Evolution from growls to clean vox

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DarkWolfen
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Post by DarkWolfen » Thu July 29th, 2004, 2:08 am

I have been curious as to why alot bands I can name alot from the top of my head, naming only a few for examples.

Sentenced
My Dying Bride (had their stint)
Theatre of Tragedy
etc.

Went from brutal death/black metal to more toned down mood music with clean vox. What do you think it is that makes for the change? Is it the vocalist can't do the growling anymore out of physical reasons or is it they want to achieve some chunk of the commercial market in their country. Its been a question for a long time.

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Post by Greg » Thu July 29th, 2004, 8:24 am

For a lot of bands it has to do with maturing as artists. Another band who fits your description nicely is Amorphis, their Chapters cd has a little paragraph in the beginning of the booklet that talks about them "getting weaned off the teenage angst of their death metal years" and their sound maturing into the melodic hard rock stuff it is today. I think that's a fitting description for a lot of the death metal acts (Katatonia and Anathema also come to mind) who wind up softening their tone over the years. It's hard to stay pissed off at religion and the world forever I suppose.

...That's not to say that you still can't be an all out aggressive balls to the wall death metal god when you hit your late 20's/30's, but you definitely see the world differently at that age, and it comes through in your music, whether that music is toned down or still the same sound you played as a teenager. It was cool to hear Hallows Eve come into the studio last Friday and hear they hadn't gotten any softer all these years later.

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BoB
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Post by BoB » Thu July 29th, 2004, 11:02 am

as someone hitting their late20s/30s, I too have adjusted my tastes somewhat away from deathy vocals. When I got used to that vocal style in the early 90s, clean vocals sounded "gay" - what I listen to and aired on Wrekage was mostly dirty vocal style death metal. But overtime, and as more and more bands went to dirty vocals, I saw that style as an overused effect. Kinda like when whammy bars first hit the scene :o
..That's not to say that you still can't be an all out aggressive balls to the wall death metal god
I'm not sure if you're implying that you can't be balls-to-the-wall-aggressive without dirty vocals, but I know a lot of people feel that way. I think that's way off. There are plenty of dirty vocals that sound "gay" - they're not aggressive at all, they're just cookie-cutter crap. Likewise, you can definately get that aggressive vibe with clean vocals - I think it's harder to pull off but that just makes it more special.

I've heard the deathgasm guys play "brutal" metal that was nothing more than very dirty vocals over a basic punk beat. The music could have come off a Ramones album from the 70s, just with different vocals. To me that does not define a whole new genre or anything - it's just an effect...

So overall, I hope the genre is maturing a little and considering all the building blocks more evenly now that the newness has wore off of some.

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Post by Greg » Thu July 29th, 2004, 1:05 pm

<!--QuoteBegin-bob+Jul 29 2004, 12:02 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (bob &#064; Jul 29 2004, 12:02 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> I'm not sure if you're implying that you can't be balls-to-the-wall-aggressive without dirty vocals, but I know a lot of people feel that way. [/quote]

Not at all. I meant in terms of the overall sound of the music, like you could still crank out quality death/thrash stuff the older you get without having to have your music get mellow. That's why I threw in the Hallows Eve example at the end.

Vocals are probably the least important aspect of a song to me. For the most part I see growling death metal vocals as just another instrument as opposed to it actually being someone's voice. It's just a neat little bonus if I can actually understand what's being said.

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Post by BoB » Thu July 29th, 2004, 1:16 pm

For the most part I see growling death metal vocals as just another instrument
I think most people who 'get it' think that way. and it also fits into my statements that when new instruments/effects are introduced, they're usually overused. It's the "hey this is neat!" syndrome on the side of the musicians. Eventually that newness wears off and the instrument becomes used more appropriately.

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WuDi, w/o competition
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Post by WuDi, w/o competition » Thu July 29th, 2004, 1:55 pm

There's something of a visual aspect that has to be seen and felt through a singer's use of growls, or screams--dirtiness. The veins popping out on his forehead, the spittle flying from his open mouth...just that unnerving a sound coming out of human vocal chords. I think a lot of people who just listen to this type of vocal style end up developing their own 'growl', just something they do in their own company, singing their favorite song to while away the time...
But the actual lyrics have always meant more to me, not how their sung.

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DarkWolfen
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Post by DarkWolfen » Thu July 29th, 2004, 5:03 pm

<!--QuoteBegin-WuDi, w/o competition+Jul 29 2004, 01:55 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (WuDi, w/o competition @ Jul 29 2004, 01:55 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> I think a lot of people who just listen to this type of vocal style end up developing their own 'growl', just something they do in their own company, singing their favorite song to while away the time...
But the actual lyrics have always meant more to me, not how their sung. [/quote]
You know thats true, because Peter Steele has a kind of aggressive growl (I know its not death metal or anything) in the first Carnivore album. Did I really dislike it, no I didn't because he's Petrus Steele. :m3t4l:

The lyrics are important but it makes it hard to hear the lyrics if its all screams, yells and growls. :t01l3t:
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dumpVokillist
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Post by dumpVokillist » Fri July 30th, 2004, 11:08 pm

growling for me doesnt even use my vocal chords. i can growl for hours and not get tired. its the high screamo shit that kills people voices.


and all those bands you listed... :m0nk3yp33: . maybe if their vocalists whistled out of their anuses, they could at least be good for a laugh.

dumpVokillist
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Post by dumpVokillist » Tue August 3rd, 2004, 12:05 am

bump for anus whistling

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