# Bands that you wish had different vocalists.....



## wowspare (Apr 11, 2014)

BTBAM - I don't really like their music to begin with, but The Great Misdirect and Parallax sort of clicked with me, but ultimately the vocals turned me off, couldn't take the whiny-ness

Periphery (and pretty much every other djent band) - Their whiny vocals is another turn off. I do like some instrumental stuff that they produce every now and then

Trivium - There's just something about Matt Heafy's voice that sounds like he's trying to sound different from what he would normally sound like. Can't really describe it, it's a shame since Crusade and Shogun were such masterpieces

Coheed & Cambria - This one's got to be my personal biggest peeve. It's obvious that they're extremely talented and I love their riffs but Claudio's vocals just ruin it.

You guys got any bands like that?


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## The Mirror (Apr 11, 2014)

A big plus for me on Periphery. Can't get into them because of whiny vocals. I just can't. 

This counts for every metal band out there that makes use of emo vocals. I really don't get how they came to be used by metal bands. Imo it doesn't fit at all.

-------

Megadeth should have hired another singer from the very beginning. Rust in Peace is my favourite Thrash record of the 90s but the vocals still suck very hard. 
I'd love to hear Megadeth with a decent singer.


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## troyguitar (Apr 11, 2014)

Basically every good modern metal band 

and yeah, Megadeth for sure.

For whatever reason vocals tend to be an afterthought in most metal bands, kind of like bass. You get guitarists who have spent years and years playing scales and shit to a metronome, then throw whoever is willing to attempt vocals on top of it... 

Why not get a singer who also practices arpeggios to a metronome for hours and hours?


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## Pat_tct (Apr 11, 2014)

Trivium - as in i want the vocals back from the "ascendency" time
they were just heavier and fitted more imo.

anther one is Arch Enemy. I liked their riffs and everything, but dislikes Angelas vocals.
So I'm stoked for the new record. the new video/song sounded great.

Mastodon - to some extend the vocals bother me. but in some songs i think they are great.


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## groverj3 (Apr 11, 2014)

Megadeth - Dave has his moments, but not that many...

Dream Theater - However, the caveat here is that the only replacement I would be happy with is James Labrie crica 1991 . He's never been the same since the vocal chord injury issue. I'd frankly love to hear them with say... Russell Allen of Symphony X though, just for kicks.


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## TRENCHLORD (Apr 11, 2014)

groverj3 said:


> Megadeth - Dave has his moments, but not that many...


 
They mean a lot to me, but you're right.
Imagine R.I.P. with a forceful grunting style vocalist. (like Chris Barnes without all that goober-hacking crap)


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## BillPark (Apr 11, 2014)

I agree most modern metal bands could use some decent vocals. It was a breath of fresh air when intervals got a singer that had clean vocals with a man's voice.


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## Neilzord (Apr 11, 2014)

BTBAM. 

Love it musically, But the Vocals just kill it for me. His screams sound "hollow and empty" are they the right words to describe it? They feel like the right words.


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## troyguitar (Apr 11, 2014)

TRENCHLORD said:


> Imagine R.I.P. with a forceful grunting style vocalist. (like Chris Barnes without all that goober-hacking crap)









Metal needs more Matt Barlow, Jon Oliva, Russel Allen types - or even people who can sing circles around those guys with actual classical training...

Imagine someone whose singing talent can compare to the guitar talent in these bands. The dude from Necrophagist can shred the shit out of a guitar, why not hire a vocalist who could actually keep up with him?


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## Abaddon9112 (Apr 11, 2014)

Any band with pop punk style whining or generic hardcore yelling. The only two vocal styles I really find hard to listen to.


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## AlejoV (Apr 11, 2014)

Dream Theater : Can't stand LaBrie, since when I hear him, it reminds of a little whiny girl, and I even like Periphery's singer.


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## oracles (Apr 11, 2014)

Nevermore. Incredibly talented band, but Warrell Dane was definitely not the best choice.


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## Vigaren (Apr 11, 2014)

Man I love periphery but Spencer is really annoying specially on their latest efforts. Whats up with he's bluesey vocals? The instrumental stuff in Periphery is the total opposite of blues


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## Nats (Apr 11, 2014)

Animals as leaders.


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## no_dice (Apr 11, 2014)

When Polars first came out, I thought Textures would be better with a new singer, but I was wrong. The original guy gave character and personality to the music, and the new singer made them sound just like other bands.

I think we get caught up in how things are "supposed to sound" and sometimes we don't appreciate when someone has a unique sound.


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## jonajon91 (Apr 11, 2014)

^ needs vocals to start with, that would be cool though.

+1 on BtBaM's screams, I can cope with them for some of a song, but they can't be the main scream/growl. I would love to hear some more full sounding screams from them.


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## Ivars V (Apr 11, 2014)

Limp Bizkit - I dig Borland's riffs, but Fred's lyrics and vocals (aaand his persona) just kill the band for me.


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## SD83 (Apr 11, 2014)

90% of the death metal bands I heard so far. And a lot of "modern metal"/metalcore/deathcore bands with whiny cleans. I tend to forget their names though. 
I have agree with troyguitar, a lot of bands just seem to hire any random friend as a vocalist.


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## TheBloodstained (Apr 11, 2014)

Nevermore
Dream Theater
Mnemic (I don't get along with Guillaume Bideaus vocals)
Fear Factory

...just to mention a few


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## no_dice (Apr 11, 2014)

A lot of people mentioning BTBAM... I'm not sure what happened. When Tommy Rogers was in a metalcore band called From Here On, I thought the vocals on their EP were pretty brutal. 

EDIT: I know they had two singers, but it's pretty easy to spot which vocals were his.


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## lucasreis (Apr 11, 2014)

Meshuggah.

Really. Kidman is great but he makes my ears tired. It's fun for a while, but to listen to his vocals for a whole record makes my head hurt. I would love if Meshuggah had someone like Christian Alvestam for a vocalist. 

Hell, djent only happened because people wanted melodic Meshuggah


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## lucasreis (Apr 11, 2014)

no_dice said:


> A lot of people mentioning BTBAM... I'm not sure what happened. When Tommy Rogers was in a metalcore band called From Here On, I thought the vocals on their EP were pretty brutal.



I just read your comment with Butters' voice in my mind. Awesome!!


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## Triple7 (Apr 11, 2014)

Glass Cloud


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## JustMac (Apr 11, 2014)

Another one for Periphery here. +1 what is said above me regarding that  Nevermore and Dream Theater as well, totally agree.

I like Tommy Giles a ton, but I know this thread isn't for arguing about who deserves it or not.

I will nominate Pearl Jam...this is actually a really tough question because if I like the music, 99% of the time I'll dig the vocals too. Maybe Cynic too actually, the vocoder thing on some of their albums is a bit O.T.T sometimes.


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## Blood Tempest (Apr 11, 2014)

Nats said:


> Animals as leaders.







oracles said:


> Nevermore. Incredibly talented band, but Warrell Dane was definitely not the best choice.



Agreed. Some days I can tolerate it, most days I have to switch them off after one song. It's a damn shame too because I really love the music.



AlejoV said:


> Dream Theater : Can't stand LaBrie, since when I hear him, it reminds of a little whiny girl, and I even like Periphery's singer.



Yep. One of the biggest reasons I've never get into DT is their vocals. It sounds cheesy to me. Can't do Periphery for that reason as well. Sounds whiny and reminds me of a crying mall kid from high school or something.



Ivars V said:


> Limp Bizkit - I dig Borland's riffs, but Fred's lyrics and vocals (aaand his persona) just kill the band for me.



Listen to Black Light Burns!  They aren't the same approach musically by any means, but it's Wes' creative genius through and through. I love it.


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## goherpsNderp (Apr 11, 2014)

BTBAM
TesseracT
Glass Cloud

some others i won't list because i'd basically change out almost the whole band lol


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## rectifryer (Apr 11, 2014)

Nearly every single hardcore band. Great songs, great structures, terrible vox.


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## shawnperolis (Apr 11, 2014)

Dream Theater is one of my favorite bands... But I can't listen to them for very long because of the goddamn miserable vocals.


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## Nats (Apr 11, 2014)

I wish Mastodon had a vocalist that could pull off the brutal manly wooley gruffness live that they do in the studio. Troy comes close but Brent is a train wreck (name of one of their songs, woohoo) that's kinda painful to listen to. I've taken a few different people with me that weren't familiar with the band beforehand to various shows of theirs I've attended and they all asked the same thing: "why can't I hear the vocals?". It's intentional because they're really terrible.

edit: and i've stayed silent about this for years but despite all the flaming I like James Labrie. Boom, finally got that off my chest.


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## BusinessMan (Apr 11, 2014)

wowspare said:


> Trivium - There's just something about Matt Heafy's voice that sounds like he's trying to sound different from what he would normally sound like. Can't really describe it, it's a shame since Crusade and Shogun were such masterpieces?



BLASPHEMY!!! Just kidding. I can see why some don't like him but trivium is a favorite of mine.

Plus 1 on periphery. The only song with vocals that I can stand is The Walk.


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## ghostred7 (Apr 11, 2014)

troyguitar said:


> Metal needs more Matt Barlow, Jon Oliva, Russel Allen types - or even people who can sing circles around those guys with actual classical training...
> 
> Imagine someone whose singing talent can compare to the guitar talent in these bands. The dude from Necrophagist can shred the shit out of a guitar, why not hire a vocalist who could actually keep up with him?



This... so much this.


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## Ivars V (Apr 11, 2014)

Blood Tempest said:


> Listen to Black Light Burns!  They aren't the same approach musically by any means, but it's Wes' creative genius through and through. I love it.


I love BLB, man. One of my favourite bands.


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## Adventrooster (Apr 11, 2014)

I actually don't mind Mastadon's vocals, but does anyone think it's similar to Ozzy? I can't help but hear it everytime. 

Chester Bennington in Stone Temple Pilots...just no.


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## Blood Tempest (Apr 11, 2014)

Ivars V said:


> I love BLB, man. One of my favourite bands.



YESSSS


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## RadDadTV (Apr 11, 2014)

Ivars V said:


> Limp Bizkit - I dig Borland's riffs, but Fred's lyrics and vocals (aaand his persona) just kill the band for me.



this


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## BrailleDecibel (Apr 11, 2014)

Arkaea...absolutely love the songs and riffs, but their singer's high-pitched screams and Chester Benningtonisms totally shit on that album for me. They need to come back with a different singer, I miss Christian's riffs.


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## Deathspell Omega (Apr 11, 2014)

troyguitar said:


> Metal needs more Matt Barlow, Jon Oliva, Russel Allen types - or even people who can sing circles around those guys with actual classical training...
> 
> Imagine someone whose singing talent can compare to the guitar talent in these bands. The dude from Necrophagist can shred the shit out of a guitar, why not hire a vocalist who could actually keep up with him?



As if there weren`t already enough wanna-be opera singers in metal, LOL. And no, metal doesn`t "need" more Matthew Barlows with their forced vocal phrasings and predictable note choices. I agree on the other hand though, that someone like Russell Allen for example is GREAT and would be a good fit for a lot of bands out there who only have a sub-par vocalist. He always sounds very controlled, yet powerful. But in general all that pretentiously theatrical yodeling of so many metal vocalists, classically trained or not, is just as bad as the whiny "modern" metal vocal delivery. And for something as heavy as Necrophagist it would sound even worse, not a good fit at all stylistically. At the end of the day it`s a matter of style and what vocal SOUND fits best to the guitar, drums etc. and not who hits the most high notes or who has taken the most vocal lessons from someone like Kathleen Battle for example. It`s comical and doesn`t make sense.


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## chopeth (Apr 11, 2014)

Arcturus in Shipwrecked


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## Necris (Apr 11, 2014)

troyguitar said:


> Imagine someone whose singing talent can compare to the guitar talent in these bands. The dude from Necrophagist can shred the shit out of a guitar, why not hire a vocalist who could actually keep up with him?



Because in context with the lyrics, song titles, music (as its written, not as an "if it were written with clean vocals in mind" fantasy) and overall imagery employed singing would come off as even sillier than the grunting.

Read some of Necrophagists lyrics (try not to laugh), now make your best attempt at singing them. 

"Hateful I'm slashing, the head is removed
Removing the head of the corpse
The throat down the hard chest the trunk is torn
Tearing the trunk of the corpse"

There, seriously, try it.

There are very few death metal bands who have employed actual singing, almost every single one would have been ridiculous with singing as the main vocal delivery.

It's readily apparent you just like to whine and have zero ability to even ponder the possibility that maybe, just maybe, the vocal styles employed in this sort of music were determined by those persons writing said music to be preferable, and furthermore that you are similarly unable to comprehend why they would.


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## stevexc (Apr 11, 2014)

There's more I can't think of off the top of my head, but Cynic tops the list. I can barely listen to them thanks to how grating the vocals are.


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## metaljohn (Apr 11, 2014)

I always imagined what Cradle Of Filth would sound like with the vocalist from Anaal Nathrakh (granted that he was doing his more straightforward live vocal style as opposed to his over the top studio vocal style, also replacing most of the female singers lines with his "opera/power metal" style singing).


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## wannabguitarist (Apr 11, 2014)

Necris said:


> Because in context with the lyrics, song titles, music (as its written, not as an "if it were written with clean vocals in mind" fantasy) and overall imagery employed singing would come off as even sillier than the grunting.
> 
> Read some of Necrophagists lyrics (try not to laugh), now make your best attempt at singing them.
> 
> ...



I love death metal but you're bringing up another huge problem with the genre; the lyrics are generally terrible . Regardless of of vocal delivery, who wants to listen to songs about ....ing corpses?


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## HurrDurr (Apr 11, 2014)

groverj3 said:


> Dream Theater - However, the caveat here is that the only replacement I would be happy with is James Labrie crica 1991 . He's never been the same since the vocal chord injury issue. I'd frankly love to hear them with say... Russell Allen of Symphony X though, just for kicks.



I just don't like James' voice at all. I love their music and Lebrie does have his moments, but sometimes I wonder how their entire catalogue would sound had Dominici stayed on board. I loved his vocal work on their debut.


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## SD83 (Apr 11, 2014)

Necris said:


> Because in context with the lyrics, song titles, music (as its written, not as an "if it were written with clean vocals in mind" fantasy) and overall imagery employed singing would come off as even sillier than the grunting.



Why does "a vocalist who can actually keep up with him" necessarily mean clean singing? Mohammeds grunts are (imo) extraordinarily boring. No variation, nothing. Not only do I not like his grunts in general, they sound exactly the same throughout the song. Every single song. It's as if the bassist would just play open E string throughout the song. It might be meant that way, and he has to play the guitar at the same time, but compare that with Nile for example.


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## Necris (Apr 11, 2014)

Given Troys posts over the years I've been here I feel quite safe in assuming by "a vocalist who can keep up" he meant a vocalist who employed clean vocals specifically and wasn't merely alluding to a desire for some variation in the delivery, be it pitch or texture; I could get behind the latter, and certainly see where he's coming from there; but since even a few days ago he stated his hatred of screaming/growling/grunting I won't pretend that's what he's looking for.

Furthermore, I have no problem with people disliking that vocal style in general, but he's become nothing less than insufferable about it.


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## SD83 (Apr 11, 2014)

OK, I didn't know that. What he wrote just sounded so much like what I thought about them that I assumed Troy might just want to say pretty much what I wrote. I love screaming/growling/grunting, I just hate Muhammeds vocals.


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## troyguitar (Apr 11, 2014)

Necris said:


> Given Troys posts over the years I've been here I feel quite safe in assuming by "a vocalist who can keep up" he meant a vocalist who employed clean vocals specifically and wasn't merely alluding to a desire for some variation in the delivery, be it pitch or texture; I could get behind the latter, and certainly see where he's coming from there; but since even a few days ago he stated his hatred of screaming/growling/grunting I won't pretend that's what he's looking for.
> 
> Furthermore, I have no problem with people disliking that vocal style in general, but he's become nothing less than insufferable about it.



I've never heard a band use growling in that way. Yeah I'd probably hate it, but you show me someone growling melodies, arpeggios, harmonies, counterpoint, etc. and I'd at least be intrigued enough to give it a chance.

It's one thing to have some aggression in vocals, it's entirely another to only "sing" one single distorted note with varying rhythms and indecipherable lyrics throughout every song.

Further: What is wrong with a "wannabe opera singer"? The Necrophagist guy is just a "wannabe Paganini" on guitar and that is cool as hell. Imagine if he only played a 1-string guitar and only used 1 hand. That's effectively what he does on vocals and it is not fitting a "technical" band of any sort.

Why is an extended range guitar or bass good but vocals with any range at all are bad (especially if that range goes into the tenor register or above, apparently)?


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## tripguitar (Apr 11, 2014)

troyguitar said:


> I've never heard a band use growling in that way. Yeah I'd probably hate it, but you show me someone growling melodies, arpeggios, harmonies, counterpoint, etc. and I'd at least be intrigued enough to give it a chance.
> 
> It's one thing to have some aggression in vocals, it's entirely another to only "sing" one single distorted note with varying rhythms and indecipherable lyrics throughout every song.
> 
> ...


 
i just cant imagine melodic signing over necrophagist. but well said, i agree with you.

pertaining the the thread title... INTERVALS. just saw them and the singer was boring on stage, wasnt hitting the notes, and even when he did his melodies and vocal lines just sound completely uninspired. I'm ok that they wanted to add a vocalist, but that band deserves better.


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## Necris (Apr 11, 2014)

troyguitar said:


> I've never heard a band use growling in that way. Yeah I'd probably hate it, but you show me someone growling melodies, arpeggios, harmonies, counterpoint, etc. and I'd at least be intrigued enough to give it a chance.
> 
> It's one thing to have some aggression in vocals, it's entirely another to only "sing" one single distorted note with varying rhythms and indecipherable lyrics throughout every song.
> 
> ...




Neither have I honestly, and that's why I'd be totally on board with someone trying it. In my own experience the technique used if you really want to get the sound of your throat shredding itself apart (which most people go for) severely limits your range; such that you only have within a handful of notes depending on what general frequency you're aiming for (low, mid, high). Edit: I think Iron Cross had a few tracks on their self titled album where the singer pushed his voice really hard and was still hitting pitches, but he was still primarily doing clean vocals on the album. Also Plasmatics "Coup d'Etat" album. Also Emperors - Prometheus album features a bit of that.

If I dial things back a bit I actually can run through arpeggios and whatnot, although I'd hesitate to say I'm particularly accurate, and still retain the "aggressive" tone but some of my natural voice also shows through. At that point you're essentially doing some variant of throat singing without the overtones.

Some people don't want any semblance of humanity behind the vocals, as melodramatic as that sounds.  So for them that's not really desirable.


I don't think I've ever once characterized clean vocals themselves as being undesirable. I'm not going to whine that the vocals aren't "cool" or "brootal" enough if someone turns on some Gamma Ray, Villain, (later) Running Wild or whatever. I just don't believe the vocal style to be desirable for the aims of death metal in particular; some vocal styles lend themselves to certain genres more than others. I have zero problem listening to "real" singing.

To get back on topic (and since I'm thinking of clean vocals now):


This guy, at times on the album he reminds me a little bit of the singer for Dream Evil, but he unintentionally backslides in to this weird Sean Connery impersonation every once in a while that is absolutely hilarious. I think another singer would have been a little less unintentionally amusing.


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## troyguitar (Apr 11, 2014)

tripguitar said:


> INTERVALS. just saw them and the singer was boring on stage, wasnt hitting the notes, and even when he did his melodies and vocal lines just sound completely uninspired. I'm ok that they wanted to add a vocalist, but that band deserves better.



Another victim of the "We should have a singer, which one of us sucks the least?" approach of choosing a vocalist. IIRC they just put their bass player on vocals.

Perhaps it's just a supply problem. I have only ever actually met one good amateur singer who had any interest in metal and he was in like 3 bands already. Guitar players who are pretty decent are a dime a dozen and they can also play bass, and Superior Drummer takes care of drums these days, so the only thing in short supply (for recording at least) is talented vocalists.


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## Promit (Apr 11, 2014)

Has anyone mentioned Feared yet? I love the instrumental bits of it, but their vocalist and vocals are offensively terrible.


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## wowspare (Apr 12, 2014)

I'm quite surprised that so many people mentioned Nevermore..... I liked Warrel Dane's vocals.

He kind of sounds power metal-ish, without being all cheesy and pretentious like most power metal vocalists


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## The_Mop (Apr 12, 2014)

Joe Satriani. That is all.


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## JoshuaVonFlash (Apr 12, 2014)

troyguitar said:


> The dude from Necrophagist can shred the shit out of a guitar, why not hire a vocalist who could actually keep up with him?


Because it wouldn't fit the music at all, if Necrophagist had Ronnie James Dio singing over the same music they play normally it would sound terrible.


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## Guitarmiester (Apr 12, 2014)

Came in here expecting to be the lone ranger to mention Dream Theater only to see practically the entire forum beat me to it.


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## blister7321 (Apr 12, 2014)

the wonder years(and most other bands trying to copy the new found glory style) lol
and most of the bands ive heard over the past couple years haha

as far as the death metal comments on previous pages goes, we need more john gallaghers and less whiney shit

also im glad jessie is back in KSE i wasnt too fond of howards voice


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## Bretton (Apr 12, 2014)

y'all suck,

Warrel Dane, Tommy Rogers, Troy/Brent/Brann those guys all make/made the bands.


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## Adventrooster (Apr 12, 2014)

I'm actually shocked. I think I'm the sole James Labrie fan. I can't imagine them without him.


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## FretsOnFyre (Apr 12, 2014)

Adventrooster said:


> I'm actually shocked. I think I'm the sole James Labrie fan. I can't imagine them without him.



Me too! He's honestly one of my favorite vocalists atm.


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## technomancer (Apr 12, 2014)

JoshuaVonFlash said:


> Because it wouldn't fit the music at all, if Necrophagist had Ronnie James Dio singing over the same music they play normally it would sound terrible.



We'll agree to disagree 



Guitarmiester said:


> Came in here expecting to be the lone ranger to mention Dream Theater only to see practically the entire forum beat me to it.



Oh come on, it's become so common to hate on LaBrie that it's almost a cliche now


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## asher (Apr 12, 2014)

Bretton said:


> y'all suck,
> 
> Warrel Dane, Tommy Rogers, Troy/Brent/Brann those guys all make/made the bands.



I love Rogers and the Mastodon boys, though I'd be the first to admit the singing is kinda rough sometimes there, but I really think you could do Nevermore with a similar vocalist with a different timbre than Warrel. He's definitely a distinct flair to the band - the Nevermore we know isn't the same without him now - but I find him reallllly hit or miss, and think they could have done just as well with someone else.

I can't quite put my finger on what I don't like about him though.

Also, I'm usually fine with LaBrie (I also agree I can hardly imagine them with someone else), but I think when I don't like him is usually a reflection of the songwriting and not his singing, tbh.


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## troyguitar (Apr 12, 2014)

JoshuaVonFlash said:


> Because it wouldn't fit the music at all, if Necrophagist had Ronnie James Dio singing over the same music they play normally it would sound terrible.



Dio could never sound terrible.

I still think Epitaph is a super melodic tune and would sound just fine (or better, more likely) with an element of melody to the vocals. Same goes for tons of death metal... tune out the vocals and it's generally very melodic.

Hell, Arch Enemy with a normal singer would just be a power metal band. It would "fit" the music just fine.

Similarly if you put growls on top of DragonForce they would be death metal.

It's only when you get into some of the super aggressive atonal stuff that a vocal melody starts making less sense.


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## Mischief (Apr 12, 2014)

Oh god.. I just thought of one.
Bombay Bicycle Club.
A few years ago I heard this song, and was like "okay, I like the bassline, this is promis- HOLY ....ING BALLS.. WHAT?" when the vocals started.
I commented that I was quite saddened by the fact the vocals were so awful. I was accused of being a troll. ha.
Here's the song:


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## Convictional (Apr 12, 2014)

Didn't realize that many people hate Spence in Periphery. I knew the Labrie hate existed though. 

This is why I miss Alexisonfire. 3 vocalists and all of their styles fit the music so well.

While I like Ashe (TesseracT's current vocalist) very much, I do prefer Daniel Tompkins in their style of music.

Ashe should take over Periphery vocals, Spencer should go into industrial death metal (his side project and Parade of Ashes are super awesome), and Daniel Tompkins should return to TesseracT


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## KJGaruda (Apr 12, 2014)

I miss Chris Barretto in Periphery. Spencer is by no means bad but it toes way too far into the whiny Pop territory because of the combo of his higher voice and frequent use of melisma (which in itself isn't bad if used right). 

I also miss when Jacob Katz was in Elitist.


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## Necris (Apr 12, 2014)

Some death metal with clean vocals mixed in occasionally; for those who want to hear how it can work.


And as a bonus, something weird: Death with Clean vocals; with a better singer this would work really well.


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## redstone (Apr 12, 2014)

This is good.

[YOUTUBEVID]ih_XXgbNWco[/YOUTUBEVID]

This is bad, stop doing it.

[YOUTUBEVID]_G-KsBOi28I[/YOUTUBEVID]


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## Necris (Apr 12, 2014)

The rise in popularity of the style of vocal delivery in the latter track, which essentially sounds like every word is pronounced as a variation of "ruhhh" because the vocalist can't properly enunciate, is one of the worst things to ever happen to death metal (using the term "death metal" loosely).

Every vocalist who sounds like that is utterly incompetent, an embarrassment and should be kicked out of their band(s).


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## redstone (Apr 12, 2014)

couldn't agree more !


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## RoRo56 (Apr 12, 2014)

I'd have to agree about Intervals. I feel that Mike can't really perform well live, he seems to struggle quite a bit. It was the same when he was in the HAARP Machine too. His voice sounds almost artificial on the two records he has done.


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## Deathspell Omega (Apr 12, 2014)

JoshuaVonFlash said:


> Because it wouldn't fit the music at all, if Necrophagist had Ronnie James Dio singing over the same music they play normally it would sound terrible.



This.  But, let`s just say as an experiment, it would be interesting to hear a Dio-like vocal delivery over SOOOOME sections in Necrophagist`s music. If it`s measured right and used not too often it could be adding a different, little twist to the music. However having melodic, theatrical vocals ALL THE TIME = NO.


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## thrsher (Apr 13, 2014)

wowspare said:


> Periphery (and pretty much every other djent band) - Their whiny vocals is another turn off. I do like some instrumental stuff that they produce every now and then



include all the metalcore bands into this statement and thats where i am at


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## Eliguy666 (Apr 13, 2014)

Let's just be honest here: we need more ICS Vortex to go around. He's incredibly talented, a pretty good lyricist, and a good bassist besides.

So, in that vein, Dimmu Borgir. They've kind of been crap since they kicked Mustis and Vortex out.


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## Esp Griffyn (Apr 13, 2014)

Nevermore. They have some interesting riffs and licks, and than Warrell Dane starts warbling on again. I've never been able to get into Nevermore because of his sucky vocals.


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## lucasreis (Apr 13, 2014)

Esp Griffyn said:


> Nevermore. They have some interesting riffs and licks, and than Warrell Dane starts warbling on again. I've never been able to get into Nevermore because of his sucky vocals.



I tried to get into them several times but I also think his vocals are too forced. I can't bring myself to like it.


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## fps (Apr 13, 2014)

Re Mastodon I don't think that band would work with a "front man" it's the meld of all of them together that makes it, and their different vocals at different times just emphasise the unity among them, if that's not too hippy a thing to say.


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## RevelGTR (Apr 13, 2014)

I don't get people who say megadeth at all. On Peace Sells and Rust Dave's voice is awesome. I don't really like Spencer's vocals on PII and Clear, they sound weird and hair-metaly.


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## AngstRiddenDreams (Apr 13, 2014)

So much BTBAM hate


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## poopyalligator (Apr 13, 2014)

So I'm not going to lie. I think the whole brutal djent genre in General is pretty garbage. A lot of you all hate on periphery because Spencer's vocals are "whiny". I would much rather hear real vocals instead of some douchebag just screaming in a mic. Don't get me wrong I love a lot of metal with screaming, but these days I just feel that it is super generic especially in djent and hardcore.


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## The Hiryuu (Apr 13, 2014)

troyguitar said:


> Hell, Arch Enemy with a normal singer would just be a power metal band. It would "fit" the music just fine.
> 
> Similarly if you put growls on top of DragonForce they would be death metal.



Examples of both:


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## MrPepperoniNipples (Apr 13, 2014)

Annihilator

Gorod - I loved Martinot's vocals on Leading Vision and Process, I want him back in the band

Psycroptic - Peppiatt did an great job on Symbols of Failure and Ob(Servant), but he was a little lame on The Inherited Repression. Besides, who doesn't want Chalky back in this band?

Pathology - I'm okay with Matti Way, but I think there's a better fit for the band out there. Huber was good, and I remember Shawn Whitaker doing a tour with them, and I think he'd be a great fit too.


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## The Hiryuu (Apr 13, 2014)

MrPepperoniNipples said:


> Annihilator



Joe Comeau was pretty beastly.


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## ghost_of_karelia (Apr 13, 2014)

Got to agree with the majority of the Mastodon fans on here. The vocals aren't quite up to scratch, and although their performance in the studio pulls it off the majority of the time (Brent's vocals on Aqua Dementia make me want to break stuff shirtless) their live vocals are invariably poor, especially from Brent. Troy and Brann usually pull off the cleans together, but Troy's attempt at harsh vocals in a live setting just don't quite meet the standard that other bands set.

WHY WON'T THEY LET BILL DO THE GROWLS MORE OFTEN. GOD DAMN IT.


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## imnotnollynollynolly (Apr 13, 2014)

August Burns Red. I literally tune out the vocals because they're so boring, but their instrumentation is fantastic.


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## JustMac (Apr 13, 2014)

AngstRiddenDreams said:


> So much BTBAM hate


 Strange, as most critics regard Giles as one the most versatile metal vocalists.


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## piggins411 (Apr 13, 2014)

^ Exactly. He's definitely one of my favorite metal vocalists. Also, when I saw Mastodon a couple of years ago I thought they sounded great live, vocals and all


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## Vhyle (Apr 13, 2014)

I'm skipping every previous post to say this:

*PERIPHERY*

Their instrument work is fantastic, but jesus fcuk Spencer is so annoying. Hate me all you want, but his voice is such a huge distraction.


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## jimwratt (Apr 13, 2014)

AlejoV said:


> Dream Theater : Can't stand LaBrie, since when I hear him, it reminds of a little whiny girl, and I even like Periphery's singer.



Exactly. LaBrie should do a duet with Romeo Santos or Prince Royce (bachata singers). They're match up really nicely. I actually like Spencer Sotelo's singing though. 

Speaking of bachata, I find that I almost always cringe at the male vocalists' singing. For those that don't know, bachata is a ballad-style music fo from the Dominican Republic. It's pretty popular on Spanish pop radio. The instrumentalists are typically really good at what they do, but the singers make me rage. 

These are the two worst examples I can think of:




My wife LOVES this stuff, so I hear it a lot. It's easy to get side tracked by the singing, but the interplay between the guitars, bongos, and guiro really is top notch. That's the part that grinds my gears.


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## RagtimeDandy (Apr 13, 2014)

Sikth. If Mikee Goodman never was in that band they would be so much more palatable. Or if he'd just actually sing instead of sounding like shit. The screaming he brings is fine along with the spastic nuances, but some of the stuff he does totally butchers an otherwise good song


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## anomynous (Apr 13, 2014)

ITT: Periphery and Intervals


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## troyguitar (Apr 13, 2014)

The Hiryuu said:


> Examples of both:



haha yep I was thinking of Demoniac when I wrote the bit about DragonForce

I had not heard that Arch Enemy cover before though, that is cool. How does that voice not fit?


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## stretcher7 (Apr 13, 2014)

+1 for Dream Theater, could never get in to them for this. I also agree about Mastodon. More growls! Don't try and be the Beatles!


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## ghost_of_karelia (Apr 13, 2014)

I feel like this is relevant.


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## Alberto7 (Apr 13, 2014)

There aren't many bands that I dislike solely because of the vocals. Usually if I like the music, I'll somehow find a way to get over the vocals, but the one band I can't stand even though I really like the instrumentation is August Burns Red. Jesus. It's the same as when I first started getting into Meshuggah, with the exception that, unlike what happened with Meshuggah (whose vocals I now really dig, although I have to be in the mood for it), my hate for ABR's vocals persisted. They just make me want to throw my headphones/speakers perpendicularly against a very hard, flat surface for maximum impact force, simply because I wish I could like them so I could enjoy the wonderful riffage.


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## troyguitar (Apr 13, 2014)

Alberto7 said:


> There aren't many bands that I dislike solely because of the vocals. Usually if I like the music, I'll somehow find a way to get over the vocals, but the one band I can't stand even though I really like the instrumentation is August Burns Red. Jesus. It's the same as when I first started getting into Meshuggah, with the exception that, unlike what happened with Meshuggah (whose vocals I now really dig, although I have to be in the mood for it), my hate for ABR's vocals persisted. They just make me want to throw my headphones/speakers perpendicularly against a very hard, flat surface for maximum impact force, simply because I wish I could like them so I could enjoy the wonderful riffage.



Can you elaborate on this? I have a couple of ABR CD's (some good guitar work for sure) and don't dislike the vocals any more than any other death/black/djent metal screamer/growler. What makes one growl better than another?

I have stuff from a bunch of these bands and would totally pay extra for instrumental versions of their CD's. The biggest offenders for me are probably Death, Anata, Wintersun, and Protest The Hero - not because their vocals are particularly bad, but because the rest of their music I particularly enjoy.


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## Necris (Apr 13, 2014)

To those who actually listen rather than just going "oh, it's screaming" there are distinct differences between different vocalists (tone, texture, delivery, enunciation, rhythmic accents, range etc) and, although it may seem hard to believe, you can actually tell when a vocalist who screams has little to no idea what they're doing/have very little experience versus ones who do. It's even more apparent live.

If they can't enunciate, lose power on long lines, can't keep the pitch consistent on a word that is held etc. they probably have no idea what they're doing.

When one vocalist can growl:
"Bands you wish had different vocalists" and have those words be intelligible despite coming out distorted and the other sounds like he's saying "Ruuhaandds erhruuuu riissssh huraaad ehriffrent rokalisst" one is clearly more skilled than the other.

If I asked you to track growled/screamed/deep guttural vocals or whatever to a song of reasonable length in a single take and then had someone who has been practicing that style for years come in and record vocals to the same track there would be clear distinctions between the two of you, even if your normal speaking voices were very similar.


Lots of people like to assume screaming/growling is something "anyone off the street can do" and is "completely devoid of technique".

Those people tend to fall into 2 categories.
1.People who refuse to back up their claim by doing it themselves.
2.People who embarrass themselves when they try. 

The outliers are the people who can do it without any practice; and even they are generally worn out or complaining about how their throat "hurts" after a single song. They certainly won't be pulling off the hour long sets (or more) some of these so-called "unskilled" vocalists are doing night after night.


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## Joose (Apr 13, 2014)

Hmmm, I dunno who I can name in this thread. Usually, if I don't like the vocals, I don't even bother listening to the music. I'm not someone who can ignore vocals for the music, never have been. 

Dream Theater's "Train of Thought" is the only time I've been able to tolerate Labrie.


On the screaming/growling subject, Necris nailed it. Anybody who thinks it's something just about anyone can do should go record themselves covering a song by one of those bands. There will be no power and they will sound like a pig with a cold.


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## Alberto7 (Apr 13, 2014)

troyguitar said:


> Can you elaborate on this? I have a couple of ABR CD's (some good guitar work for sure) and don't dislike the vocals any more than any other death/black/djent metal screamer/growler. What makes one growl better than another?



It'd be hard to explain really, because even I am not sure.  It's a personal thing; I just kind of "do." I suppose it's because I've always associated them with a music genre that tends to have melodic breaks (i.e. clean vocals for the choruses, in most cases) for some reason. It's a case where my mind wants them to break into this melodic bliss, yet they never really do. It's not necessarily the quality of the vocals themselves (which, prejudice aside, is actually not bad), it's just that I wish it wouldn't be only screaming all the time. In my head it makes their music feel very monotonous and I just stop listening after a while. Maybe they do have songs with more melodic breaks and I just haven't heard them, though. What's funny is that I really don't mind music with screaming/growling only, but that is the very reason I haven't been really able to get into ABR. I totally love Lamb of God, for example (and I REALLY dig that kind of deep, throaty growling that Randy pulls off).

And as far as what makes one growl better than another, that's also hard for me to explain. I guess I prefer it when it sounds like actual growling rather than screaming at the top of one's lungs, although there are many exceptions to the rule. I also dig it when there are actual melodic qualities about a growl, where the vocalist is able to growl/scream a melodic line, so to speak (a la Dani Filth [not that I like his voice all the time, but I friggin' LOVE his voice in _Nymphetamine_, for example]).

Tying in to what I said on my previous paragraph, something I do actively look for in screaming/growling is expressiveness and for it to be as dynamic as possible. Hearing just 100% testosterone-induced screaming becomes boring after a while most of the time (again, there are exceptions, i.e. Meshuggah). I like hearing despair, hate, insanity, lust, hope, etc., in it. That stirs me up and gets my insides going. A perfect example of this is in the song _Smile_ by David Maxim Micic. I love Aleksandra's constant transitioning between clean singing and different levels of screaming and growling. I also love the opera-esque parts with Vladimir.


Oh, and I don't actually hate ABR THAT much,  I just emphasized for comedic effect. If they came on on the radio I'd leave it, and if someone started playing their music at a party, I'd dig it. I just can't sit and listen to them by myself because I get annoyed.

Sorry for the long post, btw. I just kind of put my thoughts together on the matter while writing this.


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## DXL (Apr 13, 2014)

For me it's Burzum, the riffs are very dark and atmospheric and cold but Varg sounds like a chicken being sodomized


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## Gothic Headhunter (Apr 13, 2014)

troyguitar said:


> The biggest offenders for me are probably *Death*, Anata, Wintersun, and Protest The Hero - not because their vocals are particularly bad, but because the rest of their music I particularly enjoy.



I always find it weird when someone says that they hate the vocals in Death, because they literally change from album to album. There's about 6 or so different ways Chuck sounds throughout Death's discography, so it seems odd that someone would hate all of them.


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## AngstRiddenDreams (Apr 13, 2014)

RagtimeDandy said:


> Sikth. If Mikee Goodman never was in that band they would be so much more palatable. Or if he'd just actually sing instead of sounding like shit. The screaming he brings is fine along with the spastic nuances, but some of the stuff he does totally butchers an otherwise good song


Couldn't disagree more. 
Mikee and Justin's vocals together just propel Sikth's insanity even more. Plus Mikee writes awesome lyrics.


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## The Hiryuu (Apr 13, 2014)

troyguitar said:


> haha yep I was thinking of Demoniac when I wrote the bit about DragonForce
> 
> I had not heard that Arch Enemy cover before though, that is cool. How does that voice not fit?



I didn't say they don't (Although the bridges are a little awkward.) I just wanted to give examples of the scenarios you were coming up with.


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## imnotnollynollynolly (Apr 13, 2014)

I'm in general not a huge fan of screamy bands, but for certain, the ABR dude is just very... Like I said, boring. No dynamics, no different pitches, just generally annoying mid range growly crap. It doesn't help that I'm not at all a huge fan of their lyrics, but that's a different story. I like Periphery vocals, but I can see why some people don't. Lots of people say they can't stand Rody Walker of Protest the Hero, but I adore his voice and some of the lyrics off of Fortress were SOOO badass. 

ALl of this is kind of null since I don't really care and just tune out vocals I don't like anyways


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## Bloody_Inferno (Apr 14, 2014)

Trying to avoid this thread but I do admit that I wish that a lot of the new thrash bands would have some melody in their vocals more. Sylosis and Revocation have proven that they can sing and sing well, I just wish they do it more often. I haven't heard a Battlecross track with melodic vocals, but I'd be cool to hear that too. 

/troyguitar non melodic bashing.


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## Orgalmer (Apr 14, 2014)

+1 for Fear Factory, Periphery and Mnemic. That being said, Mnemics vocalist is really good in M.A.N (that is him, right? It sounds exactly like him. I'm pretty sure it is, correct me if I'm wrong).

I really wish Fellsilent had different vocals going on because I really liked the music. The same kind of goes for Tesseract which is obviously cut from the same cloth, I'm just not a huge fan of all the singing and wish there was some rah-rah going on instead.

EDIT: also +1 for Sikth. Loved the tunes, just can't get into the vocals.


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## abandonist (Apr 14, 2014)

Fear Factory - every time I hear Burton start singing I cringe.


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## WhoThenNow7 (Apr 14, 2014)

Dream Theater
Racer X
Coheed & Cambria

Can't really imagine Trivium with a different singer.. but that would be interesting. I definitely understand the screams issue with BTBAM.


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## Bennykins (Apr 14, 2014)

Black Label Society


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## loqtrall (Apr 14, 2014)

I'm glad Coheed & Cambria was mentioned so scarcely. Claudio is insanely talented, his natural voice is just higher pitched than "normal". I think it's weird how almost everyone assumes that he forces his voice to that pitch, especially when he's made it obvious in interviews that the way he sings is just what comes out when he opens his mouth. Not to mention MOST (not all) people who dislike his voice have only listened to their earlier albums, where he arguably sounds like a female. But his voice has really matured and gotten much deeper since the first Good Apollo album and on. He seemingly can't even hit those higher notes live anymore, so much so that they started tuning lower to accommodate his voice changing.

On the other hand, I've always thought DT needed a new vocalist. There's just something about James' voice that strikes a nerve for me.


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## Mprinsje (Apr 14, 2014)

Every powermetal band ever.


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## wowspare (Apr 14, 2014)

Necris said:


> To those who actually listen rather than just going "oh, it's screaming" there are distinct differences between different vocalists (tone, texture, delivery, enunciation, rhythmic accents, range etc) and, although it may seem hard to believe, you can actually tell when a vocalist who screams has little to no idea what they're doing/have very little experience versus ones who do. It's even more apparent live.
> 
> If they can't enunciate, lose power on long lines, can't keep the pitch consistent on a word that is held etc. they probably have no idea what they're doing.
> 
> ...



Thanks for reminding me why I love Randy Blythe so much. That guy is without a doubt the best scream/growler I've ever heard.


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## coreysMonster (Apr 14, 2014)

I used to not like Spencer in Periphery, but after Periphery II and especially after seeing them live after Periphery II, he's really grown on me.

There's a lot of German bands like Die Ärzte or Die Toten Hosen that are really great, tight bands, but whose singers I absolutely cannot stand and who completely ruin it for me. I don't know why, but most popular German rock bands have really odd singers. Maybe it's because they all try to be funny, and I just don't get that kind of German humor.


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## ihunda (Apr 14, 2014)

coreysMonster said:


> I used to not like Spencer in Periphery, but after Periphery II and especially after seeing them live after Periphery II, he's really grown on me.



That's funny because I used to tolerate his vocals but then I saw Periphery live in Paris and it sounded so bad, weak and whinny in person that I just gave up...


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## RagtimeDandy (Apr 14, 2014)

ihunda said:


> That's funny because I used to tolerate his vocals but then I saw Periphery live in Paris and it sounded so bad, weak and whinny in person that I just gave up...



Some times I feel like one of the few people on here that have Spencer and Rody Walker as their favorite singers in metal


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## Kwirk (Apr 14, 2014)

Adventrooster said:


> I'm actually shocked. I think I'm the sole James Labrie fan. I can't imagine them without him.


LaBrie fan checking in 

After just seeing DT just play a completely flawless in every way show the other week, LaBrie still has it. There were a few years in the early/mid 2000s where he'd have a lot of bad nights, but the last few years I've seen them he's been flawless. They did a lot of Awake songs and he nailed them convincingly with a ton of power behind it. I fully believe his voice has recovered now.

/fanboyrantout


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## coreysMonster (Apr 14, 2014)

ihunda said:


> That's funny because I used to tolerate his vocals but then I saw Periphery live in Paris and it sounded so bad, weak and whinny in person that I just gave up...


Out of curiosity, when was that? I saw them twice, once on their tour with Dream Theater in 2012, and then again last May. There was a huge improvement between those concerts.


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## troyguitar (Apr 14, 2014)

Necris said:


> To those who actually listen rather than just going "oh, it's screaming" there are distinct differences between different vocalists (tone, texture, delivery, enunciation, rhythmic accents, range etc) and, although it may seem hard to believe, you can actually tell when a vocalist who screams has little to no idea what they're doing/have very little experience versus ones who do. It's even more apparent live.
> 
> If they can't enunciate, lose power on long lines, can't keep the pitch consistent on a word that is held etc. they probably have no idea what they're doing.
> 
> ...



I don't disagree with this, but here's my take:

Requiring skill to do does not have any correlation with actually sounding good. It requires tremendous skill to play Flight of the Bumblebee at 300+ bpm. I can't do it - however it still sounds like shit even if it's done perfectly.

The live performance distinction is a very valid point relevant to every band these days, I'll definitely give you that. Give me enough takes and I can splice together a single track that's in tune, but ask me to sing it live (especially while playing) and it's going to be terrible. That's really another thread though, bands seem to be doing it with every instrument - biggest offender being drums really with what seems like half the metal genre "recordings" featuring computer generated drums (mine included, I can't play drums for shit).


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## asher (Apr 14, 2014)

loqtrall said:


> I'm glad Coheed & Cambria was mentioned so scarcely. Claudio is insanely talented, his natural voice is just higher pitched than "normal". I think it's weird how almost everyone assumes that he forces his voice to that pitch, especially when he's made it obvious in interviews that the way he sings is just what comes out when he opens his mouth. Not to mention MOST (not all) people who dislike his voice have only listened to their earlier albums, where he arguably sounds like a female. But his voice has really matured and gotten much deeper since the first Good Apollo album and on. He seemingly can't even hit those higher notes live anymore, so much so that they started tuning lower to accommodate his voice changing.
> 
> On the other hand, I've always thought DT needed a new vocalist. There's just something about James' voice that strikes a nerve for me.



I forget about them, but now that you mention it 

It has nothing to do with his range though - like, I love The Mars Volta. It's that I hate hate hate how he constantly sounds like he's sucking/exhaling way too hard and on most words. It's sort of a pet peeve of mine, to be fair, but it makes it sound to me like he's just trying way too hard.


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## lucasreis (Apr 14, 2014)

Kinda shocked people don't like Burton C. Bell. I really enjoy his singing style, but I laughed at the responses. This thread is fun


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## loqtrall (Apr 14, 2014)

asher said:


> It's that I hate hate hate how he constantly sounds like he's sucking/exhaling way too hard and on most words. It's sort of a pet peeve of mine, to be fair, but it makes it sound to me like he's just trying way too hard.



In most instances, since the bands lyrical content has such a huge and complicated tie to Claudio's comic book/graphic novel work with the Amory Wars, some, if not most, of the songs have several different characters "singing" (speaking) in them. If you'd listen to one album all the way through, you'd notice that his voice changes frequently from song-to-song, and in some cases (like in the song From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness) his voice changes several times within the song. He sings differently for each character of the story.

Huge example: In the new Afterman double albums, every single "Key Entity Extraction" song is about a different character within the Afterman storyline, and each Key Entity song is sung in a different style, corresponding with the character's personality.

The only time I've heard him "try too hard", if you can call it that, is when they play live. He's a great performer, but it's obvious that some of the material he's singing is way harder to sing while simultaneously playing the guitar. Because, believe it or not, some of their material is pretty hard to play, despite their reputation for having easy music (Welcome Home popularity). But yeah, he's constantly out of breath live, and it's obvious that it's quite difficult for him to play and sing some of the songs at the same time.

But I digress. I couldn't picture Coheed & Cambria without Claudio singing. Considering he writes about 85% of their material. Annoying voice or not, the dude is insanely talented and has a stupidly good vocal range.


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## JustMac (Apr 14, 2014)

RagtimeDandy said:


> Sikth. If Mikee Goodman never was in that band they would be so much more palatable. Or if he'd just actually sing instead of sounding like shit. The screaming he brings is fine along with the spastic nuances, but some of the stuff he does totally butchers an otherwise good song


 You have got to be kidding me


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## lucasreis (Apr 14, 2014)

JustMac said:


> You have got to be kidding me



I actually agree with him. Love Sikth's instrumentals but I don't like the vocals at all...


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## RagtimeDandy (Apr 14, 2014)

lucasreis said:


> I actually agree with him. Love Sikth's instrumentals but I don't like the vocals at all...



The instrumentals are great, and Justin fits the music perfectly, as does Mikee in certain parts, but there's parts of songs/entire songs where he sounds like a complete jackass and is almost mocking any attempt at fitting the music. If that's some artistic, deliberate approach... good for him  Either way I think it sounds absurd and ruins otherwise phenomenal songs.


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## BrailleDecibel (Apr 14, 2014)

The Hiryuu said:


>




This song actually sounds a hell of a lot more awesome with power metal vocals than I imagined it would, kudos for posting this!


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## zombieritual (Apr 14, 2014)

....ing periphery. so much waste. i guess when that's what 16 year old girls like, you stick with it 

arch enemy as well. johan ....in sucked ass and then they got angela and she sounded good on wages and then it was downhill after that. they're one of those bands that for as popular as they are they could have been so much better if the timing was right. like musically they were best with johan on vocals, but could have had a better vocalist. then it kinda flip flopped with angela but then it just sucked, and i don't know why they had to get that other chick when they finally had a chance to get a decent ....ing vocalist for a change.

and i'll hop on the dream theater train too, i never really got into them because every time labrie starts singing i turn it off.

also meshuggah, but then again i'm not really crazy about them in general anymore.

oh and trivium too! heafy finally FINALLY got away from wanting to be james hetfield on in waves and the the new one came out with ....head from disturbed producing and now his vocals are shit again. at least there was in waves.


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## paulyrhythm (Apr 14, 2014)

In Flames is my choice.
Used to be so brutal, now Anders usually just ruins the musicianship. So I don't feel like listing all these band names so-

All gurgle vocal death metal. Any band with barely audible lows. Any band with pig squealing. 

Any band that talks briefly, then screams right after.
Any band where vocalist talks whilst screaming (he sounds [email protected])

Any prog metal band with "whinyness" in their voice. Any band that sings the word "you" like "yewww". Does that make sense?

BUTTTTTT I love Meshuggah's vocals honestly. (If it is too overbearing on your ears youre not metal enough I guess.) I like BDM-style highs too 
and powerful lows.

OH HAS PERIPHERY BEEN MENTIONED YET?


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## RagtimeDandy (Apr 14, 2014)

zombieritual said:


> ....ing periphery. so much waste. i guess when that's what 16 year old girls like, you stick with it



16 year old girl checking in


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## TRENCHLORD (Apr 15, 2014)

A much bigger complaint that I've always had, is that vocals are just too loud in the mix on about 95% of the metal albums I've ever heard.

Even when I like the vocal style and the lyrics I would still be much happier with the vocals sitting _in_ the mix instead of _over _the mix, especially when it's a band/album that really fills their songs with vocals.


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## Joose (Apr 15, 2014)

RagtimeDandy said:


> 16 year old girl checking in



Make that 2 of us. Spencer is crazy talented.



Anyway, just heard another new Structures song... guess they're part of my list in this thread now.


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## Leuchty (Apr 15, 2014)

Yoko Ono's band...


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## tm20 (Apr 15, 2014)

Suicide Silence: I wish Mitch never died, and therefore Eddie would still be with All Shall Perish


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## Orgalmer (Apr 15, 2014)

> Any band that talks briefly, then screams right after.
> Any band where vocalist talks whilst screaming (he sounds [email protected])



*cough* Ion Dissonance *cough*

Just kidding, that band is ....ing amazing.


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## anomynous (Apr 15, 2014)

Exodus: If Zetro was still in the band and not Dukes. I love Hatriot though.


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## HoneyNut (Apr 15, 2014)

If Periphery had a different type of vocalist, and not the emo-type vocalist, they could have been a favorite band of mine. I'm really proud of Bulb, just not that type of vocals. 

And I bet Bulb knows exactly what I mean, for someone who's genuinely into heavy metal. 

Bulb, you hear me man?!!!

--- 

I doubt I can turn up Periphery in my car loud as hell (cause that's what we rockers do) and not feel embarrassed because of the vocalist (sorry man, its just not working, nothing personal). But damn, I really wish to turn it up cause the players are just so fantastic. 

---

Do you guys know how I could get a hold of Bulb?


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## redstone (Apr 15, 2014)

The music codes of "Djent" are designed to fill the lack of vocals. I think it's a big part of Misha's early success but also his inner enemy. It's hard to fill a periphery track with vocals without fighting the instruments. To crush or be crushed, that's the question..


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## Nails In Your Coffin (Apr 15, 2014)

- Metallica

- There are a lot of heavier bands I'd probably like, but their vocals ruin them for me.


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## JustMac (Apr 15, 2014)

RagtimeDandy said:


> The instrumentals are great, and Justin fits the music perfectly, as does Mikee in certain parts, but there's parts of songs/entire songs where he sounds like a complete jackass and is almost mocking any attempt at fitting the music. If that's some artistic, deliberate approach... good for him  Either way I think it sounds absurd and ruins otherwise phenomenal songs.


Innovation can be misinterpreted as that I think, but if you genuinely don't like it that's kewl! . I just always felt they were the only metal group of the last few years to try and push vocal boundaries and rejected the cookie-cutter blandness that was (still is tbh) being thrown out. But then again I also adore Mr Bungle and even System of a Down's approach, with crazed vocal delivery, maybe that's why Mikee is divisive in that way


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## no_dice (Apr 15, 2014)

Jeesan said:


> If Periphery had a different type of vocalist, and not the emo-type vocalist, they could have been a favorite band of mine. I'm really proud of Bulb, just not that type of vocals.
> 
> And I bet Bulb knows exactly what I mean, for someone who's genuinely into heavy metal.
> 
> ...



He's a user on here, but if you just want to tell him they need a new singer, don't even bother.


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## HoneyNut (Apr 15, 2014)

^ I bet you know something more about this. I guess lots of people already tell him that? Or what is it? Out of curiosity, is it because it would offend him?

Look, I really like this guy, Misha. Believe me. He blew my mind when I first heard his stuff on SoundCloud back in 2007/8. I became a fan instantly and have wanted to get in touch with him since. I just didn't know how.

Would like to talk to him about his experience and the direction of music so to speak, tbh. I'm not a heckler, even though I'm very enthusiastic about music. My post above might sound 'heckler-ish' , but I was taking a rather humorous approach to it.


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## coreysMonster (Apr 15, 2014)

Jeesan said:


> I guess lots of people already tell him that?


Nah, everybody loves Spencer, especially on the internet, and _especially _on SS.org.



I'm sure he got sick of people complaining about Spence after the first couple of weeks, and the band is pretty firm on their stance of "this is our singer, we're not changing it", which I highly approve of. Nothing worse than a band caving in to the demands of outsiders.


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## HoneyNut (Apr 15, 2014)

coreysMonster said:


> Nothing worse than a band caving in to the demands of outsiders.



I can't agree with that statement anymore. I guess you had me there. I really appreciate when a band creates music without succumbing to what people want them to sound like. 

You are absolutely right about that. 

...not everyone on SS.org likes the vocalist. I'm sure a lot of you guys do. At the same time, if you see this thread itself, there are quite a few people who don't. In your case, I appreciate that you are a strong supporter of the band.

I don't, because in terms of 'heavy metal' , i grew up with heavy vocal types, e.g. Phil Anselmo. So I guess I have a preconceived notion of how metal should sound. In other words, I like the 'aggressive' stuff when it comes to metal. That's all. And I'm sure you also like the aggressive stuff as much as I do.

But again, that's really not the point. The main thing is that a band should do whatever they feel sounds good.


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## coreysMonster (Apr 15, 2014)

I was being sarcastic. The biggest complaint people have about Periphery has always been Spencer.


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## HoneyNut (Apr 15, 2014)

coreysMonster said:


> I was being sarcastic. The biggest complaint people have about Periphery has always been Spencer.




Oh man! You made me feel so left out!! haha. I'm sure you can sense that I was taking your reply somewhat seriously! 

Happy Tuesday, guys!

Edit: Spencer is a good vocalist in his own style no doubt. His effort on the songs is pretty obvious. Props to that.


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## lucasreis (Apr 15, 2014)

paulyrhythm said:


> In Flames is my choice.
> Used to be so brutal, now Anders usually just ruins the musicianship. So I don't feel like listing all these band names so-
> 
> All gurgle vocal death metal. Any band with barely audible lows. Any band with pig squealing.
> ...



I don't agree with this at all. 

I think Jens vocals are annoying. I can listen to Death Metal all day and not be annoyed by anything. I love Cannibal Corpse, Carcass and several other really heavy bands, but his vocals are just annoying to me.


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## paulyrhythm (Apr 15, 2014)

Orgalmer said:


> *cough* Ion Dissonance *cough*
> 
> Just kidding, that band is ....ing amazing.


Lol oh man yea got me there, one of my all-time favorites...

It's more the scenecore/crabcore stuff I've heard lately, plus a large lump of old school hardcore/new school hardcore. I hate saying genres haha but yea I should've been more specific.



lucasreis said:


> I don't agree with this at all.
> 
> I think Jens vocals are annoying. I can listen to Death Metal all day and not be annoyed by anything. I love Cannibal Corpse, Carcass and several other really heavy bands, but his vocals are just annoying to me.


Cannibal Corpse vs. Carcass are like comparing pussies to dicks. (?) Or apples to oranges. Different vocal style completely. Plus there are much heavier bands out there. 

It's your opinion man that's cool- and I do know Meshuggah's vocals are monotonous. But we are not the same person- and if we all were same life wouldn't be exciting. 

I think his vox are original. I wonder what'd happen if you took an instrumental metal track with every pro "vocalist" getting a chance to track over the mix, and gave said track to every metal fan in the world...which vocalist would most people would actually recognize? Not lyrically but "musically"? My mind has wandered...but would they name Jens before a majority of the death metal vocalists, many of whom sound the same? Well I haven't conducted the research yet.


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## lucasreis (Apr 15, 2014)

paulyrhythm said:


> Lol oh man yea got me there, one of my all-time favorites...
> 
> It's more the scenecore/crabcore stuff I've heard lately, plus a large lump of old school hardcore/new school hardcore. I hate saying genres haha but yea I should've been more specific.
> 
> ...



It's ok. What I was trying to say is that I do like a lot of Jens' work, but lately I'm not digging his vocals. I like Chaosphere and Destroy Erase Improve a lot, but I think Meshuggah would benefit if they had a vocalist with more range to work on. It has nothing to do with how heavy the vocals are. I like several kinds of metal and some really heavy stuff like Gojira as well. I never intented on making this a Death Metal vs Meshuggah kind of thing. I just used Death Metal as an example that I really like metal with gutural vocals, so that's not the problem, I just think Jens' vocals get on my nerves sometimes and I prefer someone who's more versatile like Christian Alvestam for example. But different strokes and all that.


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## gh0Zt (Apr 16, 2014)

wowspare said:


> Periphery (and pretty much every other djent band) - Their whiny vocals is another turn off. I do like some instrumental stuff that they produce every now and then
> 
> Coheed & Cambria - This one's got to be my personal biggest peeve. It's obvious that they're extremely talented and I love their riffs but Claudio's vocals just ruin it.
> 
> You guys got any bands like that?



i wish spencer of periphery sang only.. coz i love the music but his growls are too much.. and yeah sometimes he sounds a bit pop core when he sings but most the time his voice is killer!

i wish the female vocalist of synergy(alexis ex partner i think) joined children of bodom


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## Nour Ayasso (Apr 16, 2014)

So many comments about Periphery I can't even read all these. I don't know why you guys complain so much, who'd expect as a vocalist BOB MARLEY??? What are ya'll THAT high? There's only a handful of vocalists that can sing and scream amazingly well.


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## wheresthefbomb (Apr 16, 2014)

periphery would be way more awesome with bob marley


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## Andromalia (Apr 17, 2014)

Every band without Bruce Dickinson. I could settle for Rob Halford.


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## cwhitey2 (Apr 17, 2014)

Any djent that has a girl/guy whining over it. 

Seriously...why would you make something that 'heavy' and ruin it with radio friendly singing...oh wait nevermind


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## stevexc (Apr 17, 2014)

I Am Abomination. They're awesome (at least To Our Forefathers was, not stoked on much else of theirs) but their vocalist sounds like he's just phoning it in. There's absolutely no emotion in his voice, it's just bland pop singing. I mean, c'mon. Sing like you mean it.


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## 7soundz (Apr 17, 2014)

Periphery - There sound is perfect from an instrumental point of view, but the vocalist can be annoying after about 10 mins with all that screaming/crying..... Maybe he should try singing clean more or just not scream..

Dream Theater - Hmmm....I think Images and Words and the Awake albums were the best. Since the singer injured his vocals, it just wasn't the same. 

They are too numerous to mention but most Metalcore bands are just terrible. I honestly think that screaming was invented because some people just can't sing. Screaming has its place but listening to someone scream for more than 5 mins is annoying. I personally don't see anything talented in screaming (a 5 year old girl can scream.....)

Intervals - Umm...I have mixed feelings on this one. The vocalist is unique but there isn't anything "special" about it.


On a better note, the lead singer of Sevendust is by far one of the best vocalist I have come across. Perfect mix of clean and angry vocals


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## stevexc (Apr 17, 2014)

7soundz said:


> (a 5 year old girl can scream.....)



A 5 year old girl can sing, too, what's your point?


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## coreysMonster (Apr 17, 2014)

stevexc said:


> A 5 year old girl can sing, too, what's your point?


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## jerm (Apr 17, 2014)

Decapitated is an awesome band, but their singer is just so monotone. Still doesn't keep me from listening to them though.


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## 7soundz (Apr 17, 2014)

stevexc said:


> A 5 year old girl can sing, too, what's your point?



Simply that screaming is annoying and it isn't a full blown talent.... my opinion of course..


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## HoneyNut (Apr 17, 2014)

^ Max Cavalera doesn't 'scream'. Phil Anselmo doesn't always 'scream', nor sing per se. They have a lot of dynamics in their delivery. 

I'm not a fan, but Godsmack's vocalist is one of the only 'singers' I can identify as hard rock/metal. Or even Nickelback's vocalist. Opeth too. James Hetfield back in the days.

And ofcourse, the vocalist for Andy James' band Sacred Mother Tongue. Check them out.

The rest of these 'singers' ruin the punch metal has, especially when the chorus comes in and suddenly you hear this whiny type vocals.


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## rectifryer (Apr 17, 2014)

As far as Spencer goes, his stuff outside of Periphery sounds phenomenal to me. His stuff in periphery sounds contrived. It's like they dont let him do what he wants. Then again I DONT KNOW.


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## Nour Ayasso (Apr 18, 2014)

Well the video has a 6 year old girl...


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## Joose (Apr 18, 2014)

Jeesan said:


> I'm not a fan, but Godsmack's vocalist is one of the only 'singers' I can identify as hard rock/metal. Or even Nickelback's vocalist. Opeth too. James Hetfield back in the days.
> 
> .



Lajon Witherspoon. There's a hard rock vocalist for ya.




More vocalists I'd replace though....

Megadeth
Protest The Hero (not sure if I already mentioned them)
Volbeat
Tesseract (I like Ashe, but he gets a little... girly sometimes)


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## Nour Ayasso (Apr 18, 2014)

Joose said:


> Lajon Witherspoon. There's a hard rock vocalist for ya.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Witherspoon is amazing, just saw Sevendust a few days ago, just incredible.


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## Sonofthe7thSign (Apr 18, 2014)

Lajon doesnt do the screams but good vox for sure.
Nice guy too.


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## HoneyNut (Apr 18, 2014)

^yup. of course  . 

I came across Andy James' band Sacred Mother Tongue recently, and they have a solid band with a good vocalist thing going on.

I was thinking about Spencer, I'd probably listen to him if he were in some other band, like some Michael Jackson cover band or something like that. I really like MJ's music. Think 'dirty diana', 'give in to me', 'earth song'...lots to name actually. Spencer would sound awesome at that.


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## Nour Ayasso (Apr 18, 2014)

Jeesan said:


> ^yup. of course  .
> 
> I came across Andy James' band Sacred Mother Tongue recently, and they have a solid band with a good vocalist thing going on.
> 
> I was thinking about Spencer, I'd probably listen to him if he were in some other band, like some Michael Jackson cover band or something like that. I really like MJ's music. Think 'dirty diana', 'give in to me', 'earth song'...lots to name actually. Spencer would sound awesome at that.



I'm assuming your talking about Sotelo, I think I agree with you, that he does shine in that area.


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## Eladamri (Apr 18, 2014)

I agree with the whiny thing so many have said. I also really don't like "vocal fry" screamers, sounds so cheesy.

And I don't know why Intervals felt they needed a vocalist. I'm still upset.


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## Joose (Apr 18, 2014)

BlurringTheLine-Jsin said:


> Lajon doesnt do the screams but good vox for sure.
> Nice guy too.



He gets pretty gritty though, especially live. And yeah, real nice guy; bought me pizza when I was like 17 lol.


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## Eliguy666 (Apr 18, 2014)

I can recognize and really dig the voice of Adam Warren (Oceano, not the NY Yankees). He has pretty distinctive cleans, shouts, and growls.


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## mikernaut (Apr 19, 2014)

The guy that still thinks he can sing along side with Cristina in Lacuna Coil.


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## Joose (Apr 19, 2014)

mikernaut said:


> The guy that still thinks he can sing along side with Cristina in Lacuna Coil.



This.

He seems to be singing more and more. And have you heard him live? He just yells.


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## vilk (Apr 19, 2014)

jerm said:


> Decapitated is an awesome band, but their singer is just so monotone. Still doesn't keep me from listening to them though.



Which one? I thought the old singer was great but the new guys style doesn't suit the music as well.


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## Nats (Apr 19, 2014)

mikernaut said:


> The guy that still thinks he can sing along side with Cristina in Lacuna Coil.



Lol exactly. First time I heard them was years ago from a YouTube video after Comalies came out. I thought it as a joke. You have a great female lead singer that looks good to boot; SHUT THE .... UP!!!


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## no_dice (Apr 19, 2014)

Smashing Pumpkins


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## Joose (Apr 19, 2014)

no_dice said:


> Smashing Pumpkins



+10,000,000


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## Nour Ayasso (Apr 20, 2014)

Eladamri said:


> And I don't know why Intervals felt they needed a vocalist. I'm still upset.


 
Yep...same here..


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## Gothic Headhunter (Apr 20, 2014)

To everyone complaining about James LaBrie, you do know Liquid Tension Experiment exists, right?


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## Joose (Apr 20, 2014)

^I don't want no vocals, I want better vocals.


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## spawnofthesith (Apr 20, 2014)

Oh man, I could have a field day with this thread.... about 90% of metal bands that have clean vocals. Especially in the prog and djent areas


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## groverj3 (Apr 21, 2014)

Ok, I take back everything bad I've ever said about Labrie. I just got back from DT's show in Mesa, AZ... he killed it tonight! Best live vocals I've ever heard from the man in the 5 shows I've been to.


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## gorthul (Apr 21, 2014)

Dream Theater, Arch / Matheos, Symphony X...the list goes on. Most of the traditional progressive Metal Bands incorporate singers that have this Power Metal vibe in their voice, and Power Metal is the genre of music I hate the most.
I like singers like Daniel Tompkins ( best singer of this generation imo) or Chris Barretto much more. I also love the vocals of Spencer Sotelo, which many people dislike as this thread is showing.


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## Joose (Apr 21, 2014)

groverj3 said:


> Ok, I take back everything bad I've ever said about Labrie. I just got back from DT's show in Mesa, AZ... he killed it tonight! Best live vocals I've ever heard from the man in the 5 shows I've been to.



Oh he nails his vocals live; he's the definition of professional. But I still don't like the sound lol.

Either way, DT Live is a hell of an experience.


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## Alberto7 (Apr 21, 2014)

groverj3 said:


> Ok, I take back everything bad I've ever said about Labrie. I just got back from DT's show in Mesa, AZ... he killed it tonight! Best live vocals I've ever heard from the man in the 5 shows I've been to.



You know, I used to really not care for LaBrie's vocals until I saw DT live. I almost shat my pants at the MASSIVE amounts of stage presence that he has and how incredible his vocals are on a live setting. After that day, I actually like his vocals. Dream Theater is one of those bands that make you change the way you perceive their music after you see them live.


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## groverj3 (Apr 22, 2014)

Alberto7 said:


> You know, I used to really not care for LaBrie's vocals until I saw DT live. I almost shat my pants at the MASSIVE amounts of stage presence that he has and how incredible his vocals are on a live setting. After that day, I actually like his vocals. Dream Theater is one of those bands that make you change the way you perceive their music after you see them live.



Yeah, it was never that I've hated him or anything it's just that it seems like he overdoes it on the albums and can't quite execute live.

Some of that is because he simply can't hit some notes anymore, but he was awesome last night!


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## Nats (Apr 22, 2014)

Machine Head. The vocals work for that band and I wouldn't have it any other way but... Actually that defeats the point of posting in this thread. I don't wish they had another vocalist, his vocals just hurt my ears after a while. I'm gonna go listen to "Old" now...


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## GunpointMetal (Apr 22, 2014)

Current Ion Dissonance (or at least some new lyrics)


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## fassaction (Apr 22, 2014)

oracles said:


> Nevermore. Incredibly talented band, but Warrell Dane was definitely not the best choice.



One of my friends tried to turn me on to Nevermore, played one of his favorite tracks and I just cringed as soon as the singer came in...tried to play another couple songs and I always had the same reaction.

He eventually came to terms that they have a terrible singer.


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## chassless (Apr 23, 2014)

Arch Enemy. back when they had Angela. i never liked her vocals, they always felt too forced and un-dynamic, mono-dimensional. very flat. her growls felt so out of place in their quieter parts. i never thought she was hot either, i realize this isn't very important usually but i mention this in that case, because i feel like Angela's popularity is at partly there thanks to the fact that she's female and blonde and whatever. 

In Flames. i don't like their focus on catchy choruses in their latest material. back in Whoracle and Colony, those were some brutal vocals they had !

Vildhjarta. i'm bigoted against the multiple vocalists formula, sadly. they both sound too similar, to start with. when i first listened to them i felt their vocals were just way over the top, all the time, no rest. with time i understood it was part of their concept somehow, it started making sense, but i still prefer if they had one just vocalist. it would make stronger vocal deliveries, IMO.



Vigaren said:


> Whats up with he's bluesey vocals? The instrumental stuff in Periphery is the total opposite of blues



... but that's exactly the appeal  i love the contrasting bluesy vocals over metal. 
however my problem with Periphery's vox isn't with Spencer. it's more that there's just so much of him. the songs don't breathe, they're already pretty complex and layered as they are, having a singer do vocal acrobatics all the time sometimes makes the songs unlistenable.

can you tell i don't like layered vocals ?



wannabguitarist said:


> who wants to listen to songs about ....ing corpses?



... death metal fans ?


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