i'm asking here about the melodic metal scene, so don't shove shagrath or dani filth up my ass.
1.Rob halford-my choice. right now, his voice has degraded, but you have to face the fact: no-one gets higher than him. just listen to "dissident aggresor", "victim of changes"(79), "diamonds and rust"(79), or "painkiller"(i fucking honestly thought that the last bit was done by a different singer).
2.Tim "the ripper"-his live album with priest has simply one of the most horrifyingly long scream i have ever heard("victim of changes) also check out "diamonds and rust" and "a touch of evil" from the same cd. a for the iced earth period, the cheesy backing vocals mostly ruin the vocal performance, but a outstanding moment is the verse parts from "the reckoning".
3.King diamond-he can replicate multiple characters with his HUGE range, but his shrieks sound quite girly to me. nonetheless a great shrieker.
4.Eric adams- you might think he's not good enough to be here, but his enormously high pitched roars convinced me to add him to my list.
5.John greely- you might know him as the vocalist on iced earth's "night of the stormrider", as he has also an enormous range, almost as big as king diamond.
i vote rob halford.

I voted Halford too coz I believe his pitch is unreacheable by normal humans, he can get very high that u'll have to throw ur headphones away to not get severe ear injury or he can easily blow ur amps.
my second choise will be of course King Diamond coz this guy is a freak and me likes freaks no seriously this guy has nice spooky vocals.

I can not say my IMO because I dunno what shrieker means

King Diamond, hands down.

I have absolutely no idea (btw, good that you mentioned "no Dani Filth", would have been my answer otherwise). I guess it's Rob Halford, but I don't listen to this style of music that much so my answer doesn't really have a solid ground.

Written by [user id=5394] on 12.02.2007 at 16:35

King Diamond, hands down.

explain your opinion

Anyway, King Diamond of course. As you said, his huge range is amazing. Plus the fact that I think his vocals are most suitable with the rest of the music. Something I kinda miss with those other artists. To be completely honest, the rest of the list didn't impress me much. King Diamond is to me by far the best shrieker from that list.

However, my opinion might be slightly influenced by my black metal background, since King Diamond is most appealing for the fans of black metal, when the other shriekers do something that is different and more appealing towards more melodic genres. Oh well, my vote goes to King Diamond

Written by AntaeusM on 12.02.2007 at 19:43

explain your opinion

Will do! Sorry for the above post, since I realised it is considered spam.

Well the main reason for me thinking he is far superior is his incredible vocal range. The second being I really like his vocals no matter what range he is performing in.
Another great thing to add about him is the fact that he has inspired many artists which now work within the black metal movement etc.

Allaround he has a great record, a great voice and god damn his corpsepaint is fucking hot!

I'll have to say King Diamond. He's got a very diverse range of vocals and one of the most unique voices in metal. And as already mentioned, his vocals really suit the music. It gives it a very eerie effect. I personally think that he is the best representation of "shrieking" vocals, and just has the best shrieking vocals I've heard. While the other vocalists are very good as well, King Diamond has a more extreme style making it more original, hence why my vote goes to him.

if i was aloud to vote id definitly say king diamond, he can hit some f-ing high pitched notes

there is no competition in my books..
Rob Halford, the god of metal.. haha. just listen to those 13 Judas Priest albums he sung his little heart out on
are tracks like 'All Guns Blazing' and 'Painkiller' 'shrieky' enough for you?

also is puzzles me why you would include Tim Owens to this thread but then neglect to add something like Ralf Scheepers

King Diamond, simply because I find he has the most enjoyable vocals of them all. As said, his range is impressive. I also find his voice suits the music, unlike some of the others listed (except for Halford too), obvisously meaning while some may sing well, they aren't meant to be singing in the types of bands they may have been in, hence I like the voices less...

Halford can become a bore after a while... I remember when I was Priest-crazy, but I got over it. I still like Priest, just not to the same degree when I first heard them, unlike King Diamond.

Written by Baz Anderson on 13.02.2007 at 12:03

also is puzzles me why you would include Tim Owens to this thread but then neglect to add something like Ralf Scheepers

you obviously didn't listen to "victim of changes" from the live meltdown cd. the ending scream is the loooooooongest scream i ever heard... it's just UTTERLY INSANE. you have to hear it.

Written by Valentin B on 13.02.2007 at 13:18

Written by Baz Anderson on 13.02.2007 at 12:03

also is puzzles me why you would include Tim Owens to this thread but then neglect to add something like Ralf Scheepers

you obviously didn't listen to "victim of changes" from the live meltdown cd. the ending scream is the loooooooongest scream i ever heard... it's just UTTERLY INSANE. you have to hear it.

I do have the 'Live Meltdown' album - and I do know what Tim Owens is capable of - I like him, I know he can sing well
but that wasnt my point
my point was that you missed off Ralf Scheepers.. he is also in the highest tier of singers in my opinion, so I was mearly musing over your decision to include Tim and omit Ralf

Written by Eternal Flames on 13.02.2007 at 07:32

I'll have to say King Diamond. He's got a very diverse range of vocals and one of the most unique voices in metal. And as already mentioned, his vocals really suit the music. It gives it a very eerie effect. I personally think that he is the best representation of "shrieking" vocals, and just has the best shrieking vocals I've heard. While the other vocalists are very good as well, King Diamond has a more extreme style making it more original, hence why my vote goes to him.

I agree a hundred percent on what she said. My vote as well goes for him. I'd have said something similar, but we've the same opinion.

As I read this Topic while I was wandering off the Forum, and saw the poll, I was hoping to see Miron's name (from Tvangeste) onto there. Since Miron's vocal screams are greatly used and suiting the background of their music. So if Miron were on the list, I'd definitely would have chosen him.

@cock_spit: tvangeste(as i see on m-s) is a black metal band, and i said in the first post that i won't include extreme metal shriekers(shuldiner, filth etc.).

I didn't vote, because I don't see a Mike Patton option. Best shrieker bar none, among other vocal stylings (of which he has many). Check out Fantomas. Hands down the best vocalist of all time.

King Diamond of course IMO. Specially his stuff on Mercyful Fate. Each and every track is shrieked out and I dont know how his throat can stand it actually. Maybe its because I'm a bit of a Black Metal fan too but still no one has ever done it like the King!

Written by Valentin B on 13.02.2007 at 14:57

@cock_spit: tvangeste(as i see on m-s) is a black metal band, and i said in the first post that i won't include extreme metal shriekers(shuldiner, filth etc.).

Oh ok, yeah I know that they're a black metal band. Actually I had no idea that you wouldn't include them. Sorry about that. But yeah. My vote still goes to King Diamond ^_^

wow, it seems I'm the first to vote for ripper owens
Well, Halford can definitly put it out there, but Ripper I feel just does a better job, though I question weather or not he can hold it as long as rob because te end of the song painkiller is just Nuckin' futs.

I like how you included the underatted John Greely,he is mainly why I love "Night Of The Stormrider",wish that he would've stayed with Iced Earth.I also love the King and Halford,King Diamond is more unique then both of them,its hard to put into words how out of this world his shrieks are.

Written by Arian Totalis on 19.02.2007 at 04:51

wow, it seems I'm the first to vote for ripper owens
Well, Halford can definitly put it out there, but Ripper I feel just does a better job, though I question weather or not he can hold it as long as rob because te end of the song painkiller is just Nuckin' futs.

if you haven't read the previous posts, just listen to the ending for "victim of changes"(97 live meltdown)
it TOTALLY ANNIHILATES the painkiller scream... it's 100x higher, and about 2 seconds longer, and best of all, live!
but still rob halford is the best. i don't know how many female singers can do the intro for dissident aggressor or the incredibly fast vocal passage in "freewheel burning"(how can someone sing that fast and that high?!) hail rob!
@mega-slayer: damn, he was such a fucking asshole(read the "trivia" section from iced earth's page), but he's got one of the biggest ranges(from a gurgly growl(the henchman awaits you..) to a halford impersonation(puuuuuuuure eeevil!)) in metal(bigger even than matt barlow's, and i gotta say barlow is weaker than this guy)...fear the angel's holocaust, THEY'RE SCREAAAAAAAAAMING(on a side note, i'd give anything to hear tim "the ripper" do this live, or the "rrrrrriding on the hot winds of hell" bit in "travel in stygian")

1.King Diamond
2.Empty
3.Empty
..and then everyone else, Kimg Diamond is fucking amazing, he will suprise you with his vocals everytime you listen to King Diamond or Mercyful Fate. Even if you know what to excpect it is still amazing to hear his high tones. There are many similar vocalist but he can scream loud and extremelly high and add great melody and harmony t the same time. Maybe he can't sing like before but he is still the best of the bests.
I like Erci Adams too but he is only a screamer and nothing more while King Diamond can control his voice non-stop and to change his voice melody in a second.

I voted Owens, I think he's also very versatile and a great vocalist. He's work in Iced Earth is also notable.

The best one isn't added in this list: JOHN CYRIIS. What he did with AGENT STEEL was incredible, the best metal singer ever.... I suppose most of you guys don't know him but he was the best. It's a pity he isn't active anymore...

And don't forget about James Rivera (Helstar, Viciuos Rumors, Seven Witches,...°

I'd say Chris Cornell, at least during his tenure with Soundgarden. His highest recorded note is A above high C and this is from a guy with a bass-baritone natural range.

Also Devin Townsend can go pretty damn high and hold the note for ever.

Naturally, Mike Patton is a more versatile vocalist than these guys; however, high pitch shrieks arent something that he does a lot.

man i have to say rob halford, its just impossible to reach some of those notes!

I'll vote for King Diamond. His vocals have great diversity and fits the representation of "shrieking" the best out of the list. They fit the music really well as well giving it something extra to the songs on a whole.

King Diamonds vocals are (imo) probably stand out more compared to the other on the list. Rob Halford's vocals have pretty high range when hes "shrieking" and pull it off great, but K.D's seem more fitting to, again, the "shrieking" style that we're voting for.

Written by jupitreas on 20.02.2007 at 01:15

I'd say Chris Cornell, at least during his tenure with Soundgarden. His highest recorded note is A above high C and this is from a guy with a bass-baritone natural range.

Also Devin Townsend can go pretty damn high and hold the note for ever.

Naturally, Mike Patton is a more versatile vocalist than these guys; however, high pitch shrieks arent something that he does a lot.

Dude, Patton shrieks pretty consistently in alot of his stuff. Like I said in the previous post, Fantomas is the most notable, however, his King for a Day era Faith No More is also shriek potent (Ugly in the Morning, Gentle Art of Making Enemies, G.t Out), and he even let out a bunch on the first Bungle album. I'd say Tomahawk, but I don't own Mit Gas, so I have no idea if he does it with them as much

Written by [user id=20319] on 21.02.2007 at 07:33

Dude, Patton shrieks pretty consistently in alot of his stuff. Like I said in the previous post, Fantomas is the most notable, however, his King for a Day era Faith No More is also shriek potent (Ugly in the Morning, Gentle Art of Making Enemies, G.t Out), and he even let out a bunch on the first Bungle album. I'd say Tomahawk, but I don't own Mit Gas, so I have no idea if he does it with them as much

I guess this depends on our definition of what 'shrieking' means. Actually, I would also call Patton's high pitch growls/screams (for example, on "Smaller And Smaller") shrieks but I think judging by the people that the author of this thread mentioned in his post I would think we are referring to the insanely high pitch wails of such vocalists as Rob Halford or King Diamond. Now, Patton doesnt really do these kinds of vocals at all... Still, those high pitch screams of his are incredible, he actually destroyed the sound system with one of those in the Fantomas gig I've been to

Written by jupitreas on 21.02.2007 at 10:49

Written by [user id=20319] on 21.02.2007 at 07:33

Dude, Patton shrieks pretty consistently in alot of his stuff. Like I said in the previous post, Fantomas is the most notable, however, his King for a Day era Faith No More is also shriek potent (Ugly in the Morning, Gentle Art of Making Enemies, G.t Out), and he even let out a bunch on the first Bungle album. I'd say Tomahawk, but I don't own Mit Gas, so I have no idea if he does it with them as much

I guess this depends on our definition of what 'shrieking' means. Actually, I would also call Patton's high pitch growls/screams (for example, on "Smaller And Smaller") shrieks but I think judging by the people that the author of this thread mentioned in his post I would think we are referring to the insanely high pitch wails of such vocalists as Rob Halford or King Diamond. Now, Patton doesnt really do these kinds of vocals at all... Still, those high pitch screams of his are incredible, he actually destroyed the sound system with one of those in the Fantomas gig I've been to

Fuck you've seen Fantomas? I cant explain my level of jealously right now. I'd sell my soul to see Patton live.