Why did so many good thrash bands employ those high pitch "singers"

speed

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I was just thinking today, so many good thrash bands had or still have terrible singers- I m thinking Vio-Lence, Overkill, Forbidden, Annihilator, Death Angel, Exodus, Nuclear Assault, Im not crazy about Flotsams singer either. The problem I have is these guys try this high pitch scream ala axl rose or something- god it always sounds awful, I was just wondering if anyone esle had this problem- I know I cringe everytime I hear one of those shrieks
 
yeah Death Angel's singer is pretty decent - I shouldnt have added him but i just started thinking of all the thrash bands with higher end vocals
 
At the time that was the norm (Baloff was an exception), but Speed Metal developed from bands that had those types of singers, Scorpions, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Accept, Dio, Ozzy, Etc...............................................................................................
Thats what people liked back then, Heavy Metal. And when these bands(Bay Area) started out, people wanted singers, not growlers & Brutal Vocalists. The music got faster, but the vocals evolved slowly....................Thats my take on it.
 
I was just thinking today, so many good thrash bands had or still have terrible singers- I m thinking Vio-Lence, Overkill, Forbidden, Annihilator, Death Angel, Exodus, Nuclear Assault, Im not crazy about Flotsams singer either. The problem I have is these guys try this high pitch scream ala axl rose or something- god it always sounds awful, I was just wondering if anyone esle had this problem- I know I cringe everytime I hear one of those shrieks

Dude. you are entitled to your opinion, but youre also out of your freakin' mind!
Not too mention there's a HUGE difference between the vocals of a guy like Sean Killian (VIOLENCE) or John Connelly (Nuclear Assault) - who both rule - than say Russ Anderson (Forbidden) who happens to be a FANTASTIC vocalist.

So who do you consider to be a good vocalist??? (aside from Chuck Billy)
 
I listed Nuclear Assualt cuz I dont think he can sing worth a shit.

A Good Vocalist for me is anyone who adds something to the music and doesnt retract from the music.

I think deadly EMbrace has a good point, high end vocals were the norm in the 80's although the bands he mentioned employed guys that could sing, Bruce and Ozzy and Dio sang and still sing with the music- Warrel sings with the music- Halford sings with it. I love all those singers.

Really as I look back on it, some of these guys in these thrash bands should have been singing in Power metal bands not- thrash bands. From the power metal i have heard- most of those guys are fairly good singers- they seemed to have either studied technique- or are naturals. I m thinking of Symphony X, Blind Gaurdian, Rhapsody, Primal Fear, and the old Angra singer- while im not crazy abut the music- I think the vocals fit very well in power metal and somehow add to the music.

For instance I was listening to Alice in Hell, and Forbidden Evil yesterday, and when those fucks hit those high notes, I just think god damn stop ruining the music, only a few select people can hit the high note- or the falsetto- and god damn if you cant do it, dont try it.

SO in the end of those rather boring post- I think the trend of more death metal vocals, worked, as I think many bands found that they didnt have a good singer- and death metal vocals would add to the music- giving it more edge.

Well sorry everyone for that mantra- but i have always hated those singers, and this is a kind of therapy for my singer discrimination- maybe I will become more tolerant in the future.
 
Originally posted by speed
I was just thinking today, so many good thrash bands had or still have terrible singers- I m thinking Vio-Lence, Overkill, Forbidden, Annihilator, Death Angel, Exodus, Nuclear Assault, Im not crazy about Flotsams singer either. The problem I have is these guys try this high pitch scream ala axl rose or something- god it always sounds awful, I was just wondering if anyone esle had this problem- I know I cringe everytime I hear one of those shrieks

:rolleyes:

Some excellent vocalists in those bands you mention.

Guess they suck because you don't particularly like Bay Area/California Thrash style vocals.... Hmm... interesting.

Sean, Russ, Chuck, Paul, Ron from Dark Angel, Tom from Slayer... Hardly a lack of talent.
 
well i respect your point of view but russ kick ass

I cant even respect an opinion about dissing a fantastic vocalist like Russ Anderson. It's fucking ridiculous to me.
This kid can't even distinguish the difference between John Connelly's vocal style and Russ Anderson's, so his post has no credibilty whatsoever to me.
He mentioned Forbidden Evil, but I wonder if he's even heard Twisted into Form?
I cant see people who supposeldy love metal dissing bands like Violence and Nuclear Assault either. Its absurd.

A Good Vocalist for me is anyone who adds something to the music and doesnt retract from the music.

Sean Killian, John Connelly and Blitz all add a lot to their respective bands. Too bad you cant appreciate it.
 
Hunger of the Dead- Oh so I am a kid now- if 23 is a kid - so i didnt see these rather obscure thrash bands live, nor did i even hear of them until 3 years ago- i only got to see the big thrash bands live, and it wasnt until the internet that I discovered many of these bands.

I love a good argument, but to not respect my opinion is the most degrading statement one could level at me.

I agree i did lump all of the bands together, and the singers are all different. Yet, all of these singers did sing in a similar style. I happen to find their singing to be rather grating, just as you may hate death growls- or Mike Pattons warblings etc., we all have seperate opinions. I personally think the style many of these guys were trying should have been left to decent singers- guys like Tate, Dane, Dio etc, guys that could belt out a tune. This is just my opinion, hell its not like Im a record exec or something- so give me a fucking break.

Yes I have just about everyone of these bands albums- although Ive only got one Death Angel album- anyway if you dont believe me, Im on Winmx- ill give u my screenname. Ive got Distortion, Green, Twisted Into Form, and Forbidden Evil by Forbidden.

Finally I really love the music of many of these bands-especially Forbidden, Vio-Lence, and early Annhilator that is why I made this post- the vocals provide this barrier I cannot get over.
 
Hunger of the Dead- Oh so I am a kid now- if 23 is a kid

Yes it is, but whatever.

so i didnt see these rather obscure thrash bands live, nor did i even hear of them until 3 years ago- i only got to see the big thrash bands live, and it wasnt until the internet that I discovered many of these bands.

Well thats not your fault, you were too young. Its cool that you are even discovering them now. Sort of like me discovering Zeppelin when it was far too late to have seen them (if only my parnets had been hippies I might have seen the Physical Grafitti tour when I was 5!...oh sorry I digress)

I love a good argument, but to not respect my opinion is the most degrading statement one could level at me.

Sorry, but I was extremely offended by your comment concerning Russ Anderson's vocals. I can understand if you hate Sean from Violences vocals because he sings...well...sort of....well I think its a love it or hate it syle, I just dont see Russ in the same place thats all.

This is just my opinion, hell its not like Im a record exec or something- so give me a fucking break.

Fair enough.

Yes I have just about everyone of these bands albums- although Ive only got one Death Angel album- anyway if you dont believe me, Im on Winmx- ill give u my screenname. Ive got Distortion, Green, Twisted Into Form, and Forbidden Evil by Forbidden.

I believe you. If it helps any, I think death angel sucks and always have, not too mention I have always hated the song "Forbidden Evillllllllll"
Does this make me a hypocrite? LOL

Finally I really love the music of many of these bands-especially Forbidden, Vio-Lence, and early Annhilator that is why I made this post- the vocals provide this barrier I cannot get over.

Fair enough. I know a lot of people who feel the same way about Mercyful Fate / King Diamond.

Anyway thrash onward

 
Well its good to see we have settled our differences- and I very much agree with your slayer drummer post-Hoglan is the man and should at least be considered .Of all the old thrash bands- Dark Angel is one of my favorites. I just shudder to think how good Dark Angel would have been with better production.

I see we had similar experiences- it took a while to get into the music we really love- for me, all i listened to for a while was megadeth, slayer- and old queensryche- these were the heaviest bands i had knew or had heard of except for queensryche of course, I still love all three of them. When I got a hold of old slayer and megadeth 5 years ago I was just so ecstatic, i made my friends listen to real metal bands- stuff that would never find its way to the radio. It was hard to find other bands when the media never covered, or even put any of these bands on the radio.

Now that I am thinking about it, my early love of queensryche probably made me prejudiced towards these aforementioned bands that employed real singers- Tate was so good- and these guys in comparision just dont come close.