What's happening to extreme metal vocalists???

[DIYistkrieg]

Hello everyone, I was checking out some of these "modern bands" lately, and beside having all the same sounds (that's already a "no go" for my personal taste), what I find more annoying is them having all the same vocal styles! I mean, since Whitechapel came out, all the vocalists are doing (or at least trying to reach) that low pitched growl like Bozeman does...I really can't stand all this "we have to sound like xxxxx to be cool" thing.
And I don't even wanna talk about those "clean vocals" abuse....
Anyway I guess that's just my personal POV, since I'm not into "modern metal" I guess it's harder for me to understand and accept all of this...well, whatever!
Thanks for reading my useless rant guys, feel free write down your own opinion about it!
Cheers!

 

[osum]

I'm absolutely with you. But to be honest, I'm not even up to date regarding the current stuff. It just bores me to death so I stay away from it.

 

[CiG]

 

[Beargrylls21]

I'm with you there, although there are select bands that manage to stand out a lot of new stuff is just regurgitated.

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

I was at the Exodus show at the Chapel in SF this past weekend thinking about this exact same thing. Zetro's vocals cut through so well, and they are unique, metal, and just kick ass. So hard to find that with new bands. Seems like people are afraid to try new things sometimes.

 

[DIYistkrieg]

I was at the Exodus show at the Chapel in SF this past weekend thinking about this exact same thing. Zetro's vocals cut through so well, and they are unique, metal, and just kick ass. So hard to find that with new bands. Seems like people are afraid to try new things sometimes.

I guess people believe copying something that "works" (or "sells") is the way to go to become as famous as the original...
I always thought music should come from inside yourself, not from someone else, and has not to be made for anybody else but you, then whether other people likes it or not shouldn't even bother you, but again, that's just me (and maybe like another 10% of the people in metal) I guess. I'd rather listen to something with lots of flaws but unique in its way than to some of those perfect polished turds being flushed down the throats of the metal scene nowadays. Vocalists need to give the less amount of fuck ever possible about what sells as vocal styles and try to find their own way, then I could even (almost) accept the rest of the band having the same sound as the others 86925973 bands in the genre, but still I need the vocals to be something unique to make me listen to a song, dammit!!!!

 

[Beargrylls21]

I guess people believe copying something that "works" (or "sells") is the way to go to become as famous as the original...
I always thought music should come from inside yourself, not from someone else, and has not to be made for anybody else but you, then whether other people likes it or not shouldn't even bother you, but again, that's just me (and maybe like another 10% of the people in metal) I guess. I'd rather listen to something with lots of flaws but unique in its way than to some of those perfect polished turds being flushed down the throats of the metal scene nowadays. Vocalists need to give the less amount of fuck ever possible about what sells as vocal styles and try to find their own way, then I could even (almost) accept the rest of the band having the same sound as the others 86925973 bands in the genre, but still I need the vocals to be something unique to make me listen to a song, dammit!!!!

Well said mate. This is the reason why I like Social Distortion so much. Not the best singer but a unique voice is often a lot more appealing and interesting.

 

[Beargrylls21]

Well said mate. This is the reason why I like Social Distortion so much. Not the best singer but a unique voice is often a lot more appealing and interesting.

So who would you say are your favourite vocalists?

 

[DIYistkrieg]

So who would you say are your favourite vocalists?

Well, Peter Steele from Type O Negative is my number 1, then....Fernando Ribeiro from Moonspell, George Fisher from cannibal Corpse, the Cavanagh brothers from Anathema as well as Lee Douglas, Anneke Van Giersbergen, then of course Legion from early Marduk, he was the perfect example of a unique voice that's not perfect per se, but in the right context it becomes amazing and makes like 85% of the band's signature sound!
I think those are the ones I like the most, I'm sure I forgot someone though...

 

[Beargrylls21]

That's a great call, Pete was amazing in his time! I got hold of a copy of October Rust when I was a teen and it absolutely blew me away! I haven't listened to Moonspell or Marduk so I'll get on to that. Some of my favourites would have to include Randy Blythe from Lamb of God, Jens Kidman from Meshuggah, Phil Anselmo, Kirk Weinstein from Crowbar and Nergal from Behemoth. All of which I think make their respective bands and would be irreplaceable!

 

[egan.]

I honestly think people are just trying emulating what they like. It's

I guess people believe copying something that "works" (or "sells") is the way to go to become as famous as the original...

I understand what you're saying but I wouldn't get too moralistic about it. I doubt the guys in whatever bands you're talking about are trying to be unoriginal. Rather, they're just emulating what they like and going from there. Everyone isn't going to be a revolutionary with a 30 year legacy like the names being thrown around in this thread. Most dudes are just doing the best they can with the talent they have.

 

[DIYistkrieg]

I honestly think people are just trying emulating what they like. It's

I understand what you're saying but I wouldn't get too moralistic about it. I doubt the guys in whatever bands you're talking about are trying to be unoriginal. Rather, they're just emulating what they like and going from there. Everyone isn't going to be a revolutionary with a 30 year legacy like the names being thrown around in this thread. Most dudes are just doing the best they can with the talent they have.

I think that's the point, there's no need to form a band and play when you can't be "original", you wanna sound like "xxxxxx"? Why? There is already that band, try something new! Ok, you have to start somewhere, but I really think like 90% of today's bands don't even need to exist, all they do is swallow another band's style and regurgitate it without changes. The tonal possibilities of instruments, amps and all are almost infinite, so why copy someone else's? Where's the fun part of writing music gone by doing this? There's no need to be revolutionary, just be yourselves.
Then again, as I stated before, this is just my POV and this thread's a useless rant

 

[CiG]

Maybe that band you're emulating only lasted a year or maybe they changed their sound after a certain album.

Who gives a shit, if every band tried to be 100% original there'd be like 3 good fucking bands and the rest would stink.

 

[DIYistkrieg]

Maybe that band you're emulating only lasted a year or maybe they changed their sound after a certain album.

Who gives a shit, if every band tried to be 100% original there'd be like 3 good fucking bands and the rest would stink.

...and that's exactly what extreme metal has become nowadays

 

[CiG]

How was it any different in the 80's? Very few bands were truly original.

 

[DIYistkrieg]

How was it any different in the 80's? Very few bands were truly original.

Well, I was born in '84 so I don't know about the '80s, I lived the late '90s metal and I must say there were a lot of bands playing the same genre with totally different styles and sounds, to name a few: black metal had Darkthrone, Mayehm, Burzum, each one playing it in a personal way (then if you're not one of those "sub-sub-sub genre" guy you may add Emperor, Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth, and so on to the list), there were Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Vader, Morbid Angel, each one playing death metal, each one with its own touch, not to mention the swedish scene.... Nowadays you have kids discovering Meshuggah 25 years late, thinking "you have to do polyrythm otherwise you're not cool", add a little touch of Pantera, some clean vocals, and money will fall from the skies...
I'd rather have just 30 good bands in the whole metal scene, than 30000000 bands with 30 good ones and 29999970 bad useless copies, but I guess again I'm in the minority side thinking that.

 

[CiG]

Fair enough, I just don't see it the way you see it. I don't see many of those bands as having done much that was truly original. I see them as you said yourself, taking something somebody else already did and adding their own little touch to it, that's what most bands also do today.

Yes there are clone bands, there were back then too, but clone bands are always the minority in my opinion.

 

[DIYistkrieg]

Fair enough, I just don't see it the way you see it. I don't see many of those bands as having done much that was truly original. I see them as you said yourself, taking something somebody else already did and adding their own little touch to it, that's what most bands also do today.

Yes there are clone bands, there were back then too, but clone bands are always the minority in my opinion.

Well, we got different opinions I guess, so fortunately we're not clones
Cheers!

 

[schwinginbatman]

I've gotten to where I tune out when I hear growling or that Meshuggah-esque growl-shouting (they probably didn't start it but they're the biggest band I can think of that use the style). It's so generic and boring, and I hate that growls and screams are the default for metal vocalists these days. I know that a lot of styles require it, but a lot of styles these days do it even when they don't need to. But to be honest, most death metal also bores me so that doesn't help.

 

[CiG]

Awesome avi.