A blog for extreme vocalists. Articles, advice, audio clips and answers about extreme vocal techniques for live performance and recording and how best not to abuse your throat.
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.
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.
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!
I’m not going to get into the ethics of using a pedal for
vocals, as everyone has a different opinion on the matter; Suffice it to say
that I use one when I feel like using one. And thus, I’m going to review the
BOSS VE-20 Vocal Performer pedal that I got a few months ago and try to give
you and idea of how useful it would be to you.
What is it?
An integrated loop and effects pedal for on stage use by
vocalists.
Technical Features
-Two pedal system, one to control the loop pedal and bypass
and the other to control harmonies and effects.
-You can chain of up to six effects: dynamics, pitch
correct, tone/SFX, double/harmony, delay and reverb.
-As well as a straight forward doubling setting, the editable harmony effect allows you to play around with pitch intervals, pan and gender of the harmony (that is to say it offers unison
and up or down thirds, fourths, fifths, sixths and octave harmonies).
-The pitch correction effect allows you to access normal auto-tune
tones as well as the standard chorus, flanger, strobe, radio, preamp (for EQ
and the like) and distortion effects.
Pros?
-Designed specifically for vocalists, so no messing around
with guitar inputs (though this does only apply if you don’t play guitar and
sing)
-Simple to use, I literally picked it up, put batteries in
it and started using it. Assuming you’re familiar with the ideas of what the
various effects do and a rough idea of what you want to sound like, the VE-20
is a pleasure to use and really easy to get to grips with.
-Space for 50 custom presets besides the 30 already
supplied, so you’re not going to run out of space for your settings in a hurry.
-Editing presets is a super easy, one button process
-Factory presets are passable. Though nothing I could use
immediately, they were solid enough.
-Harmony setting can be used to get some insane Slam/grind
tones and completely dehumanise your voice.
Cons?
-The two footswitch system can be awkward. Given that one
works for the loop pedal, and the other for effects and harmony, it is forced
to integrated the effects and harmonies into a single patch- that is to say
they become one ‘setting’. So you can’t turn them off separately, which can
become an issue if you want to use a setting for only one section of a song,
forcing you to either be really unsubtle and kneel down and change the settings
on the pedal manually or be unsubtle and just leave the effect on for the
entire song. This could be easily solved by there being two pedals controlling
the effects instead of just one as it can get awkward if you want to do
anything complicated (e.g. activating just an octave setting for a 20 second
section besides the delay setting you already have running through it) – most
of the VE-20’s competitors have this ability and are far easier to use in terms
of this (though this is reflected in the difference in their prices).
-Doesn’t come with a power adaptor. Which means buying one
separately, which is lame when the pedal costs £200 and you can pick up the
adaptor for £5 on Amazon. It wouldn’t be THAT much of a financial strain for
BOSS to include one…
-No way to quickly switch settings without bending over, as
compared with say the TC helicon pedal.
-It can be a struggle to get some of the reverbs to sound natural, but this tends to go largely unnoticed in a live environment.
Conclusions
Really solid pedal, and I really like what I can do with it and in general it's a pleasure to use.
It’s just a shame that it’s so fiddly to switch between settings rather than
just turn them off. Would definitely recommend it if you’re not doing anything
overly complicated, but if you are or you’re significantly richer than I- The
TC Helicon VoiceLive 2 is glorious and literally all you could possibly want
from a vocal pedal. But the VE-20 is good at what it does, and a sound investment.
Here are a few things to get you un-stuck. These are by no means the be-all and end-all of what's out there, they're just the first things that came to mind as potentially being useful.
Brentalfloss - He's a guy with a background in music theatre and composition and he puts lyrics to video game songs (check out the rest of his channel, if interested). This is the first part of a series of really interesting videos he did called 'Lyrics 101', which he did to help you write lyrics. So watch them, they're really good and helpful despite how inapplicable they may be to your chosen artform.
Below is an interview with my friend Chris Simmons, who sings (yes, he does actually sing!) in the excellent Wretched Soul. He has an amazing voice and can do a whole load of things I can't, so I asked him a bunch of questions and to try and find out how he got where he is today!
In their own words, "Wretched Soul was formed in late 2008 amid the mist-veiled marshes and ruined medieval ramparts of Kent, Southern England. As of May 2012 the band has just finished recording their debut album with producer legend Chris Tsangarides (Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, King Diamond etc.).
Taking their brand of Modern Heavy Metal to the masses, Wretched Soul never fails to wreck-necks and evoke the true spirit of Metal. The band were hand-picked for Bloodstock 2012, the inaugural Beermageddon, and have supported the likes of Anihilated, Blaze Bayley, Beholder, Eastern Front, Orange Goblin, Sarah Jezebel Deva and Stuka Squadron among others."
When did you start? / How long have you been doing vocals?
"As a vocalist with metal as the intention I started when I
was about 17. I'm now 24 so that's 7 years. Ironically in my youth I had sang
in choirs, or been too shy to act in School plays so I just hid in with the
other kids to sing songs. My introduction to metal is quite a blur as well as
my Dad was in a Ska punk band and his side of the family was very musical. I
was favouring songs such as eye of the tiger and wild thing as a little kid,
not knowing it was rock jammin’ away to it when no one was looking. When I was
young I went along to Church with my family where I'd often get up the front at
Church and (lol) scream the hymns, people just thought I was some cute kid.
There is a connection to Iron Maiden in my family, not to my knowledge at the
time due to my age but the band themselves were at one of my family’s wedding
receptions - I took fondly to them apparently and I am sure I can remember some
of it, most likely just from being hopeful! I swear they must have laid down
some metal magic on me. Gotta start young, eh? These little things created a
nostalgic feeling when I heard anything real and with an electric guitar, yet
as drugged up epilepsy sufferer I was constantly off my tits in my own world,
quite unaware of most things. I was surrounded by b*llocks music everyday - I
played drums because my Dad did and it felt cool. Yet when all you hear is
S-Club F*ckin 7 on TV and then you get asked to try drumming to it, something
feels clearly wrong. I would be asked by other kids who could hear me drum
"Why do you drum? It's not exactly musical is it, it's just bashing on
things..." much to my displeasure. This was the start of the search, which
when I heard such typical tunes as smells like teen spirit, or on occasion run
to the hills or something I'd freak out with this nostalgic familiarity.
Something called out with the music, I was curious to find out more. At around
15-16 and realising what I was listening to was called metal, I attempted to
learn guitar, doing the cheesy thing of singing and playing to myself in the
mirror, practising everyday. I felt comfortable with the scene without really
thinking about it, already growing my hair out and considering what I was into
as being considerably alternative anyhoo. The idea of becoming like the guys in
the bands I liked hit home with me; that demi-God like aura that radiates from
such musicians drove me to want it for real. They have this power to become
something bigger than they really are and be accepted for being different, yet
express more talent than you'll ever see from a pop-idol churn out. Eventually
I dropped the guitar as my friends were just getting better than me, I would
never find the time for it being an avid skater. I was already known for doing
funny impressions, so these voices seemed fun to work on, so I did that. Dani
Filth originally was a big idol of mine simply because I found his ability to
unleash what sounded like several different voices to be incredible, I figured
if you was to do this then like anything you might as well take it to town and
show off."
What do you consider to be an ‘extreme’ vocalist?
"I've never really used the term extreme before vocalist. I
use the term vocalist for artists who use an alternative approach such as
screaming or growling constantly, or incorporate it somehow into their music.
Someone who doesn't scream and just sings I call a singer. It can be argued as
to what singing really is, after all people seem to accept rapping (moreso than
screaming strangely enough) to be a form of singing. I think of singing as an
outlet of expression, a screamer will hit a pitch, just like a note and use the
sound to compliment the music. I can't imagine Cannibal Corpse to use the
vocals of the Little Mermaid, for example. How fucked would that be? No,
seriously. That would be pretty extreme. I guess an extreme vocalist in a sense
would be a heavy metal artist who pushes the bar on his fry/death/false chord
ability to be more than the average kid who can make a pretty average monster
noise. The vocalists who open up so you can really "feel" the screams
or demonstrate a range of different voices, unique sounds that are a trademark
of an artist, that kind of thing to me would be taking it to the extreme. Phil
Anselmo once said he is an extremist when it comes to everything. So, with
vocals that would mean pushing your ability to stand out. It's hard to stand
out making the same fuzzy noise that most other people do, to find your own
voice in this game is probably the hardest part of being an extreme vocalist."
How much formal ‘technique’ would you say there is in the
way you do vocals? Do you practice often? How would you respond to the ‘it’s
just noise’ argument?
"Let's start with the first question, as ya do. Originally I
was just trying to find out how to produce these crazy sounds, which sounded
bad may I add but I could hear there was something there. I lacked the correct
power, delivery and if I’m being honest with myself I'd often find I had a
painful throat. Trial and error, with a touch of don't give a shit attitude. It
was not long before I was making some crazy noises in my bedroom, much to the
neighbours delights and concerns, I just screamed coz it felt good to do. I
would have favourite artists as fads, I'd try to copy them to the point I'd sound
pretty close then take pieces of what I had learnt with me. Each time I moved
on to another fad I gained new developments in technique. I found strangely
enough if I ever really hurt myself, I'd take time out and return more naturally
aware of what not to do and I'd be a much stronger vocalist. There was this
time I walked about 3 miles with the flu, in the rain to record in an old house
with no heating that belonged to my friends Grandma (hehe) for a project that
had existed for a week. I screwed my voice over that day, probably more psychologically
but it wasn't fun. I was out for months, just not wanting to try to scream coz
it wasn't right, I was going to the hospital having cameras shoved up my nose
and looking at this vagina on the screen that was apparently my voice box.
Sexual. I had to take it carefully returning to screaming, clearly not as
strong or confident at first but it made me learn more about control. To add to
the point of formal technique, well that's where people trying to get me to
sing comes into play. My first band went quickly from being a progressive death
metal project to being a cheesy thrash type thing, nicely entitled
"Megafist". Bloody awful now I look back on it. I was just happy I
had got a band together even though they wanted to play a style I didn't, so I
just went along with it. They really wanted me to sing and not scream as much,
I couldn't really scream seriously to their music anyway if I’m being honest.
My clean vocals were TERRIBLE. At the time I hadn't even considered the raspy
thrashy "cleans" of bands such as Exodus. I couldn't grasp how people
hit high notes or hear what I was doing properly, it was all about feel and
there was a lot of strain in my voice. I was originally always just happy to
get a sound out that made some kind of tune, even though to be frank it really
didn't. I joined another band called Sanity Burns swiftly after that, where
again my screaming ability was watered down by the band being inspired by
artists such as Iced Earth and Dream Theater. I developed this "naughty
scream" where I really wanted to scream properly, but was putting my voice
into it. I started looking at guys like Chuck Billy and Paul Baloff for those
harsh, raspy vocals that weren't quite a full on scream to justify my excuse. I
really wasn't into singing clean at the time, yet I was constantly badgered to
do it. We recorded our demos (which I think personally were great) with Dan
Abella at Escape Route studios and I don't cringe when I hear them, as by that
point the band had put the point across that the "Randy Blythe"
scream was fine to use so I had started being more confident in my delivery. As
the band fell apart and re-gathered with different members, the musical tastes
of individuals was passed around and I started opening my mind to metal that I
wouldn't really listen to before, such as Skid Row or even Megadeth. I started
appreciating the guys who would sing, eventually coming out of my shell and
admitting it was pretty cool. I always had this feeling if you sang you were
just like anyone; a popstar sings, so why would I want to be like them? I was a
young, arrogant death metal fan who suddenly saw the light. In the long time it
took for Sanity's new formation to record our album, I went off exploring with
my voice. I eventually got to meet and play alongside one of my favourite metal
vocalists of all time, Sy Keeler from Onslaught. I could clearly see how far
from professional I was being with my approach, I still had to find more with
my technique that would make even me half the singer he is. The Sanity record
broke me, I was in the studio for long hours yet was learning a lot about my
voice. It wasn't always about being really loud, or intense, or over the top.
Their record is still available to buy online, yet I really don't think the
producer had any understanding of how to mix metal vocals as I sound bloody
awful once again. So, a lesson to you singers/screamers out there, don't spend
too long in a studio, especially if you're not understanding why you don't
sound right. The likelihood is it's not you, it's the mix. Shortly after this
experience, I had met my fellow chums and bandmates for my current outfit
entitled Wretched Soul. I was determined that I could prove I had a voice, I
had learnt a lot about control, dynamics and individuality. It was at this
point I was merely going to do two things: scream and sing. I took everything I
knew and natrually done what came to me. I recorded with Wretched when I was
still becoming familiar to the songs, at one point I was still in Sanity so I
was feeling less inclined to own up to Wretched as my main band due to guilt. I
wanted to just do what most other people seem to manage to do: go into the
studio, record and not be overly fussy and get out. I wanted it natural and
live. I knew the production was going to be amazing as we was working with the
legendary Chris Tsangarides, therefore I didn't feel the pressure to have to be
too much of a perfectionist as I trusted his judgement. If something gets past
a grammy nominated producer who's made some of your favourite records, you're
going to listen if they say "that was cool". If you can stand there
and sing a song without stopping every few lines in the studio then you know
you have your technique down well, which in this game is usually based on
diaphragm control. I had become aware that screaming was like singing for me:
growls worked like low notes and highs worked like high notes. If you do a low
to high siren in a growl to scream approach then it should feel the same as if
you were doing it clean. I had become aware singing should never feel pushed
and uncomfortable, it's volume that comes from diaphram support and the main
thing is the tone. How you sound is important, there's no point in pushing
yourself to do a note you usually don't manage live as you're just asking for
trouble. You'll find certain techniques work and some don't, some things you'll
start to favour more. There's an old school power scream on the Wretched record
somewhere that I applied a lot of vocal fry to, I've learnt that if you're
gonna sing a high clean note adding distortion seemingly takes away from the
tone.
It's a journey of self discovery in this game.
"Extreme" vocalists (singers included) all get to a point where they
get less concerned about losing their voice, rather becoming more concerned
about acceptance, constantly fretting about how their abilities will be judged.
You'll find you practice everyday, even if quietly to yourself, trying to prove
with conviction that you can do things you wish to show off to people. Take
that anxiety as a good thing, accept what you have done and let people hear
progression and nod to your own personal acknowledgements in future material.
If someone says it's just noise their clearly very ignorant and unaware that
everything they hear is "just noise". I think the passion expressed
in this reply clearly shows that this artform is not "just noise". As
I explained before, Little Mermaid fronting Cannibal Corpse - wouldn't work.
Why? Coz the music is monstrous, so it needs a fucking beast called
Corpsegrinder to lay down his soothing rumbly tones. Just common sense, really."
How much do you think it’s true that as vocalists we’re
largely irrelevant? E.g. the argument that we’re just a connection between the
crowd and band?
"If we was irrelevant, we wouldn't exist. We're not exactly a
new thing, I’m sure the first tribes of men used their false chords to grunt
and growl as a primal thing - that was how they sang, that was how they
communicated. So like a good old Ouroboros, we're bringing it full circle. If
anything the death metal singer is so primal we're in a category that lets you
get closer to what it is to be human. I consider it to be one of the highest
forms of expression, you could even say the art of screaming has some links to
a higher conscious. The way in which the frontman can use this secondary voice
to control and manipulate a crowd is like having a whip for an aura, the mind
when performing is sadistic and pleased with chaos. A crowd will feed off a
vocalists energy, if said vocalist is in this magical performing bubble, the
show will be great. If a vocalist can't put themselves into this place though,
it can make a show very awkward. There are some fantastic instrumental metal
bands out there but those with a singer have a singer for a reason, just like a car needs fuel and not just a motor. If that fuel doesn't go in that tank then
your car won't start up and you definitely won't be getting anywhere, same
thing with vocalists and bands."
Favourite extreme vs non-extreme singer? Who would win and
why?
"Oooh, tricky question. The answer to this probably has
changed over time. See I really love Devin Townsend. I think his vocals are
amazing, he has a great singing and screaming voice. He really pushes his voice
to extremes in some of his songs, particularly on the Strapping Young Lad
stuff. I know there's death metal fans out there shaking their heads right now,
so to calm you down I will say as a death metal vocalist it would have to be
Chuck Schuldiner (R.I.P). That dude’s voice was not only pioneering but it was
a good way to do so coz it was insane, he defo had some pipes on him. I've
always been fonder of the mid-high pitched screamers moreso than the constant
low gutterals, even though they do sound pretty sick. I find there is more
character and individuality to be found in the middle or higher
gutteral/scream. I'll chuck in the addition of Stu Block (Into Eternity/Iced
Earth) as that guy has crazy screams but also transcends into the singing
world, of which I’m a fan of both. Jari Mäenpää of Wintersun (who I once got
mistaken for at Bloodstock by drunken Wintersun fans) also has a fantastic
voice. I guess you're kinda seeing a trend here! As for non-extreme... well if
you mean someone who doesn't growl at all I guess the king of that would be
Ronnie James Dio (R.I.P). Notice I ain’t faffin about with that answer and so I
think we can all say that dude just wins hands down."
How much of a difference is there between the live and
studio environment for you?
"There's a big difference. I used to really struggle with the
studio, however have far less trouble recording myself at home. It's about
comfort you see, at home I’m comfortable and can piss around as much as I like.
In a studio there's expected ways of going about things, you feel stupid if you
try alternative methods to get certain lines out with the right delivery. I
think I've now cracked how to go into a studio and just get on with it based on
my experience with Wretched Soul. That doesn't make it exactly 100% like how I
would come across live though but if you're still resorting to parts of your
voice that you're known for then it's acceptable. That's partly why I don't
like metal vocalists using too many effects on their voices, they can't
compensate effectively. The live environment can make you have to approach
things with alternative methods. You're in the zone, fuelled with adrenaline
and feeding off people's energies. I will say that live can create an illusion
by the overtones given off by the mic and the energy can make you feel like
you're performing your best ever vocals everytime you hit the stage.
It is easy for someone to feel they have done something
amazing live and then become disheartened as to why they struggle to pull off
the same effect in the studio, which as I said before is merely based upon an
illusion. Sure, there are things that you can do live that you could have
pulled off in the studio enviroment but another difference with the studio is
everything is done for a reason. Don't forget what you as a vocalist hear isn't
what everyone else hears, usually what you critique other people tend to love
and they won't hear what you're barking on about.
Some things live don't work on record - I screech until the
windows of hell shatter live at times, yet the same parts on record would
likely not sound as in place.
The studio has this effect on me where I kinda go blank, go
in with a minimalist plan, I don't really think about it and never put my hand
up to say anything. Now I have recorded properly once I can definitely say I
know how I will approach studio time in the future. Obviously once you record
you can't go back, you should try to approach the mic with the attitude that
whatever will be will be, so you have to accept what you do and know you done
it for a reason at the time.
An artist should always be about progression. A musicians
understanding of the studio is just as much a learning curve as doing one’s own
artform, so a great singer can go in the studio to record without any studio
experience and struggle to come across the same as usual. You have to play with
the studio to get your live character through. With screaming it's good to make
it sound real to the intention of the song. If you want a breathless vocal, run
around the block like Randy Blythe had to for "Walk with me in Hell".
If you want a scream filled with pain, drink a bottle of hot sauce and shove the
bottle up your bum. Do or do not follow that advice, I will not be made
responsible!"
Given that you also do clean singing during some of your
songs, have you ever encountered any difficulty with mixing the two techniques?
"When I started, yes I would lose stamina quite quickly and
as I couldn't really sing my clean voice would bail on me. I still have moments
where I tell myself "I'm not gonna hit that" which is quite often psychological
and just due to feeling out of breath, which when you're running around doing
both- I don't care how fit you are, the voice has its own conscious that will
encourage any doubts. You have to just believe that you will get through it,
confidence is key. If you can do something once you can do it again, right? We
aren't supermen, or women, it is merely natural not to be perfect. I prefer
hearing vocalists who can switch it up live and know their shit well enough to
make it work. As I stated earlier, one of my favourite singers on the metal
scene is Sy Keeler from Onslaught. I find the way he adds a distorted tone to
his voice to be amazing, he has overtones of fry screams, dumps his voice into
death territory and yet keeps his incredible range. The idea of singing through
distortion interested me as I partly thought it could be a good way to disguise
a tired voice. It's smoke and mirrors, of course this method isn't actually the
best to use as an attack that solves everything so please don't think that way
will necessarily work for you. It is actually very hard to develop a decent
distorted singing tone and pull it off correctly, so again don't come running
to me spitting blood and blaming me for telling you to all to push gravel on
your voices. Therefore I will tell you my correct technique! To do it you must
apply the fry technique on top of the vocal, which must be relaxed and not
pushed in your throat. You should feel the distortion in your mask, which is
towards the front of your face. If you have to use it to cover up for something
it's best to know how to apply it correctly or you'll just end up choking. I do
use this technique stylistically, I find it can create singing parts to be monstrous
and I like the middle ground between extreme vocals and clean. Yet I do need to
note that if you ever have to sing with a cold- refrain from adding extra
distortion to your cleans as your voice will likely distort naturally and
you'll just cause yourself later discomfort. So, with the subject of distortion
out of the way, now onto range. In a studio environment, just do what is necessary.
Don't overdo things, do what the music calls for. I find another good technique
in the sing scream subject is to keep it simple. You may be feeling that little
ego inside right now telling yourself my advice sounds rather boring, yet
simple doesn't mean boring. It merely means you have to replicate them vocals
in a live enviroment. As a sucker for clean vocals with character I have tried
to make my clean voice somewhat have a certain added twist to them, therefore
people take on that theatrical element and it's not always about the notes.
It's good for people to be able to sing along, to make them want to sing along
and to an extent allow for them to sing along. I think every modern vocalist
should want to have vocal covers done of their own work on youtube as a common
goal, it would be brilliant to see young vocalists aspiring to learn about this
artform in the exact same way I did when I started but through my own work.
There's a reason why Dave Mustaine’s voice is so well known, it's that slightly
annoying snarl in his voice that makes everyone know straight away it's him.
Dani Filth does them stupidly high lady shrieks, everyone knows who that is
straight away. Identity is an important goal and one of the hardest to achieve
in this game. So for Wretched Soul's first record my range was somewhat
dictated via what the songs called for but I felt it was important for a vocal
character to shine. I had made it so I could pull off the songs live
confidently, which is important and far more impressive than struggling to sing
certain notes in my clean style just to make up for an ego - which would be
entertaining for the wrong reasons. Alas, there are one or two notes I could
have sang differently in the studio and pulled of live that are somewhat more
daring by impression, yet I’m gonna save room to explore my upper clean range
more in the future. It's important to note when range is the issue, what you're
singing can dictate what you're able to reach. When I’m not having to scream
and growl, I can sing along to some Judas Priest, some Maiden or do the
complete opposite and sing a soothing ballad. Doesn't mean I'm doing it as well
as the originals, but I can do it. Yet when I apply screams and growls into the
mix, the atmosphere and character of a band like Wretched Soul, it's important
to sing for THAT band. Always remember your band is your band, don't try to be
anything else other than you and the musical entity that your band creates.
First dress, then impress."
Lastly, any advice for people wanting to start out as a singer?
"If you feel it, go for it. Play with your voice, discover
new things it can be amazing what you find. Listen to advice and criticism but
don't let it control you, be individual, be creative. Be prepared for a bumpy
ride of up's and down's, dodgy throats and finding yourself up at 3am watching
youtube tutorials coz you can't sleep. Be prepared to indulge yourself in the
music scene, enjoy it, sometimes be wary of it, talk to other singers. Go sing!"
Well, what could one possibly learn from a regular lifestyle
involving covering myself in pig’s blood and bellowing about Satan at a room
full of inebriated and leather clad drunk people beside that it's a hell of a lot of fun?
A fair amount, it would seem.
It’s been fairly slow for Aeternum recently as compared
with last year, given we’ve only been playing a gig or two per month and that
in itself has been kind of a downer. But it has made me look forward to gigging
a lot more when it does happen.
The first show of the two shows was March 2nd,
supporting Enthroned at the Electrowerkz. Was really looking forward to it, as
so many bands I like and am friends with were playing- it was promising to be
an amazing day. So, as usual- wake up, head up the venue, hang around for a few
hours, standard drill. Besides that we didn’t get given a soundcheck, and the
sound guy didn’t deign to stay at the console, which turned what was actually a
really good set into a mish-mash of sound that did us no justice and made the
show a lot harder for all of us. Worse than this, I took my vocal pedal and
decided not to use it as I thought I’d give the sound guy a chance. More fool
me. Still, the audience reaction was great and really saved the show for me and
all the other bands slayed! So not a totally wasted day, but still.
Here's a video from our set filmed by the lovely people at Metal Rules, check them out! (http://www.metal-rules.com/)
So first lesson- always insist on a soundcheck and assume
the sound guy is going to mess up, it just saves time. And if possible, always
play with Verdelet and Ataud.
Gig two was April 6th opening up for Master at
the Boston Arms in Tufnell Park. Looked to be a fairly good show, besides the
fact we were playing at like 19.00 but we played at 17.30 at the Enthroned show
and there was an amazing vibe there, so I figured what the hell, could be cool!
But alas, I was wrong- started the set with like 4 people in the room, which is
enough to put anyone off, kind of like an inverse nervousness thing. You end up
thinking about why it’s worth it, trying harder to connect with the tiny crowd,
getting nothing back and just kinda giving up. Well, I did at that show
anyways. It wasn’t tragic, it was just painfully lacklustre. Again, the day was
saved by our comrades in Cythraul’s set, and the few people I spoke with after
the set who appreciated it- so not a total washout but depressing nonetheless.
You’d think I’d be beyond this given how often I do these things? Aeternum
shows are just a lot harder when you don’t feel like a psychotic murderer
onstage.
So, lesson two- be put off less by external things and focus
more on what I’m doing when I know I’m clearly not helping myself.
It’s not all doom and gloom though! Our new EP “A Shrine To
Abomination” is for all intents and purposes finished and we’re sending it off
for printing in the next few days, am writing new material for the next release
and there’s a whole world left to conquer. Exciting times ahead.
Firstly, I'd like to make it abundantly clear I don't like Whitechapel. However, their singer talks so much sense I'm finding it hard to dislike them so much. Give it a watch regardless of what you may think of them, or alternatively, I say most of the same things (before he posted this, might I add) as him in the earlier/beginner posts on this blog.
Because Top 5's are fun, and you may not have thought of everything on the list.
Foam Ear Plugs (make sure they have an SNR 30+ dB rating,
or they’ll be fairly useless for this purpose)
Why? Tinnitus is awful, and lasting if you abuse your ears enough.
Which is very easy to do… and the solution is just as easy, and far preferable
in the long term!
How much? You can get packs as cheap as 40 for under £3 on
ebay, it really is just a question of shopping around, and even if you do pay a
little bit more, the difference is negligible compared with buying 6 ear plugs
from a chemist for approximately £3 that won’t work as they weren’t designed to
attenuate that much noise, whereas these ones are usually designed for people
on building sites, and are amazingly good at blocking out noise.
Recommendations? I use EAR FX, because they’re huge and I
have fairly big ears.
Your own microphone
Why?
Getting your own dynamic microphone (or a condenser will allow you to record your own
demos to a better standard if you’re not looking at gigging all that much)
means that you’ll always have a microphone available for a show, which sounds
silly given that most venues have microphones, but not all do. And some of the
ones that do have them, have awful ones. So, you really can’t go wrong carrying
around a small dynamic to every gig. I really regret it when I end up in having
to use a crap or not intended for vocals microphone nowadays, and you probably
will eventually too!
How much?
For a passable or second hand dynamic anywhere of
£50 upwards, for condensers you can usually find a low end one in your local
Pawn Shop/Cash Converters for £30 to £50.
Recommendations?
I’d
recommend buying a cheap condenser off Amazon or second hand as cheap as
possible, as you really can’t go wrong having one around- my Red5 audio RV6
never let me down and was very good for its price before I managed to destroy
it through clumsiness.
For dynamics the obvious answer is the SM58 from Shure, it’s
indestructible and tried and tested. Mine is still going after 4 years of
abuse. Alternatively, any of the big name ( e.g. Sennheiser, AKG, Audio
Tecknicha) ones are reliable enough that buying second hand is a realistic
option and you’ll still get a long life out of them.
Notebook
Why?
Ideas can’t be planned, and keeping track of them is
hard. Having a notebook on you all the time is a great idea as it means you can
just jot down ideas for lyrics, song structures or general thoughts for later
use. Self-expression is after all a many faceted beast.
How much?
Under a £5
Recommendations?
Go to your nearest corner shop, and look
near the Cards section or WHSmiths if you’re feeling rich or in need of
quality.
Smart phone or iPod
Why?
In this day and age, you probably already have one and
if you don’t you will soon. What’s so useful about them you ask? The fact they
have the capacity to store both lyrics and music on the same device, and on a
fair amount of them access both simultaneously. This has obvious implications
in terms of learning songs and using that wasted time on the bus/train/sitting
around when you’re bored.
How much?
Upwards of £40
Recommendations?
A second hand 8gb ipod nano of whichever
generation is between £40 and £55 depending on which shop you look in or site
you use, but it’s a sound investment as once you get into the habit of using
your spare time it’s very hard to go back to wasting it! Never mind all the
other fun features you get on modern devices.
A textbook on home recording
Why?
Using a phone or awful direct to USB microphone to
record your demos is a thing that most people do when they’re starting out. I
should know, and believe me: the only way from there is up. A whole world of
improvement can be made to your home recordings with very little effort and a
small amount of reading.
How much? Anywhere from £1 to £30.
Recommendations? Mixing Audio- Roey Izhaki for those with
money, and the Basics Series by Paul White for those who don’t.
What do I mean by lung capacity and how is it different from
breathing techniques and all that other stuff I harked on about before?
It’s generally defined as
the maximum amount of oxygen you can use, or have in your lungs at any one
time.
It’s generally measured by
scientists in millilitres per kilogram of bodyweight per minute, but it’s
more commonly given in litres per minute.
The average male athlete
has a lung capacity of approximately 3.5 litres per minute, though this is
by no means near what human beings are capable of. The average adult human
can hold 6 litres of air in their lungs, it’s just that they don’t use all
of that space in normal breathing. A notable exception to this rule is Spanish
cyclist Miguel Indurain (pictured below) who is documented as having had a
lung capacity of 7.8 liters per minute.
This has fairly obvious applications for singers as the
larger your lung capacity, the easier it’ll be for you to hold out notes and
keep singing for longer without taking breath. But what is it that stops people
from maximising their lung capacities?
Without getting too technical, there are
two things that can potentially restrict your lung capacity other than just not
being able to breathe in as much air. Firstly, the oxygen itself actually needs
to make it to the muscle tissue that requires it (this is less of a concern for
singers than it is for athletes) and secondly, the muscle tissues that get the
oxygen need to be able to convert the oxygen they receive into energy. Failure
to do both of these things can result in a reduced oxygen capacity, and this
has obvious consequences e.g. increased likelihood of getting stitches while
exercising, shortness of breath etc..
Now you know what it is, how can you improve your lung
capacity?
The most common ways of improving lung capacity are all
based around doing either normal cardiovascular exercise e.g. swimming, or intense
sessions exercise for a short period (usually around 5 minutes), then taking a
short break to recover and then doing it again.
All the various kinds of interval training are a very good example of
this.
However, given that not all singers will want to commit the time and
energy required for doing loads of regular exercise, I’ve detailed a relatively
pain free exercise I use regularly that should allow you to increase your lung
capacity below. If this one isn’t to your liking, there are plenty of different
approaches to achieving a larger lung capacity out there, all it takes is a
quick google search to find one that works for you.
Mississippi Meditation Exercise
1) Sit down, put on some relaxing music or a favourite
album. Not TV or anything visual, it’s too distracting and detracts from your
ability to do the exercise as it draws too much attention.
2) Close your eyes, meditate and sit for 10 minutes
without any specific goal, breathing through your nose and out your mouth,
steadily and regularly.
3) While still relaxed, and without any over exertion or
hyperventilating, take in a deep breath and hold it. Begin counting. Obviously,
a regular count is what’s needed for the purposes of the exercise –I find using “1, Mississippi, 2, Mississippi,
3, Mississippi” works for me but use whatever works for you, as long as you can
ensure your count is regular, otherwise you lose the point of keeping the count.
4) Make note of what number you reached when you could no
longer hold your breath.
5) Repeat regularly, keeping records of how well you did.
I usually do this exercise 2 or 3 times in one sitting with ten minute gaps in
between, as I find that I do better on the 2nd and 3rd tries.
Over time you will notice a gradual increase in the number you reach, and this
should directly translate into an increase in your lung capacity.
A couple of examples of how to translate increased lung
capacity into songs…
Listen from 1.34 - I had no idea what to do for that section of the verse and decided a long scream would be cool, and my increased lung capacity lets me do it in between the verses just as easily live, assuming I haven't been abusing my throat before the show.
Just listen to what Legion's singing, and try and see where he takes breaths. It's mindblowing, especially given it's in a live situation.
For the more academic amongst you, this article is an
interesting examination of lung capacity in singers and provides a good source for finding further reading:
Seeing as I promised you a regular
series of vocal analyses and was stuck on choosing who to start with, I figured
I’d go with one of the people who inspired me to do all of this and set my life
down this crazy path in the first place.
The idea
behind these articles is to give you a brief insight into the style of the
vocalists, their history and how they’ve shaped the sphere of Extreme Metal
vocals, and generally make you think a little about why it is people sing the
way they do now. And yes, dear reader, that includes you.
And just to
make it painfully clear, I’m not getting into the obvious arguments of who’s
the better singer for Cannibal Corpse.
So without
further ado, I give you…
Chris
Barnes!
Brief
Overview
Undeniably
one of the most influential extreme vocalists of all time, Barnes’ early output
with Cannibal Corpse and approach to performing vocals inspired a new generation
and, I would argue, pretty much lead to the invention of a whole genre.
Anybody
who’s been into Metal for five minutes will have heard the classic opening
lines “Something inside me… it’s… it’s coming out/ I feel like killing…you”
from Cannibal’s 1994 classic Hammer Smashed Face off Tomb of the Mutilated.
Indeed, for some people it’s the only death metal they ever really get into or
listen to.
The guttural
throaty growls on evidence here are typical of Barnes’ style, rhythmic growls
tempered with held out notes to fill out lines, occasionally peppered with his
distinctive high screams. But he didn’t always sing like that, and nor does he
know, for reasons I’ll get into later in the article.
After
leaving/getting kicked out (depending on how you interpret the story) Cannibal
in 1995, Barnes has been pushing Six Feet Under as his main project, his vocals
being mixed with their trademark groove infused Death metal to great effect.
Bands
Tirant Sin
Leviathan
Cannibal
Corpse
Six Feet
Under
Torture Killer
Influences
Grateful
Dead, Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Venom, Slayer, AC/DC
Technique
Started off doing thrash bands, and his vocal style at
this time was harsh rhythmic shouting along the lines of early Venom, Kreator
and Slayer. Here’s Violent Slaughter by Leviathan with Barnes on vocals. His structuring is heavily influenced by the other thrash that was around at the time, though you can still hear hints of Barnes’ trademark groove at points in the first minute and a half of the song.
Moved into an old school death metal voice on Eaten
Back To Life, basically taking the harsh shouting of his earlier thrash style
and pitching it lower into a growl. You can hear he’s doing all the growling
from the throat on this recording, and this will lead to his voice developing
the way it did later into his career. Still, it’s interesting as a case study
of the emerging Death Metal genre and it’s differences from the thrash bands
that were around beforehand that influenced the first death metal bands.
On Butchered at Birth and Tomb of the Mutilated Barnes really came into his own lyrically as well as vocally, pushing the boundaries of what
people thought the human voice at the time was capable of, after all, he
bragged in the liner notes that an "Electronic Harmonizer was not used to
create any vocals on Tomb of the Mutilated" for a reason. People weren't used to
this kind of extremity in vocal delivery and Barnes spearheaded it, taking it
to new depths.
The Bleeding is the apex of his style, combining his
trademark low growls and rhythmic flair to create what many consider to be the
seminal Cannibal Corpse Record. I mean, how many songs can you name that are as
brutal as Stripped, Raped and Strangled but still catchy?
After getting kicked out of Cannibal, Barnes began to
focus on Six feet Under and becomes a lot less vocally interesting, as he
begins to recycle old patterns and just follow the guitars rather than do
anything interesting with his vocal patterns. While this stripped down approach
to songwriting can be cool (see the song below), it just isn’t as interesting
to me and there’s a reason that Cannibal Corpse went on to far higher levels of
fame than Six Feet Under.
If you listen to anything Barnes did in the early 90’s
and compare it with how he sounds now, it’s pretty clear that singing using his
throat has had a massive effect on his voice, which isn’t helped at all by his
well-publicised relationship with Marijuana. I mean, he still sounds alright,
but he just can’t hit the same lows he used to be able to, and there’s a reason
for that beyond just artistic choice.
Legacy
With the
extreme lyrical violence of songs like Necropedophile, Entrails Ripped From A
Virgin’s C*nt, Butchered at Birth etc.. and ‘I can go lower than you attitude’,
Barnes has for my money the best claim to the title of progenitor of the ‘gore’style
in death metal, and by extension Slam. I find it impossible to think that bands
like Devourment would be doing what they do now without Chris Barnes, their
hallmarks of singing about extreme violence, trying to incite disgust in their
audience and with their vocal style being, at times, so reminiscent of Barnes
at his peak.
Fun facts
It’s well known that he has a fairly large ego, look
up his feuds with Seth Putnam and Travis Ryan (who he inspired in the first
place… go figure…) for more information on the darker side of Barnes’
ego.
He’s also an artist, having designed the first
Cannibal Corpse logo, the Six Feet Under logo, their ‘Warpath’ album’s artwork
and contributing to numerous other bits of his bands’ artworks while he is/ was
involved with them.
Uses an Sm 58 microphone as a standard, proof that
good, reliable but affordable mic’s are used all the way up the industry.
And lastly, here’s his foray into the Used Car
Advertising business…
Everyone knows that Youtube is a vast,
boundless source of information and funny video clips of cats. Furthermore,
anyone that’s into metal will have likely encountered the widespread fashion of
vocalists doing videos titled ‘How to scream/death growl/do metal vocals’. They
are a quick and easy way of getting information about performing vocals for all
you budding Corpsegrinders out there.
However, the vast
majority of them are utterly useless.
So, I figured I’d put together a quick
guide telling you what to look for from vocal tutorials and also give an idea
of the things to avoid. I didn't use tutorials when I learnt how to
death growl, so I kinda stumbled onto these kinds of videos after I could
already do it. The amount of videos out there is almost infinite,
so I've just taken the first five I found on a youtube search and
split them into good, average and bad and then given bullet points telling you
why!
(N.B. My analysis of these videos has
nothing to do with musical style, or how good the vocalists actually are- just
with their teaching styles)
Alxxxs (Broadly
death metal, but gives ideas about other styles as well)
-Nice and simple without a one
directional response to vocals, and can actually ask her questions if the need
takes you.
-She says its not step by step, but it
kinda is. The technique breakdown and actually showing you how to craft a sound
is still there.
-She demonstrates an understanding of
style analyses, and the idea that vocals and the tone you choose is very much
genre relative but still remains open minded about applying the ideas.
-Deals with wrong technique and hurting
yourself, as well as people warning you off. Which is something not many people
do deal with, but something you’re going to encounter a lot of.
-We differ on the false chord thing,
inhales and all that jazz. But all the same, at least she deals with it in a
direct and clear way.
- There’s technique analysis. I’m not
going to go into this further.
-Again, Blix gives you a step by step
process to achieving his sound and breaks it down a little.
-Has evidence of his regular singing,
and loads of other stuff (always a good sign, as you wouldn't trust
someone to teach you guitar unless they had evidence they were good, why should
vocals be any different?)
Som Pluijmers (Ex-Cerebral
Bore, Slam Death Metal)
(the good)
-Deals with in depth throat biology,
which is always good (what she’s doing is explaining the false chord idea as
using muscles, which is basically is)
-Emphasis on practice and repetition,
starting small and dealing with basics (e.g. breathing and diaphragm).
Rome wasn't built in a day.
-Very realistic view of how people
start (I started in almost exactly the same way she did) along with recordings
of her 13 year old self.
-She addresses maintenance of your
voice in the long term
(the bad)
-Saying hurting yourself at the
beginning is ok. This is not a good attitude to have, as if you start hurting
yourself, you’ll keep hurting yourself.
-She only really deals with Slam
technique and achieving one sound, not necessarily a bad thing but bear in mind
that this doesn't apply to everything!
-No real breakdown of how she actually
does what she does in her throat- just lots of her achieving growls
immediately.
Dopey
TheDopeSmokenKlown – (Broadly Slam and Deathgrind)
-He talks more about taste, different
genres and how much various bands suck rather than about technique and
performing vocals. Which is never a good sign.
-Advocates hurting throat. Just… no.
What he’s getting at is vocal scarring, which is a thing you can do, but it has
consequences.
- He’s less than accurate in his
go-to-techniques. Like with Som above he tries to teach by just going look and
then growling a ‘finished product’, without going into how he got there.
However, at various points he can’t even hit his default vocal and has to think
about it and re-try. No one who’s any good should have to do this when doing a
style they use regularly.
-“Don’t think you can learn it” – Yes.
Yes, you can. If no one could learn, no one would even be able to do anything.
If it can be done, it can be learnt.
-His style of presenting is arrogant
and stand off-ish. Not a vocal thing, but it’s generally nicer watching videos
where the guy talking to you isn’t really negative.
All in all, the key theme is to look
for teaching of techniques with developed/graduated examples rather than just
growling and saying broad generalised things and avoid videos where
keyboard warriors are talking nonsense about stuff they don’t know. Also,
remember they're not the be all and end all of information on vocals.
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.
