On a recent episode of Knotfest‘s “She’s With The Band“—a show hosted by Tori Kravitz that highlights the voices of women on stage, behind the scenes, and throughout the industry—COAL CHAMBER bassist Nadja Peulen discussed her feelings about being labeled one of the “hottest women in metal” in the late 1990s and early 2000s, after joining Dez Fafara’s band as a replacement for Rayna Foss.
“I didn’t mind. [Laughs] Yeah, I mean, it’s a compliment,” she said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “I think as a woman, you kind of — how do I say this? — as women, most of the time we get a lot of attention anyway, and then being on stage, whether it’s with music, acting, comedy, modeling, whatever, it just amplifies the whole thing. And sometimes it’d be a little embarrassing too.
“I remember I had to announce SLIPKNOT at the Kerrang! Awards, [in], I don’t know, 2002 or something, and when they announced me to come on stage to introduce them, they did the whole ‘hot woman’ thing and it really — at that moment, I was, like, ‘Oh, no. This is so embarrassing.’ It’s, like, ‘Is this all I’m known for?’ And so I had to go on stage and introduce them, and I lost my voice. I got really nervous and uncomfortable about it. But at the end of the day, it’s a compliment. So I don’t mind it at all.”
When asked if she felt like an outlier in the male-dominated metal scene, Nadja replied: “Yeah, I don’t know really what I was thinking at the time, to be honest. It’s interesting, ’cause now people look differently at all that kind of stuff, and the whole sexist thing comes out. It’s never really been — I don’t know — it never really fazed me that much, to be honest. I never really had that many issues with any of that. People left me alone most of the time. I had really no issues. But it’s also, like, I know how to stand up for myself. I think I also give off a certain energy of ‘don’t f*k with me.’ … So, I guess, honestly, I never really had any problems. And, yeah, I took it as a compliment. It’s nice. Sometimes it was a bit uncomfortable. It was, like, ‘Okay.’ But, nah, in general, I’m okay with it.”
Nadja Peulen first joined COAL CHAMBER in 2002, stepping in for Rayna Foss, who departed to focus on motherhood.
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