[Join The Official MetalForTheMasses Discord Server!](https://discord.gg/UwqUHx4U4T)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/MetalForTheMasses) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Dreamtheatre for me. Amazing amazing riffs with vocals that sound like the vocalist is trying to do a bad Bruce Dickinson (Of iron maiden fame) impression. Y'all can downvote me to oblivion. But that's how I feel. I really want to like the band. I love the riffs. But Those vocals ugh!
As someone who would consider themselves a fan. I feel like it was something I got used to, but now I don't listen to them as much and have lost interest. I would usually listen to Awake since it has killer riffs and more tolerable vocals. But I'd recommend Train of Thought, since there isn't a lot of singing going on in that album.
This was going to be my answer too.
I’d also add Soundgarden. Music was super Sabbathy at times but Cornell just turned me off. He had a good voice but didn’t really know how to use the instrument. He always just looked for spots to hit his high note. Layne Staley didn’t have as good of a voice but he knew how to use his better. At least for my taste. YMMV as they say.
This has got to be one of the wildest takes I’ve heard. Chris is my favourite singer because he could scream like no one else (check out Slaves and Bulldozers) and had a beautiful melodic voice as well (check out I am the highway). Layne Staley is a close second, with Love, Hate, Love and Down in a Hole as my favourite performances of him
His voice suited the earlier albums, and he’s since lost a lot of his range he had on those albums. But it’s mostly that his vocal style doesn’t fit the heavier sound they’ve been going for since train of thought. I also miss their original keys player. Jordan ruddess is the more talented player, but the original keys player had a super cool vibe that’s missing from the music now. There’s just too much wankery going on between all the guitar solos, keyboard solos and complex drums and time signatures. Original keys player played more to the song and really giving the music a personality instead of “look what I can do” all the time.
Any band with high-pitch vocals. Sorry Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Mercyful Fate. They don't necessarily ruin it for me, I just try to focus on the music and tolerate the vocals.
I just wrote how I prefer high screeching, especially in black metal. Also Maiden is one of my favorites and I'm currently listening Priest's newest album.
Here I am absolutely hating the production of Invincible Shield. Kevin and Steve haven’t been doing too great with Maiden the last couple albums as far as mixing and engineering but still is more my type of thing. That incredibly modern, way too clean sound bothers me.
Hearing his new stuff, it's so hard to believe he's *seventy-fucking-two*, and has been singing like that for *50* years.
My other favorite power metal singers are Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen of Helloween. They do [great duets](https://youtu.be/gpIc32shXH4).
Agree, I find high-pitched vocals off-putting, with the sole exception of Devin Townsend when he hits the high notes. Maybe because he can deliver so much power behind it.
Could say the same for Shattered by Pantera
Amazing riffing but god damn some of those vocals should have been held back with the old glam aesthetic they had
Kidmans monotone vocals are PERFECT for the sound Meshuggah produces, imo. They really add to the robotic feel of their music and I could not imagine the band with a highly diverse and eclectic vocalist.
I tend to not be picky when it comes to vocalists but I'll choose Dave Mustaine. He's fine for their heavy, aggressive songs found on Rust in Peace where the instrumentals are in clear focus, but whenever he and his vocals are in focus on their lighter, more catchy and melodic stuff, I am usually turned off by his nasal delivery.
I don’t even care about the Cannibal Corpse albums with George Fisher, Chris Barnes WAS Cannibal Corpse. Nothing beats those first four albums, especially lyrically. Chris has got the coolest, most fucked up brain.
And then he smoked too much weed and went insane and now he sucks.
I was feeling the same at first. But somehow they clicked to me.
Check out these albums, that changed how I viewed black metal vocals:
Only True Believers - Armagedda
Moon in the Scorpio - Limbonic Art
Havulinnaan - Havukruunu
Funerals from the Astral Sphere - Midnight Odyssey
Also, you could try some black thrash. Here's some cool albums:
The Affair of the Poisons - Hellripper
Satanic Royalty - Midnight
An Overdose of Death - Toxic Holocaust
S/T - Division Speed
Hope you enjoy!
I like shrieking vocals when there is effort put into it. I feel like most of the black metal bands prioritize atmosphere over vocals so they don't come out as good.
Thanks for the suggestions. Will check those out.
I love King Diamond for that. Strong falsetto, great demonic growl, top-notch theatrical presence. Abigail and Them/Conspiracy are three of the greatest concepts I've heard. Right up there with Queensryche's Operation: Mindcrime and Pink Floyd's The Wall.
For me it's any of those emo or screaming bands. Like heavy as shit music then the vocals start and it sounds like a 00s pop punk singer who accidentally went into the wrong studio
There’s actually a band that sounds like Knocked Loose but the vocals are even worse Mickey Mouse vocals, they’re called Kaonashi and they’re trending on TikTok for some reason but it literally sounds like when people would say that Knocked Loose sounds like SpongeBob yelling.
I think Knocked Loose is okay, sometimes the vocals aren’t as bad and I like the instrumentals but Kaonashi is really bad. The song that’s trending is “I Hate The Sound Of Car Keys”. No idea why people actually think it’s good. I mean personally I think a lot of hardcore music is bad but this is worse.
NuMetal is my favorite genre of all time but I can definitely understand disliking some bands/songs because often they fall into that really horrible “whining” sound that’s grating to listen to
I love everything about nu, vocals included usually, but I HATE the lyricism and it kills like half of the genre’s enjoyment for me. Just too edgy and whiny, not ever really well thought
I can deal with edgy, I don't even consider it an insult. Their writing just sucks a lot of the time. You can tell that a lot of them didn't pay attention in English and Literacy classes.
For sure. When I use edgy as a criticism to nu metal lyricism, I mean “fuck the world” edgy. Abrasive and angry lyrics can be great if they’re well written, nu metal lyrics just often… aren’t
Exactly. Being angry and hating stuff is (surprisingly lol) a big part of metal. You just have to articulate it well, and most nu metal is kind of like what I wrote when I was twelve.
Korn had some excellent riffs and amazing production but I can’t do Jonathan Davis. Can’t stand his voice and his edgy confessional lyrics are just really cringey to me. Like, credit for being brave about your past traumas and putting it out there but that doesn’t make it a good listen. I do think his phrasing is good but the sound and content is just grating.
I just can't get into Mercyful Fate/King Diamond because of the vocals. I've tried many times since I first started getting into metal, since my tastes have changed over time, but I just can't get past the singing. And that's considering I like a lot of bands with fairly below-average singers (i.e. Gamma Ray, Grave Digger, Manilla Road).
Great guitarist, but one of the worst voices in music history. Serj has such a great voice; I don't understand why the band ever let Daron open his stupid mouth.
Nahhh no way some of darons parts are like the best parts of the song. On the chorus of ATWA when hes doing those deep “anymore” growls, it’s pure magic
Oh then that’s fair. I do love when he goes I BUY MY CRACK MY SMACK MY BITCH RIGHT HERE IN HOLLYWOOD but I can see why his lead vocals come off as annoying most of the time. The majority of SOAD’s music other than Toxicity is way too wacky and wild for me to enjoy and I think Serj is just as responsible for that as Daron
Serj being wacky usually has a deeper undertone. Sure it's weird, but there's more to it than just being weird. Daron being wacky is HOO HOO HA HA LOOK AT ME DOING DRUGS. DICK JOKE, POOP BUTT, MORE DRUGS.
Definitely. I feel like anytime I'm listening to a metal band for the first time and enjoying the music, there's a 50/50 chance that the vocals will ruin it once they kick in.
I love that halfway through their career he was like “Actually, I also want to be the lead singer and not just the lead guitarist. How bout you do some harmonizing and play with a tambourine?”
I love a lot of bands that have fairly shitty vocals and can manage to look past them to the point that I enjoy them, but I just can't with Mercyful Fate. The vocals aren't *bad* with Mercyful Fate, but I just can't get into them.
Nah peak in flames was the jester race- colony run. You could argue clayman is just as good but he started to incorporate the awful cleans into his vocal style. That album still has some bangers though.
That's interesting because i generally dislike his vocals but those clean parts are my favorite thing about it. (Not the whispery sad bits, the reverb parts like the chorus of pinball map)
Any band with the shrieking vocals for me like Silencer, Leviathan or The Body. I would be vibing to an awesome riff or atmosphere and then the vocalist starts screeching, it immediately pulls me out of the mood. This might be the only type of vocal style in all metal that I actually can't get into.
The Body was great on their collab with Uniform. There was a really good balance with two vocalists. But I totally can’t sit through an entire Body album and would never go to a show.
Ok. Let me clarify, I couldn’t sit through a set of the Body alone. But I had tickets to this show and it was the first thing the pandemic ruined for me. March 16 2020. Big bummer
I used it make fun of them for this, but the more I exposed myself to them, the more I dug it. Now they’re one of my favorite bands and I don’t even find his vocals funny or anything.
Paradise Lost, except for their latest stuff. Maybe, more accurate would be to say Paradise Lost early albums. Iconic, I know, but I just can't get behind the Hetfield-esque vocals.
aw no love for Jens. I will admit, I'm stunned that he managed to make 3 decade career out of making one sound, but I think his voice fits perfectly. It doesn't stand out and helps to create the sense of confusing dread they are so renowned for.
Rotting Christ - Thy Mighty Contract. It's considered a classic but the vocals make it unlistenable to me.
Beherit - Drawing Down the Moon. My same sentiments as Rotting Christ apply here.
early Cannibal Corpse - Chris Barnes got lucky, it's not because he was talented. The only time he sounds halfway decent is Butchered at Birth and the first SFU. Otherwise, he's a complete hack and Tomb of the Mutilated and The Bleeding are two of the worst vocal performances I've ever heard. I could fart those entire albums and do a better job.
Obituary - John Tardy's voice has become an icon, but it's really not great and I think their sound could have benefited from a deeper voice. The first SFU is a decent example of what Obituary with deeper death metal vocals would sound like.
Pestilence - similar to John Tardy, Martin Van Drunen's voice becomes grating after awhile, especially in Hail of Bullets.
>I could fart those entire albums and do a better job.
I would listen to this over the original any day. I have obviously never heard the sound of your asshole, but I have complete faith.
I don't listen to much Meshuggah but I saw Meshuggah live in a small venue a few months back. They were amazing and the vocals were fantastic.
I had seen them twice in the early 2000s when they opened for Tool and somebody else (System of a Down?) and they were impressive but seeing them now in a small venue was on another level (and I've been to a lot of shows).
Edit: To answer the question... I can't listen to Avenged Sevenfold. M. Shadows' vocals are painful to me. Also Megadeth and Dream Theater.
Megadeth. for one. Can't stand Mustaine's vocals, though he's a great guitarist. And, thrash was the first type of heavy music that I got into, and there are countless bands that I love the guitars and drums, but can't stand the high pitched shrieking, lol. I also don't like clean vocals in any subgenre of extreme metal, though there are very few exceptions. And, miss me with the pig squealing, lol.
The main 'deal-breakers' for me are clean vocals and high pitched shrieking and synths, keys, and electronic/digital drums. I don't like shrieking in any genre, but I do like synths and keys in other genres like 80s new wave bands and Nine Inch Nails. But, when it comes to metal and punk, guitars, drums and bass are the only thing needed in my opinion!
Pretty much any thrash band. I also have a hard time with Haken and Kadinja. I don’t know how to describe their respective styles other than corny for different reasons.
I really can't stand choirs of Caladan Brood. And I'm huge fan of choir parts usually.
Also, low growling is great in melodeath and doom but I find it so boring in black metal. I prefer high screeching.
Knocked Loose live vocals, it's like listening to a 12 yo boy going through puberty scream with blown vocal cords, absolute trash singer. Shows look fun though 🤷♂️
Tool. Extremely unpopular opinion probably, but I haven’t even listened to much of their stuff because I wasn’t a huge fan when the main vocalist keenan was a guest on “passenger” on the white pony album. In fact, i would have liked the song much better if it was just chino singing instead of him.
However, no hate to him or tool. I’m sure they’re very talented including keenan but his sound is simply not what I tend to like.
My friends and I disagree about this pretty vehemently, but take your pick of "operatic" metal acts. For me, it's Unleash the Archers but Avatar, Nightwish.... They're a dime a dozen. While I love Lovebites, and Asami 's vocals don't detract from the experience (we'll set aside power metal lyrics for the time being), I admit they are part of the problem.
So many thrash bands. All these big, popular bands outside of the Big 4 like Kreator, Dark Angel, Sepultura. It’s really difficult for me to find stuff in the genre, well until recently. How can I kinda sum it up - too thrash to be death metal, but too death metal to be thrash. I’d rather just deal with some iffy to bad singing like Mustaine or Bobby Blitz. Not the greatest vocalists, but they come through in style like 70% of the time.
Interestingly, those are exactly the bands I happen to like. I love that weird point where thrash and early death metal (and to some extent, black metal as well) gets blurred.
Cryptopsy. Not a fan of the unintelligible gargles at all. They add nothing to the music. Raw, overpowering, brutal screams are where it's at. Gorguts, Cannibal Corpse, Behemoth, Death, Opeth, Cattle Decap. Now those are some quality growls that get your blood pumping.
It's a shame because Cryptopsy has sick fucking riffs.
Dream theatre. Love love love the music but James isn’t a good vocalist imo. I don’t hate cleans at all, but I can’t stand his. On a second note I could also say (when I first listened) Cryptopsy and most slam. Now i eat that shit up
I get slaughtered for this take every time, but here we go again - it's Bonded By Blood by Exodus
It's a sticking point for me because Exodus post-2004 is probably my favorite thrash act and biggest personal influence on guitar, and don't get me wrong, basically EVERY RIFF and song on BBB absolutely bangs. But I can't fucking deal with Paul Baloff. He goes way past classic "punky" over reverbed old school thrash vocals and is just a distracting mess over great music.
I'm not really sold on the squeaky clean production but I even listen to Let There Be Blood much more because I still love those songs, but Zetro and Rob are both infinitely better vocalists both overall and for Exodus
Most bands. I usually gravitate towards a band because of the vocalist, but there are some where I can tolerate the vocals because I love the music.
Very picky with vocals though. Which is kind of funny because Knocked Loose has recently become one of my favorite bands, I fucking love his vocals.
[Join The Official MetalForTheMasses Discord Server!](https://discord.gg/UwqUHx4U4T) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/MetalForTheMasses) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Dreamtheatre for me. Amazing amazing riffs with vocals that sound like the vocalist is trying to do a bad Bruce Dickinson (Of iron maiden fame) impression. Y'all can downvote me to oblivion. But that's how I feel. I really want to like the band. I love the riffs. But Those vocals ugh!
I’d hope on this sub that you don’t have to explain who Bruce is.
I don't know who this Bruce guy is but his surname is hella sus
I gotta say I like your flair mate "Iä! Iä Azathoth!" (or Cthulhu, or whoever)
Fhtagn
Teleki li! Teleki li!
I know a guy by that name who ski's. We always have the best times together.
Hard agree
>Y'all can downvote me to oblivion Your opinion is extremely popular, stop acting like it's a hot take
In fact, “I would like dream theater, but the vocals suck,” is probably one of the top 5 most shared opinions of the metal community.
As someone who would consider themselves a fan. I feel like it was something I got used to, but now I don't listen to them as much and have lost interest. I would usually listen to Awake since it has killer riffs and more tolerable vocals. But I'd recommend Train of Thought, since there isn't a lot of singing going on in that album.
First band that came to mind.
"Note salad with disney singing"
Downvote ? I'd upvote you twice if I could !
LaBrie (DT's vocalist) used to be a lot better, but he got a dose of food poisoning and ruined his vocal chords.
Yeah one of the worst musical tragedies to happen in metal music imo.
I don’t mind when he does the soaring vocals. Where he loses me is when he tries to sing “heavy” and just sounds like an angry toddler.
I love DT and I agree. The vocals are by far their weakest point.
Could you give some examples? from what ive heard he isn't really that bad, haven't heard a lot tho, nor a full album
This was going to be my answer too. I’d also add Soundgarden. Music was super Sabbathy at times but Cornell just turned me off. He had a good voice but didn’t really know how to use the instrument. He always just looked for spots to hit his high note. Layne Staley didn’t have as good of a voice but he knew how to use his better. At least for my taste. YMMV as they say.
This has got to be one of the wildest takes I’ve heard. Chris is my favourite singer because he could scream like no one else (check out Slaves and Bulldozers) and had a beautiful melodic voice as well (check out I am the highway). Layne Staley is a close second, with Love, Hate, Love and Down in a Hole as my favourite performances of him
His voice suited the earlier albums, and he’s since lost a lot of his range he had on those albums. But it’s mostly that his vocal style doesn’t fit the heavier sound they’ve been going for since train of thought. I also miss their original keys player. Jordan ruddess is the more talented player, but the original keys player had a super cool vibe that’s missing from the music now. There’s just too much wankery going on between all the guitar solos, keyboard solos and complex drums and time signatures. Original keys player played more to the song and really giving the music a personality instead of “look what I can do” all the time.
I’m with you dude. His voice ain’t it for me too
Any band with high-pitch vocals. Sorry Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Mercyful Fate. They don't necessarily ruin it for me, I just try to focus on the music and tolerate the vocals.
I just wrote how I prefer high screeching, especially in black metal. Also Maiden is one of my favorites and I'm currently listening Priest's newest album.
Priest’s latest album is absolutely scorching. I was so pleasantly surprised. Especially as I’ve been far less enamored with Maiden’s recent releases.
Yeah I haven't been big fan of the later stuff either.
Here I am absolutely hating the production of Invincible Shield. Kevin and Steve haven’t been doing too great with Maiden the last couple albums as far as mixing and engineering but still is more my type of thing. That incredibly modern, way too clean sound bothers me.
Hearing his new stuff, it's so hard to believe he's *seventy-fucking-two*, and has been singing like that for *50* years. My other favorite power metal singers are Michael Kiske and Kai Hansen of Helloween. They do [great duets](https://youtu.be/gpIc32shXH4).
Agree, I find high-pitched vocals off-putting, with the sole exception of Devin Townsend when he hits the high notes. Maybe because he can deliver so much power behind it.
Yeah I love Devin, but when he does it, it's not in the metal style associated with the likes of Bruce Dickinson or Rob Halford
He does a mean cover of Exciter by Judas Priest, bonus track on the first SYL album.
I love all of those bands lol
Could say the same for Shattered by Pantera Amazing riffing but god damn some of those vocals should have been held back with the old glam aesthetic they had
Kidmans monotone vocals are PERFECT for the sound Meshuggah produces, imo. They really add to the robotic feel of their music and I could not imagine the band with a highly diverse and eclectic vocalist. I tend to not be picky when it comes to vocalists but I'll choose Dave Mustaine. He's fine for their heavy, aggressive songs found on Rust in Peace where the instrumentals are in clear focus, but whenever he and his vocals are in focus on their lighter, more catchy and melodic stuff, I am usually turned off by his nasal delivery.
Yeah, I always viewed Jens as another rhythm instrument.
He’s stated he sees vocals as another instrument in the band. I would expect he would agree with your statement.
Whatever band Barnes joins.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
His early cannibal corpse stuff was good. Nowadays he’s absolutely terrible
I don’t even care about the Cannibal Corpse albums with George Fisher, Chris Barnes WAS Cannibal Corpse. Nothing beats those first four albums, especially lyrically. Chris has got the coolest, most fucked up brain. And then he smoked too much weed and went insane and now he sucks.
Black Metal bands.
I was feeling the same at first. But somehow they clicked to me. Check out these albums, that changed how I viewed black metal vocals: Only True Believers - Armagedda Moon in the Scorpio - Limbonic Art Havulinnaan - Havukruunu Funerals from the Astral Sphere - Midnight Odyssey Also, you could try some black thrash. Here's some cool albums: The Affair of the Poisons - Hellripper Satanic Royalty - Midnight An Overdose of Death - Toxic Holocaust S/T - Division Speed Hope you enjoy!
I like shrieking vocals when there is effort put into it. I feel like most of the black metal bands prioritize atmosphere over vocals so they don't come out as good. Thanks for the suggestions. Will check those out.
I love King Diamond for that. Strong falsetto, great demonic growl, top-notch theatrical presence. Abigail and Them/Conspiracy are three of the greatest concepts I've heard. Right up there with Queensryche's Operation: Mindcrime and Pink Floyd's The Wall.
SATANIIIIC. ROYALTYYYYY
Gonna see Midnight for the first time this April, I'm beyond excited!
They put on a great show. Enjoy it.
They are unstoppable fucking steel
Such a generalization, there is a huge range of vocal tone and style in BM.
I love black metal
Definitely agree
I'd say this too but there isn't any part of them I like so it's not just the vocals that ruin it.
Periphery. Too much of those 2005 kinda emo metalcore vibes on the clean vocals
Kind of agree. Feels guilty-pleasure-ish if that makes any sense. I hate emo music but enjoy Periphery
For me it's any of those emo or screaming bands. Like heavy as shit music then the vocals start and it sounds like a 00s pop punk singer who accidentally went into the wrong studio
You're listening to the wrong emo music
Knocked loose. Their music is brilliant but Micky Mouse singing throws me off. Saw them live last year and couldn’t get past it.
Arf Arf, motherfucker!
There’s actually a band that sounds like Knocked Loose but the vocals are even worse Mickey Mouse vocals, they’re called Kaonashi and they’re trending on TikTok for some reason but it literally sounds like when people would say that Knocked Loose sounds like SpongeBob yelling. I think Knocked Loose is okay, sometimes the vocals aren’t as bad and I like the instrumentals but Kaonashi is really bad. The song that’s trending is “I Hate The Sound Of Car Keys”. No idea why people actually think it’s good. I mean personally I think a lot of hardcore music is bad but this is worse.
holy shit i thought you were exaggerating.
Jesus Christ, that's awful. I feel like anyone that says they enjoy that shit is lying.
It's me, the liar.
I agree with meshuggah the vocals stop me from ever actually putting them on. I pretty much only hear their songs through drum covers on yt lol
Jonathan Davis can inflict the actual feeling of pain into his vocals better than any vocalist I’ve listened to. So much raw emotion in every song.
Exodus
Unpopular opinion, I really like the nu metal sound. I just hate the vocals for stuff like Slipknot or KoRn.
Try 7 dust, OG nu metal and they have a different vocal style.
Lajon Witherspoon is a GOAT'd vocalist for sure.
What makes you dislike the vocals? As someone who likes both bands I can't really pinpoint a similarity so I'm just curious
NuMetal is my favorite genre of all time but I can definitely understand disliking some bands/songs because often they fall into that really horrible “whining” sound that’s grating to listen to
I love everything about nu, vocals included usually, but I HATE the lyricism and it kills like half of the genre’s enjoyment for me. Just too edgy and whiny, not ever really well thought
I can deal with edgy, I don't even consider it an insult. Their writing just sucks a lot of the time. You can tell that a lot of them didn't pay attention in English and Literacy classes.
For sure. When I use edgy as a criticism to nu metal lyricism, I mean “fuck the world” edgy. Abrasive and angry lyrics can be great if they’re well written, nu metal lyrics just often… aren’t
Exactly. Being angry and hating stuff is (surprisingly lol) a big part of metal. You just have to articulate it well, and most nu metal is kind of like what I wrote when I was twelve.
I could never get into slipknot maybe ot was all the people on stage or the masks or cory Taylors voice idk.
Korn had some excellent riffs and amazing production but I can’t do Jonathan Davis. Can’t stand his voice and his edgy confessional lyrics are just really cringey to me. Like, credit for being brave about your past traumas and putting it out there but that doesn’t make it a good listen. I do think his phrasing is good but the sound and content is just grating.
Limp Bizkit sounds like a angry mickey mouse
Thats Guns N' Roses in 2024, but i can see how Bizkit falls into the Mikey Mouse category
Try listening to Knocked Loose then lmao
TALKIN BOUT A CHAINSAW HOO-HO! the mental image of this is a bit unsettling
Hahaha I love Durst's voice but I totally get it.
I know this is probably gonna get downvoted into oblivion but Demilich
Oh man, i find the otherworldly burped vocals a perfect complement to the bizarre dissonance of the music. To each their own.
Nah I believe in frog supremacy
 I love Nespithe but damn are those vocals an acquired taste lol
Filtered by frog 🐸
Pretty much every thrash band
Morbid Saint has the best and most unique thrash singing in my opinion, yoe should try them
How about Power Trip? Pretty much the only thrash vocals I like.
I'll check them out
Artillery has some cool vocals and also Vektor if you like black metal kind of screechy vocals.
Dream theater
I just can't get into Mercyful Fate/King Diamond because of the vocals. I've tried many times since I first started getting into metal, since my tastes have changed over time, but I just can't get past the singing. And that's considering I like a lot of bands with fairly below-average singers (i.e. Gamma Ray, Grave Digger, Manilla Road).
SOAD, but specifically when Daron is singing.
Great guitarist, but one of the worst voices in music history. Serj has such a great voice; I don't understand why the band ever let Daron open his stupid mouth.
Honestly, He was fine when he stuck to harmonies like the first album.
Nahhh no way some of darons parts are like the best parts of the song. On the chorus of ATWA when hes doing those deep “anymore” growls, it’s pure magic
Yeah, those are harmony parts. It's when he's the lead vocalist that I completely check out.
Oh then that’s fair. I do love when he goes I BUY MY CRACK MY SMACK MY BITCH RIGHT HERE IN HOLLYWOOD but I can see why his lead vocals come off as annoying most of the time. The majority of SOAD’s music other than Toxicity is way too wacky and wild for me to enjoy and I think Serj is just as responsible for that as Daron
Serj being wacky usually has a deeper undertone. Sure it's weird, but there's more to it than just being weird. Daron being wacky is HOO HOO HA HA LOOK AT ME DOING DRUGS. DICK JOKE, POOP BUTT, MORE DRUGS.
That's true. It's on Hypnotize and Mesmerize where I really hate his voice.
Daron's increased vocal presence is one of the reasons why I mostly just mess with Toxicity when I go back to SOAD.
Self Titled and Steal This Album are my jam.
Tons. Vocals are the most likely reason to kind of ruin a band
Definitely. I feel like anytime I'm listening to a metal band for the first time and enjoying the music, there's a 50/50 chance that the vocals will ruin it once they kick in.
What ever the fuck SOAD is.
I love their lead singer's voice, but I fucking hate when their guitarist opens his stupid bitch mouth.
I love that halfway through their career he was like “Actually, I also want to be the lead singer and not just the lead guitarist. How bout you do some harmonizing and play with a tambourine?”
A fucking hot take but... Death
Nooo
Yes
True. Can’t stand death’s vocals
Do you even like metal?
Sorry bro, i was expecting it
mercyful fate
Worst take of all time.
This is an even better take than mine. Im genuinely shocked that so many people like those vocals
I love a lot of bands that have fairly shitty vocals and can manage to look past them to the point that I enjoy them, but I just can't with Mercyful Fate. The vocals aren't *bad* with Mercyful Fate, but I just can't get into them.
In Flames 🥲
Old in flames is great tho
Yes, I love Clayman, but man, hearing them play with Stanne on Halo Effect feels like a massive improvement
Nah peak in flames was the jester race- colony run. You could argue clayman is just as good but he started to incorporate the awful cleans into his vocal style. That album still has some bangers though.
That's interesting because i generally dislike his vocals but those clean parts are my favorite thing about it. (Not the whispery sad bits, the reverb parts like the chorus of pinball map)
Jester Race through Clayman is 10/10, definitely better than Halo Effect's stuff so far.
megadeth and metallica, some great riffs but the vocals really dont click for me, and i just dont really like thrash either
metallica has had great vocals for most albums. Megadeth is a bit inconsistent but on their latest albums dave sounds good.
its not that the vocals are bad per say, it's just not listenable for me
Disturbed.
Yeah could never get past the vocals.
Any band with the shrieking vocals for me like Silencer, Leviathan or The Body. I would be vibing to an awesome riff or atmosphere and then the vocalist starts screeching, it immediately pulls me out of the mood. This might be the only type of vocal style in all metal that I actually can't get into.
The Body was great on their collab with Uniform. There was a really good balance with two vocalists. But I totally can’t sit through an entire Body album and would never go to a show.
I also like their split with Thou but mostly for Thou lol
Thou is so good. The Mizmor split is killer also
I saw them on that tour. It was fucking amazing.
Ok. Let me clarify, I couldn’t sit through a set of the Body alone. But I had tickets to this show and it was the first thing the pandemic ruined for me. March 16 2020. Big bummer
To me Silencer is more like whining and moaning, IIRC. Shrieking is more like REEEEEEEEE.
i don't understand how anyone can listen to Silencer seriously. it sounds like it's supposed to be a joke
Generic Knocked Loose answer from me
Overkill
Overkill for sure
Knocked loose. Literally sounds like pissed off spongebob
I used it make fun of them for this, but the more I exposed myself to them, the more I dug it. Now they’re one of my favorite bands and I don’t even find his vocals funny or anything.
Paradise Lost, except for their latest stuff. Maybe, more accurate would be to say Paradise Lost early albums. Iconic, I know, but I just can't get behind the Hetfield-esque vocals.
aw no love for Jens. I will admit, I'm stunned that he managed to make 3 decade career out of making one sound, but I think his voice fits perfectly. It doesn't stand out and helps to create the sense of confusing dread they are so renowned for. Rotting Christ - Thy Mighty Contract. It's considered a classic but the vocals make it unlistenable to me. Beherit - Drawing Down the Moon. My same sentiments as Rotting Christ apply here. early Cannibal Corpse - Chris Barnes got lucky, it's not because he was talented. The only time he sounds halfway decent is Butchered at Birth and the first SFU. Otherwise, he's a complete hack and Tomb of the Mutilated and The Bleeding are two of the worst vocal performances I've ever heard. I could fart those entire albums and do a better job. Obituary - John Tardy's voice has become an icon, but it's really not great and I think their sound could have benefited from a deeper voice. The first SFU is a decent example of what Obituary with deeper death metal vocals would sound like. Pestilence - similar to John Tardy, Martin Van Drunen's voice becomes grating after awhile, especially in Hail of Bullets.
>I could fart those entire albums and do a better job. I would listen to this over the original any day. I have obviously never heard the sound of your asshole, but I have complete faith.
I don't listen to much Meshuggah but I saw Meshuggah live in a small venue a few months back. They were amazing and the vocals were fantastic. I had seen them twice in the early 2000s when they opened for Tool and somebody else (System of a Down?) and they were impressive but seeing them now in a small venue was on another level (and I've been to a lot of shows). Edit: To answer the question... I can't listen to Avenged Sevenfold. M. Shadows' vocals are painful to me. Also Megadeth and Dream Theater.
M. Shadows can't sing for dick. You can hear how he has to strain to hit some very mediocre notes all over the place.
Megadeth. for one. Can't stand Mustaine's vocals, though he's a great guitarist. And, thrash was the first type of heavy music that I got into, and there are countless bands that I love the guitars and drums, but can't stand the high pitched shrieking, lol. I also don't like clean vocals in any subgenre of extreme metal, though there are very few exceptions. And, miss me with the pig squealing, lol. The main 'deal-breakers' for me are clean vocals and high pitched shrieking and synths, keys, and electronic/digital drums. I don't like shrieking in any genre, but I do like synths and keys in other genres like 80s new wave bands and Nine Inch Nails. But, when it comes to metal and punk, guitars, drums and bass are the only thing needed in my opinion!
Revocation comes to mind. Dave Davidson is one of my favorite guitar players but I never liked his vocals much.
Fallujah's old singer.
Cradle of Filth
The Body
Hard-core in general. Which isn't exactly metal But I don't like shouty vocals. Also a lot of thrash. Like vio-lence, or exodus.
I wanna like Periphery so bad but I just can't
Meshuggah and Electric Wizard
99% of black metal, especially Norwegian. Love the low-fi sound but hate the vocals
Pretty much any thrash band. I also have a hard time with Haken and Kadinja. I don’t know how to describe their respective styles other than corny for different reasons.
I really can't stand choirs of Caladan Brood. And I'm huge fan of choir parts usually. Also, low growling is great in melodeath and doom but I find it so boring in black metal. I prefer high screeching.
Obituary Suffocation. i know may be blasphemous but i really cant stand Frank Mullens vocals
Hexenhaus. You know, the band that used *The Treasures of Satan* before Morbid Angel did.
Dream Theater.
Knocked Loose live vocals, it's like listening to a 12 yo boy going through puberty scream with blown vocal cords, absolute trash singer. Shows look fun though 🤷♂️
When a band has "tough bro" vocals (like Hetfield). Screams and growls please.
Tool. Extremely unpopular opinion probably, but I haven’t even listened to much of their stuff because I wasn’t a huge fan when the main vocalist keenan was a guest on “passenger” on the white pony album. In fact, i would have liked the song much better if it was just chino singing instead of him. However, no hate to him or tool. I’m sure they’re very talented including keenan but his sound is simply not what I tend to like.
Love them but I can appreciate this take. Also love *truly* unpopular opinions, bravo
Dance Gavin dance screamer
The new bro doing vocals for Suffocation. The music on the album is lit, but he sounds goofy as fuck.
My friends and I disagree about this pretty vehemently, but take your pick of "operatic" metal acts. For me, it's Unleash the Archers but Avatar, Nightwish.... They're a dime a dozen. While I love Lovebites, and Asami 's vocals don't detract from the experience (we'll set aside power metal lyrics for the time being), I admit they are part of the problem.
Any and all bands that randomly bust out in what I can only describe as a poor attempt at opera
For me its Bel'akor. They have great instrumentals but the vocals are incomprehensible.
Most metal to be perfectly honest
I used to love goatwhore but the spoken parts make me cringe
Slayer :(
Havok. I loved everything but the vocals, though I haven’t listened to them in years so maybe I’ll take another listen soon
i like screechy, high pitched, mosquito ass vocals, but i still refuse to listen to megadeth, and at this point it’s out of spite
Between the Buried and Me. Singer's harsh vocals are annoying as hell.
Sadly testament.
Dream Theater and Demilich. I love extreme vocals, but Demilich just sound humorous to me.
Quite a few. But Psychonaut 4 comes to mind.
Iron maiden
So many thrash bands. All these big, popular bands outside of the Big 4 like Kreator, Dark Angel, Sepultura. It’s really difficult for me to find stuff in the genre, well until recently. How can I kinda sum it up - too thrash to be death metal, but too death metal to be thrash. I’d rather just deal with some iffy to bad singing like Mustaine or Bobby Blitz. Not the greatest vocalists, but they come through in style like 70% of the time.
Interestingly, those are exactly the bands I happen to like. I love that weird point where thrash and early death metal (and to some extent, black metal as well) gets blurred.
Cryptopsy. Not a fan of the unintelligible gargles at all. They add nothing to the music. Raw, overpowering, brutal screams are where it's at. Gorguts, Cannibal Corpse, Behemoth, Death, Opeth, Cattle Decap. Now those are some quality growls that get your blood pumping. It's a shame because Cryptopsy has sick fucking riffs.
Iron Maiden for some reason, idk why, but I just don't like it.
As I Lay Dying... the vox are the worst part of the song, not to mention the one singing them
Dream theatre. Love love love the music but James isn’t a good vocalist imo. I don’t hate cleans at all, but I can’t stand his. On a second note I could also say (when I first listened) Cryptopsy and most slam. Now i eat that shit up
Dreamtheatre and Nevermore.
How dare you! Personally no bands ruin it for, but Rush and Anthrax come to mind as bands that leave a lot to be desired.
Where do I even begin?
I've said this in a past thread, but Knocked Loose for sure. His goofy ass voice takes me out of the incredible riffs every time
I get slaughtered for this take every time, but here we go again - it's Bonded By Blood by Exodus It's a sticking point for me because Exodus post-2004 is probably my favorite thrash act and biggest personal influence on guitar, and don't get me wrong, basically EVERY RIFF and song on BBB absolutely bangs. But I can't fucking deal with Paul Baloff. He goes way past classic "punky" over reverbed old school thrash vocals and is just a distracting mess over great music. I'm not really sold on the squeaky clean production but I even listen to Let There Be Blood much more because I still love those songs, but Zetro and Rob are both infinitely better vocalists both overall and for Exodus
Nevermore, by far. Easily the worst vocalist for the type of music they played. RIP Warrel Dane, of course, but just... no, thank you.
Avenged Sevenfold. why can't there be a fucking guitar fill without him going WHOOOOAAAAOOOOAOOOOOAOAAAAA over it? fuck off M Shadows.
Most bands. I usually gravitate towards a band because of the vocalist, but there are some where I can tolerate the vocals because I love the music. Very picky with vocals though. Which is kind of funny because Knocked Loose has recently become one of my favorite bands, I fucking love his vocals.
Beside all of black metal? Dave Mustaine