Agree with the comment about Dave. Most of them are awful.

Written by Ziom on 08.04.2013 at 14:08

Iced Earth's early albums are worth mentioning too, because of vocals.

Regarding Lacuna Coil: I wonder if they were under label's pressure, because Andrea just sticks out so much. It's beyond "taste". It's about lack of improvement visually, linguistically and vocally. Why is he still there is beyond me. Maybe he's a crucial composer? Does he play any instruments? What does he do beyond singing?

Since there are people that do like him, it's not beyond taste. I think he improved a lot as I said earlier, this can be verified if you see old videos of him singing off key frequently and pityful attempts of harshening, and nowadays he has a lot more control on his voice. If he hasn't improved enough for you or you don't like his voice at all, that's where taste comes in.
Not a native speaker so I shouldn't opine on the linguistic, you could be right in that point. And not sure how can he improve visually, do you want him to get hotter?

BTW, he is a main composer. He founded the band and used to play bass I think.

He could shave his moustache

Written by Unhealer on 10.04.2013 at 01:43

Written by Ziom on 08.04.2013 at 14:08

Iced Earth's early albums are worth mentioning too, because of vocals.

Regarding Lacuna Coil: I wonder if they were under label's pressure, because Andrea just sticks out so much. It's beyond "taste". It's about lack of improvement visually, linguistically and vocally. Why is he still there is beyond me. Maybe he's a crucial composer? Does he play any instruments? What does he do beyond singing?

Since there are people that do like him, it's not beyond taste. I think he improved a lot as I said earlier, this can be verified if you see old videos of him singing off key frequently and pityful attempts of harshening, and nowadays he has a lot more control on his voice. If he hasn't improved enough for you or you don't like his voice at all, that's where taste comes in.
Not a native speaker so I shouldn't opine on the linguistic, you could be right in that point. And not sure how can he improve visually, do you want him to get hotter?

BTW, he is a main composer. He founded the band and used to play bass I think.

What you mean iced earths's first albums ? I guess you mean their first album Night of the Stormrider where Gene Adams was the singer ? because afterwards it was Matt Barlow?
If thats the album you mean i somewhat agree with the exception of 1-2 songs ( mainly iced earth ) the rest songs vocally arent that great

Written by AdamosMakis on 20.04.2013 at 15:59

What you mean iced earths's first albums ? I guess you mean their first album Night of the Stormrider where Gene Adams was the singer ? because afterwards it was Matt Barlow?
If thats the album you mean i somewhat agree with the exception of 1-2 songs ( mainly iced earth ) the rest songs vocally arent that great

My reply was for Lacuna Coil!

I meant the first album, I generally like everything with Barlow. I prefer his style that became solid and coherent on the Dark Saga if I remember correctly. Burnt offerings was much heavier and a bit different.

Now, I found a Lacuna Coil killer: Amaranthe, there's a review on the front page. Three vocalists, all good.

You did good, Amaranthe are a good find and I really dig it when they sing in unison.

One guy that always seems to bring whatever album he's in a little bit down is Rick Altzi. I don't think the man's bad, but he mostly sounds like a bored and aging hard-rock vocalist or something. He's the singer of the newer At Vance albums, and I can't really say they compare with AV's early amazing records (though to be fair, it isn't just Rick here that sounds bored). He was also in Thunderstone's 'Dirt Metal', which left me divided between not liking it and finding it ok.

I know he has replaced Jorn Lande for the new Masterplan album and that put me off a little. He sure isn't in the same league as Lande or Hartmann!

Found another one.

Nile's vocalist on newer albums. DAMN

I hate when growlers forget death metal isn't theatre.

A lot of people have probably said Labrie in Dream Theater no? He seems to have a lot of haters.

Actually I don't remember feeling like that about one of my particular favourite bands or otherwise. I can't remember one musician that really annoys me to the point of ruining it all for me except for that Disturbed's vocalist. I find his voice very annoying.

Written by BloodTears on 23.06.2013 at 20:33

except for that Disturbed's vocalist. I find his voice very annoying.

I love him in Disturbed, but Device is just horrible.

Written by psykometal on 05.04.2013 at 20:16

Written by Guest on 05.04.2013 at 20:07

I have to agree, Daron Malakian is a fucking terrible vocalist and one of the bigger reasons why Hyp/Mez were not as good as previous albums. When you have a voice like Serj's why would you ever give any record time to someone like Daron's?

I actually loved Daron's vocals on Mezmerize, didn't like Hypnotize at all though musically or vocally. I've seen/heard many complain of his vocals though so I chuck that one into the same category as King Diamond.

Except that King Diamond is a master of a vocalist.

"Come to think of it, I remembered more examples of worthy efforts ruined by one guy"

I can think of worthy efforts run into the ground by multiple guys...

Written by Frosst on 27.06.2017 at 23:16

Except that King Diamond is a master of a vocalist.

And I do agree, but it's been proven time and again that it doesn't matter how masterful a musician is, there will always be their detractors, and some musicians out there have a much more polarizing effect on their fans/detractors due to their styles/methods than others. And King Diamond and Daron Malakian are both musicians whose vocal styles are so unique/different that people tend to either love them or hate them, literally. Neither are musicians that people really go, "Eh. they're ok. I don't hate them but I don't love them. But they also don't irritate me, so I can dig them well enough." No. It's almost always either, "I fucking love King Diamond!" or "I can't fucking stand King Diamond! His music is pretty good, but vocals are so terrible/annoying."

Written by psykometal on 02.07.2017 at 04:42

Written by Frosst on 27.06.2017 at 23:16

Except that King Diamond is a master of a vocalist.

And I do agree, but it's been proven time and again that it doesn't matter how masterful a musician is, there will always be their detractors, and some musicians out there have a much more polarizing effect on their fans/detractors due to their styles/methods than others. And King Diamond and Daron Malakian are both musicians whose vocal styles are so unique/different that people tend to either love them or hate them, literally. Neither are musicians that people really go, "Eh. they're ok. I don't hate them but I don't love them. But they also don't irritate me, so I can dig them well enough." No. It's almost always either, "I fucking love King Diamond!" or "I can't fucking stand King Diamond! His music is pretty good, but vocals are so terrible/annoying."

Yes I agree with you. While I do fall in the "I Love King Diamond!" - group I can understand why some people don't like him. I can however mention a lot of vocalists that I personally hate, aswell as some I used to hate but now love.

Well, vocals are 50% of the song experience so if I don't enjoy them I'll most of the time file the entire band in "not" section.

I also enjoy limited dozes of Daron, he's quite good in some songs like Lonely Day.

Lars Ulrich

Written by Kennoth on 31.07.2017 at 05:55

Well, vocals are 50% of the song experience....

I disagree. I'd say they are 10% of the song experience at most.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 31.07.2017 at 06:14

Written by Kennoth on 31.07.2017 at 05:55

Well, vocals are 50% of the song experience....

I disagree. I'd say they are 10% of the song experience at most.

So they don't really matter much to you?

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 31.07.2017 at 06:14

I disagree. I'd say they are 10% of the song experience at most.

I'd say that depends upon genres and individual bands, but generally, I agree. It's one of the reasons why I've never understood why so many people can't get over it when a band changes their vocalist. Unless the vocalist contributes a lot to songwriting, they are the most replaceable member of any band imo.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 31.07.2017 at 06:11

Lars Ulrich

Definitely!

For me, vocals play a big role when I first listen to a band/album - it can be a deal-breaker. I've tried to drown out the vocals and just focus on the instruments, but I can't. The vocals are always there for me - and I need to at least tolerate them to be able to continue listening.
The thing is, there isn't one vocal style that I always prefer. I love Judas Priest's high-pitched screams but not King Diamond's so much. I like the black metal vocals of Necrophobic, but not of Emperor. I like the thrash vocals of Testament, but not those of Exodus. I like the death metal growl of Bolt Thrower but not of Cannibal Corpse.
For me, the vocals need to "fit" with the style (it doesnt distract, but rather flows with the instruments) and the vocals need to sound genuine (real emotion behind the words).
On the other hand, sometimes vocals that I initially disliked can grow on me. The best example is probably Terminal Redux. At first I got a headache from them, but now I find they fit perfectly with the technical guitar-work and they believably convey the emotions and philosophical crises that the protagonist is going through.
So, most of the time, that "one guy to ruin it all" is the vocalist. But on the other hand, the "one guy to save it all" can also be the vocalist

^ I could have written the above post word for word.

Written by nikarg on 02.10.2021 at 09:42

^ I could have written the above post word for word.

John Sloman ruined Uriah Heep 1980 album Conquest. The weird thing is that Sloman was a competent vocalist but his performance on Conquest was at times awful.

Rick Altzi ruined the Thunderstone album he was on as well as the Masterplan albums. My opinion obviously, I guess there are people that like his singing.

Written by F3ynman2000 on 01.10.2021 at 20:02

For me, vocals play a big role when I first listen to a band/album - it can be a deal-breaker. I've tried to drown out the vocals and just focus on the instruments, but I can't. The vocals are always there for me - and I need to at least tolerate them to be able to continue listening.

Persefone immediately sprang to mind when reading this paragraph. I don't even know if I would like their music because I can't get past five seconds of those vocals.