Getting bored of screaming

[John_C]

warning: if metal had thought police, this post would get me locked away forever

Am I alone is being a massive metal fan and feeling that most bands use screaming simply because it's an easy option from a songwriting perspective? Almost every new band I hear with screaming just makes me go "that's a bit of a cop-out"

So many bands would be better without someone standing in front of them making an indecipherable monotone roar. Meshuggah is a prime example of this, the music is so interesting but is often obscured by vocal parts which rarely have any complexity or subtlety.

This is contrasted against people who actually use variation in their voice to express different feelings and to create and smash tension: Devin Townsend, Phil Anselmo or Paul Masvidal for example.

Maybe it's just a phase i'm going through but i'm doubtful.

 

[ratsapprentice]

Fuck screaming, I was never really a fan.
The same goes for singing on the whole too, I feel the same way about it that you do screaming.
It's just the done thing with most music.
I've noticed that outside of metal the only music I really enjoy has a noticeable lack of traditional singing.
For example, Arctic Monkeys second record, Aha Shake Heartbreak, Scroobius Pip.
I find I cringe when people sing, even if they are good.
I think the problem is that because vocals are forced into songs, whether there is a need for them or not, they're often just a vacuous form of non-expression.

Btw Paul Masvidal has only ever done singing since the Cynic demos, their keyboardist did the harsh stuff.

 

[midget donkeys]

You are not alone John. I would enjoy metal bands alot more without so much screaming. Sometimes it adds to the music and is great. More often it is the vocal style because the vocalist can't do anything else.

It is really hard to find good singers. It is even harder to find good singers that want to sing in a metal band. Screamers/growlers etc. are a dime a dozen.

 

[SocialNumb]

"I'm all mad and shit raaaahhhhh greeeeerrrr" I'v been tired of the screaming for a long time. In truth, when I hear a new, to me, band, that will be the first thing to make me shut it right off.

 

[AntonioPetrole]

Im the opposite. I love screaming. I can't listen to singing (unless its in a non metal context in which im totally cool with it). That monotone roar has always been a signature role for me especially because death metal is more instrument based if anything.

 

[ratsapprentice]

To avoid possible confusion in future arguments, I was talking specifically about mainstream/hardcore screaming, not dm/bm/grind vocals.

 

[AntonioPetrole]

To avoid possible confusion in future arguments, I was talking specifically about mainstream/hardcore screaming, not dm/bm/grind vocals.

ahhhhhhh ok. In that case.

Yeah.

Fuck that shit.














Except I do like years spent cold.

 

[Harry Hughes]

It's a tricky one.
I LIKE screaming and growling, I like guitar shredding, bass shredding, insane technical drum playing and all other manner of 'extreme' things in metal, but it's just that 90% of the time, people do not have a flying fucking clue how to use these things in the right musical context, don't know how to use these techniques to add dynamics to a song/don't know how to use them tastefully and in general just don't really use them in a way that is anything other than absolutely horrid.

Like when some metalcore bands use screams and the music is based around the vocals, it just gets annoying, because for the entire song all you hear is "RAH RAH RAH RAH RAH RAHHHHHH!". There's nothing there to break it up, just this grating, irritating shit that gets on my nerves.
Hell, clean vocals can get really grating too. I can't listen to most power metal because often the vocals sound like the vocal equivalent of over the top, obnoxious guitar shred. Just trying to show off as much vocal technique as possible with very little actual substance and tastefulness.
Then you've got the crabcore-ers, and well, I don't like the use of either their screams or cleans.
Screams always sound like they're trying too hard to be 'brutal' and 'tough' and then the cleans are that really grating, whiny pop-punk-esque style thing.
Just doesn't sound sincere at all to me.

I'd say Opeth is just about some of the best use of vocals in metal.
Mikael's voice isn't constantly all over the music, and he has a great contrast of textures with both clean and growls. His growls are actually quite articulate, nuanced and intelligible compared to a lot of death metal vocalists.
He has an amazing clean singing voice that doesn't resort to over the top vocal technique wankery.
You get guys like James La Brie that are just quite bad some of the time/during certain songs because they don't know where to stop their ego and realize they can't actually pull that shit off live night after night.
Gee, funny how often 'musicians' play write and 'play' well above their ability in the studio and sound like complete dog turd live (but that's a story for another day )

As far as Meshuggah goes, since it was mentioned, the vocals were never the strongest point for me, but I like the fact Jens actually has an idea of when to shut up and not be an egotistical dick that has to have his vocals over almost every second of the music.

 

[Erratic]

Meshuggah is a prime example of this, the music is so interesting but is often obscured by vocal parts which rarely have any complexity or subtlety.

Have you ever tried to learn his lyrical Patterns?

We wanted to make a cover of this and fail Hard because of it, yes, the guitar part where done in a day with guitar pro opened, the vocals though, we got the 1st 6 line, after that it's impossible to remember where to place in the beat.
That was 2 years ago, I still don't know some of the lines rythmic because it's fucked.

 

[Terminus]

Not a huge fan of the screaming vocal style...major fan of the death growl/rasp etc. It can be as complex as one can make it. To each his own.

 

[Jevil]

I support this thread.
90% of the music I listen to is non-screaming/growl.
Good singer do not scream or growl.

 

[ratsapprentice]

Good singer do not scream or growl.

Good guitar players don't play trombone.

 

[drew_drummer]

I mostly like instrumental or singing.. a bit of screaming every now and then is okay.

 

[Melb_shredder]

Not a huge fan of the screaming vocal style...major fan of the death growl/rasp etc. It can be as complex as one can make it. To each his own.

+666

 

[Jevil]

Good guitar players don't play trombone.

Yngwie Malmsteen can play sweep picking with a trombone.

 

[kvoid]

BREE BREE IS THE SHIT YO!

/end sarcasm

 

[Mago]

Not a huge fan of the screaming vocal style...major fan of the death growl/rasp etc. It can be as complex as one can make it. To each his own.

Same here!
Gustaf from Erkans project does it pretty cool though, even if I didnt like it at first. Now I think it fits great


But I think OP has more likely a problem with bad songwriting in general.


Oh and also:
really good singers and really good screamers/shouters/growlers whatever are both hard to come by IMO

 

[updog]

if a band's vocalist can't do both scream and growl, the band is usually pretty boring. it sounds generalizing but that's how it goes for me, every time.

i don't really like clean vocals in metal. wintersun-esque clean vocals slay but most modern metal bands are made worse with gay clean singing with no balls, absolutely ruins it. like textures and periphery. yes. gay as fuck, not artsy.

another problem with clean vocals in metal is that you actually need a good melodic basis for them to work, you can't just stick them on some random riff that's written using binary code. that's how all the metal choruses that DON'T get stuck on your head, are written.

 

[Jevil]

Oh and also:
really good singers and really good screamers/shouters/growlers whatever are both hard to come by IMO

I can't imagine DIO, Coverdale, or Bruce Dikinson growling like a big fat racoons from hell. ;-)

I know people who "sing" in death metal band wich earing skills is like shit... or even worse. In a regular singing style they are totally out-of-tune grannyfuckers.

PS: BTW Marco I can't wait to listen to your growling!

 

[Keregioz]

...it's an easy option from a songwriting perspective? Almost every new band I hear with screaming just makes me go "that's a bit of a cop-out"

Regardless of how much some people may like growling/screaming vocals, this is absolutely 100% true. It is much easier to write/arrange a song when you deal with brutal vocals. It's also much easier for bands to find a "singer" that does this kind of vocals than to find an actual singer.