Is this as totally wrong as I think it is?
 

One of those "not sure where to stick this" threads.

I somehow got dragged into playing a gig doing live music for a silent horror movie from 2005. The drummer's telling me I should play mostly drones and also do scary black metal vocals. But isn't doing any kind of vocals just totally missing the point of doing a silent movie? I mean, that seems as wrong as saying all the lines of dialogue, too.

Yep, that is why it is called a silent movie. The music is suppose to set the mood of the movie.

Maybe he meant just growling "uuh" not words. Probably just pretty subtle just to create a little bit more atmosphere. Just a thought.

Yeah, not words. But to me any human voice seems totally wrong, whether there are words involved or not.

It's ART man!!! Unfortunately, I don't know from art..........

In silent movies, the music is to set the atmosphere and heighten the mood at select spots. I'd say there's nothing wrong per se about using your voice, as long as it's done selectively and sparingly.


Try watching some old silent films to get an idea of what you should do.
Anything by Fritz Lang (e.g. Metropolis) or starring Lon Chaney (e.g. The Phantom of the Opera) would be good.

Well the human voice is an instrument - well pretty close. Extremely flexible in some - and able to produce far more than words. Depending on the film you could go from merry whistling to death metal grunting, retching roaring and the like - to cover a wide variety of effects. I'd imagine there are more than a few ways to choreograph a scene with a mix of instrumental and vocal effects that would intrigue and immerse an audience. Oh and enjoy yourself immensely!

In Black Metal, the vocals are about texture, not words. Perhaps that is what he was trying to get across. He wants that raspy texture. Same could be accomplished by cutting bass and mid and boosting treble on the rhythm guitar, a la NIN's remix of Symphony of Destruction (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBzZvitd46g).

Maybe a better question would be: will it offend some silent movie purists in the audience? I got no clue.