Butcher Babies Heidi feels shunned by metal elitists

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By ( Metal Hammer ) published

Singer says some sections of the scene have turned their noses up at her band

Butcher Babies vocalist Heidi Shepherd says she feels shunned by some sections of the metal community.

She says she’s surprised to find that some of the same people who initially welcomed her and fellow singer Carla Harvey into the fold have since questioned her authenticity as a metal artist.

She tells the Houston Press: “A lot of metal elitists say stuff like, ‘Look at her. She doesn’t belong in metal. Look at her. She didn’t grow up on metal. She couldn’t possibly like metal because of the way she looks.’

“That’s interesting because this was the exact same people who accepted me. I really think it’s just this attitude, if you don’t have a ton of tattoos, you don’t belong in metal. Or if you’re a girl, you don’t belong in metal.

“I don’t know what girls are supposed to look like in metal, but I guess I don’t care what they’re supposed to look like either. It’s just really interesting to me that the same people who took me in are trying to push me out.”

Shepherd previously told how the backlash from the rock scene only drives her and Harvey to achieve their goals.

Butcher Babies released their second album Take It Like A Man in August. They’re currently on the road in North America and will tour the US early next year with Cradle Of Filth.

Stef Lach

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.