Lets talk about Metal vocals for a sec.

Yngwie 4String · #1 10-28-2007, 02:20 AM

Ive always been interested in Black Metal and Death Metal as such Ive actually come to before shrieks screams and growls over clean vocals. I think that especially in Heavy Metal/Hard Rock it makes more since to have harsh vocals to fit the music. For example Im a big Chris Barnes fan, and not some much into James Labrie. Clean vocals seem out of place to me in this style. However I will admit there are some clean metal vocalists; Bruce Dickenson, Rob Halford, and Dio for example that are awesome. Im probably the oddball here as usual but its a good topic. So lets hear your opinions.

**Rune Bivrin** · #2 10-28-2007, 02:52 AM

Most of them make me prefer my vacuum cleaner. Both suck, but one has a positive side effect.

ROON · #3 10-28-2007, 04:51 AM

Phil Anselmo is the perfect mix of growl and clean. I think its perfect.
It's not cookie monter, and it's not pussy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Km8xIs24UeY

But, some death metal is pure kick ass. I'm more for melodic death metal like Arch Enemy... Angela Gossow is heavy as **** but somehow there is melody in there, love it. John Tardy is cool too;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9AcG0glVu4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8-J4hL7iDM

I'm not a big fan of black metal stuff, but I love Finntroll who have pretty blackish sounding vocals. Celtic Frost also have great vocals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3u86DPd7qc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjcGtX00WD8

I LOVE Tony Kakko, he is my favourite vocalist and musician of all time. He can actually do some pretty good death grunts, there are a few occasions where he has let a few rip, but overall, power metal is about being clean and high.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGz1f0mngsQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3p22-_IOQs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1zkXdqcajk

m3t4lhed · #4 10-28-2007, 06:26 AM

i think nergal has the best vocals for extreme metal but i guess its heavily effected (is this the right word?)

MoD_Scotty · #5 10-28-2007, 12:20 PM

I used to prefer cleaner vocals, stuff like Ozzy, Dave Mustaine, etc. Then I got into Sepultura, Obituary, etc...and there's been no turning back. I'm even really diggin the pig squeal sound that some death metal bands are doing now.

Check out Despised Icon. They have two vocalists, so there's a ton of different types of metal vocals going on in each song. If you listen to the song "In the Arms of Perdition," they do the squeal thing at the very end.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...iendID=4993180

Also, for a good mix of clean and growl vocals, check out Killswitch Engage, or Opeth.

fenderhutz · #6 10-28-2007, 12:28 PM

I can't stand the Cryptkeeper/Wicked Witch style vocals. I have to actual turn off XM liquid metal if a song comes on with those.

I like the growly and clean stuff though.

StanFan · #7 10-28-2007, 12:57 PM

Sometimes I go through phases where I only listen to metal with clean vocals, and some phases where I only listen to death/black metal vocals. Lately I've been into Ray Alder's vocals (from Fates Warning). Haven't listened to growly vocal stuff lately. Than there are days when I want to hear agressive metal music without the interference of voclas, so I'll throw on the latest Behold ... The Arctopus album.

MaskedJackal · #8 10-28-2007, 01:03 PM

Jeff Walker and Bill Steer from Carcass...best extreme vocal tag team ever.

Mike Akerfeldt, duh.

Agalloch's John Haughm also excels at doing singing as well as harsher styles.

AdamR · #9 10-28-2007, 01:06 PM

I like a good mix, Someone that can scream when its needed but knows when to sing. Phil Anselmo, is great but I think Chad Gray is my favorite at the moment.

Most death metal bands drive me insane. I love a lot of the music but the vocal ruin it for me. Cannibal Corps and Suffocation come to mind.

MysticMichael · #10 10-28-2007, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yngwie 4String

Lets talk about Metal vocals for a sec.

OK, that's it: Time's up...

MM

tycobb73 · #11 10-28-2007, 02:11 PM

Cookie monster vocals make the music sound comic bookish. What's the point if you can't tell what the lyrics are saying? I might as well scream and growl anything.

**Rune Bivrin** · #12 10-28-2007, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tycobb73

Cookie monster vocals make the music sound comic bookish. What's the point if you can't tell what the lyrics are saying? I might as well scream and growl anything.

Well, I sound pretty much like that when I'm badly constipated. I guess that's a clue to where much of the lyrics are written...

Foxworthy925 · #13 10-28-2007, 02:47 PM

I usually keep an open mind for this kind of music. I love melodic death metal. Some technical death metal is great imo, but lot of it just gets on my nerves. Example: I like a lot of Necrophagist songs, but some just are annoying imo.

My favorite death metal band would have to be Opeth. Very melodic, and a great use of death metal vocals. Some is very heavy and great, some is extremely chill acoustic stuff with a clean voice. Great music all around.

Another band which I recently discovered/got into is Gojira. I don't know what kind of music to really classify it as, but just very heavy, very good metal. Not exactly death metal vocals, but deffinitely not clean. Great stuff.

I've been listening to Mastodon for a while, but they still are one of my favorite bands. Deffinitely not death metal- they're just like proggressive metal. I don't know how to describe them better than that. Some harsh vocals, some very clean.

MoD_Scotty · #14 10-28-2007, 04:06 PM

I think Foxworthy and I have pretty similar tastes in metal. I just saw Gojira with Behemoth, Job For a Cowboy, and Beneath the Massacre....and Gojira was awesome. It's hard to explain the Gojira vocal style...kind of like early 90's thrash. Good stuff. Now that I think about it....his vocals sound a lot like Meshuggah...another awesome band.

KeithBMI · #15 10-28-2007, 04:23 PM

Clean vocals. Anything else just makes me laugh.

Mitchell Royce · #16 10-28-2007, 04:26 PM

I've been really into High on Fire and the vocals are perfectly suited to that type of music.

theshadow2001 · #17 10-28-2007, 04:51 PM

what I want to know is how these guys can "sing" like this, for however long their shows last for how many nights they play a week and not destroy their voices.

Earwaxsculptor · #18 10-28-2007, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theshadow2001

what I want to know is how these guys can "sing" like this, for however long their shows last for how many nights they play a week and not destroy their voices.

Sadly, a lot of them do develop pollups on their vocal chords down the line. Also, I find the vast majority do not sound anything like the CD they put out when you see them live.

MoD_Scotty · #19 10-28-2007, 06:22 PM

My singer can pull it off. He's had a lot of training, and I think that helps. He even throws in a little opera stuff in one of our songs, and has no trouble switching from growls/screams to normal singing and back.

Musiclogic · #20 10-29-2007, 10:13 AM

I have to vote for clean, with good dramaticism. Cookie Monster, witch screams, and such are garbage sounding. I want to hear the words, and have them conveyed in a sense of more than just monotone grunts, growls, and screams.

It's all personal preference.