Why Modern Metal Vocals are TERRIBLE!!!
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- čas přidán 27. 06. 2024
- I've seen the future of Metal vocals, and it's a dark and scary one! ...and not in a "cool horror movie" sense, but more like a "this is going to be VERY bad" sense! Maybe this video can help.
0:00 Warning: Harsh Truth Ahead
3:06 The Problem At Hand
3:46 A Note About Toxic Positivity
5:39 Where Are The Great New Vocalists?
6:52 Lack of Dynamics
7:42 Plain Ol' Bad Singing
8:48 Lack of Harmonies or Nasty Harmonies
9:42 Boys Club Mentality
10:20 Lack of Passion
11:12 No Discipline
12:34 No-one Want More Cookie!!!!! (Subtitled)
13:42 Vocals as an Afterthought
15:06 Expiry Date Exceeded...
17:18 The Bottom Line...
18:19 Endscreen & Bloopers
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I'm Glenn Fricker, engineer here at Spectre Sound Studios. I love making records, and after doing it for sixteen years, I want to pass on what I've learned. On my channel you can find tutorials on how to record guitar, bass, real drums and vocals. There's reviews and demos of tube amps, amp sims, drums, mics, preamps, outboard gear, Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar, and plugin effects.
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yeeess lets roast modern metal
xD
Hey, it's Robby Adobe
mr Adobe do you know which band is the "chose my path" one?
I need you to roast my songs!!
Eventually, I will post them.
Youre part of it
We appreciate your criticism and are honored to go down in SpectreSoundStudios history! 🤣 We watch you all the time! 🤘
I really dig that harmonizing section.
You guys are great sports, this is the maturity the world needs. 😁
For the record, I don't think the audio snippet was that bad. Though now having listened to the whole song, it does get grating by the end.
I liked that you clearly have the intention of moving beyond the confines of a played-out genre that has become its own parody. You put in some cool effects that give some variety of soundscapes. I also liked the kinda spacey almost psychedelic mixing you went for. But let's be honest here, everybody is sick of djent at this point. If you're going to tune that low, you might as well just play bass. Hell, give everyone a bass and see what happens. Low chugs and high-pitch reverb drenched squealing can't carry a song on their own. Write some riffs that are memorable and some kid in their bedroom will be inspired to learn. Either that, or really lean into that psychedelic spacey vibe and do something weird.
Your vocalist needs a lot of improvement as well. Again, there were cool effects used well and I personally liked the clean section. But he kind of just screamed one note for the entire song. Even harsh vocals can be plenty expressive. And I'm not talking about pig squeals and walrus roars and whatever, but genuine expression. Travis Ryan of Cattle Decapitation is a great example of a very expressive growler. Or Nergal of Behemoth, who makes great use of harmonies. Or Attila Csihar of Mayhem. Or Onielar of Bethlehem's recent albums. These are all examples of vocalists who mainly use harsh distorted techniques, but are also incredibly expressive. There is a rhythm and melody to even harsh vocals, so make full use of your range and experiment what sounds you can make. (Within reason of course.)
Hope that was helpful.
I thought that chorus was pretty awesome actually.
Hell yeah ❤️
Bruce Dickenson had throat cancer and still putting out albums. That man is a legend. Up the irons!
Yeah. Doo-doo records.
Up the irons!!
Dave Mustain as well
@@kaboose111 You think Metallica is any better?
@@mousemacleod9184 Than what? The last piece ass Maiden put out?
As someone who recently spent 6 years teching on tour for one of these "New Country, auto-tuned quantized second-rate Def Leopard copycats with rapping and banjos" bands, all I can say is that you have no idea (or maybe do) how accurate you are with that statement. At this point, I've probably heard "Pour Some Sugar On Me" covered more times by bro-country bands than I've actually heard the original.
Damn I hate it so much. Just want to hear some Jimi and Allman Bros.
outside of Germany, Sweden and Russia, there are no decent new Metal Bands. American metal is basically dead.
*_"...I've probably heard "Pour Some Sugar On Me" covered more times by bro-country bands than I've actually heard the original."_*
I'm not really metal fan but, God! That sounds painful! Much respect for suffering through all that and maintaining your sanity.
@@MrRabiddogg And Finland, Sweden, UK, Canada, The Netherlands, Belgium. . .
Basically, it is only the US, and there are some bright lights even there.
@@phillee2814 Granted there are an infinite number of bands out there but I haven't heard a new US or Canadian band out there that is good. Same with UK.
"If you want a singer with some balls, get one with a uterus"
I'm gonna need that on a shirt, Glenn
Yeah same haha
@@CreativeMindsAudio r/unintentionallyfeminist
I’d buy the hell out of that! 🤟🏼🤣
I wear my balls on my chest-- Lita Ford.
@@339blackdiamond it's not all about range my guy, how many great male singers have popped up on metal recently? Not frontmen or vocalists; SINGERS. Most recent example I can think of is Corey Taylor, and he's been on it for close to 30 years now
Female rock singer here! - We've been denied gigs because it was presumed that our sound was "Chuggy riffs with opera singing" - The whole nightwish thing is also in danger of being overdone with too many rip-off acts doing that same thing!
Riding coattails has always been a thing in music. Mixing it up is what more talented acts do,
i love female vocals in metal and a lot of what i listen to would fall under the symphonic umbrella. but i must admit ive heard and forgotten about my share of bands with crappy "operatic" singers. no worries, what makes bands like NW unique isn't having a female singer, its having a phenomenal singer(both Floor and Tarja deserve that title. never really been a fan of Anette) as well as doing everything else right. ive also heard way to many comments in terms of "its just like Nightwish/Evanescence" the moment someone heard a distorted guitar and a female voice in a song, even if the singing technique was completely different and the band didn't even remotely fit into the symphonic genre.
@@yvs6663 Exactly this! too many TRYING to do it for the sake of it, Just stick to your normal voice and I don't know maybe let some personality come out.... (sorry, forgot where we're commenting here *Angry canadian voice* LET SOME FUCKING PERSONALITY COME OUT FOR A CHANGE! :) But yeah. agree with your comment completely!
@@kisskisskill404 100% correct just sticking to your normal voice is the way to go, I love female rock singers that are raw and hard like Gudrun Laos of the rock band Laos, their 1990 album 'We Want It' is a masterpiece, she absolutely shreds on vocals
“Opera singing with chugging” damn they have no chill 🤣
As a self taught singer who sang in a barbershop, i feel like a big issue is metal vocalists nowadays tend to put the cart before the horse. Whereas generally the singers of old would be great singers and THEN experiment with fry and screams, vocalists now learn to scream THEN try and sing. Also amazing point about the female vocalists, absolutely on point
I personally dislike metal bands that have guttural / fry sounds that give you only one pitch. (I won't list these here). This probably results from learning only harsh vocals. To me it sounds idiotic like EDM beat! Check out old Morbid Angel with David Vincent (Blessed Are Sick), Tomi Joutsen from Amorphis (the Bee), Warrel Dane (Lucretia My Reflection, RIP Mr. Dane)
I actually think that every singer (and by this I mean every singer) should take classical singing lessons for couple of years. You should be really patient and humble with these singing lessons.
vocals are by far the easiest part of music lol. all you have to do to be decent at vocals is not drink and smoke and you will have access to a large range of tone
Even for singers who don’t have much training or technique, look at Opeth. Mikael Akerfeldt has the most crushing harsh growls but his clean passages are beautiful, and most importantly they are memorable.
he is a head of lettuce. just like all his peers.
Mikael Akerfeldt is one of my favourite metal vocalists for this very reason. And Ghost Reveries is, in my opinion, pretty damn near close to a Flawless album.
Opeth's musicality is insane
one of the most boring live bands i have ever seen. they just stood there by their respective microphone or gear and played. mikael might as well have been sitting on a stool .
@@poikusa0207 he does sit on a stool for their acoustic concerts lol🤣
"The only real advantage is you can write the lyrics a month after you've recorded the vocal." That was actually genuinely funny and original. Keep it up!
Well, not original, but still funny.
It’s common for War Metal bands to write the lyrics after releasing the songs, and that’s been a joke since it first started.
On top of that, bands like Enbilulugal don’t even write lyrics for their songs at all, they just scream.
Since when is MGK metal? Comparing him and Bruce is very disingenuous. You picked the best from the 80s and compared him with the worst from today.
It is marketing. Clickbait, not disingenious, just a way for more views and more potential for growth.
That's every old person with this opinion. Picks the worst example from today. The real reason there's not many current big metal stars is that rock on general isn't getting mainstream attention like it used to. That mixed with an oversaturated market makes finding the good ones of today harder, but they're just as many talented artists today as back in his day.
@@Ravazine It's cheaper to hire one person to sing in front of backing track.
@@Ravazine He picked shit that isn't even metal.
MGK isn't metal. Lorna Shore or whatever deathcore & metalcore (short for metallic hardcore) he showed us isn't metal either.
@@lashedandscorned how is lorna shore not metal
Saying MGK is metal in any form is such an insult to the metal community WTF
When I think of emotion in metal vocals the two songs that come to mind are Cemetery Gates and World So Cold. World So Cold is the perfect example of a dynamic vocal performance, starting of with a somber clean vocal and building up until it explodes into an emotional outburst. That's what metal is missing so much these days.
I couldn’t agree with you more. I love both of those songs. I’ve always thought the vocals on those two particular tracks are such a great example of both singers skill and range.
I don't know those bands, will check them out, thanks!
Phil is actuall a beast when it comes to Metal vocals. He sounds brute and can scream but is still clearly understandable. Compared to Metal today they all seeme like a cheap rip off.
FEVER! INSIDE ! THE STORM! So I'm TURNing, Away...
13:23 Vocalists: Notice how much better that sounds when you DON’T cup the mic?!?
Thx you!!!
You will never convince a metal vocalist that they should not cup the mic.... other than taping a remote tazer to it, and then maybe they will actually hit high notes and sound like they are actually trying when you shock them.
@@lumpyren lol true
@@lumpyren One could make a pop filter the size of a window screen.
@@lumpyren Most metal vocalists I know of both young and old don't do it. It's all the corecore singers that do that shit.
Joe from Gojira's vocals I think are splendid. He always knows how to mix in death growls, pitched screams, and clean singing for just the right effect. He creates so much dynamic range and there is a lot of space around his vocal phrases, even as far back as their earliest albums that were predominantly death metal. There was always a change up in his vocals.
I wouldn't lump Gojira in with the other modern metal bands
Gojira has got to be one of the most perplexingly overrated bands out there... they're like a dumbed down Akercocke.
@@ryanbates9668 how are they overrated? sure their new album is lackluster but their roll between 2005-2016 was strong
For me death growls immediately ruin any song. Saying his vocals are good because he does growls good, is like an oxymoron. If it's growls then the vocals are not good.
@@marinhrabric6162 why do growls immediately ruin a song? That's like saying distorted guitars immediately ruin a song. How does distortion ruin anything in of itself ?
What about makes growls "not good"
If there is dynamics, expression, intention, good execution and also a good justification for growls, they fit. Just like with anything. Growls pay a big role in heaviness.
Lemmy is the Stalone of music. They both played very well with their natural limitations and became iconic.
I would also mention Ozzy - iconic voice even tho not much of a range. But it works.
RIP LEMMY😔😢
Floor Jansen is one of the greatest vocalists in our modern times that i think deserves to be up there with all these great names you mentioned. Just check her version of "Ghost Love Score" with Nightwish! Phenomenal and well trained voice!
hmm by now thats all ok to state. But where we're people on Anneke Van Giersbergen? a artist who was established before the big gothic shoot-out of the late 90's to mid '00's. Great you mention Floor because she is one of those last giants standing after the dustclouds of the opera fronted age subsided.
sick how her local established lamestream is totally all over her. now 25 years later she is allowed on Dutch t.v.
"Great singing is a skill, and not a party trick" - another great vid, Glenn!! Keep it up, love your stuff.
Boom !
i’d say Tatiana from Jinjer is an incredible example of a good voice with a good scream too. definitely one of the greats of this time
Had to watch her live because I didn't believe that scream was real.
@@Nutsaur It is definitely less impressive live because in the one studio setting vid everyone has seen its all so heavily compressed and a bit of autotune etc which they don't seem to use as much live (which is a good thing imo they still sound great)
And Mayu from Nemophila. And watch Live versions because, IMHO, to much effects/production on studio tracks. She really shines live
She’s terrible.
I saw them live and I got chills, amazing performance
17 yo bassist in a starting rock band here. thanks for the advise on not only metal but also all kinds of rock genres. we in the band like to write a melody first and work from there because we like to first create a certain emotion and write the lyric from there. problem is that we don't nearly put as much effort in what the lyric itself is than we do in the rest of the music. although it is very hard to write a good and somewhat original lyric from something honest and passionate, i think we can do a better job and this video made me realize that. thanks again.
I totally agree! I would never forget to mention Chester Bennington from Linkin Park. He delivered such a tight perfomance and range and had a completely CRAZY control in his Screams :o
Being a singer myself, this has got to be one of my favorite videos you've done, lol. You had me laughing a ton but it also has a lot of tough but truthful advice and observations. Love it!
a couple of weeks ago i had this scot folk singer over. when he did his vocal dubs, i was suprised it was tight and amazing harmonies. well that happens one's every 1000 singers
Well, he's Scottish. He probably just became articulate to be contrary.
Worked with a bulgarian folk singer on a song. Amazing how good the vibrato was and how tight the performance was without overediting it.
once*
It makes sense, honestly. Scottish folk music really leans on drones so you NEED maximal intonation so that the different intervals really ring.
I imagine it might have something to do with vocals in folk being expetionally important. And therefore they actually put the effort in. Folk is about songs and storytelling. Something that metal was about...no more...or rarely anyway.
I was at a small local venue for a show recently and saw a band from Florida called LIMBS open for maybe 20 -30 people. Their singer (Austin) absolutely blew me away, as well as the rest of the band. Can't remember the last time I saw a small underground band sound that good straight out of the gate. Would highly recommend checking out their new EP Coma Year - some of the most well written, well orchestrated lyrics and solid musicianship I've heard in a long time from a band on the underground circuit. I really do hope they make it big. Super rad guys too.
I cut the video down to your lovely screaming imitation, saved it as an mp3, sent it to my late 50's buddy's and told then it was a lost archive of an old Irish song me mum used to hum. They laughed so hard tears were had by everyone.
Thanks man!
Devin Townsend is arguably the best metal vocalist of the last 20 years. Really coming into his own in the last 10 years. Kingdom, Dedhead, and Why? are all the same guy. Crazy.
As a metal musician myself, the hardest part is just FINDING singers that can....yknow...SING. SO i suspect a lot of artists default to screaming because its easier than endlessly abandoning musical projects due to lack of vocalists.
Devon is beast on vocals and guitar. He played rhythm and doubled Steve's leads on Sex and Religion all while singing insane vocals live....the Best show I've ever seen.
exact truth of it all. we need to make music regardless of the life we live and the people we meet. not everyone can be bruce dickenson
Devin has always been overlooked by way too many people. He's a seriously talented dude.
Kyo from Dir en grey is a great contender too.
Strapping Young Lad, SevenDust, Tool, Fear Factory have truly amazing singers/vocalists.
The greatest metal vocalist of the past 25 years is obviously Devin Townsend.
His voice just gets better and better.
Yeah, Devin's voice is extremely versatile and he's one of my all-time favorite musicians.
Only thing he can't do - according to himself - are low-pitched death metal growls haha.
OH MY GOD yes! His cleans and harshes are gorgeous and devastating.
Came here to say this same thing. I'd also add Johannes Eckerström from Avatar, his voice is phenomenal!
He most likely saved his voice by quitting smoking.
Negative. No. Absolutely not.
Ah, a teenager in his 50's...
Never gets old in metal.
No, just giving you a reality check.
Started catching up on some of these videos and only just got to this one. Loved it, but wished you'd included a chapter on singers that record something out of their own depth that they would struggle to perform live. I worked my ass off writing and recording a song in an old band and my singer laid down these awesome vocal takes to it. But when practicing the song for shows he was noteably gassed and was avoiding putting the song in the set (a single we sunk time & money into.) In the end he removed the song from all platforms without consent from the band claiming there was a major issue with the bass being next to non-existent and had to be removed. All because he couldn't perform what he'd laid down without completely winding himself.
That "sing me a song, you're a singer" reference was spot on, Dio is quite possibly the GOAT in metal vocals.
Dio is missed. at least we will always have the old Rainbow and Sabbath albums.
I like death metal vocals that are dynamic. Low growls, inhuman, high screams, using different voices, not just the same low grunt the whole time. Autopsy and Impetigo come to mind as an example.
yeees
Brand of Sacrifice immediately comes to mind for me, and I'd consider Kyle Anderson one of the great new vocalists. Just listen to Demon King, heaviest breakdown of all time, the vocals are insane, just all over the place on the spectrum.
Will Ramos? Lorna Shore are doing great right now
@@Annatar3019 Lorna Shore isn't death metal.
Lord Worm's vocals on Cryptopsy's None So Vile are fucking amazing for a reason.
Duuude, I can really dig what you are saying. I truly miss metal singers who are masters of their instruments. The metal bands of the 70s and 80s could actually sing.
....Even the hair metal bands that we love to hate.
Listen to Devin Townsend or Mikael Akerfeldt and tell me metal singers past the 70s and 80s couldn’t sing.
Also you should check out caligulas horse! Beautiful soaring melodic vocals for DAYS. Plus those dudes are just incredible players. Also check out zeal and ardor. Amazing 3 part call and response vocal harmonies almost akin to gospel/folk/bluegrass music
I feel like Dani Filth, and Devin Townsend are perfect examples of vocalists pushing their boundaries.
Floor Jansen and Tatiana Shmayluk are technically on another level.
A few other excellent vocalists: Roy Khan, Simone Simons, Alissa White-Gluz, Courtney LaPlante.
Unfortunately, you're right... there are a lot of bands that sound exactly the same, mainly due to the vocals.
one thing to note, tho: iirc, most of those have been around for 10 or 20 years by now, so I don't think they classify as all that modern anymore
Devin is only part human.
Will Ramos but idk what the qualifications are here. Will hasn’t produced anything with clean vocals yet but he says they’re coming.
The Spiritbox vocalist on your list of great vocalists? I can give her good credit for her growls, but her clean vocals sound processed and robotic sounding.
Dani Filth has an insane vocal range.
Actually, "Utter Shite" would be a great name for any type of band. Learning how to sing properly will protect your voice. Ronnie James Dio was singing with power and passion until his final illness because he took care of his voice. I miss that guy.
Dio, is one of the greatest singers ever. confirmed
Hansi Kürsch, of Blind Guardian, is also an amazing singer. He's gotten better with age, as he's gained more & more control over his voice.
Hansi is 55 yo, hardly a new guy in the scene XD.
@@carlosluismendez7392 no one said he's new in the scene
Hansi is also a perfect example of someone who started out singing poorly (incorrectly), damaged his voice, took time to heal, took lessons, and is remains a legend of the genre after all these years. The vocal care/coaching advice in this video is pretty spot on.
Both spot-on and entertaining, as usual! I'm roughly your age and had the good fortune of being exposed to really good Metal bands!
Hi Glenn,listening to this has made my day! Why cant other tubers giving information to other people be as honest and straight forward as you!? I enjoy all your videos as I know 99.9% of the time I will find myself agreeing with you,maybe not on the tech side,but as its info,I listen to see how things are or can be done. Excellent work my friend,and your humour is so on point and timed perfectly. I'm not a musician but enjoy playing guitar(some say badly!)but it gives me some joy knowing I've maybe found how to play easier and cleaner all for my entertainment! Keep yourself safe and well! Derrick,from the UK.
Screaming and gutterals became the go-to for a lot of metal. But here’s some who do have some great pipes: Devin Townsend, Greg Puciato, Brann Dailor of Mastodon, (also Troy Sanders is becoming a great vocalist IMO), Mikael Akerfeldt of Opeth, Corey Taylor, Daniel Tompkins of Tesseract, Tobias Forge of Ghost, Andy Thomas of Black Crown Initiate, John Carbone of Moon Tooth.
If you're going to bring up TesseracT don't forget Brett Campbell of Pallbearer.
Do not forget Sir Russell Allen
Tobias Forge is a great example of someone with a somewhat limited vocal range who stays within his abilities, as well as knowing the importance of harmony and backup vocals to enhance what he's doing.
@@ericwincentsen587 100% ! He's definitely found what works for his voice and what doesn't over the years. I really liked his earlier work in Subvision also. More indie really but still good nonetheless.
@@smitlag 👍. Russell is an amazing vocalist and also a really cool guy.
Back in march i saw Tool live and jesus christ that man’s voice sounds even better live than it does on the records, and way better than the endless djentcore bands i hear at festivals that make it painfully obvious they’ve been on tour for a year as soon as the singer opens his mouth. Great video Glen!
one of the problems with maynard's voice on tool records: too much goddamn compression.
Maynard is an adult, who takes care of his voice/instrument, and pays attention to technique.
You're not being honest. Maynard has lost a lot of his singing ability and every person I've been talking to (who recentely saw them live) believes he's a shade of his former self. And it pains me to say so because he's my favourite singer and Tool is my favourite band. Aside from Fear Inoculum, which is an utter piece of shit to me, their discography is amazing.
I know they're now considered a bit older, but the guys in Mastodon have stepped up their vocals quite a bit as they've progressed. Also, Red Fang's vocals are great. Whether you're a fan or not isn't the point. Both bands prove that you can do it even at an older age.
Red Fang are (were? Idk I haven't kept up with them) awesome. And they never did anything really special except write really good songs with memorable riffs with their own sound, including vocals. Songwriting (that doesn't follow a predictable heavy verse, melodic chorus-format) and having an own sound seem to have gone out of the window for most heavy bands about 10 years or so.
Fucking love Red Fang
I think Spencer Sotelo is a great example of a modern metal vocalist constantly pushing himself and improving, and getting some amazing performances.
Came here to say this
As a Spencer myself, he is currently #1 in our ranks.
it`s like there are only 2 dominating types of vocals nowadays: Cookie monster and another one - too sweet, sugary, feels like the vocalist is gonna cry. And nothing in between.
Even sweet and sugary voices *can* sound really good if they're done right. The problem is that so much of todays "clean singing" sounds like "aspartame diarrhea". Sweet but _shitty..._
But I agree with your point. Most male metal vocalists today sound either like monsters or like weak pre-pubescent boys. Hardly anyone sounds like an actual... *man.*
My 2 cents: the human voice is the most malleable, expressive, unique, emotionally moving instrument. Period. There's a reason why the vocals are the loudest element of a mix in any genre, including metal. So as a singer, it boggles my mind that singers would deliberately hide all the uniqueness of their voice just so they will fit into current genre fads.
Shoegaze has entered the chat
There's plenty genres that burry the vocals though
guitars should be up front in the mix, at least they are in the 80s/90s metal and hard rock I listen to
Guitar is often if the front of the mix and is, in my opinion, more expressive with a wider range of sound than any one person’s voice. The unique aspects of any certain voice should definitely be utilized though
Exactly
Thanks Glenn for the tips. Also thanks for making feel normal about vocal discipline. I like to warm up my voice and avoid drinking all ya mentioned. My buddy asked me if I wanted a beer before singing the other day and said no. Him and the others in the room looked at me like it was no big deal to drink beer prior to singing.
That moment you compared modern metal with Vougon poetry is the exact moment I subscribed to your channel
Thank you for you well spoken honesty
👊🏾👊🏾👊🏾
I guess one good thing about the old record label industry is they were a sort of filter for crap. Sure, some got through but it was also good at finding and pushing talent. I’m not big on gatekeepers for art but I guess there are upsides.
Participation trophy filters, if I may.
Agree. It required people to work on their craft and it created a natural flow from small local band to regional to national. There was also a fair amount of competition between all of the various producers and labels that did allow for variety and new musical styles. Now that everyone and anyone can put up music, diamonds are hard to find amongst all the garbage and the ‘labels” are too few too breed much competition now. The 80’s were probably the pinnacle of variety and virtuosity, imho.
@@Jmdeclue very well said. It’s a mixed bag for sure. Selfishly, I am glad that I can finally share my work. An ambient guitarist like me who also does Metal on the side (let alone one who can’t physically tour) had no chance of getting their stuff out there. I used to press my cds and sell them in college. Since ‘digital’, a lot of smaller genre’s have flourished like what I call Alternative Ambient (not the boring new age crap), post rock and all sorts of niche metal stuff. Now the playlist makers of the streaming services have the control and artists still get paid jack shit ($0.008 per stream). Labels did this to themselves by not embracing digital when it was coming out and screwing their talent over and over. I am curious if and how this will all balance itself out. When does the artist say screw it and just go to SoundCloud where they can set their own prices? When will congress get involved and start protecting the artist? Rick Beato has a couple great videos on this topic.
@@michaelsnydermusicstreaming has been monopolized by a few global companies so unless something drastic happens I don’t think it changes. The labels and artists didn’t really stand a chance against big tech and the internet once music was in the digital domain. No matter how you look at it,the labels and bands had their product and ip stolen. I could go on and on. I was in the industry for a short time and was a professional and touring musician for short time in 90-91. I then went into the IT world and spent almost 30 yrs as a tech exec. Anyway, the only way to make a decent living now, for most bands, is touring and touring bands are slowly going away. New bands have a hard time coming up with enough of a catalog to tour as people only buy singles now. Cover bands are making a comeback to fill the void but that is kind of a weird side effect. I don’t know what is going to happen in the future. I have my own ideas about the future but none are good. I hope I am wrong.
@@Jmdeclue you are so right. It’s very sad and the only bright side I see is that people can start doing it for the love of music. I don’t make much and what I do make goes into my nephew’s college savings accounts. I do it for the love of it and for pain relief. I have severe facial pain so I started making the kind of music that helps me deal with it. Back in the late 90’s when it started, I couldn’t find anything that was ambient AND interesting. Now, it’s a different story (lots of great “alternative ambient music” out there) but that’s what got me making what I make. So being able to share it online and help others cope with pain, stress or what have you has been awesome. What’s ironic is I often wind up in a lot of pain when I record because of the intense focus and long hours. The metal stuff is purely because it’s fun to do and my young nephews love it.
This entire video just feels like it boils down to this argument “man music was better when I was younger, new music sucks! It was better when {insert old boomer classic rock band here} were still putting out music”. There are PLENTY of great vocalists around in metal/heavy music you’re just not bringing them up. Howard Jones, Lajon Witherspoon, Dustin from Starset, the dude from
Northlane. I challenge Glenn to listen to any of those singers and tell me their bad. This just feels like a style argument. He doesn’t like the style of music they play. It has little to do with their talent. He just wishes it sounded like Old Metal.
I think he knows that, but that's just a few bands out there with great songwriting and vocal skills, 90% of songs he is reviewing dont sound that great and he is tired to listening to the same ideas and cliches when he is trying to tell people to do something interesting. Even in pop songs, there are a lot of hits made every month, but only the best ones are remembered after years. Let's apply that to metal too
@@G3oRgIk1 that already happens in metal. There's tons of bands that just faded into oblivion because they weren't that great to begin with.
Lajon is one of the best…
Yeah this guy is definitely suffering from a heavy nostalgia filter. He only remembers the good stuff from his glory days but all the bad stuff gets filtered out, giving him the impression that music back then was better. It wasn't, it was a few good bands floating in a sea of crap. I think the amount of good bands and crappy bands throughout the decades stays the same, he just isn't interested in/doesn't get new stuff.
I get your point, but these guys aren't very young either. I'm having a hard time thinking of a singer which hasn't passed 35 years of age...
Sad but true! I Love this guy and his brutal honesty. Most people are so scared to get canceled that they walk on eggshells. Not this Dude🤘🏽🤘🏽
MGK is failed rap/pop punk. Not metal
Einar Solberg from Leprous is one of my favourites from the modern era.
He is pretty great. Just weird to think of them as "newer" when they've been a band since 2001. Regardless, Leprous goes about their music properly. What a great band.
You can really hear Einar's progression as a singer from the first two albums/demos, Aeloia and Silent Waters, he had great screams, i honestly think hes still got it in that regard.
Howard Jones is probably my favorite metal vocalist of recent years
The "Everlasting Love" guy?
Well, he did say things could only get better….
Fuckin A right. He rarely gets brought up when the best of lists roll out but is one of the greatest in the game. In my opinion.
Except when he's live performing. That mic discipline is fucking terrible
@@3tonmonkey33 his clean vocals are great. Very Corey Glover. I kind of see the fried screaming like a special effect, kind of like the high chest voice screams of the 80’s. However, for myself, it does get tedious hearing so much screaming. Kind of like King Diamond- who took high notes to the same level, all high notes, very few lower vocals. If a song has all gut wrenching, barely discernible screams, and a Chorus of cleaner vocals, for me it turns into a gimmick, and i think that was what Glenn was getting at. More singing, less gimmicks. And, it has been proven time and time again, that this kind of singing destroys voices. So if you want any kind of longevity, it might not be the wisest choice, if singing is your career choice. In my 20’s, it was all about the high piercing screams- the highest chest notes, the better. But in my 50’s, i can still do them, however, it creates a HUGE issue. Your voice will rely upon that upper register, and you lose your diaphragm control over your lower range. So you might be able to nail painkiller, but you can’t do Heaven and he’ll anymore. It’s a fine line, and as singers, we have to walk it on the side of longevity over special effects.
On growling: Yes it is overdone, but at the same point, I always looked at death growls as more of a percussive instrument instead of a way of singing.
Watch, because its so overused now, Machine Gun Kelly will start doing death growls on his next album. Fuck that guy!
Growling is not an instrument nor part of the intent.
If its done well, I can see that but usually its just cookie monster growling without any talent, pattern, rhythm or even comprehension.
I don't get comparing growling from obvious metalcore/alternative bands in this video to classic Heavy Metal from the 80s. Two totally different sub-genres of metal with totally different approaches to vocals. I'm not the biggest fan of growling, but it has its place in genres like Death Metal, and if it's done well like by Johan Hegg from Amon Amarth it fits well. If this guy wants to hear actual good singers in today's metal scene, there's Attila Dorn from Powerwolf, Yannis Papadopoulos from Beast in Black and arguably for a different flavour Joakim Broden from Sabaton, as well as the various amazing female metal vocalists like Tarja Turunen, Simone Simons from Epica or (even though I'm not a fan of her voice but I acknowledge her skill) Floor Jansen from Nightwish.
@@Wurzelknecht If you'd watched the video you'd know he praised the female singers and said they're the only bright spot in metal right now.
So glad you made this video. It needed to be done.
I love classic metal but I've spent years singing dixieland jazz, blues & hard rock. With my last band I cut a few metal tracks & I was able to inject a lot more CLASS and DRAMA into the songs than 98% of metal singers. Metal in The West has reached a dead end where being loud and obnoxious is the only requirement. For modern metal / hard rock I mostly listen to Japanese bands
Man of culture 🥂 X Japan at Madison Square Garden lowkey felt like a religious experience
Nocturnal Bloodlust has much different feel than some of the American bands that did the same sound.
Awesome. Love it. I've wondered many times why there's no "new blood" in metal vocals over the years as well. Great video Glenn.
I'm not sure why it's not happening either. I thought Stu Block was going to be that guy, but Into Eternity never really took off, and when he joined Iced Earth, I thought that he would definitely get the recognition he deserved, but they just became stagnant. Then, Jon Schaeffer did his thing, so now that's over, lol. Stu probably has one of the widest vocal ranges in metal, but at this point, he's now one of the old guys.
Hey Glenn, great video with some good points. Not sure if you’ve talked about it in a previous video or not but would be interested to hear what you think about Meshuggahs ‘Immutable’ and it’s composition
Thank you! Thank you! THANK YOU!!! I am a classically trained vocalist who has struggled to get back into metal vocals in this current vocal...style. I feel I sing to strong, to bold, to structured, or to intellectual...thank you for giving me hope to start singing metal again.
Leprous have been mentioned a few times already as a counterexample. I‘d like to add SOEN and Pain of Salvation - both from Scandinavia, too (pattern?).
stopping smoking was the biggest thing for me noticing my vocals improving.... it took a while but when I hear them now I don't feel like they suck so much... I mean I'm still my own biggest critic and there's tonnes of room for improvement but i didn't improve until the smoking stopped.
keep this harsh shit up dude! it's awesome
Love the parallel compression in the bg. 🤟
Came from a random pop up from the algorithm, left with a huge grin and a fun subscription.
as the lead singer of my rock band thanks for doing this video! it definitely needs to be said! some songs like yesterdays stream were just unbearable. the singer really needs to take it seriously, bad melodies, bad singing sadly kills the whole band. its a lot of work but when you work hard its worth it!
I always remember that Davey Havok of AFI started taking singing lessons before they started working on their album “Sing the Sorrow” and he’s been going on strong another 20 years after that. He talked about it extensively around the release of that album and it was obviously a point of pride for him.
Reminds me of Nick Cave and his 2001 album "No More Shall We Part"...the producer made him take some vocal lessons and approach his singing differently. While Cave's earlier, rowdy stuff is still legendary, there's a beautiful new quality to everything released since 2001 that wouldn't have happened without the push to evolve and change.
daveys singing became so boring after sing the sorrow. he sounded way better on the sing the sorrow demos anyway, his punk vocals were the best, and even on the final mix of sing the sorrow he sounds very pitch corrected and his tone is flat and boring. and anything after that album just sucks. early afi will always be the best . and no, he is definitely not going strong now
@@elkiensad7003 I disagree. I think everything prior to Jade joining, while good, pales in comparison to All Hallow’s EP through Decemberunderground. And their later stuff is better than their first 3 albums. But that’s my opinion.
@@killergrooves2438 how does that work when Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes is their best record?
@@user-bv9nc8cr2f That’s your opinion. I think it’s one of their weaker albums, but I hold everything post-Jade joining higher than pre-Jade.
Second video I've seen of yours, and both are excellent. Granted this one was way funnier than the Harley Benton vid!
You definitely hit on something that I've been thinking about for the last (more than) 10 years .... where the fuck is the continuation of great new singers! Just had to sub. 👍👍👍☮☮☮
This video is so good! Excellent points made and entertaining delivery.
Hey Glen! I’ve been doing work in big theaters recently, doing live sound for ballets, operas, and ensembles. We use audio over IP solutions like Dante every single day for patching and signal routing. I’d love to hear your thoughts on audio over IP for studio uses!
Thank you for mentioning Fear Factory. One of my favorite bands of all time that get barely anymore credit for their influence
If you haven't heard of them already, check out Orbit Culture for a modern Fear Factory sound. czcams.com/video/la21crvpjpk/video.html
@@Evilatem thx
Soul of a New Machine and Demanufacture are timeless classics.
I know! Its crazy how nobody recognizes what Fear Factory has done.
Wise tips Glenn. So good to hear someone tell it like it is
we like you saying what you think, this is what makes the channel cool, there should be more of it!
Man.. I love a good honest video!!! But holy hell Glenn you took the gloves off one this one.. do one for guitar players , bass players and drummers/rhythmic programers. But to be honest there is ton of great info in this video !!
Putting MGK in the cover still is pretty disingenuous and clickbaity. I think you're above that, my dude.
Im so glad i found this channel. Your a huge inspiration! I spent the majority of my life and money playing in the same band for 20+ years as first the lead guitarists then drummer (my first love) after the first year. 17 then 47 now. Quit music for over 10 years and I recently bought a my very first brand new (knock off) les paul of course. Im ready to form a metal band 😆 you've seriously inspired my old ass
Good luck, dude!
Wow you replied!!!! Now you definitely have a fan and student for life. Thank you so much for your real true honesty
Thanks a lot for the laughs I had, you could make a stand-up out of it, that should be great! I can’t wait to visit your channel.
I susctibe!
Have a great day!
OMFG this was probably the most hilarious episode yet! On a serious note, a trusted pal told me to get some vocal coaching years ago and it was everything I needed.
I was able to increase my range and power and MOST IMPORTANTLY stop singing incorrectly and straining things to where I wasn’t able to speak the next day after a show.
Now before my shows I do the vocal warm ups that work best for me, I also have some warm tea and drink room temperature water during the set (NOT ICE COLD) and I’m always confident in that fact that I am in complete control of the limited range I do have. I also play rhythm guitar while I’m fronting a trio so the last thing I need is to worry about my vocal.
Bottom line: if you seriously want to be a good/better vocalist you NEED to hone your craft with vocal coaching or lessons.
I feel like you and I may be the only 2 here that got the Vogon poetry reference… I’ve noticed HHTTG references in your prior videos as well. So long and thanks for all the fish!
Glen knows where his towel is.
i love you man i watch your stuff all the time !
Dude you don't know how much I love this segment I am in a local band here in my town and which by the way we just released our single we are Exile the icon.. the single is called red if you guys want to look it up it's on all music formats.. it just seems to me that all everyone wants to do is just play metal and just straight growl there's no Dynamics nothing to grab any kind of attention it's really sad I'm trying to get away from all of that and I really do appreciate your expertise on good vocals this needs to be heard more often!!!
The part about making music and tacking a singer on really resonated with me and is the kick in the butt I needed to make better songs. What advice do you have for getting our current singer more involved or building a more singer oriented song?
Just want to throw a few recommendations for modern bands with amazing vocals:
Gojira - Joe Dulpainter gives a lot of passion in his performances, especially live. I think you'll find their 2000's output to be the most vocally-focused.
Tallah/Hungry Lights - Justin Bonitz is by far the most impressive metal vocalist I've heard out of the last 20 years. If you like Halford's range of voices, you'll dig this.
Walkways - An Israeli band with some of the most emotional singing I've heard in metal.
Dir En Grey - They're a Japanese metal band, quite insane all around, same goes for their vocalist. However most of the time they're on the harsh side of vocals.
Then there are your obvious ones, like Devin Townsend, Spencer from Periphery and M Shadows from Avenged Sevenfold, but I figure you already know these.
Happy listening! :)
By his logic, periphery is a djent band so they're automatically shit. Which is stupid because they're really talented.
@@CMDRkarstenvader That's not his logic
Probably gonna get roasted but I say Howard Jones from Killswitch still is singing well at 51.
Cattle Decapitation.
@@CMDRkarstenvader When someone talks about modern metal, they cast a wide net. Djent is a subgenre of metal, so it should be talked about. I agree with OP, Spencer's vocals are great, he's a very talented singer. This video is very myopic when it comes to metal, because he's really only talking about heavy metal and not getting into the other subgenres of metal. He mentions death metal, but only to poke fun at it
I needed this my dude thank you🤘
As a dub artist and narrator of my own series, plus a metal fan myself, I appreciate the advice here.
Powerful vocals go a long way and that is inspiration to me.
Glenn, this has to be one of the most enjoyable episodes yet. I truly appreciate your direct and honest mix reviews. I was really hoping that with today’s technology toontracks could develop EZSINGER, But to my disappointment there is not enough storage in the world that could ever contain the huge ego of a metal singer. Please keep up the direct and humorous content.
"When did accepting mediocrity become the gold standard for metal?" When mallcore became a thing.
When some record executive realized that they could take it mainstream. All they require is mediocrity.
Somewhere around 2010.
I thought mallcore wasn't "real" metal?
When Metallica released the Black Album and y'all ate that shit up
@@imeowmeowkat its not my favourite metallica album but calling it mediocre is just not true, and the recording/mixing/mastering is just some of the best ever. Justice with that recording quality is my dream metallica album.
Great Video! I'm a step away from releasing music with vocals, and overthinking everything, and pretty freaked out. This is a good klick in the pants to just let go, do it, and learn to take criticism in all forms. JUST DO IT! Thank you!
PS -- My daughter saw your video and said "He looks like Bill Murray and Matthew Perry"
That's a good hybrid for sure ; )
I was listening to this at work, not watching... didn't realize there were captions for the cookie monster part, just thought it was a very drawn-out mockery... hahaha
Your point about learning to turn vocal weaknesses into strengths is an important one. I've had to confiscate my arsehole guitarist's mic for just that. He's never sang in his life and we got a bass player who can sing so he got jealous and decided he was going to do an octave higher than the singer duet for a chorus 🤯 I was about ready to hit him with a bottle. When is guitar player shooting season?
For great vocalists on metal nowadays, I’d say : Brent Smith, Corey Taylor, Serj Tankian, Chino Moreno, Joe Duplantier, M Shadows and I’m sure I’m missing a lot !
Thomas Giles, Devin Townsend, the dudes from Sikth, plenty others but yeah, Metal is much more than the speed metal wailings or cookie cutter cookie monsters of your average Death Metal. We got some SINGERS.
Those are all from previous generations tho.
Most of them have a shit ton of vocal damage (still, luv Corey and Chino sm) and are from the nu metal/early core era
But people who complain about modern metal vocals should try, Spiritbox (female fronted band also, luv Courtney ), Architects, BMTH, Lorna Shore, Tallah, AXTY, Vended, Periphery, Bad Omens, Termina, Sheoru and Noxatra that are both fronted by the same guy, and also a plenty of brazillian bands I can say if anyone wants to take a look (didn't mention cuz they sing in portguese, but exists and it slaps)
People hate it cuz they don't know it honestly, and they don't even try to sometimes
dustin bates too :D
these guys have been around for 20+ years. I think Glenn is looking for newer acts, like within the last 5 years.
The quality of humor in the long cookie monster singing by Glen is world class!! Maybe your talents should be given an airing at the best comedy clubs!
I think to make fun of “Cookie Monster” vocals, you should be able to actually perform them well. Anyone can grunt into a Mike but performing the gutturals modern vocalists are doing is no walk in the park. Not to mention modern growling has gotten quite dynamic.
I actually prefer the old style distorted vocals like you hear in bands like Bathory, Deicide, Burzum, and Death. Just raw grittyness in an early attempt to sound "scary" in my opinion. That style compared to the pterodactyls of today is like watching the Exorcist then watching Insidious right after and being disappointed
"You shouldn't criticize it if you can't do it."
Not how that works. Yes, guttural vocals are difficult as shit and I can barely do them, however, most gutturals are not memorable and more times than not, the song almost feels like it gets weaker because of it.
They aren’t meant to be memorable. 90% of criticisms on guttural vocals are “it’s just someone yelling in a mic, anyone can do that”, and then the person proceeds imitate them, horribly. You really shouldn’t try to make fun of something you can’t even do.
@@ericsmith8129 Again, its not making fun of gutturals, its being realistic. Guttural vocals are technically impressive, so are over the top shreddy solos, but if theres nothing memorable or anything that keeps the audience coming back to the song, it doesn't drive the band or the genre forward. Let's be honest, when was the last time any metal band had a smash hit where it gave metal massive media attention? The only ones that really come to mind are Slipknot.
Idk man. Bands like Lorna shore are getting a lot of attention right now. They aren’t slipknot level but then again, the slipknot that was popular was not the heavier slipknot with guttural vocals, it was the later stuff where Corey sung more. Guttural vocals will never be popular to mainstream audiences and they weren’t meant to be. They were always a way to push the boundaries of what’s possible with the human voice.
And calling them Cookie Monster vocals or doing horrible imitations of them is very much making fun.
"Metal is supposed to be about strength of character and breaking new ground."
And perseverance, growth, and triumph over adversity. Metal was delivered into the world by outcasts and misfits who refused to be the victims of every inconsequential issue that bumbled into their childish lives.
metal was invented by a bunch of drug addicted teenagers because they thought it sounded cool lmao what is this beatifying about
@@jordanwardan7588 Many of the earliest and longest-lived acts in the scene were, and remain, straight-laced guys. Innovative acts like Carcass and Death, for instance, weren't known for partying or stunting. Black Sabbath was what it was, but then there was Dio, as well. I could keep naming acts who support my stance, and I'm sure you could do the same, because debating what metal is about is a huge part of what metal is about.
@@jeffgoodnough9704 respect
@@jordanwardan7588 I kind of see the view you're coming from, but metal in general is hardly fun party music made by fun party people. Just as a random example try thinking of One by Metallica being written in any other genre - I doubt country and pop artists would make music about a limbless, blind, deaf, mute war victim using his only working muscles to tap morse code on a pillow saying "kill me".
Cringe
Loved the Vogon poetry reference!
Not exactly singers, but I would suggest Will Ramos and Alex Terrible stand out as exceptional male metal vocalists. Maybe it's just me, but I love both.
Those 2 are just plain nutz.
Gotta respect the commitment to the bit on the cupping the mic/Cookie Monster section.
Uncomfortable truth. That's what I like in your work. Thanks for all everything :)
What are your thoughts on Lajon Witherspoon of Sevendust? I've always thought his vocals stood out among modern metal. His power, tone, and range, always come thru.
Thought the same thing, but are they considered “metal”?
He's got soul for sure. Shame they don't have the songs.
@@daynelawless don’t know why they never made it to the next level. Awesome hooks and singable songs. Awesome live shows.
@@mattbertrand9496 really good band and killer drummer. I have many of their albums, they just started to all sound the same after a while though to me.
@@mattbertrand9496 I think they fit into the nu metal genre. Idk. But they're definitely metal.
I'd just like to say that you can be growl-ly and be good at singing. See entire Pantera discography. But I agree completely with you Glenn. We need more singing in our vocals
Awesome point! Pantera has high notes as well as low ones.
@@aguy5274 Agreed. The album Power Metal was the first one with Phil singing. It's glam metal. Dude had crazy range
@@at0micpunk313 Had. I love listening to old phil but that dude fucking destroyed his voice, unfortunately. That's bad technique though, there are countless singers who didn't.
Love your videos, Glenn. I laugh a lot, learn a lot.
Late to this one ,but damn you were swinging hard and hitting the target dead centre .
I laughed so hard at the opening salvos ... thnx
Just curious what you think of Fleshgod Apocalypse’s range?
Also I watch off and on and always appreciate your opinion and thoughts. It helps me with ideas and how to produce my own song.
"Cookie monster" vocals can sound great when done right. Glen Benton, George Fisher, Angela Gossow, Maurizio Iacono, etc are definitely badasses with what they do. Sure, powermetal style vocals are cool, again when done right, but putting such vocals over death/black metal just sounds terrible in my opinion.
I think the difference is that those death metal vocalists I've mention have distinctive styles and voices. You know them when you hear them. The problem is that as death metal strived to get more and more "bR00TaL!" everyone tried to get more and more guttural until you have people just sounding like they're burping into a cup attached to a mic. I'm all for screeching black metal vocals and demon roar death metal stuff, that kind of stuff excites me when I hear it because it DOES take skill and technique to do it. The problem, though, is not everyone can be a vocalist...and there are a lot of "singers" who didn't get that memo.
Lord Worm took the cookie monster vocs to a whole new level
My thought exactly
There are more and more vocalists that can do both growls and cleans, like Jari of Wintersun and Masha of Arkona. Bands that mix both styles are some of my favorites. But it has to be done right. Curiously, folk metal bands are really good with this.
WHO?
Travis from Cattle decap is phenomenal. Spiros from Septicflesh is another one that comes to mind that really stand apart.
This was an amazing take Glenn. Calling it how it is always.
I'm impressed with your Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy References!