Vocalists who used to rule, but have since gone downhill

Gee, where to begin? How about 95% of the hairband singers?!
Ozzy? The one that's really disturbing is Vince Neil, how anyone would pay to see that fat lump of shit is beyond me. I wouldn't pay two scabs off jonnyd's crusty ass to see him!
 
The obvious ones for me are:

Vince Neil
Axl Rose

They come to mind straight away. On the other hand, someone who is gettin' pretty old now and still sounds awesome, better than he did in the '70s, is Paul Stanley.
 
Ozzy is the best example. He lost it mostly after Randy Rhoads demise, his albums became increasingly bad and his vocals are a mock of the almighty BS days.

Doogie White. When he sung in "Strangers In Us All" (Rainbow) I was mesmerized by his voice, but lately with Malmsteen, Praying Mantis and some other projects I have heard his voice has no more emotion and power (IMO).

Also maybe a problem of mixing or recording. I like Tim Owens with Judas Priest (the vocals were awsome the compositions sucked), but when I heard him in Iced Earth I was absolutely dissapointed (ergo I didn't got "The Glorious Burden").

Since I never attend live events, I can't judge many of the singers "up close and personal" :erk:
 
Bryant said:
That one is easy..... Geoff Tate used to be a God circa 1988.

Bryant
Indeed... :erk:
Geoff is still a good singer, but this is nothing compared to what he used to be...

Same with Halford I'd say, he has lost a part of his once-incredible vocal abilities.

Anyway it's not that easy for such singers to stay in top form for 30 years, I can understand that. At least they're no DiAnno... ;)
 
Bryant said:
That one is easy..... Geoff Tate used to be a God circa 1988.


Bryant
Got kinda same opinion, but I don't think the problem is Geoff's voice, rather the crappy songs they produce nowdays. Damn , I really hope they can make a good album again, some songs of Tribe went in the good direction !!
 
I think that's the majority of the issue except in the case of people like Axl Rose, who simply can't sing anymore. Queensrych's music was so awesome in the day because of Chris DeGarmo's musicianship and songwriting ability, in my opinion. You can't replace that chemistry that was there. Same with Halford - KK Downing and Glen Tipton are one of the best duos in Metal, and when Rob left, he was singing other people's material, and that Priest edge just wasn't there (although he has lost a little bit off his vocals - but he can stll howl like a banshee). Vince Neil - no comment - I liked Too Fast for Love and Shout at the Devil, and then I lost interest in Crue...I think killing Razzle from Hanoi Rocks in that car accident and then having his kid die took the wind out of his sails and he just lost it.

My 2 cents...
 
I have to agree lord...Snake definitely doesn't have what he used to...and I was never a big fan of his voice to begin with...but the latest stuff Newstead did with Voivod was pretty bad in my opinion...
 
It is unfair to judge singers like this
its been 14 years since 1988, do you think that Tate has the same throat he used to have?
And i think that he CHOOSES not to sing like he did.
The one that dissapointed me, is James Rivera and his vocals on the last Seven Witches album.
 
That's a fair statement Storm - but some singers have truly just not taken care of themselves and have gone downhill, while others are simply suffering from the natural aging of a voice...
 
USMC0341 said:
That's a fair statement Storm - but some singers have truly just not taken care of themselves and have gone downhill, while others are simply suffering from the natural aging of a voice...
Exactly, and for example I think that Bruce Dickinson and Harry Conklin (Jag Panzer) are still in very good (vocal) shape despite their age.

The "Live Evolution" released by Queensryche is a "good" way to notice Geoff's loss though...

About James Rivera, he was asked by Jack Frost to sing in a different way in Seven Witches. But I like his new style as much as his old-school wails ;)
 
Agreed Fang - I just saw Maiden's last tour, and Bruce sounded fucking AWESOME...no slacking on any of the material, and they did 99% old stuff...a really good show...
 
Axl Rose, all the hair band singers(Motley Crue, Twisted Sister, Poison..etc), in my opinion Paul Stanley has always sucked but sucks even MORE now, lets see who else? James Hetfield...there's more. Why is everyone giving Ozzy a bad rep? He's still a good singer, from a musician's perspective. Ya he sold out and did the osbourne's shit but as far as a musician he's still god! Ozzy and Black Sabbath live on forever.
 
I gotta agree with Dead...I have never liked Kiss, and especially Paul Stanley...more about theatrics and shit than music. At least they admit it, and they are damn good at it - it just doesn't do it for me.

I also think Hetfield's voice has actually gotten better with time - even though their latest shit sucks ass (in my opinion)...

Ozzy still has an awesome voice...that's close to not even being debatable, whether you like his more commercial stuff or not...

As for the hair bands...I won't even dignify their existence by commenting on them...
 
Tate has lost a step, but he still has enough in him to be above average.
Ozzy on the otherhand, never really had a voice to begin with, I think I have a better voice never having sung a note in my life compare to him right now!
Axl Rose didn't sound very good either, but again, he was never all that live to begin with. Vince Neil, was never a great vocalist to begin with, but his dependence on alcohol has wrecked what little pipes he had left. You could go on & on this.
 
USMC0341 said:
As for the hair bands...I won't even dignify their existence by commenting on them...
I always get a kick out of people who, have this negative view on 80's glam rock, like they were too good for it. I happen to think no matter how much you dispised these bands you listened to them. I find it amusing that now, since they aren't "cool" you'd like to not acknowledge that they even existed!
You were cranking Bullet Boys & shit like that like 80% of us that grew up in North America between 1981-1991. Not to stirt up trouble, but I call 'em like I see 'em.