Transfigurations of the Emploi and Artistic Manifestations of Female (Heavy) Metal Singers

Abstract

The studies of (heavy) metal culture, the oeuvre of female artists, singers, lyricists, etc., still await in-depth interdisciplinary research endeavours. This article devoted special attention to female artists whose artistic, stage and image activities largely employ strategies of provocation, scandalisation, “ceremonial profanation.” When it comes to image (self)creation, an interesting category is the process of variability and fluidity of the emploi, especially in relation to subversive and transgressional activities. Wendy Orlean Williams, Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey from Butcher Babies discussed here have aroused frequent controversies in their activity in the patriarchal system of popular culture. The subversive artistic and image strategies used by the singers are nevertheless a part of the over fifty-years-long history and aesthetics of metal culture. The oeuvre of the Californian band forms an evident dialogue with the provocative art of the eccentric singer Williams. The colourful artistic emploi of those female artists attests to the diversity and complexity of metal culture.