As a female musician in the rock/punk/metal scene I've played alongside countless all-male bands, and time and time again been made to feel like I don't belong in this space.

I would love to see more women in this scene, but it's only going to happen through representation and visibility. With that in mind, I want to share some of my favourite inspirational 'women who rock' with the Coven so we can smash some stereotypes and show the world that women belong in this space.

Leah Wellbaum – Slothrust

Leah fronts Slothrust, a fun and feisty alt-rock trio. She's a really unique vocalist, a killer guitarist and emits so much positive energy. As a queer woman she's an LGBTQ advocate, and it was her thoughts around why women aren't encouraged to be loud that inspired this post. Oh, and she often uses a bubble machine on stage too.

Slothrust - Planetarium

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Ren Aldridge – Petrol Girls

Petrol Girls were formed by Ren and her friend Liepa (who had never played an instrument before) at a house party to celebrate International Women's Day. Ren sings, shouts and screams about women's rights and fighting the patriarchy. As a punk band they're loud, angry and completely unapologetic. If you want to make your male friends kinda uncomfortable on a long road trip, stick on a Petrol Girls album!

Petrol Girls - Baby, I Had An Abortion

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Amy, Alex, Alisha & Annabelle – Witch Fever

Witch Fever are a grungy, sludgy punk band, like the evil offspring of Black Sabbath and Nirvana. Their debut album takes aim at religion, inequality and patriarchal oppression. Witches tackling the patriarchy – wonder where they got that idea?

Witch Fever – Blessed Be Thy (and a whole live set!)

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Stefanie Mannaerts – Brutus

Stefanie sings and drums in the band Brutus, who are hard to define, but fall somewhere under the broad genre of post-hardcore. Did I mentioned she sings and drums? Yeah, at the same time. Seriously, watch this video and try not to be impressed!

Brutus – War

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Alex Williams – A.A. Williams

A classically trained musician who ditched the cello for a Gibson Explorer! She has one of the most hauntingly beautiful voices you'll ever hear. Her style is mainly post-rock, with building crescendos and dark melodies, the kind of music that gives you goose bumps every time you hear it.

A.A. Williams – Melt

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Courtney Swain & Jessica Kion – Bent Knee

Prog Rock, the final frontier! Possibly the genre with the most hair, yet the least number of female participants. But here's a prog band featuring not one but two awesome women! Band co-founder and vocalist/keyboardist Courtney Swain is an incredible talent, her vocal range is insane. Unfortunately bassist Jessica Kion is no longer in the band, but she's been a big part of Bent Knee's success right from their inception. This band is incredible!

Bent Knee – Belly Side Up

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Watching these videos of women performing their music like they truly belong in this space gives me the warmest feeling inside. I know how hard these women will have had to fight to get to where they are, but the more visibility they get from both men and women, the easier it will become for more talented women to make some fucking noise!

There's obviously loads of awesome women that I've not included, so Coven, share with me the women in rock that inspire you. Let's make sure they get heard!