Doro Credit: Tim Tronkoe

German-born metal vocalist Doro Pesch, who now divides her time between New York and her native Düsseldorf, became the front woman of Warlock in 1983, at which point she was one of the very few prominent women in metal. (Thankfully the floodgates have opened since then!). Doro’s career has held strong, and whether the straightforward traditional sound she loyally sticks to is in fashion or not, respect is due. Six years passed between 2012’s Raise Your Fist and last year’s long, generous double CD Forever Warriors, Forever United. It’s 25 tracks of what her fans want: fist-pumping rockers and gloriously unironic power ballads, with the occasional star duet (in this case, with Johan Hegg of Amon Amarth; other guests include German comedian and jazz musician Helge Schneider and Whitesnake and Dio guitarist Doug Aldrich). Doro has said in interviews that she drew much of the emotional energy behind this album from the death in late 2015 of her close friend and favorite duet partner, Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead. The song “Living Life to the Fullest” is his official Valhalla send-off—and Doro’s striking delivery can give even the reaper’s hoofbeats a highly motivational quality.   v