Updates from the abyss, 6 months later.

Hail! Inhabitants of Cyberspace!

      So, I've been really lax with updating this blog yet again. But I've had a few people get in contact and say it really helped them, so I've decided to resurrect it as much as possible in the little free time I have these days. I'll give you a quick summary of what I've been doing the last couple of months, whilst I've been neglecting this blog and doing real things like earning a degree and getting a job.

Hecate Enthroned

(http://b.vimeocdn.com/ts/350/703/350703327_640.jpg)

For those of you who don't keep up with my life, I joined British Black Metal band Hecate Enthroned about six months ago. It's been great so far- getting to work with new people and make new friends, travel up and down the country regularly, played in Leipzig and Liverpool, recording our upcoming album back in Summer and touring the UK in December. 

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOUwLUGokmg)

Aeternum

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/1141_590115747695907_1961385550_n.jpg)

Aeternum went through some pretty drastic line up changes earlier in the year, and I've spent a lot of time getting the new line up together, discussing the direction we want to go in and making sure Aeternum didn't die. We're currently writing new material and are starting gigging again in a fortnight. Rest assured, darkness will descend.

Svarr 

I've been playing bass, singing and composing for this project with my friend Dev for most of the year now, and I'm really happy with where it's going. I don't want to give too much away, but the stuff we've been writing is really emotional and atmospheric and completely different from anything I've ever done before. It's great! We'll record and release the demo once we're happy with all the material. I've no idea how long that'll take, but we really wanna make sure everything is perfect for this release. I can say it that will be entitled 'Words and Dust' and be four tracks long.

Along with this I've been contributing to various projects, including a guest spot on some friends' upcoming EP, singing live for Morktar and generally doing as much as possible in the free time I have. No rest for the wicked.

In conclusion, I've been really busy, and it's been fun. But I'm going to start posting on this blog again regularly. Expect good things! Soon!

-E

Overhaul or Overkill? I’ll let you decide.

Dear much maligned readers,

It’s been a long, long time since I’ve posted on this blog and this is something that’s going to change.

Why? I’m currently taking a Web Design and Creation module for my university course and a large part of how I’m assessed on this is characterised by my ability to create, market and run a blog for the duration of the module- and I thought “Hey! I already did that. Maybe I can have some fun with this….”.  Thus, I am resurrecting Confessions Of A Death Metal Vocalist: Be scared internet, be very scared.

As well as having a very busy life juggling being in bands, university, my social life and a torrid love affair with Glen’s Vodka, I lost my motivation to do the blog because writing it was very much like writing an endless torrent of essays and as any student will attest, this can kill the passion the writer feels for the subject.  I’m hoping to tackle this problem by dealing with my favourite subject in a number of different ways. This is going to result in Confessions… having a range of new content that will hopefully offer you all new insights into being a metal vocalist and all that entails.

The first change is regularity- I’m aiming for at least one post a week dealing directly with vocals in the same vein as what I’ve done with the blog so far. Confessions… is also going to start featuring interviews with vocalists who are actually out there in the scene, playing in bands and doing it for real in order to get their opinions on the rather esoteric subject of extreme metal vocals. I’m also going to do breakdown analyses of famous vocalists’ techniques and writing styles, in order to help anyone open minded enough to try and incorporate new styles or different ways of thinking into their music (Audience cue: Shock! Horror!). Also, for the sake of vanity and those of you who are interested, I’m going to start keeping a gig diary.

There’s also going to be a mind-blowing new layout. I know, I’m far too good to you people.

-E

Introduction to the blog, and about me.

I’m Elliot, I’m 21 years old and I’m a student. In a great many ways, I’m completely normal. However, as an Extreme Metal vocalist, I spend a good portion of my life making inhuman noises and growls into a microphone for the benefit of audiences everywhere!

Over my 6 years or so of experience doing what I will henceforth refer to as ‘death growling’ (though I often perform other kinds of extreme vocal, that is an explanation I’ll save for another, much longer post), I’ve been fascinated by the different sounds and techniques of other vocalists, both extreme or no, and tried to incorporate aspects of their styles into the way I sing and perform. However, beyond this form of learning, there is a near-total lack of what I would call good, solid and informed advice on the subject of  extreme vocals despite the near endless books and tutorials for other instruments in the genre. While there are numerous ‘how to’ guides on the internet, and the infamous ‘Zen of Screaming’ DVD’s by Melissa Cross as well as billions of utterly useless youtube tutorials on the subject, most of what these fonts of knowledge espouse is either really inaccessible, stupid or in the worst cases, just plain wrong. 

 The aim of this blog is to provide a dedicated source of knowledge and information for extreme vocalists of whichever genre or amount of experience to read on the intricacies and nuances of extreme vocals as well as the basics.

What do I consider to be extreme vocals? In today’s musical sphere, there is an endless supply of bands that have what I would consider an “extreme vocal style”. From the screaming of pop tinged metalcore bands of the mid-noughties to the guttural indecipherable tones of slam death metal and everything in between, any kind of noise that a person can make with their throat that isn’t traditional melodic singing, I would consider to be worth attention.  So whether you’re singing in a throwback New York Hardcore style band or rasping blasphemies and praising the name of Satan in a black metal band, there’ll hopefully be something on this site that you can use to better your art, or at least give you an interesting read!

I intend to use this blog to post advice, exercises and in depth analyses of different vocals styles as well as every so often interviews/ Q+A sessions with vocalists I respect/admire. Most of what will be on this blog is my personal opinion on vocals as an art form, and consequently is massively biased and subjective, however I will do my best to avoid this as much as possible. Feel free to take what you will, and leave whatever you disagree with and develop your own ideas and style.

A bit more information about me?  So nice of you to ask. I’ve been doing extreme vocals since I was 15. I started off by singing along with Children of Bodom and Cradle of Filth tracks off my iPod while walking around, not really thinking much of it. Then over time, I got better and started to take it more seriously, practicing regularly and attempting to actually replicate the vocal tones of songs I was listening to. After a while, I built up confidence enough to go looking for a band. Following a few completely non-functioning bands I either tried out for, or attempted to start, I joined my first band Phyrexia in 2008, and the rest is history. I’m currently in three bands (Phyrexia, Aeternum and Wolfsword for anyone interested enough to look me up) and spend the majority of my time either writing for or practicing with these bands, planning or running shows  or attending other peoples’ shows. I’m into all kinds of music, though as you can probably tell by this point I spend most of my time listening to Metal of one kind or another. My main influences on my vocal styles nowadays are George “Corpsegrinder” Fischer, Tom Araya, Johan Hegg, Chance Garnette, Angela Gossow, Nergal, Glen Benton and Bruce Dickinson, with honourable mentions going to Abbath, Tomas Lindberg, Trevor Strnad and Sean LaCanne. When I’m not doing stuff based around music, I play bass, read fantasy novels and play far too many video games for my own good. In addition to this, I’m a fairly stoic atheist and have a really dark sense of humour, this will most likely come through at points during this blog.

Here's a link to a track on the last release I did:

Aeternum [UK] -As The Last Kingdom Burns

So, now that the big douchey introduction is over, happy reading!