Metal Queen DORO Talks ‘Hero’ DIO and The Hounds of Hellfire

The Queen of Metal

For more than a quarter century Doro Pesch has been the reigning Queen of Heavy Metal. From her early days fronting Warlock, to more than two decades with her own band, Doro has paved the way for women in hard rock and metal, and she’s done it simply by being who she is. This is why she continues to make Metalholic’s Top 25 Women in Hard Rock and Metal every year. There is no slowing her down.

This week finds Doro reading for the 22nd year of the Wacken  Open Air Festival, an event she wrote the 20th anniversary anthem for two years ago. This summer she will be releasing in America, last year’s 25th Anniversary CD/DVD Set, 25 Years In Rock. This will be marked by two special release party concerts here in the states (New York and Chicago) on September 9th and 11th, which like many of her shows will feature special guest appearances (Accept, Symphony X…).

Her summer will be filled with numerous festival dates overseas and time in the studio finishing up her 17th album, which she hopes to release next spring. While there is no title yet she is considering “Hounds of Hellfire”, a lyric from what she hopes will be the first single, “Raise Your Fist”. This is an anthemic song she plans to play at Wacken this weekend, and is also in consideration as the album title.

In preparation for her busy summer, Doro took the time to give us a call and update us on her recent performances filling in for Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens and Dio’s Disciples in Spain. We talked about her new song “Hero” which she wrote in honor of Ronnie James Dio. We also spoke about the 25 Years in Rock release, her impact on women in metal, her appearance on the recent Krypteria and Saltatio Mortis albums, and much more.