Metal Vox - 'Clean' or 'Extreme'?

Bands who switch between 'clean' & 'extreme'

I think that clean vocals aren't inherently cheesy, but they have an increased ability to unmask crappy lyrics.

With extreme cox, be the death metal or black or whatever, you could be singing the lyrics to "Mandy" or something. It wouldn't make a differnce.

I like a lot of death metal vocals for what they do. They help me feel like I'm listening to some sort of soundscape from a demon realm, instead of some guy named Dave who grew up in Irvine or whatever.

But overall, I listen to more metal with "clean" vocals. And special parenthesis around "clean" because any metal vocalist worth his shit should sound like some kind of a cartoon or another.

"extreme cox"

I hate the clean vox on Arcturus' Masquerade Infernale. Really sounds like the guy in Games Workshop guy having a go at being in a band.

So why did you vote for Bands who switch between 'clean' & 'extreme'?
Which bands are you thinking of?

Well, I really like the Sham Mirrors, and a bunch of other stuff. I guess it really depends on my mood. The best metal album I've heard in recent times is that one by Azareth, and that's pretty much all extreme, but there's some other stuff that works well in juxtaposing both.

just admit it you like slipknot and bullet for my valentine

You like Slipknot and Bullet For My Valentine.

I really like Thrice's "Illusion of Safety", but not really anything else remotely like it esp regarding alternating vocal styles.

Mastodon were a lot better without clean vox, because they cant sing.

it's funny actually as a lot of people in the last 20 years think you need to have extreme vox to be metal or heavy (bullshit) and lots of old farts think extreme vox are stupid and its not proper music (also bullshit) yet a lot of bands who try to combine both dont really work imo. Most people tend to wish they stuck with one or the other depending on their preference as the results are unsatisfactory to their ears.
A lot of bands use generic growls, that everyone should be sick of by now, and you wish they did something different. But if it went the other way and went all 'clean' vox i think the problem would be just as bad.
It pretty much obviously depends on the genre.
Trad doom would sound stupid with extreme vox and death metal with clean vox wouldnt work either for example.

has anyone seen mastodon lately? How are their singing voices now?

Clean ftw!

I vote clean just 'cause I feel like "extreme" vocals have become a crutch that allows the untalented to make albums. That said, I love ultra-brutal death metal/goregrind with "what the hell is wrong with my toilet" vocals. So basically, for me, if you're gonna go extreme, you better go so far out that you no longer even sound like you're producing those noises with your throat. Otherwise you're just some lunkhead who can't sing.

Clean on record, 'extreme' live

+ then sometimes 'extreme' on record too but please, not the whole album

Where does King DIamond-style falsetto fall on this continuum?

Or, I guess, on this dichotomy?

i think those count as clean

clean on record, both work live.

death and grind vox I can dig. most black metal vox are extremely stupid imo & served a real purpose historically in defining the genre but are more ridiculous than death/grind stuff to my ear because once the novelty wears off of the black metal shrieking style & you note that the music is in fact pretty romantic stuff, the question "why wouldn't you write a melody to sing over this, and sing it?" arises & to me doesn't find a better answer than "'cause I can't sing for shit & it would expose my lyrics." that said there's always the occasional black metal vocalist (Attilla) who sounds just gone enough to make you believe - maybe it's just a more challenging discipline whereas anybody with the right skill set can deathgrunt/pigsqueal to his heart's content.

I probably listen to more "extreme" vocal stuff, but I prefer clean vocals now for the most past.

this is like the last thing that concerns me when picking metal bands i like

clean on record, both work live.

― EZ Snappin, Saturday, March 31, 2012 10:59 AM (21 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this, though i sometimes like shrieking-crow-type black metal vocals and gutteral (though not "demonic") styles in doom

Not all clean vox I find cheesey, just most.. lol! King Diamond is an amazing vocalist-those songs would not be as amazing without them.. Mike Patton has an amazing clean voice.. a pure singer when he wants to be. My cheesey comment, and we've spoken about this at length, was in the context of trad doom; the clean vox, specifically that of Candelmass can eat my shit shorts. same for the original singer for Fate's Warning, so can dude from Dream Theater, Dragonforce and tons others.. It ruins it for me. even Geoff Tate, whose range is phenomenal, and I like some Queensrche, but it hurts it sometimes.. But Maiden, Priest, Ozzy, Dio.. plenty of clean vox I enjoy but they fit the music perfectly.. I don't wanna here a grindcore band w/ clean vox, it would ruin it..
And combos of it are great too! Look at Ahab!
Basically, I'm saying this poll is pointless.. No vocal style I prefer over another, cuz it depends on the band and simply how they utilize vocals.. Vocals are the last thing I worry about when listening to music and I could give a flying pig fuck what anyone's lyrics are about, but they can ruin a band if they are terribly out of place and not fitting the music

There should be a 4th category for bands that just do whatever is most appropriate for their sound really well.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

At the risk of sounding square, what are the differences between black metal vox & death/grind vox?

I'd characterize black metal as more raspy/nasal/shrieky while death metal is a deeper roar.

a great poll with a clear answer. the switch between is so cash

i get the feeling clean vox is gonna walk it

I tend to prefer clean, but can get with extreme when done well. I agree that if you do extreme, you should sound as far out as possible.

I listen to Vehicle waaaaay more often than Pornograffiti

They help me feel like I'm listening to some sort of soundscape from a demon realm, instead of some guy named Dave who grew up in Irvine or whatever.

See, I just hear a guy named Dave from Irvine pretending to be a demon

When trying not to sound like "Dave", it does help to be backed up by Trey Azagthoth and Pete Sandoval. Like, it doesn't work for everybody, to my ears, but when it works it works.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

i would have voted for clean