GMD Poll: Voivod's Discography Ranked

[Omni]

I'm also not sure when Ihsahn became a very refined singer since he still has a thin and very limited voice that he often overextends with amateurish attempts at singing beyond his natural vocal range on his recent solo albums. Anyone who knows anything about singing would recognize that right away. It's actually hard to believe that he's been singing as long as he has when his technique is so bad.

Your "vocal IQ" is apparently lacking.

 

[crimsonfloyd]

I'm also not sure when Ihsahn became a very refined singer since he still has a thin and very limited voice that he often overextends with amateurish attempts at singing beyond his natural vocal range on his recent solo albums. Anyone who knows anything about singing would recognize that right away. It's actually hard to believe that he's been singing as long as he has when his technique is so bad.

Your "vocal IQ" is apparently lacking.

I disagree. His voice is warm and I don't see him having problems with vocal weight. He certainly doesn't have a thin voice. However, if you have specific examples, I'm all ears. I'm not familiar with his entire solo discography, so maybe I missed a Snake-level vocal performance.

Also, acknowledge that the Athems vs. Voivod's entire discography was a faulty analogy. Was it a result of a lack of intellectual integrity or a lack of intellectual capacity?

 

[Talos of Atmora]

Also, acknowledge that the Athems vs. Voivod's entire discography was a faulty analogy. Was it a result of a lack of intellectual integrity or a lack of intellectual capacity?

Probably a lack of integrity, given what's being compared here.

I mean, I disagree with you as well but I wouldn't resort to using Voivod's entire body of work against a single album by another band.

 

[Omni]

I like how I made a joke about him constantly fellating an album that he has claimed is "high art that only intellectuals can appreciate" and he has attempted to overanalyze it and drag me into a serious discussion about Ihsahn's voice.

By the way, Ihsahn's falsetto vocals are pretty awful because he thinks that he's King Diamond but he lacks the level of vocal control to actually sing like King Diamond. It's pretty obvious that he is singing in a range that is not in the comfort zone of his voice when he sings the highest notes in his music.

It's not about being as bad as Snake anyway. It's about thinking Ihsahn is actually good when he attempts to sing beyond his means while thinking that Snake is terrible when he is clearly aware of what he can do with his voice.

 

[Omni]

Ugh, I can't believe that I actually went back and listened to The Adversary this morning. Here's a list of things that I noticed:

*I literally can't remember clean vocals on this album that aren't multitracked to make them sound less thin. That includes Garm's vocals, which is funny because his voice is a lot more rich than Ihsahn's voice.

*The harsh vocals on this album, while not really part of this discussion, are just bad and sound like something you'd hear in a metalcore album. I could hardly believe that this was done by a Norwegian black metal musician.

*Many bad falsettos that are multitracked like all of the other vocals. The ending of "The Pain Is Still Mine" is like a cringeworthy parody of King Diamond. So shrill and powerless unlike the singer that he's clearly attempting to emulate.

 

[Talos of Atmora]

It's not about being as bad as Snake anyway. It's about thinking Ihsahn is actually good when he attempts to sing beyond his means while thinking that Snake is terrible when he is clearly aware of what he can do with his voice.

This is really the ultimate problem with this comparison as far as vocal ability goes. Snake knows what he's doing and intends to match whatever the tone is of the music at a certain moment while Ihsahn's head is so far up his ass, he doesn't realize that he's completely unskilled as a vocalist and tries to do things well beyond his ability.

 

[Phylactery]

Ihsahn’s clean vocals are pretty bad yeah, but there’s nothing wrong with his harsh vocals on Emperor, As The Shadows Rise and ITNE. He makes some putrid and depraved sounds on those. I guess he’d also be pretty good on Wrath of the Tyrant if they weren’t drenched in that awful echo. I still can’t fathom how anyone finds that demo listenable; the production is awful in a bad way.

Also, stop shitting on Emperor.

 

[Omni]

Also, stop shitting on Emperor.

In light of the fact that Ihsahn himself has been shitting on Emperor for years, I'm going to have to deny your request.

 

[Talos of Atmora]

Also, stop shitting on sophisticated black metal.

 

[CiG]

Mehperor.

 

[Omni]

Emperor is true evil black metal high art only for those especially enlightened intellectuals with the highest of metal IQs.

 

[CiG]

Venom >

 

[crimsonfloyd]

I like how I made a joke about him constantly fellating an album that he has claimed is "high art that only intellectuals can appreciate" and he has attempted to overanalyze it and drag me into a serious discussion about Ihsahn's voice.

You're showing further intellectual feeblemindedness. Based on what did you infer that the clean vocals on Anthems was one of the primary reasons for my praise of Anthems? You're committing the fallacy of division.

P.S. I'm amazed you remember my comments on Anthems. I literally can't remember a single thing you've said in a decade on the forum.

By the way, Ihsahn's falsetto vocals are pretty awful because he thinks that he's King Diamond but he lacks the level of vocal control to actually sing like King Diamond. It's pretty obvious that he is singing in a range that is not in the comfort zone of his voice when he sings the highest notes in his music.

Depends which album you're talking about. I do agree he did this on the earlier works. However, because of the nature of the music and the way it was produced, it doesn't hurt the work.

It's not about being as bad as Snake anyway. It's about thinking Ihsahn is actually good when he attempts to sing beyond his means while thinking that Snake is terrible when he is clearly aware of what he can do with his voice.

Context. Ihsahn's vocals are in the backdrop and are used sparingly. They essentially function as layering. If we're talking about Ihsahn's solo work, then he uses his vocals with style and intention (though to be fair, I'm basing my response off Angl and Arktis... I don't remember anything about The Adversary).

In contrast, Snake is simply a bad singer. I don't care if he intended to sound like shit on the records or not. The bottom line is he sounds like shit, and in many cases, severely damages the records. It was a silly comparison in the first place for numerous reasons (contrasting genres, contrasting roles) and was a sorry attempt to defend a singer that even most fans of the band are acknowledging is either no good or not very good.

 

[Omni]

Can you provide proof that most fans of Voivod think that Snake isn't a good singer or that his vocals aren't suited for their music or are you making it up entirely in order to suit your own bias like we both know that you are?

 

[CiG]

Voivod fans admit that, technically speaking, he isn't a very good singer. That shouldn't be idiotically conflated with most Voivod fans thinking his vocals are bad in the context of musical taste or whether it suits the music.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Yeah, everyone admits that Paul Baloff couldn't sing, Paul Baloff himself, but the overwhelming majority consider him to be an excellent thrash vocalist and the definitive voice of Exodus. Technically speaking, loads of metal vocalists aren't good singers. Is Varg a technically good singer? The Adramelch guy? Even Lemmy? Like, I won't pretend to have a great ear for knowing when a singer is in key or not, but circa Nothingface, Snake sounds at least as good as any metal vocalist with an atypical vocal approach, and actively contributes to enhancing the quality of the music.

 

[The Ozzman]

Technically speaking, loads of metal vocalists aren't good singers.

Agreed

The chick from Mortillery
Dave Mustaine
Mark Shelton
The dude from Holy Terror
Ozzy
Cronos

Most of these people 'fit' the music but aren't good vocalists if you compare them to people like Dio, Tony Martin, Bruce Dickinson, etc.

 

[crimsonfloyd]

Can you provide proof that most fans of Voivod think that Snake isn't a good singer or that his vocals aren't suited for their music or are you making it up entirely in order to suit your own bias like we both know that you are?

If you can’t respond to my questions, then this conversation is over. I don’t waste time on bullshitters.

 

[Omni]

The only question in your post is one where you deflect by asking me why I said something that I didn't ever say, so maybe you should stop wasting my time.

You're free to go through life thinking that only your own opinions can possibly be valid, but it would be a lot smarter for you to stop trying to present them as facts that are generally agreed upon.

 

[crimsonfloyd]

Voivod fans admit that, technically speaking, he isn't a very good singer. That shouldn't be idiotically conflated with most Voivod fans thinking his vocals are bad in the context of musical taste or whether it suits the music.

I stated the former of Voivod fans; the later is my position. I was not intending to conflate the two positions. Obviously, if they thought his vocals destroyed the music, they wouldn't be fans in the first place.

Yeah, everyone admits that Paul Baloff couldn't sing, Paul Baloff himself, but the overwhelming majority consider him to be an excellent thrash vocalist and the definitive voice of Exodus. Technically speaking, loads of metal vocalists aren't good singers. Is Varg a technically good singer? The Adramelch guy? Even Lemmy?

I don't disagree with the bolded part. What I would say is that the artists you mentioned, while perhaps not technically proficient know how to contribute the music. I don't think Snake accomplishes that. When their songs start with an longer instrumental stretch, I'm always jarred and taken out of the music by Snake's vocals. That's why I say they butcher the music.

Like, I won't pretend to have a great ear for knowing when a singer is in key or not, but circa Nothingface, Snake sounds at least as good as any metal vocalist with an atypical vocal approach, and actively contributes to enhancing the quality of the music.

Here is where I disagree. Just listening to the opener of Nothingface, there are dozens of flat or sour notes. Is he doing these on purpose because he thinks it enhances the music? Probably. But I would say it's an absolute failure that ruins an otherwise very creative and engaging song.