In many ways, 2012 could be called the Year of the Woman in hard rock and metal. In genres of music that have long-been male dominated, a handful of female-fronted acts stole the show this year, making the Rock Goddess of the Year an especially intriguing category in the 2012 Loudwire Music Awards. The women below are some of rock music’s most respected artists and front some of rock’s most popular and critically acclaimed bands. Last year’s winner, Sharon Den Adel, has been left off this year’s ballot, as 2012 was a relatively quiet year for her band Within Temptation. That leaves it open for a new artist to claim the coveted crown of Rock Goddess of the Year. Check out the seven nominees below and be sure to vote in the poll below: ? Amy Lee, Evanescence After returning to the scene in 2011 with their self-titled third album, Evanescence traveled the world in 2012 to support the effort. In addition to touring overseas in the first half of the year, the band headlined the Carnival of Madness tour in the United States over the summer. All the while, the band was led by the ethereal and beautiful voice of Amy Lee . ? Angela Gossow, Arch Enemy Arch Enemy toured the world in 2012 in support of their 2011 album, ‘Khaos Legions,’ as frontwoman Angela Gossow led the charge. The band filmed their fall 2012 Latin America tour for an upcoming 2013 DVD. With a combination of beautiful looks and brutal vocals, Gossow has been leading the Swedish death metal band since 2000. ? Cristina Scabbia, Lacuna Coil Lacuna Coil unleashed one of the best albums of 2012 with ‘Dark Adrenaline.’ The Italian band joined Megadeth, Motorhead and Volbeat on the 2012 Gigantour. With a stunning voice and gorgeous looks, the band’s co-vocalist Cristina Scabbia is among the finest female singers in rock or metal. Catch Lacuna Coil on tour with Sevendust in 2013. ? Emily Armstrong, Dead Sara Dead Sara were one of the breakout bands of the year, topping our list of the Best Rock Songs of 2012 with their powerful single ‘Weatherman’ off their self-titled debut disc. As the Los Angeles act’s frontwoman, Emily Armstrong’s powerful vocals are only matched by her uninhibited stage presence. Catch Dead Sara on tour in 2013 with Muse. ? Jill Janus, Huntress Los Angeles heavy metallers Huntress delivered their debut album, ‘Spell Eater,’ in 2012, led by the seductive and talented Jill Janus . The singer describes the band’s music as ‘vicious but melodic,’ and plans on ‘conquering the world one metalhead at a time.’ Huntress toured relentlessly in 2012, and have signed on for some major 2013 festivals. ? Lzzy Hale, Halestorm Did anyone on this list have a better year than Lzzy Hale ? Her band Halestorm became the first female-fronted act to top the Active Rock chart with their single ‘Love Bites (So Do I),’ off their 2012 album ‘The Strange Case Of …’ In addition, the lovely Lzzy & co. toured nonstop in 2012, including stints on the Mass Chaos and Carnival of Madness treks. ? Maria Brink, In This Moment In This Moment unleashed their latest album, ‘Blood,’ in August, and have since taken the world by storm. Led by sultry singer Maria Brink , the band scored a Top 10 rock single with the disc’s title track, which was accompanied by a seductively stunning video. Maria & co. were also one of the standout acts on the 2012 Uproar Festival tour. ? ? Voting for the 2012 Loudwire Music Awards closes on Jan. 15 at 11:59 PM EST. Fans can vote once per hour, so keep coming back to make sure your favorite band wins! Sorry, you need to have javascript running to see this poll. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/rock-titan-of-the-year-2012-loudwire-music-awards” title=”Next: Vote for Rock Titan of the Year” align=”center”] Get Notified When Winners Are Announced Enter your email address below to receive the daily Loudwire newsletter, which will include notification of our full list of winners in the 2012 Loudwire Music Awards, as well as the top stories in rock and metal. Email