1) Gender: female
2) What are your favourite metal bands and why?
I enjoy almost all genres of metal except brutal death and grindcore. My
last.fm gives a better idea, but here are a few select ones.
Candlemass - While Messiah Marcolin is not the end all, be all of this band. His operatic voice was the hook which drew me in. I find the mix of operatic vocals (not just his but Robert and Johan as well) and heavy doom to be spectacular.
Enslaved - Even early on, they stood apart from others in the Norwegian scene. Vikingligr Veldi was incredibly raw and epic, capturing that elusive viking feel and yet still keeping the music tastefully black metal. Newer material shows that they are not afraid to experiment while still maintaining musical interest.
Opeth - I come from a prog rock background, worshipping Pink Floyd before finding metal, so it was almost a given I would like them. While some may find the meandering song structures hard to follow, I enjoy the metamorphoses within each song.
Burzum - While musically simple, the minimalistic black metal riffs creates a captivating, melancholic atmosphere. A perfect example of that can be found in En Ring Til Å Herske.
Negura Bunget - I am blown away by their breathtakingly epic black metal with folk instruments thrown in. Spirituality and nature are perfectly conveyed through Negura Bunget's music.
3) How do you feel you fit into the metal subculture? For example, do you go to gigs? Play in a band? Participate in the metal community/fanzines? Or just listen to it at home?
In addition to listening at home and going to gigs, I've hosted a metal radio show at my college for 3 years. I collaborated with Bruce of Whiplashtv.com doing a bit of reviewing and concert photography, before he sadly ended the show.
4) How would you describe the way you dress? Is it similar to what people tend to perceive as a typical metal fan?
Casual dress will be jeans and a long sleeve (not band) shirt of solid and neutral color. Occasionally, I wear a nice skirt and sweater or blouse. I do not look like a metal fan. Most people are unaware of my music tastes and I do not bother to inform them.
5) Why do you think there is a female fanbase for the metal genre, taking into consideration its masculine attributes and relative scale of male musicianship (next to many other popular genres)?
Females are not aggressive creatures and generally do not go looking for aggressive music to listen to (I assume this has something to do with testosterone levels). I find that many female fans tend to gravitate toward artists such as Katatonia, Children of Bodom, HIM, and Nightwish (ugh). However, my assumption is that they are attracted the softer melodies of these bands (or "hot" Ville/Alexi) more so than identifying with female role models. Perhaps that is not entirely true, but I listen to bands for the music; and a set of breasts won't change my opinion one way or the other. That said, I've had the pleasure of meeting several women who are wonderfully educated in artists such as Immolation, Bathory, even Demilich, who don't meet that stereotype of the female metalhead.
my $.02