Doro Pesch says she never thought of herself as one of the few women in metal – insisting it was difficult enough just to convince people to accept the genre as a whole.
The singer is celebrating 30 years in the business, and will release a live DVD package later this year. And she says she experienced nothing but support from her colleagues and from other artists from day one.
Doro tells Phoenix New Times: “People might’ve thought it was crazy or different, a woman in heavy metal, but I never felt different. I think you had to fight more for your music – you had to fight more to do heavy metal.
“Because in the beginning with metal, it wasn’t accepted as a whole. So you had to really work your ass off, work 10 times more, to make other people feel like metal is something really beautiful.
“So, as a metalhead, I had more issues in the beginning just having people accept metal in general. Metal has so much power and soul. It’s about fighting for your music, to fight for heavy metal. That was way more difficult than fighting to be a woman in the genre.”
While other women, such as Amaranthe’ Elize Ryd, have had to deal with sexism in the world of metal, Doro has nothing but fond memories.
She adds: “I had a great connection to the art and to the fans. To me, in metal, it doesn’t matter if you’re a woman or man – music isn’t about that. So I never felt like I got negative feedback or feelings. I was just Doro.
“Everyone was so supportive, especially my other musicians or bands on tours, whether it was the legendary Judas Priest or the greatly loved and missed Ronnie James Dio and WASP — we just had so many excellent tours and everyone was so nice and respectful.”
