Astarte

Astarte, whose music is best described as black metal with overtones of goth metal at times, are a rarity: an extreme metal band that has had all-female lineups. Extreme metal, which includes death metal and black metal as well as metalcore, has been very male-dominated; the vast majority of extreme metal bands in the United States and Europe have never had any female members. But Astarte are an exception to that rule, and they are also one of the more melodic bands in black metal. While many black metal (and death metal) bands have favored brutality and harshness for the sake of brutality and harshness, Astarte have offered a more musical and nuanced approach; their work is intense, hard-driving, and forceful, but not without a strong sense of melody and harmony