I've come to prefer death growls for the most part. What I can't stand in the newer bands are the clean vocals that sound like bloody boy band harmonies which are so prevalent among the metalcore bands. I'm a big fan of Priest and Maiden, so I definitely appreciate clean vocals that are powerful and, well, metal. Power metal vocals sound so...wussy to my ears. Maybe guys like Dio, Halford, Dickenson and Tate have just spoiled us for so many years that nothing else comes close.

Cage is a good traditional heavy metal band from the US. I haven't heard their new album yet, but their Darker Than Black album from 2003 is great. 2007's Hell Destroyer is solid musically but suffers from a definite cheese factor in the lyric department. I also like Grave Digger quite a bit.

I am a growl guy 95 percent of the time. I make exceptions for Neil Fallon, Bruce Dickinson, and stunning you-won't-believe-the-power-or-beauty-of-her-or-his-voice Opera performers, otherwise I am content with many of the growls of modern metal. Pavarotti vs. Corpsegrinder, Corpsegrinder wins.

One band that is incredibly heavy while maintaining clean vocals is Candlemass at least from what iv heard which is only two albums.

Well im about 75 25 in favor of growls, but i usually find much comfort and confidence in a band who can properly pull of strong and powerful clean vocals; one of my favorite bands, which is the best of both vocal worlds, would have to be scar symmetry, their first 3 albums had one vocalist (Christian Älvestam)...abosluetely amazing vocalist; as where their latest work (dark matter demensions), they had to recruit 2 vocalist, one for the deeper growls and one for the clean vocals...but in my opinion dont ever come close to same level...

but as far as pure clean vocals id recommend Pathosray's Sons of the Sunless skies album

This is a great thread!

I've heard of most of the bands listed but I'll give a listen to the others. Yeah I agree with the topic creator that most bands with clean vocals (who aren't power or thrash) just friggin suck. They're all so whiny sounding. That's probably why I prefer growling...it's definitely not whiny!

hmmm any bands I can think of to add that weren't mentioned already?

Eluveitie comes to mind (probably cause I just saw them)...the man growls but not in every song and on their most recent album, he hardly ever growls and the women sing alot more.

Keep an eye out for my next project, I have been doing multiple melodeath Scar Symmetry / solution .45 soilwork sorts of bands for years now..

I'm bored of it, it's all started to blur into the same thing for me so... I decided to keep the tracks and remove all the death metal vocals and beef up the layering on all my songs.. (try and re-invent the wheel a little) E.P is due out January. I like it, it is a damn site more difficult to do as it relied on pure talent (I won't use autotune grrr) the songs are recorded bar the vocals which will take another 150 hours then there is the mixing and mastering so another month to month and a half.

I have followed the masses for ages cause I knew it was going to be a massive battle to justify the music but I think there has to be some sort of market out there for it, I hope the years of work and the thousands of pounds and the difficult times ahead will be worth it.

www.shadowkind.co.uk

P.S who would of every thought clean singing with metal would become a niche? (Excluding pirate, pixy, power and all of that).

Havta agree with Iced Earth. totally heavy music but mostly with clean vocals... Night of the Stormrider and Burnt Offerings should be quite enjoyable for people who are into this stuff(like me )

Sonata Arctica, Dragonland, Firewind, Galneryus, Dream Evil

Very heavy, very clean

Clean I agree, but I totally disagree that their music heavy although OLD Firewind is heavier than today. Especially SA I would describe as the epitome of unheavy music. but maybe that's the pop power metal hater in me speaking.

Looking for the same thing haven't really found anything... except for some power metal bands and a swedish industrial metal band called Raubtier, very heavy quite clean vocal

Queen did some heavy stuff with clean vocals.

Try these:
Stone Cold Crazy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=katk3LqaVwM

Ogre Battle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtTPVhSwpfc

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 24.11.2010 at 16:55

Clean I agree, but I totally disagree that their music heavy although OLD Firewind is heavier than today. Especially SA I would describe as the epitome of unheavy music. but maybe that's the pop power metal hater in me speaking.

As a pop Powermetal hater, I agree with you.

To the OP: Sorry, but I can't help you. I feel the same way as you but the other way around. I'm sick of clean vocals in metal and listen almost exclusively to metal with harsh vocals nowadays.

Killswitch Engage's Howard Jones is a great singer in my opinion. He sings really well and still screams too. His cover of Holy Diver was just amazing.

No mention of Blood Revolt yet. Apparently they're not even featured in the database although they shouldn't be too obscure since the Primordial vocalist is in this band too.



Then there's Act of God. It might be very hard to find their album though.

Death Angel. You can always go back to listen to some thrash.

As a Black Metal listener, I must say I hate when BM bands mix harsh vocals and cleans.
I'm aware some people think differently but, imo, clean vocals sound out of place in BM.
I also hate when vocals are too clean in Thrash.

I have to say one of the best mixtures of clean vocals and harsh is My Dying Bride. That singer has a fantastic voice.

Written by RavenKing on 03.03.2011 at 14:33

As a Black Metal listener, I must say I hate when BM bands mix harsh vocals and cleans.
I'm aware some people think differently but, imo, clean vocals sound out of place in BM.
I also hate when vocals are too clean in Thrash.

Oh well... Ulver's debut sounds pretty perfect for me though and by no means out of place, tastes differ.

Written by RavenKing on 03.03.2011 at 14:33

As a Black Metal listener, I must say I hate when BM bands mix harsh vocals and cleans.
I'm aware some people think differently but, imo, clean vocals sound out of place in BM.
I also hate when vocals are too clean in Thrash.

Clean vocals in bm works sometimes, but very rarely, and even then never the wannabe epic crap. I like this though:



Dirty as fuck, as opposed to the suckiness of:



My username would also indicaate that I'm a sucker for viking-era Bathory, which I think is quite heavy but with clean vox (not bm though).

I think clean vocals can be a great respite during particularly challenging songs, a better example I cannot think of:

Everyone's least favourite album that features only a song's worth of female (I think, might not be) cleans halfway or so through the album (and even then only halfway through the song if you can stomach getting to it). When they kick in it takes the music to transcendental level:

Written by X-Ray Rod on 06.03.2011 at 11:58

Written by RavenKing on 03.03.2011 at 14:33

As a Black Metal listener, I must say I hate when BM bands mix harsh vocals and cleans.
I'm aware some people think differently but, imo, clean vocals sound out of place in BM.
I also hate when vocals are too clean in Thrash.

Oh well... Ulver's debut sounds pretty perfect for me though and by no means out of place, tastes differ.

I don't like "Bergtatt". The only Ulver album I own is "Nattens Madrigal".

It sounds what you want is modern "heavy" metal, which, alas, is a genre that isn't so popular these days. A few to try, though: Hibria (thrashy, aggressive, powerful vocals), Sabaton (not real complex but strong vox, good songwriting), Stormwarrior (speed/viking with clean vox), Wuthering Heights (same). You might also try Silent Force's last 2 albums (Worlds Apart and Walk the Earth) -- they're technically power metal but these albums are more heavy than power, and DC Cooper's vocals are terrific.