Germany’s Doro proves she’s still metal’s queen

The 1980s spawned hundreds of metal bands, but few of those featured female players. So when German singer Doro Pesch and her band Warlock appeared on MTV’s “Headbanger’s Ball” in 1987 amid the Testaments, Judas Priests, and Megadeths, she was a revelation.

She wore head-to-toe leather, but her hair wasn’t teased to the heavens and she didn’t dance around in bikinis or lingerie to sell her music.

Maybe that’s the reason she never encountered resistance among peers or fans, despite working in a male-dominated industry.

“Over the last 30 years, there was never anything strange or bad happening. I was treated so good and supported,” says Doro, who will perform at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Amos’ Southend (details and tickets: www.amossouthend.com).

Now 51, Doro is considered the Queen of Metal, and remains a big draw in Europe. She divides her time between New York’s Long Island – where she’s lived off and on since the ’80s – and her hometown of Dusseldorf.

Her East Coast trek marks a rare trip to markets she hasn’t visited in years, and she promises to dig through her back catalog to appease old fans.

“Metal is on the rise, which makes me so happy. When grunge was getting bigger and metal was getting smaller. ... It was tough to survive.”

This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 3:12 PM with the headline "Germany’s Doro proves she’s still metal’s queen."