How did the growling style evolve in to the singing style for death metal, is there any history/ relation with the devil etc???
Growling and Death Metal
- Thread starter BodomAfterMidnight
- Start date
J.
Old Fart
The Wanderer
Watcher of the Storm
you have to go back further.
Possessed, venom, motorhead, sodom. then chuck. early death was heavily influenced by possessed.
Possessed, venom, motorhead, sodom. then chuck. early death was heavily influenced by possessed.
SculptedCold
-scented manbeef-
xenophobe
Active Member
Yeah, point? Death was light years better than any of them so it doesn't matter who came first. Chuck's vocals were also more developed for the DM singer sound.
Either way. I believe there is no correct answer to the question. Only theories as to why it's vocal style is used. I think the devil thing is silly and a easy scapegoat for the genre.
My theory though goes like this: The death metal growls are prevalent because the music itself has primordial feel to it. Assertive, bold and energetic. Besides regular speech being humanity's way of communicating, the first ways to express adrenaline and natural uncivilized behaivor is through a instinctive growl or scream. I don't know if that makes any sense or not but I always got a very testosterone driven pressense when listening to certain DM bands, such as Death. It's almost like cavemen creating power through sound or warriors making war through music. It's all based on purhaps a... war cry... even if there is no physical war to fight. it could be any hurdle in life that could make it happen. So the vocals at times seem fitting. I know in general thats not the point of Death's sound. For me it's alot deeper. Philosophy. Life, etc. As for other DM bands: Obituary and the like , they may sing like this just to sound scary or "tough" (our version of gangsta rap I guess).
hope that some how answers your question.
take care
JAH
Either way. I believe there is no correct answer to the question. Only theories as to why it's vocal style is used. I think the devil thing is silly and a easy scapegoat for the genre.
My theory though goes like this: The death metal growls are prevalent because the music itself has primordial feel to it. Assertive, bold and energetic. Besides regular speech being humanity's way of communicating, the first ways to express adrenaline and natural uncivilized behaivor is through a instinctive growl or scream. I don't know if that makes any sense or not but I always got a very testosterone driven pressense when listening to certain DM bands, such as Death. It's almost like cavemen creating power through sound or warriors making war through music. It's all based on purhaps a... war cry... even if there is no physical war to fight. it could be any hurdle in life that could make it happen. So the vocals at times seem fitting. I know in general thats not the point of Death's sound. For me it's alot deeper. Philosophy. Life, etc. As for other DM bands: Obituary and the like , they may sing like this just to sound scary or "tough" (our version of gangsta rap I guess).
hope that some how answers your question.
take care
JAH
Cyclonus
Haha Fuck You
Growling came about as music got more extreme. It's just a way or making music harder. Beautiful high pitched operatic vocals are no way as extreme as gutteral growls, so for certain genres, the growling fits.
I reckon it started with Motorhead, Venom took it further and added Satanic themes, then Thrash Metal came about, still melodic growls though.... Thrash evolved into a harder sound, and thus the vocals got harder and less melodic, Possessed started it I would agree, and then the Floridian Death Metal Scene came about and all the bands adopted it.
It was just evolution really, all metal follows some sort of line and you can see where things were derived from... except for numetal I would say though, that sorta just popped up on its own...
I reckon it started with Motorhead, Venom took it further and added Satanic themes, then Thrash Metal came about, still melodic growls though.... Thrash evolved into a harder sound, and thus the vocals got harder and less melodic, Possessed started it I would agree, and then the Floridian Death Metal Scene came about and all the bands adopted it.
It was just evolution really, all metal follows some sort of line and you can see where things were derived from... except for numetal I would say though, that sorta just popped up on its own...
yourdeadgroom
Black Stone Wielder
I've always kinda had the impression that it was a reaction against the high-balls vocals of early heavy metal.
Even in Death, Kam Lee was the first to do death vocals, not Chuck. Originally Chuck was just the guitarist.
NP: Cynic - Celestial Voyage
Thanks, BodomAfterMidnight! I don't mean to toot my own tugboat but I thought that was a pretty good description myself!
As for where they first originated. I'm not all that sure. Motorhead probably but I'm gonna have to go with Cookie Monster. That dates way back . 1969 even. His growl fuckin ruled! He has to be the first one to actually do it right. Music wise . I'm sure it dates back through paegon rituals thousands of years ago some how or rituals of south american tribes. They get pretty brutal down there.
JAH
As for where they first originated. I'm not all that sure. Motorhead probably but I'm gonna have to go with Cookie Monster. That dates way back . 1969 even. His growl fuckin ruled! He has to be the first one to actually do it right. Music wise . I'm sure it dates back through paegon rituals thousands of years ago some how or rituals of south american tribes. They get pretty brutal down there.
JAH
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