Editing L7 (band) (section)

==Musical style, influences, and legacy==
L7's sound has been described as "unique and unforgiving, mixing a punk rock attitude with heavy sludge metal."<ref name=":13" /> A 2019 article on L7 in ''[[Alternative Press (magazine)|Alternative Press]]'' stated that "In the early-'90s underground, L7 were positively bulletproof and larger than life. Not as come-hither nymphs or saucy rock star minxes bestowed with privilege but as a hard-rocking unit" that could not be messed with.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.altpress.com/features/l7-scatter-the-rats-interview/|title=L7 Still Kick Ass and Have Good Table Manners 20 Years Later|last=Pettigrew|first=Jason|date=June 12, 2019|work=Alternative Press|access-date=October 8, 2019}}</ref> The band have been categorised as [[alternative metal]],<ref name="basedow">{{cite news |last1=Basedow |first1=Neph |title=14 Notable Female Rock Drummers |url=https://www.houstonpress.com/music/14-notable-female-rock-drummers-6783284 |access-date=23 September 2024 |work=Houston Press |date=17 November 2011}}</ref> [[alternative rock]],<ref name="gcm18">{{cite news |title=L7 Smashes Their Crowdfunding Goal, New Album Incoming |url=https://ghostcultmag.com/l7-smashes-their-crowdfunding-goal-new-album-incoming/ |access-date=23 September 2024 |work=Ghost Cult Magazine |date=31 December 2018}}</ref> [[grunge]],<ref name="virtue15">{{cite news |last1=Virtue |first1=Graeme |title=L7 review – grunge-rockers resurrect their headbanger heaviness |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/16/l7-review-grunge-rock-garage-glasgow |access-date=23 September 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=16 June 2016}}</ref> [[punk metal]]<ref name="perreault">{{cite news |last1=Perreault |first1=Olivia |title=L7 To Release First Album in 20 Years, Currently On World Tour |url=https://www.ticketnews.com/2018/04/l7-to-release-first-album-in-20-years-announces-world-tour/ |access-date=23 September 2024 |work=TicketNews |date=10 April 2018}}</ref> and [[punk rock]].<ref name="pratoam">{{cite web |last1=Prato |first1=Greg |title=L7 Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio and More |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/l7-mn0000100473 |website=AllMusic |access-date=23 September 2024}}</ref> On the metal side of the band's sound, Donita Sparks acknowledged in July 2018 that L7 has metal influences but does not consider the group to be a "metal band", instead stating "at heart, we're punk rockers".<ref name="radius18">{{cite news |last1=Schärer |first1=Milo |title=L7 (USA) interview |url=https://radioradius.ch/l7/ |work=Radio Radius |date=12 July 2018}}</ref>

Aesthetically, their style was subversive with a long-standing resistance to the expectation for girls to be eye-candy. L7 called themselves "slob girls" with ratty hair and clothes and bassist Jennifer Finch frequently performed barefoot onstage.<ref name=":0" /> Sparks summarized "If we were gonna be looked at, we were gonna be thrashin."<ref name=":14" />

A reviewer in 1995 stated that "L7 plays slow-riffing hard rock, fast punk rock and bluesy, catchy midtempo songs: generic forms upgraded by smart lyrics and pure irreverence on stage."<ref name=":15" />

Donita Sparks credits the punk rock bands the [[Ramones]] and the [[Sex Pistols]] as two of her earliest influences, stating of the former that, at age 15, "I was so longing for teenage music, stuff that was fun and carefree and cool. And the Ramones were the whole package", having stated in 1997 that ''[[Rocket to Russia]]'' (1977) was the record that changed her life.<ref name="baltin19">{{cite news |last1=Baltin |first1=Steve |title=Who I Am: L7's Donita Spraks On Ramones, Beach Boys, Andy Warhol, More |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevebaltin/2019/05/13/who-i-am-l7s-donita-spraks-on-ramones-beach-boys-andy-warhol-more/ |access-date=23 September 2024 |work=Forbes |date=17 May 2019}}</ref><ref name="hamilton97">{{cite magazine |last1=Hamilton |first1=Jill |title=Q&A: Donita Sparks of L7 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/qa-donita-sparks-of-l7-238360/ |access-date=23 September 2024 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=1 May 1997|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200831112742/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/qa-donita-sparks-of-l7-238360/ |archive-date=August 31, 2020 }}</ref> Sparks has also noted 1960s [[surf music|surf]] music, namely [[the Beach Boys]], [[Dick Dale]] and [[the Ventures]], as a key influence, describing it as her "siren song" to move to Los Angeles in the 1980s. The band also draw heavily from female-fronted 1970s and 1980s punk and [[New wave music|new wave]] acts (see [[women in punk rock]]) including [[The B-52s|the B-52's]], [[Blondie (band)|Blondie]] and [[Frightwig]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name="hamilton97" /> [[Suzi Gardner]], more so than Sparks, was influenced by [[blues]]-based 1970s rock and early metal acts, such as [[Black Sabbath]], [[Deep Purple]], [[Hawkwind]] and [[Led Zeppelin]].<ref name="amnp23">{{cite news |title=Interview with Donita Sparks from L7 |work=Amnplify Australia |date=December 2023}}</ref><ref name="globe97">{{cite news |title=Interview with Suzi Gardner guitarist & singer of the rock group L7 |work=Punk Globe Magazine |date=21 January 1997}}</ref> Other influences on members of the band include [[ABBA]],<ref name="punkglobe09">{{cite news |last1=Ozgur |first1=Cokyuce |title=Donita Sparks Interview 2009 |work=Punk Globe Magazine |date=January 2009}}</ref> [[AC/DC]],<ref name="SPIN93">{{cite news |title=L7: Our 1993 Cover Story |work=SPIN Magazine |date=July 1993}}</ref> [[The Beatles]],<ref name="pelser">{{cite news |last1=Pelser |first1=Deb |title=Meet: We Chat to L7's Donita Sparks about the band's upcoming tour of Australia |url=https://www.backseatmafia.com/meet-we-chat-to-l7s-donita-sparks-about-the-bands-upcoming-tour-of-australia/ |access-date=23 September 2024 |work=Backseat Mafia |date=15 August 2023}}</ref> [[David Bowie]],<ref name="hamilton97" /> [[Patsy Cline]],<ref name="SPIN93" /> [[Elvis Costello]],<ref name="punkglobe09" /> [[the Cramps]],<ref name="SPIN93" /> [[Arethra Franklin]],<ref name="SPIN93" /> [[the Gap Band]],<ref name="punkglobe09" /> [[Kraftwerk]],<ref name="punkglobe09" /> [[Motörhead]],<ref name="globe97" /> [[Ohio Players]],<ref name="punkglobe09" />  [[Yoko Ono]], [[Iggy Pop]] and [[the Stooges]],<ref name="punkglobe09" /> [[Lou Reed]], [[the Rolling Stones]],<ref name="pelser" /> [[Roxy Music]],<ref name="hamilton97" /> and [[Sha Na Na]].<ref name="hamilton97" />

[[The Prodigy]] covered the ''[[Hungry for Stink]]'' track "Fuel My Fire" on their 1997 album ''[[The Fat of the Land]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/fzvr/|title=The Prodigy: Fat Of The Land Review|last=Pattison|first=Louis|date=2008|work=BBC|access-date=September 16, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.spin.com/2017/04/prodigy-fat-of-the-land-review/|title=Review: Prodigy – Fat of the Land|last=Weisbard|first=Eric|date=2017|work=Spin|access-date=September 15, 2019}}</ref> In 2015, ''Spin'' listed ''Bricks Are Heavy'' as number 249 on their list of the top 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985–2014).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.spin.com/2015/05/the-300-best-albums-of-the-past-30-years-1985-2014/|title=The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985-2014)|date=May 11, 2015|work=Spin|access-date=October 7, 2019}}</ref> ''[[Decibel (magazine)|Decibel]]'' ranked the songs from L7's ''Bricks Are Heavy'' as part of their Hall of Fame Countdown in 2016.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2016/06/09/hall-of-fame-countdown-l7-s-bricks-are-heavy/|title=Hall of Fame Countdown: L7's Bricks Are Heavy|last=Solis|first=Matt|date=June 9, 2016|work=Decibel|access-date=October 7, 2019}}</ref> In 2016, ''[[Ugly Things]]'' ranked ''Smell the Magic'' at number 24 on a list of the top 40 punk albums of all-time.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://ugly-things.com/cleaning-up-the-puke-stain-a-response-to-rolling-stones-punk-top-40-list/|title=Cleaning Up the Puke Stain: A Response to Rolling Stone's Punk Top 40 List|work=Ugly Things|access-date=September 21, 2023}}</ref> In 2017, ''Metal Injection'' ranked L7 at number 7 on their list of "10 Heaviest Grunge Bands".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.metalinjection.net/lists/10-heaviest-grunge-bands|title=10 Heaviest Grunge Bands|work=Metal Injection|access-date=June 16, 2017}}</ref>

The band was listed by ''Kerrang!'' in 2019 as one of "Ten Bands No One Expected to be So Influential Today."<ref name=":17">{{Cite news|url=https://www.kerrang.com/features/10-bands-no-one-expected-to-be-so-influential-today/|title=10 Bands No One Expected to be So Influential Today|last=Krovatin and Alex Brown|first=Chris|date=June 2, 2019|work=Kerrang!|access-date=October 10, 2019}}</ref> The group was described as "one of rock’s most volatile and respected acts. Predictable on paper, anything but on stage".<ref name=":17" />