Heavy metal singing

[Keven]

so i'm about to tackle the long and arduous task of singing proper heavy metal. think primal fear, gamma ray, helloween. i really like the dio and rob halford type of vocal tone, but at the same time i also love james hetfield and matt barlow. my usual register also lays in barlow's lower standard voice.

i practice daily doing humms and eee and aa and oo with my guitar and scales, to be sure i'm right on tone. songs are really hard though, as these guys are masters. do any of you guys attempt this? what songs do you recommend i try?

one thing i've got trouble with is breaking my voice. i'm quite clean, it breaks up a bit in the high notes, but i want a low range break up kinda like jorn lande of masterplan. i know these are high goals, but i'm going this for fun, it's a neat challenge. and heavy metal singers are quite the rarity around here.

thanks! and don't laugh. no jokes about cutting my balls off either!

[Dmoney]

I've heard of a DVD called Zen Of Screaming which is some kind of vocal coaching DVD designed for rock/metal etc.

I'm sure some big names are alleged to have used it. I've never seen it myself but I know people who have. Could be worth researching at least?

[Keven]

yeah. actual methods and proper songs for this style are really hard to find. i do sing alot in the car and stuff, but nothing beats being alone with a microphone.

am i wrong in assuming compression also does alot of their deep tone for high notes when singing live or in the studio?

[38thBeatle]

You could try cutting your balls off*

*Apologies- it had to happen and we may as well get it out of the way.
I don't know specifically about metal singing and would be interested in seeing what advice you get- not that I am in a metal band or anything but because there will undoubtedly be something there useful for me when I do the rockier songs in my band.
You probably already know about not singing from the throat ( which I did for years) but I am a guitarist who sings so I need all the help I can get. I did stumble upon a guy who does seem to know his stuff-if you google "Per Bristow" . I have never bought one of his courses( maybe I should) but I have learned a trick or two from reading his stuff. Not exactly metal but singing is singing as far as I am concerned.

[MrBump]

Oooh, interesting thread!

I'd LOVE to know more... I've always wanted to sing - I think that I can hold a tune (almost...), but my voice is the audio equivelent of a wet sponge.

If anyone knows of any good free sources of information I'd be grateful!

Mark.

[adamj]

+1 for the zen of screaming DVD

[Transcend]

I know a few people who have used the zen of screaming and claim its great..... a lot of them are terrible singers though.

If you like Primal Fear & Gamma Ray check out Iron Savior

It has the singer from Primal Fear & Kai Hansen on guitars.

Absolutely loving them atm

especially the albums Battering Ram & Condition Red

[MDV]

yeah. actual methods and proper songs for this style are really hard to find. i do sing alot in the car and stuff, but nothing beats being alone with a microphone.

am i wrong in assuming compression also does alot of their deep tone for high notes when singing live or in the studio?

Yeah, sort of. Wrong that is. The entire mix and character and ballance of every instrument in it affects how you hear the voice. The difference between a thick, powerfull voice and thin, obonxious one can be low middy, chewey guitar sound or a high middy crunchy guitar sound. Compression can give the illusion of a little more thickness to a voice, but its not something you should rely on to sound 'like that'; as though someone else has a magic bullet you dont, or you do and are tempted to use it as a band aid.


Developing what you call 'breaking' your voice is using your pharyngeal voice, or 'twang'. There are a number of exercises and warmup that you can (and should) do to develop the skill. You also need to be really carefull that youre doing it right; trying to produce this sort of voice from lower in the throat than is proper, or with over-breathing, will $%&# your voice up (learn proper abdominal breathing if you havent already)

Jamie Vendera gives a decent intro to it, as I recall: the book 'raise your voice'.

[Twinfan]

I had some vocal coaching a year or so ago, so I'd recommend finding a good local tutor who specialises in rock/metal vocals like mine did.  You can find one here:  www.vocaltutor.co.uk

Some headlines from what I learnt:

* breathing technique is everything - get that right, and you're well on the way
* you have a natural range that can be extended, but your voice will have ultimate biological limits
* the tone of your voice is unique to you and changing it is a VERY long process

Overall, I learnt how to breath better, how to hit higher notes and to be more consistent.  I have a brick wall at the top end of my voice and it stops me getting higher notes, plus the tone breaks up if I push it.  I now know my limits and have learnt to work around them where I can.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you won't sound like Rob Halford or Dio through practice alone - you'd need to have been born with the same physical attributes in your vocal chords...

[Nadz1lla]

Is the Zen of screaming for harsh vocals only, or is there advice in there for James LaBrie / Rob Halford / King Diamond style clean high-notes too? I ask because I actually think my harsh vocals are fine, and my technique (whilst self-taught) is great and from the guts. So I don't need that part of the lessons, but I would love to increase my clean range and get that Bruce Dickinson / Dan Tompkins (from TesseracT) head-voice.

[Keven]

I know a few people who have used the zen of screaming and claim its great..... a lot of them are terrible singers though.

If you like Primal Fear & Gamma Ray check out Iron Savior

It has the singer from Primal Fear & Kai Hansen on guitars.

Absolutely loving them atm

especially the albums Battering Ram & Condition Red

yeah! their singer is blind guardian's producer. he's got a nice lower tone. i did forget about him however, his range sounds feasible for me

i'm quite aware that i won't reach the ideals of these great singers, but i'm just looking to have a voice with character. i mean hetfield isn't the greatest singer, but you can spot his voice anywhere. same for warrel dane of nevermore.

i'll have a look at that zen DVD.

[Transcend]

Is the Zen of screaming for harsh vocals only, or is there advice in there for James LaBrie / Rob Halford / King Diamond style clean high-notes too? I ask because I actually think my harsh vocals are fine, and my technique (whilst self-taught) is great and from the guts. So I don't need that part of the lessons, but I would love to increase my clean range and get that Bruce Dickinson / Dan Tompkins (from TesseracT) head-voice.

im not 100% sure on that. I do however know that it is all on youtube so you can flick through a few sections and see.

[nfe]

Zen of Screaming is purely for shouting/growling/screaming vocals. And is purely about how not to hurt yourself, nothing on how to voice or anything, it assumes you've had singing lessons or can pitch well already.

[Keven]

i forgot to mention, i have no interest in screaming like death bands and the like. i like listening to them, but this isn't what i have in mind for my music.  I'll pass on the art of screaming :D

it's a shame i can't sing loud in my apartment. i've got to do it in my car or somewhere else. but in my car i'm sitting, which is a bit of a pain for the breathing technique.

[Transcend]

I guess the growling aspect of the zen dvd could help you with the technique of breaking up your voice  abit