoping for more stuff from Witchbreed in the future.
66. Kate Norris (Control the Storm first) – Kate Norris is a vocalist from the UK. She released an album in 2015 with Control the Storm. I am not sure what she is up to these days.
65. Sy Synger (Armonight) – Sy Synger is an Italian singer who put out four albums with the band Armonight. Armonight started off as a gothic metal band, but then went more into rock. I personally liked the band more as gothic metal, Sy has a light, melodic style voice.
64. Annabelle Harris (Apparition) – Annabelle is a vocalist from the UK who did one album with the band Apparition. She could be described as having a haunting gothic style of vocals. She is another amazing vocalist that I have no clue as to her current whereabouts.
63. Margaret Young (A.D.D.) – Margaret is the first American singer in the countdown and has done two albums with the band A.D.D. She is another gem and stylistically different from many of the other women in the countdown. She has a very strong rock voice with some grit to it. She isn’t a growler like the two Arch Enemy singers, but her voice can be a little rough for some. She is so good at it, though.
62. Doro Perch (Warlock, Doro) – Doro is a German vocalist who first made it big with her band Warlock in the mid-1980s. Toward the end of the 80s, Warlock disbanded, and Doro formed her own band called Doro and released several albums. She was one of the first metal female singers I got into back in 1992. She is also the only vocalist on this countdown to have fronted a full-length album before 1997 that I’m aware of. There were others that I liked, such as Cycle Sluts From Hell and Acid, but they didn’t make the cut lol. To me, she is the grandmother of female-fronted metal.
61. Telya Mélane (Whyzdom first) – Teyla is a French singer who did lead vocals in Whyzdom’s debut album, “From the Brink of Infinity.” She has joined other bands since, but has not released anything with them. I first discovered her around 2008 when the Femme Metal Forums were still around, and the band promoted themselves there. They were one of the few bands that I got into because of their self-promotion in the forums (They had a section for bands to promote themselves).
60. Sara Squadrani (Ancient Bards) Sara is an Italian singer who has been doing lead vocals for the symphonic power metal band, Ancient Bards, since 2007. She has released 5 albums with them so far. According to Wikipedia, she is a soprano, and outside of music, she is seeking to become an architect and building engineer.
59. Michelle Loose-Schrotz (Brave) – Michelle is an American vocalists who has been the lead vocalist of Brave since they began around 2000. She has released three album with them thus far.
58. Anna DeRose (Fountain of Tears) – Anna sang on the first Fountain of tears which only included five tracks. She has an absolutely beaitiful voice and I wish I could here her more.
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57. Lady Angelica (Forever Slave) – Angelica is a Spanish singer who did two albums with Forever Slave. According to Metal Archives, their status is currently unknown. This is another one of those rare gems.
56. Quinn Weng (Seraphim) – Pay Lee was a Taiwanese vocalist for the power metal band, Seraphim for their first three albums. Unfortunately, she passed away in 2011 when she didn’t wake up from narcosis during minor heart surgery. R.I.P Pay Lee.
55. Sandra Barclay (D-Wall) – Sandra is a German singer who did backing vocals on D-wall’s first album, and then lead vocals on their second album. I discovered her when I was making a huge list of all the bands on Metal Archives with frontwomen. Sandra really stood out to me with her unique rock style vocals. I have talked to her a few times on FB, and she is an amazing person on top of being a great vocalist.
54. Aniek Janssen (Delphian) – Aneik Janssen is a progressive metal singer from the Netherlands. She did lead vocals for the two albums that Dephian came out with. She has a wonderful mid-range voice.
53. Debora Serri (Seven Angels) – Debora is a Brazilian singer who does lead vocals for the Christian power metal band Seven Angels. I first started listening to her in 2003, one of the few female-fronted bands I listened to before I discovered Nightwish in 2005. So far, she has done two albums with Seven Angels, and they have recently reformed, so hopefully there will be a third in the making.
52. Leeni-Maria Hovila (Kivimetsan Druidi) – Leeni-Maria is a Finnish vocalist whom I learned of when she sang for Kivimetsan Druidi. She now sings for The Body Snatcher, who haven’t released anything with her as of yet. Her style is more operatic than modern.
51. Heidi Parviainen (Amberian Dawn First) – Heidi is a Finnish singer who I came to know through her neoclassical power metal band Amberian Dawn. She released 4 albums with them before leaving and joining Symphonic Power Metal band Dark Sarah. She has released three albums by them so far. She is considered a lyric soprano.
50. Sabine Edelsbacher (EdenBridge) – Sabine is an Austrian singer who has been doing lead vocals for symphonic power metal band, Edenbridge, since their inception in 1998. They have released 10 albums so far with her beautiful, calming, angelic voice.
49. Helena Iren Michaelsen (Imperia) – Helena is a Norwegian vocalist who currently does lead vocals for Imperia and Angel. She was the original singer for Epica when they were called Sahara Dust. Her first band was Trail of Tears. I tend to prefer her material with Imperia the most.
48. Natalia Terekhova (Dark Princess 2nd) – Natalia is a Russian singer and the second singer for the gothic metal band Dark Princess. She released one album by them. I don’t know much more than that, but she did an amazing job in the one album she sang in.
47. Angelica Rylin (Angelica, The Murder of My Sweet) – Angelica is a Swedish vocalist who I know mostly from the band Angelica and some from her first band, The Murder of My Sweet. While the band The Murder of My Sweet is symphonic, Angelica the band is more in the realm of Hard FM. She is still doing both bands as far as I know.
46. Anette Olzon (The Dark Element, Alyson Avenue, Allen / Olzon, ex-Nightwish) – Anette is a Swedish singer whom I first heard of when she became Nightwish’s frontwoman. At first, I was quite disappointed that she replaced Nightwish’s first singer, Tarja Turunen, but she grew on me after a while. She recently came out with an album with Russell Allen from Symphony X called “Worlds Apart” which I really enjoyed. Yeah, she might not be Tarja or Floor, but she is still damn good.
45. Mary Zimmer (Helion Prime, ex-White Empress, ex-Luna Mortis, ex-The Ottoman Empire). It was back in 2009 when I was first exposed to Mary Zimmer with her band Luna Mortis, as they opened for Edguy. I immediately bought both The Ottoman Empire and Luna Mortis CDs. Mary is the most growly vocalist on this list as she mixes growls with clean vocals on most of her songs. She was really cool to meet in person, too.
44. Ann-Kristin Kostyal (Accid Reign) – Ann-Kristen was the lead vocalist for gothic metal band Accid Reign who released one album and currently is the vocalist for gothic/doom metal band Black Elegy. I am most familiar with her Accid Reign material. She has a haunting, melodic voice that has moved me to tears at times.
43. Irene Villegas (Against Myself 1st) – Irene sang for the first three albums by Against Myself. Against Myself is a symphonic metal band from Spain. She has a very haunting voice with a touch of melancholy to it.
42. Ji-In Cho (Krypteria) – Ji-ln is a Korean vocalist living in Germany who is comfortable singing most genres. I came to know her through her symphonic power metal band, Krypteria. She released five albums with them including one of my all-time favorites, “Bloodangel’s Cry.” In a 2009 Korean survey, she was voted as one of the top 50 most influential Koreans living outside of the country.
41. Julia Westlake (Hydrogyn) – Julia is a very underrated American singer. She has released several things when she sang for Hydrogyn, including full-lengths, EPs, compilations, and live. I’m not sure where she is now, but hopefully working on more material.
40. . Elin Redin (End of September) – Not much is known about the melodic Swedish vocalist of End of September besides her beautiful voice.
39. Slava Popola (Operatika) – Slava is a Ukrainian vocalist who sings for the American band Operatika Element. So far, they have released one album back in 2008. I saw her live, as OE opened for Sonata Arctica in 2008.
38. Carina Alvarez (Ab Aeterno) – Carina is an Argentinian vocalist, and I only know her from the one album she did with Ab Aeterno called “Our Own Closure.” This album was enough to give me what I needed to know about her amazing vocals.
37. Aleksandra Radosavljevic (Above The Earth) – Aleksandra is a Serbian vocalist best known for her work with progressive metal/rock band Above the Earth.
36. Lzzy Hale (Halestorm) – Lzzy is an American singer who is well known as the rhythm guitarist and vocalist for her band Halestorm. I saw her live back in 2013, and she puts on a hell of a show. She has a strong rock-oriented vocal style and has released six albums with the band.
35. Elize Ryd (Amaranthe) – Elize is a Swedish singer who came into the spotlight over the last twelve years with her band Amaranthe. She is currently considered one of the best melodic female vocalists in the metal scene by many.
34. Claudia Hofer (Legenda Aurea First) – Claudia is a Swiss singer who sang on Legenda Aurea’s first album. She is influenced by such singers as Tarja Turunen. There isn’t a lot of information out there about her.
33. Chiara Viel (Seven Dark Eyes) – Chiara is an Italian singer who did lead vocals on Seven Dark Eyes’ first album. She had a strong and unique voice. I have no clue what she is up to nowadays.
32. Maria Breon (Holyhell) – Maria is an American singer, best known for her work with Holyhell. After their debut, they toured with Manowar and Rhapsody of Fire. I’m not sure what she is up to these days.
31. Ana Lara (Oratory) – Ana is a Portuguese singer who sang lead vocals in Oratory’s second album. She also did backing in the first. Oratory plays symphonic power metal. I’ve heard a rumor that they are reuniting.
30. Edera/Elana (Domina Noctis) – Her real name is Elena, but I have no idea of her last name. She is an Italian singer who has been with Domina Noctis since the beginning.
29. Paulina “Paula” Maślanka (Delight) – Paulina is a Polish singer who sang for Delight the entirety of their career. They released four albums, the first three being in the realm of Gothic Metal and the final one being more in the realm of Evanescence.
28. Anita Kun (ex-Ideas) – Anita is a Hungarian singer who did vocals for four albums of the symphonic metal band Ideas. She is a very strong vocalist and one of the most underrated on this list.
27. Tanja Lainio (Lullacry Second) – Tanja is a Finnish vocalist and the second frontwoman for Lullacry. I actually prefer her voice to the first singer, which I don’t do that often. She sang on three of their albums, and I’m not sure where she is today. She has a more rock-style voice than many of the vocalists in this countdown.
26. Manuela Kraller (Xandria second) – I mostly know of German vocalist Manuela’s work with Xandria. She sang in their fifth album Neverworld’s End. She has a strong operatic voice. Last I knew, she began working with a band called Alanae.
25. Jeanette Scherff (Dawn of Destiny) – Jeanette is a German singer and is the second singer for the power metal band Dawn of Destiny. She has released four albums with them so far, which have all been amazing.
24 Aline Happ (Lyria) – Aline is a Brazilian vocalist who has released two albums thus far with symphonic alternative metal band Lyria. She is a mezzo-soprano singer who writes many positive lyrics about overcoming the obstacles we face.
23. Maxi Nil (Visions of Atlantis) – Maxi is a Greek singer and I know her best from her work with Visions of Atlantis. VoA has a way of choosing some of the best female vocalists out there since their inception. Maxi was their third female singer, who sang on their fourth and fifth albums.
22. Marketa Moravkova (Alia Tempora) – Markéta is a vocalist from the Czech Republic and has so far released two albums with modern metal band Alia Tempora.
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21. Caterina Nix (Chaos Magic) – Caterina is a Chilean vocalist who started off with Symphonic Alternative Metal band Aghonya in the late 2000s. After they disbanded, she formed the band Chaos Magic, which features ex-Stratovarius guitarist Timo Tolkki.
20. Dianne van Giersbergen (Xandria Third) – Just to clarify, “Ex-Libris” is the actual name of the band that she still sings for. I actually came to know her through the two albums she did with symphonic power metal band Xandria. She is a Dutch soprano singer and also does vocal coaching. She is one of the best singers out there.
19. Alessia Scolletti (Temperance) – Alessia is an Italian vocalist, and I best know her as the second female lead vocalist for Temperance. She has sung on their latest four albums.
18 Lisa Middelhauve (Xandria) – Lisa is a German singer and best known as being the first vocalist to record studio albums with Xandria. She is featured on all four of their first four albums. Her singing style is diverse as she switches between modern and Indian vocals. She is my favorite of the Xandria singers.
17. Nicole Bogner (Visions of Atlantis) – Nicole was an Austrian singer and the very first female singer for symphonic power metal band, Visions of Atlantis. She was a soprano singer with a similar style to Tarja Turunen. Unfortunately, she passed away in 2012 at the age of 27. She is the second of three vocalists on this list that is no longer with us. RIP Nicole.
16. Ana Mladinovici (Magica) – Ana is a Romanian vocalist who I mostly know from her power metal band Magica. She has released a total of 11 albums, 8 of them with Magica. She is still with Magica as they have been releasing singles. She is very underrated, but this countdown gives the obscure singers a fair shot.
15. Simone Christinat (Legenda Aura) – Another hidden gem, Simone is a Swiss vocalist who I know from Symphonic Power Metal band Legenda Aurea. She is also the first of three singers of Elis on the countdown but she never released anything with them.
14. Sandra Schleret (Elis) – Sandra is an Austrian singer whom I know best from her work with the gothic metal band Elis. She replaced the amazing Sabine Dunser and did one full-length album with the band. It was an amazing album that has gotten a lot of plays on my iPod.
13. Tanja Maul (Dawn of Destiny) – Tanja is a German singer whom I know best as being the first singer for the Power Metal band Dawn of Destiny. She did three albums with them and also one album with her newer band Nevaria.
12. Olga Romanova (Dark Princess) – Olga is a Russian vocalist and original singer for the gothic metal band Dark Princess. She released two albums with them. She left the band, and they did an album without her. However, she has gained back the name Dark Princess and have recorded a current album.
11. Melissa Ferlaak – (Visions of Atlantis) – Melissa is an American soprano whose work I know best with symphonic power metal band Visions of Atlantis. She was their second female singer, and the third out of the four mentioned on this list. She did vocals on their third album, which I consider one of the best albums of all time.
10. Sabine Dunser – (Elis) – Sabine was a Liechtensteinian vocalist and best known as being the first vocalist for the gothic metal band Elis. Unfortunately, she passed away on July 8th, 2006, due to a cerebral hemorrhage. She was still in the band at the time. Her third album, Griefshire, wasn’t released until after her death. I often see memes that say, “If you could bring back one musician for one last show, who would it be?” and I always answer with Sabine Dunser. She has such a fantastic voice. RIP Sabine.
9. Andrea Datwyler (Lunatica) – Andrea is a Swiss vocalist who has been the long-time singer of symphonic power metal band Lunatica. She has a very sweet-sounding voice and is softer than most of the women in this countdown. But her voice fits the music very well. The contrast with the heavy music is perfect. In her free time, she likes to ride horses, read books, and do Yoga.
8. Clementine Delauney (Visions of Atlantis) – Clementine is a French singer, the fourth of the four singers for symphonic power metal band Visions of Atlantis on the list. Visions of Atlantis and Clémentine were a match made in Heaven. VoA has always been a band that has struggled, and it seemed like when they gained Clémentine, they started to make it further. Her voice is beautiful, and I especially love ballads such as “Into the Light,” which brings tears to my eyes.
7. Amy Lee (Evanescence) – Amy Lee originally recorded with Evanescence when she was just 16 years old. I first discovered her in 2003 when “Bring Me To Life” was released. She is arguably the most well known singer on this countdown. She is also the highest American singer on here.
6. Floor Janson (After Forever, Revamp, Nightwish) – Floor Jansen is a Dutch singer who now sings for symphonic power metal band Nightwish. She is considered the best singer of her genre by some, and with good reason. She can sing both classical and modern styles. I originally became a fan with her first band, After Forever, and still feel that some of her best original material was with that band. I was excited when I heard she joined Nightwish because she can hit the Tarja-era notes, and I enjoy her live videos singing older Nightwish.
5. Charlotte Wessels (ex-Delain) – Charlotte is a Dutch singer who did lead vocals for symphonic metal band Delain. I always found her voice to be a unique voice in this genre. She is less operatic and more modern. Hopefully, she will release more material with another band in the future.
4. Tarja Turunan (Nightwish, Tarja) – Tarja is a Finnish vocalist best known for her work with Nightwish and her own band simply called Tarja. She has a 3-octave range and is considered the best by many people who like female-fronted metal. She was #1 in that video I posted the other day. My favorite Nightwish era was when she was the lead vocalist. She also shared a stage with my #2 vocalist not too long ago.
3. Sharon Den Adel (Within Temptation) – Sharon is a Dutch vocalist who formed the symphonic metal band Within Temptation with her partner back in 1996. The interesting thing about Sharon is she has had no formal vocal training and yet has one of the most amazing voices ever. She has had a major influence on female fronted metal bands.
2. Chiara Tricarico (Moonlight Haze, Temperance, Ravenword) – Chiara is an Italian vocalist whom I discovered in 2016 when she was doing lead vocals for Temperance. The first song that caught me was “Oblivion” where she switches from modern to classical vocals throughout the song. She instantly became one of my favorite vocalists. However, last year, when I purchased “De Rerum Natura” with her band Moonlight Haze, she became my second favorite. She is the most diverse vocalist I know, as she is like listening to 5 different voices in one woman. Once in a while, she even growls. She has acoustic covers of bands like Sonata Arctica and others on YouTube. In 2020, she shared a stage with Tarja Turunen and Clementine Delauney. She is an up-and-coming vocalist with ten albums under her belt, starting in 2014.
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- Simone Simons (Epica) – Simone is a Dutch singer and long-time singer of the symphonic power metal band Epica. She puts on an unbelievable live show and is an amazing person to meet. I instantly became a fan when I first listened to her back in 2007. She is considered a favorite for many people who love symphonic power metal bands. She has released nine albums with her band, Epica, and has recently released a solo album. She is a mezzo-soprano with quite a wide range.