Who is (or what band has) your favorite harsh vocalist?
By Metallideth
@Metallideth (572)
United States
May 1, 2007 10:52pm CST
What I'm referring to here is something like a death metal singer (or "growler," lol) or someething like that, not all vocals (if it were about all vocals in general then I'd go with Metallica's James Hetfield). I'm talking about bands that scream, growl, shriek, or whatever else you can think of to call it.
I don't know if I can pick one favorite. I have to mention Alexi Laiho (Children of Bodom), Jari Maenpaa (formerly of Ensiferum, now in Wintersun, and sorry for no umlauts on his name, I'm feeling lazy, lol), and Dan Swano is also pretty cool (from a bunch of bands, like Edge of Sanity).
This discussion doesn't have to be limited to death metal and that sort of thing, any sort of screaming counts, (yes, even hardcore, I suppose, lol) so I'll also mention Phil Anselmo (of Pantera fame, but in other bands now).
2 people like this
6 responses
@laridbz (1280)
• China
25 May 07
I don't know much about metal. Although I like Metallica very much, as you already know.
And yes, I think this sort of vocals are horrible, but at times it might fit a song or even the style of a singer.
I like very much a guy called Max Cavalera. If you're a fan of this sort of music, you might have heard of him before. He is Brazilian, and I know him for a long time, when he used to be the lead singer of Sepultura.
I don't really like the style, but for some reason Sepultura's songs sounded pretty cool to me.
@Metallideth (572)
• United States
19 Jun 07
Max Cavalera is awesome. I love Sepultura's stuff from when Max was in the band and I like his current band, Soulfly as well. He does have an extreme/harsh vocal style, but it's got a very raw and primal quality to it that I think is a big attraction for many people. His vocals don't sound forced or like he's trying too hard to be mean or evil. He just says what he wants to say (many of his songs have some kind of message or purpose to them, or so I've heard) and it has a very "real" quality to it that I like.
1 person likes this
@Metallideth (572)
• United States
21 Jun 07
That name seems really familiar, but I'm not sure who he is. What band is he in?
1 person likes this
@Zalvor (727)
• Turkey
8 Jun 07
Phil Anselmo is a great vocalist and I like some Pantera stuff. But Jeff Walker of Carcass came to my mind. Actually I like Phil Anselmo better, because I prefer his high pitched singing, he's quite a bit influenced by Rob Halford whom I like also. But as for growling, Jeff just fits the genre, he describes the genre for me. Carcass also used to do some good metal music. I used to listen to Heartwork album, but I'm not really a fan of the genre. Too loud for me.
@Metallideth (572)
• United States
19 Jun 07
I also love Phil Anselmo's vocals. It's funny, but they've really changed a lot since his early Pantera stuff. If you listen to Cowboys From Hell and then listen to something like Reinventing the Steel or The Great Southern Trendkill, he doesn't show his Halford influence hardly at all, leaning toward a more raw and uncontrolled sound. I think I liked his vocals best on Vulgar Display of Power. I don't think he did any really high falsetto stuff like he did on CFH, and he did scream a lot more, similar to his later albums, but there was a good balance there and I like how it was still controlled and he enunciated as well as he did on CFH.
You know what, I've heard of Carcass before, but I don't think I've ever listened to 'em. I think I'll get that Heartwork album and give it a spin.
@Ericsson73 (41)
• United States
17 Aug 07
Hmm, no mention of Mushroomhead yet, so I'll chime in.
Two vocalists, one harsh, one clean. The original harsh vocalist, JMann (Jason Popson) has an awesome voice. He left the group due to personal issues, and helped them find his replacement, Waylon. Waylon also has a great screaming vocal style.
I hate myspace, but it's the only place to hear Jason Popson in his new band, Pitch Black Forecast - http://www.myspace.com/pitchblackforecast
Check 'em out! Gene Hoglan (Dark Angel, Strapping Young Lad, etc.) is on the drums - badass.
@doomed1 (119)
• Canada
20 May 08
There are 2 vocalists I really like.
Johan Hegg of Amon Amarth. I think his vocals are amazing. The growls are clear yet still maintain brutality. The "viking scream" he uses on songs like Without fear is also amazing and innovative.
Ross Dolan of Immolation. His deep voice is amazing because it is still understandable. It is not monotone and somehow catchy at times.
As you may have deduced from those two, I don't particularly like vocalists that are incomprehensible. I prefer clarity while still retaining power.
@skallagrim (56)
• United States
2 Aug 08
king diamond--he can do falsetto and cookie monster!
chris barnes--ex cannibal corpse, six feet under
grutle kjellson--enslaved
shagrath--dimmu borgir
tom araya--slayer
ics vortex--ex borknagar, dimmu borgir
galder--old man's child
