Growling tips..

[A. Iverson]

be aware though, the first number of times, i guarantee you, you will both a) be in quite a lot of discomfort and b) sound like a total idiot.

you got that right buddy! Fortunately I'm home alone at the moment but i still feel like a complete ass

but thanks man you seem to know what you're talking about, and yes, the tone im striving for is low and serrated but not breathy, if anything im trying to get rid of the breathiness.

im working on the aahhh exercise right now, how long will it take me to breach?? And what comes next? I've read about these really wierd exercises, where you do stuff while shouting like strangling yourself or repeatedly hitting yourself in the pit of the stomach. But i value my body too much to put it through such abuse!

[hal interlock]

you got that right buddy! Fortunately I'm home alone at the moment but i still feel like a complete ass

but thanks man you seem to know what you're talking about, and yes, the tone im striving for is low and serrated but not breathy, if anything im trying to get rid of the breathiness.

im working on the aahhh exercise right now, how long will it take me to breach?? And what comes next? I've read about these really wierd exercises, where you do stuff while shouting like strangling yourself or repeatedly hitting yourself in the pit of the stomach. But i value my body too much to put it through such abuse!

ok man, whoever told you that is talking total shit. that's incredibly dangerous and a surefire way to make sure you'll never sing again.

the exercises in question are on diaphragmatic breathing, as detailed best in the alexander technique or feldenchrist. do look up anything on either. a quick summary would be to stand up, imagining that the back of your head is being pulled upwards and back by a string attached to where your spine meets your skull, then breathe in but don't move your ribs, use only your stomach.

so, you breathe in, your stomach 'inflates', you breathe out by pushing that air back out with your stomach. this is actually your diaphragm controlling your breathing and is the most efficient way to conserve and use oxygen. if you use your ribcage, it's called clavicular breathing and is nowhere near as good.

the barrier that you're hoping to break through will only be achieved being able to use your voice at high volumes, don't think you can do it quietly at home. the reason you've been doing the breathy technique is because you can do it without it being intrusive, volume-wise.

push hard man. all of this metal singing is actually something which isn't great for the voice and chords, but i'm assuming you've accepted this in wanting to pursue it.

once you're able to recognise a rasped shout that's similar in sound to early max cavalera, you know you've broken through and will then mean you can move onto death and black styles.

if you can dude, record where you are now so we can get a clearer idea.

good luck

H

[muertoenvida]

THis is what I call godd technique:

http://s29.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=...EW1PB64ZWRG9OVB

http://s22.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1KN1XDUWFZGOF2UTQJZ3TKT07J

Dont use your throat, use your diaphragm, and DONT CUP THE MIC!!!

[A. Iverson]

thanks muer pretty good stuff..

yeah im still on the aahh exersices,, im doing them in the car now while im driving to and from college, u should see the looks im getting from fellow drivers! classic!!

unfortunately i dont have the means to record my voice right now,, but will do as i soon as i get the chance..

[Suborner]

Start smoking.

[A. Iverson]

http://www.lungusa.org/atf/cf/%7B7A8D42C2-FCCA-4604-8ADE-7F5D5E762256%7D/dirty_lung1_hr.jpg


no thanks

[epitaph]

Seriously, everyone says use your diaphgram, but I got no idea how do you use it while growling, help me?

[Funeral Portrait]

If your throat hurts after growling for a long period of time, you're doing it wrong. There's my advice :)

[Suborner]

http://www.lungusa.org/atf/cf/%7B7A8D42C2-FCCA-4604-8ADE-7F5D5E762256%7D/dirty_lung1_hr.jpg


no thanks
Mmmmm, I had that for breakfast.

[Jackrophagist]

THis is what I call godd technique:

http://s29.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=...EW1PB64ZWRG9OVB

http://s22.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1KN1XDUWFZGOF2UTQJZ3TKT07J

Dont use your throat, use your diaphragm, and DONT CUP THE MIC!!!

That guy is amazing.

[muertoenvida]

Yeah, the guy in amazing, he's relaxed and he growls like hell.

Well, about the diaphragm question, you have to use it to breath, your voice has to come from your guts! If you keep singing with your throat for about 10 minutes it will hurt a lot!!!
Great bands with great voices? Necrophagist (of course)!, Monstrosity and Death.

[Degenerate]

http://www.melissacross.com/home.php?

That chicks DVD might be helpfull

[Morbid.Creation]

If your throat hurts after growling for a long period of time, you're doing it wrong. There's my advice :)

So is it true? When your throat hurts that means, I'm doing it wrong? Or maybe it's like 'it must hurt, but only a little' or 'it hurts only for a while'?

[Festering Corpse]

Start smoking.
hahah, its true!

[El-Heino]

hahah, its true!

No, it's definitely not!

[hal interlock]

So is it true? When your throat hurts that means, I'm doing it wrong? Or maybe it's like 'it must hurt, but only a little' or 'it hurts only for a while'?


i'm sorry, but that's just simply not true. i, and many of my contemporaries have been doing this for years and i don't know a single person who isn't in some way effected after a gig.

H

[tck!]

like everyone else has said push from the diaphragm, you'll sustain longer, sound "fuller" and not get as tired.

[Schecter Diamond]

http://www.melissacross.com/home.php?

That chicks DVD might be helpfull


My friend left it in my car, so I took it and watched it.

It seems pretty solid, full of technique, I'd recommend it.

[A. Iverson]

Mmmmm, I had that for breakfast.

adenocarcinoma with chips.... yummy yummy

[Morbid.Creation]

adenocarcinoma with chips.... yummy yummy
Good material for a gore song :D

[The Necrophagist]

your throat doesn't have to hurt at all...

if you wanna do deep growling, it should be possible without your throat getting sore or something.

to give you an example, on the BT tour we did 30 shows in a row, where i was growlin 30 min every day and it didnt affect my voice in any way.

it's a matter of technique I guess, but don't ask me how it's done as I dont know.

good luck

[El-Heino]

THis is what I call good technique:

http...

http...

Dont use your throat, use your diaphragm, and DONT CUP THE MIC!!!

I've fixed the first link (which wasn't working) - have a look:


http://s22.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1KN1XDUWFZGOF2UTQJZ3TKT07J

http://s29.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0ZUZ3VBWLUEEW1PB64ZWRG9OVB


:devil:

[Transient]

it's a matter of technique I guess, but don't ask me how it's done as I dont know.


most helpful! teasing. but this troubles me as i think theres a good deal of it that must be innate

[Suborner]

Or, you must be naturally evil?

[The Necrophagist]

Or, you must be naturally evil?

I didnt want to name it...but...

[Morbid.Creation]

Ok, so now i'm confused :emot-roll

i'm sorry, but that's just simply not true. i, and many of my contemporaries have been doing this for years and i don't know a single person who isn't in some way effected after a gig.
your throat doesn't have to hurt at all...
if you wanna do deep growling, it should be possible without your throat getting sore or something.
:bang: ?!

and:

..would be higly appreciated. And by that i mean tips regarding both :

(a) formulating the growl: vocal exercises or whatever to enhance deepness and richness of the growl

(b) recording the growl: effects added to the recorded vocals to make the end product.

maybe someone can say something about (b)?

[espm1000]

I've been working on growling lately and earlier in the post he was talking about your false vocal chords. To find out if you are using your diaphragm look at whether or not your stomach is moving in and out or your chest.

If you use your diaphragm your STOMACH should. Force out the air a little harder and it will cause a vibration that leaves your throat pain free. I'll upload an EXCELLENT tutorial. I learned from the ways I am telling you hear and can be heard over quite a few people and can only do it at a decent volume. I have just gotten fairly low and can do black metal voices as well. It comes from the shape of your mouth and constriction of your wind pipe.


http://s45.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3MJCKA15ZBCZI3OV3XULO6EX36

[hal interlock]

Ok, so now i'm confused :emot-roll



:bang: ?!




ok, so i'm not going to tread on muhammed's toes with this, and certainly it is possible that you can harden yourself to it enough to not *perceivably* take effect from extensive use, fact it that on a biological level you ARE doing something that in essence harms the larynx and voice box in some way.

if you're still struggling coming to terms with that, please by all means go and refer to *any* book on correct vocal technique, most prominently 'voice and the actor' by cicely berry which covers many peripheral techniques on top of correct vocal form.

all of them will tell you that in order to create clear tone and correct maintenance of the vocal chords during increased volume speech of singing, it's done so with the false vocal folds as clear out of the way as possible.

what i'm saying here is that yes, you can sing like muhammed every night for 30 days and not 'feel' a problem, and indeed i've done similar tours and found that i've developed more resistance and a faster recovery time the more i performed, but bear in mind that muhammed is using predominantly two areas of tone, other singers use more, some less.

please don't get me wrong here, i'm not saying you shouldn't do it or that you'll get cance in minutes, it's simply that i come from a family of actors who have all at some point in their lives sustained injury for pushing their voices where they shouldn't have gone.

some trade facts for you - steven tyler from aerosmith has laser treatment almost every year to correct nodule development on his vocal chords. my father's stage career was all but ended for the same reason. jesse lynch, the first singer of killswitch engage, had to bow out for similar reasons.

to draw a comparison - my bassist's husband has been playing in a band for something like 12 years now and has never used ear protection, he went to get tested the other day and he's apparently got better hearing than most people 15 years younger than him. my guitarist has developed tinnitus after something like 4 years of solid gigging and all of that has been with protection. every person's body is different, if muhammed never feels pain, and i do occasionally, you make your assumption to be somewhere inbetween.

H

[A. Iverson]

maybe someone can say something about (b)?

.

[El-Heino]

please don't get me wrong here, i'm not saying you shouldn't do it or that you'll get cance in minutes, it's simply that i come from a family of actors who have all at some point in their lives sustained injury for pushing their voices where they shouldn't have gone
Hey Hal,
you coming to the Corpsing gig on Saturday (Purple Turtle).
Plus, Defeated Sanity !!!!

[hal interlock]

Hey Hal,
you coming to the Corpsing gig on Saturday (Purple Turtle).
Plus, Defeated Sanity !!!!

dude, i'd love to but we're playing sanctuary in wales tomorrow night then, when i wake up from that, i'm going straight down to kent for the weekend. sorry man. i'm gutted though, i'm missing machinochrist's set at sick & twisted AND concept playing in south london.

H

[Morbid.Creation]

Thanks a lot hal, that's all what I needed to know :)

Now I need to wait for someone to answer the (b) question :)

BTW. Which microphone is the best for growling/screaming?

[Mayhem After Death]

Oh sweet, thanks for the Tony Bullard growls instructions! They seem pretty easy, hopefully it'll work. If I come close to having a decent growl, I'm starting my own band. Fuck searching for a drummer who can play hyper blast beats at like 250, I'm getting a drum machine.

[cp101]

..would be higly appreciated. And by that i mean tips regarding both :

(a) formulating the growl: vocal exercises or whatever to enhance deepness and richness of the growl

(b) recording the growl: effects added to the recorded vocals to make the end product.




Didn't read the entire thread. Sorry.

Anyways for A. The Melissa Cross dvd is phenomenal shit. Get it, somehow, if you need it, my AIM Is gattsuxa.

b - Compress the microphone so you don't have to strain your voice by trying to be loud so you can hear yourself. And an sm58 is FINE for these types of vocals, I mean, a shitty karaoke mic would be as well. I mean, think about it, your range is going to be "grr, uuurgh, meep, and oink" basically.

[Xiatar]

ok, so i'm not going to tread on muhammed's toes with this, and certainly it is possible that you can harden yourself to it enough to not *perceivably* take effect from extensive use, fact it that on a biological level you ARE doing something that in essence harms the larynx and voice box in some way.


Wrong.

Danish voice researcher/vocal instructor Cathrine Sadolin put out a book a few years ago with a basic fundamental system for the use of the voice with which, as they say it, it is possible to produce ALL sounds in a healthy manner. And yes, that does include death metal growls. There's even a short chapter in her book about growling.

So according to her, it *is* possible to growl in a healthy manner. Don't get me wrong, it's certainly easy to destry a voice too, but with proper technique you won't damage yourself.

Growlers can also use this book since it describes what really happens in out body while singing, how to use different effects like distortion and growling, and includes chapters on proper voice care and repairing a hoarse voice.

Very good book. It's been called a bible for singers. Costs 65 $.

http://www.sadolin.net/

[muertoenvida]

I've been working on growling lately and earlier in the post he was talking about your false vocal chords. To find out if you are using your diaphragm look at whether or not your stomach is moving in and out or your chest.

If you use your diaphragm your STOMACH should. Force out the air a little harder and it will cause a vibration that leaves your throat pain free. I'll upload an EXCELLENT tutorial. I learned from the ways I am telling you hear and can be heard over quite a few people and can only do it at a decent volume. I have just gotten fairly low and can do black metal voices as well. It comes from the shape of your mouth and constriction of your wind pipe.


http://s45.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3MJCKA15ZBCZI3OV3XULO6EX36


Great tutorial!!! The guy does amazing vocal growls!

[cp101]

Great tutorial!!! The guy does amazing vocal growls!


not really...

[satanicangel]

not really...

yea...he's pretty crap

[Xiatar]

Did you listen to what he says in the end? "Christ is not a fashion, fading away". Yup, he's a christian deathm metal vocalist! Doesn't make much sense to me...

Anyways, can you growlers recognize his method? Does that resemble what you do?

[hal interlock]

Wrong.

Danish voice researcher/vocal instructor Cathrine Sadolin put out a book a few years ago with a basic fundamental system for the use of the voice with which, as they say it, it is possible to produce ALL sounds in a healthy manner. And yes, that does include death metal growls. There's even a short chapter in her book about growling.

So according to her, it *is* possible to growl in a healthy manner. Don't get me wrong, it's certainly easy to destry a voice too, but with proper technique you won't damage yourself.

Growlers can also use this book since it describes what really happens in out body while singing, how to use different effects like distortion and growling, and includes chapters on proper voice care and repairing a hoarse voice.

Very good book. It's been called a bible for singers. Costs 65 $.

http://www.sadolin.net/

yeah, sure, "wrong".

that's ok, you take what summation you want from a book, i'll just dither on with one-on-one tutorials with people qualified to teach the biology of the voice. more than one, and not just an author.

sweeping comment much?

H

[younguitarist]

THis is what I call godd technique:

http://s29.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=...EW1PB64ZWRG9OVB

http://s22.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1KN1XDUWFZGOF2UTQJZ3TKT07J

Dont use your throat, use your diaphragm, and DONT CUP THE MIC!!!

Damn I wish I could do that.

[Mayhem After Death]

yea...he's pretty crap

He's not that bad. Much better than anything I can do. :icon_mad:

[espm1000]

That technique works for me. I would record it, but all I have is windows recording thing and I have strep throat at the moment.

[Mayhem After Death]

That technique works for me. I would record it, but all I have is windows recording thing and I have strep throat at the moment.

Strep throat...bummer man.
No matter how healthy I am, I can't get anything close to some good growls. I can only do the inhale growls like in Wormed...but less frog like, lol.

[Jackrophagist]

hahahahah christ is not a fasion fading away, i wonder if that was an on-the-spot jobby

[indented_head]

Ok, I'll see if i can add something worthwile.

A) Although I don't sing myself, I've had many conversations with my long time vcalist on the subject, and I think I may be able to help anyway. In the early stages of him doing DM vocals, it was extremely hard for him to sing a fulll set DM, we would get through 2 or 3 songs and his voice would start dying, however, after a couple of years, he can sing for a couple of hours a day if required with no pain, although the vocals do sometimes drop in quality (ie. volume and depth) towards the end. The most important thing to do is warm up. If we jam without warming up, he can only sing for about half an hour or so before his voice starts to die.
Hope that makes sense.

B) kinda pointless until you have the voice donwpat, but, any "decent" mic will give you a good representation of how your voice sounds, and a mic preamp is always helpful when trying to record it. Just remember that you generally get what you pay for.
As for effects, never used any, and I'm pretty sure that MOST other death metal bands don't either, but maybe some double tracking woud help if you're looking for more depth or contrast.

[espm1000]

Strep throat...bummer man.
No matter how healthy I am, I can't get anything close to some good growls. I can only do the inhale growls like in Wormed...but less frog like, lol.

It's All from the gut man. It's like singing, even when you sing you should drink milk or water, preferably milk as it is closer to mucus than water. The mucus/milk/water kind of acts as a shock absorber to help soothe your throat and make the vibrations less strenuous on your throat. The point is you can do EVERYTHING the right way but it will still be strenuous on your throat/larynx/whatever because the vocal chords and such are lik tissue paper. That's what singing exercises do, they warm up your vocal chords so you won't damage them. It's like lifting weights, you just don't go in and lift 300 pounds, you start out slowly and build up. I don't care what anyone says about growling, when you do it correctly it is just prolonging the time it takes for it to take it's toll on you.

[satanicangel]

He's not that bad. Much better than anything I can do. :icon_mad:

lol well i don't mean he's like completely shit, but just that i thought if it's some sort of tutorial he should be better than that.
but if the method works for you then i suppose it's still good. If you want to do real guttural growl as in necrophagist, internal suffering etc. It isn't just doing what he said in the tutorial, i know that from expirience (I'm a vocalist myself).

[espm1000]

lol well i don't mean he's like completely shit, but just that i thought if it's some sort of tutorial he should be better than that.
but if the method works for you then i suppose it's still good. If you want to do real guttural growl as in necrophagist, internal suffering etc. It isn't just doing what he said in the tutorial, i know that from expirience (I'm a vocalist myself).

I believe where he is getting at with the sighing thing is that a lot of people use their diaphragm when they sigh since it is a heavy breath. He said he can alos get much lower or much higher in the sound clip so I wouldn't take that as being the only range he can do.

[muertoenvida]

Going low is hard without cupping the mic... but this italina guy did it, and necro vocal too... By the way, I'm a Cannibal Corpse fan (both eras) so.. what about Chris Barnes singing technique? I saw him cupping the mic but he can go realy loooooooooow!

[Morbid.Creation]

Ok, so maybe someone can tell me about warming up vocal techniques? Of course i need to know the exercises before growling/screaming :)

And some microphone/preamp/effects(reverb etc.) equipment. I mean the stuff that is cheap enough but still good. Any advices?

[BZM]

It's All from the gut man. It's like singing, even when you sing you should drink milk or water, preferably milk as it is closer to mucus than water. The mucus/milk/water kind of acts as a shock absorber to help soothe your throat and make the vibrations less strenuous on your throat. The point is you can do EVERYTHING the right way but it will still be strenuous on your throat/larynx/whatever because the vocal chords and such are lik tissue paper. That's what singing exercises do, they warm up your vocal chords so you won't damage them. It's like lifting weights, you just don't go in and lift 300 pounds, you start out slowly and build up. I don't care what anyone says about growling, when you do it correctly it is just prolonging the time it takes for it to take it's toll on you.

No! Milk is one of the worst things to drink beforehand - very warm water is the very best thing, and cold beverages - especially cold alcohol - are worst. Why do you think Randy from lamb of god always sounds like he's dying in interviews and his speaking voice has been reduced to a croak? the man's always trying to be macho and drink beer onstage. bad idea.

[StefTD]

for me it works best to push the air with the help of my stomach, but I have to say I started trying to grunt when I was 13, with 15 I was able to do some very midrange growls and hi screams, now, with almost 19 I am singing in a band with a really wide range of growling styles.
Sometimes very high pitched screams, normal grunts and really deep guttural sounds.
But the important point for me is that you are able to articulate your grunts, everytime I was able to articulate at a special tune (don't know if it's the right word) I could go to a more extremer sound and try to articuale that new sound, this was the way I enhanced my range, I am able to do very low grunts very loud without cupping the mic.
I try to record something, but my PC is fucked up and I don't know when we're going to studio.

[Festering Corpse]

Great tutorial!!! The guy does amazing vocal growls!
this guys vocals are weak.

[Butnix]

If u want to be completely sure about that ure using your diaphragm, lay back on youre couch or bed and begin to sing
now ure on a good way, now you can still change how to form youre throath and mouthshape, just mess arround with it, play it like a toy but don't go to loud, going loud on deep bass vocals is very very bad. screaming in matter of fact, may be produced loudly

still ive got a problem with my throath
a couple months ago i hurted my throat very badly because of the singing and it soundes false lik hell. i thought to leave it for a while so i didn't growl for a month
still same shit. went do doctor, gave me a nose spray and a troath spray. there was to much slime in my troath). everything went good and well and suddenly was everything back to normal. me, superhappy!. went on singing again for half an hour, then i stopped. because i didn't want to get the same shit. day after.. BAM, same problem. i was furious, but ok. went back to doctor, something in my troath was swollen, gave me some pills. after that i took the pills it was still kinda false
now sometimes when i sing it sounds almost normal, almost non of the sounds are sounding false, but an hour later it could be shitty again. really really frustrating..


and sry for my bad english :)

[Frontal_Labotomy]

Could you guys help me out?

I can get a deep Mikael Akerfeldt style growl and I think it sounds okay, I'm using my diaphagm and my thraot feels fine but it isn't loud.

How do I amplify it healthy?

[inwakingwater]

I've been trying to growl for quite a while, and I think I got it somewhat.

Please comment on it.

http://www.yourfilehost.com/media.php?cat=audio&file=lawl_growl_lol.wav

As for the volume, to get it louder, just force more air out. Push from your diaphragm, like everyone says.

[formaldehyde 12a]

frontal labotomy-about the diaphragm thing--when I started doing vocals, of course I heard things like "use your diaphragm," but I had no idea what the hell that meant.

To get louder, be more forceful--you should feel like all the muscles in your body are tensing up, and that you're about to go up on your tip-toes--that's what using your whole diaphragm means. Just be careful with how you going about trying this, as I don't want you to misunderstand and think that you should put more force on your throat, as I don't want you to blow out your larynx/etc.

inwakingwater-your vocals are off to a good start, you do well with holding the note, but you could definitely use a little more throat action, to make it a bit more distorted. The beginning growl, when you're holding it out, I can almost feel like you can push it a bit further. Give it a try, and see how it goes.

[Butnix]

How the fuck you do that, such silent growling? I mean, I can get as loud as like I'm yelling against my mom. But doing in "quiet" is not an option for me :D

This is me, after a couple of months of examing, and 3/4 of the period I had troath problems, even now i've still got them (you will hear it because it sounds false sometimes)
It doensn't sound completely the same like the normal track but I just made my own version of it

http://www.yourfilehost.com/media.php?cat=audio&file=1023cold.wav

[inwakingwater]

I will give it a try. Should I at least try some tightening or usage of the back of the throat, or should it ALL be diaphragm?


http://www.yourfilehost.com/media.php?cat=audio&file=sacrifice.wav

[formaldehyde 12a]

butnix-you've got the right throat thing going on, but you're not putting enough energy into it. If you can use more energy/diaphragm, then you'll have some pretty awesome [higher pitched] growls going on.

inwakingwater-a fair balance of both, really. specifics are no good in this area, because it's essentially whatever feels best for you, yet gets best results. just listened to your recording of sacrifice--much better than last time, though you sound like you're trying to start off with a more BEHEMOTH-esque [airy/yelling] vocal style, whereas I started off with more of a BRETT HOFFMAN-esque [distorted/screaming] style, though to each his own, I suppose. Trust me when I say take your time, and practice lots. I don't want you to fuck your voice and/or get sloppy from trying to rush your voice--it's taken me about a year to get where I am now, and I still have a lot of room for improvement.

[inwakingwater]

This isn't my first time screaming/growling, I'm just trying a new style. My throat and vocal chords have endured much worse, I assure you. But there's no harm in taking caution, which I am.

:D

[Toaster]

Am I correct in saying that the Tony Bullard tutorial thing isn't the correct way to growl? Because I've been practicing my growling (using the Tony Bullard technique) for several months now, and I can't get it to sound very good. Also, someone mentioned above that to scream you "growl, but open your mouth more", and that totally doesn't work for me. I'll upload some clips to demonstrate.

This clip is of me attempting to sing Dechristianize. Yes, there is a click track in the background. I needed it to nail the overdubs.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IAO3NCQT

The following clips are of me trying to scream using the Tony Bullard technique. Notice the shittiness.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=A8MKG34Z

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5SZLO5TU

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ON2LO0G2

The growling doesn't hurt my throat at all (although it did when I began), even after long periods. The main problems I have with it are that I can't go for very long (9 seconds), I can't scream using it, and it just doesn't sound as smooth as "correct" growling. However, I may be wrong about all this, I might just need more practice. If someone (who can really growl, I don't want to know about the virtues of drinking milk, soda, or honey) could help me out with this, I'd really appreciate it.

[Butnix]

The first one is totally the best
The tony bullard technice sounds not that smooth, and a little bit false somethimes
I've got that problem right now and can't give you an answer because I've not founded out myself

[diminished2B]

i growl best right when i get out of the shower :saber:

[Mendelb]

maybysomeone can post a vid about the diaphragm thing ?

[Candyman77]

Did you listen to what he says in the end? "Christ is not a fashion, fading away". Yup, he's a christian deathm metal vocalist! Doesn't make much sense to me...


Maybe that means that dumb f*cks who wanto suck Satan´s cock still have to grow up to relize how stupid it is to try playing machos by trying to be or act like really really evil and cruel warriors of hell and shit. :1puke:
Death-metal is definitely not about satanism and the alike stuff!

[Mayhem After Death]

Toaster, not bad man for dechristianize!

[Toaster]

Maybe that means that dumb f*cks who wanto suck Satan´s cock still have to grow up to relize how stupid it is to try playing machos by trying to be or act like really really evil and cruel warriors of hell and shit. :1puke:
Death-metal is definitely not about satanism and the alike stuff!

Death metal about love, happiness and the intrinsic value of doing good is gay. When's the last time you heard a pop song about murdering someone and raping their body parts? The opposite is equally stupid and unwanted.

[Vaginal.Infestation]

Am I correct in saying that the Tony Bullard tutorial thing isn't the correct way to growl? Because I've been practicing my growling (using the Tony Bullard technique) for several months now, and I can't get it to sound very good. Also, someone mentioned above that to scream you "growl, but open your mouth more", and that totally doesn't work for me. I'll upload some clips to demonstrate.

This clip is of me attempting to sing Dechristianize. Yes, there is a click track in the background. I needed it to nail the overdubs.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IAO3NCQT

The following clips are of me trying to scream using the Tony Bullard technique. Notice the shittiness.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=A8MKG34Z

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5SZLO5TU

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ON2LO0G2

The growling doesn't hurt my throat at all (although it did when I began), even after long periods. The main problems I have with it are that I can't go for very long (9 seconds), I can't scream using it, and it just doesn't sound as smooth as "correct" growling. However, I may be wrong about all this, I might just need more practice. If someone (who can really growl, I don't want to know about the virtues of drinking milk, soda, or honey) could help me out with this, I'd really appreciate it.


Dude you sound like a turtle or something.

[Distorted Image]

Death metal about love, happiness and the intrinsic value of doing good is gay. When's the last time you heard a pop song about murdering someone and raping their body parts? The opposite is equally stupid and unwanted.

Who said Death metal had to be about such topics? I will agree, the whole satan/anti-christian thing is way overdone, as is the mutilation of bodies and what not. There are plenty of other good topics to write lyrics for. You don't have to swing all the way to one side or the other.

[helpless cucumber]

Death metal about love, happiness and the intrinsic value of doing good is gay. When's the last time you heard a pop song about murdering someone and raping their body parts? The opposite is equally stupid and unwanted. well, the whole murder/rape thing is a very original Christian/Biblical value/theme...

[Cognitive Defeat]

I'll give my input as a vocalist, maybe it'll be of help to somebody, maybe not.

The first and most important thing - as many have said already - is breathing. Learn to breathe with your diaphragm, get a couple of singing lessons if possible.

The next most important thing is practice. I've been doing growl vocals for around 5 years now and am constantly trying to get better and better, it's not something that happens over night.

From personal experience I would not recommend drinking milk or anything that increases a build up of phlegm as it blocks the throat and can decrease volume and intensity. I find room temperature fizzy drinks such as pepsi are helpful. I don't know if there's any scientific reason.

I find smoking is fine. I have been a smoker for most of my time doing vocals and have had no problems, also i gave up for 6 weeks at one point and experienced no change in quality for better or worse. So in my opinion smoking doesn't seem to have any effect on ability.

If there's any major advice I can give, it is to find a style that you're comfortable with, something that suits you. We're all different and some can handle things more naturally than others. It doesn't mean you should'nt try to improve your range, but just don't expect it to happen instantaneously. The amazing sounds you hear a lot of DM vocalists produce are the result of years of practice.

I don't know if that's any help, maybe it's just going over everything thats been said, I only discovered this thread today.

[Chryst Krispies]

Hey I can get a good growl on my own , but when I'm playing guitar at the same time , I ran outta breath , and shit, is there anyway to avoid this, and without fuckin up what I'm playing, Also everytime after I sing , I wake up and feel really sick , with a sore-ish throat but when I'm actually singing, it hurts not at all. Is there anyone out there with any advice, or if they have the same problem? Thanks.

[formaldehyde 12a]

Toaster, it sounds to me like you'r making too much of an O shape with your mouth. Push more with your diaphragm as well, it sounds decent, but you need to make it so you can vibrate your vocals more. I've found, the more you project, the better the growl sounds. Don't worry about being loud, that's what Metal is all about. :D

I know a lot of you probably don't like this style of music, but it's how I growl if anyone is interested. I did all the vocals for this song, and it's my own origianl song.

http://www.yourfilehost.com/media.php?cat=audio&file=gratuitous_serenade_rough.wav

Yes, I realize, it's shit quality, and the guitar isn't exactly the "sickest shit ever". Oh well, deal with it.

great progress on your vocals bud.

[Of Divine Nature]

my problem is a have great low range vocals but when it comes to high screams i have a hard time doing them for a longer time. it still feels like they're coming from the throat instead of further down. how do other vocalists get so damn good at those high ones? i wanna scream like lord worm damnit! hahaha. but seriously any advice would be grand.

[Vaginal.Infestation]

Toaster, it sounds to me like you'r making too much of an O shape with your mouth. Push more with your diaphragm as well, it sounds decent, but you need to make it so you can vibrate your vocals more. I've found, the more you project, the better the growl sounds. Don't worry about being loud, that's what Metal is all about. :D

I know a lot of you probably don't like this style of music, but it's how I growl if anyone is interested. I did all the vocals for this song, and it's my own origianl song.

http://www.yourfilehost.com/media.php?cat=audio&file=gratuitous_serenade_rough.wav

Yes, I realize, it's shit quality, and the guitar isn't exactly the "sickest shit ever". Oh well, deal with it.

With a studio and full band, this would sound very nice. Your vocals are very good man.

[Cognitive Defeat]

my problem is a have great low range vocals but when it comes to high screams i have a hard time doing them for a longer time. it still feels like they're coming from the throat instead of further down. how do other vocalists get so damn good at those high ones? i wanna scream like lord worm damnit! hahaha. but seriously any advice would be grand.

I find it helps to stretch my throat out more, like so my head is tilted more upwards. like in my avatar pic... that's me doing a high vocal part, for lows my head is tilted down.

[Of Divine Nature]

haha same here dude. i guess i just need to practice it more as i focused more on lows when i was first doing this style of vocals. fuck it takes time though.

[Cognitive Defeat]

My band filmed a couple of songs in the practice room today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C-MLprVCzA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI6vJMPqH5A

Quite good sound quality, it's a good representation of my vocal style.

Tell me what you think, good or bad.

[Of Divine Nature]

pretty good man, that's real excellent sound quality for a jam room video. good range too.

[inwakingwater]

Damn, good shit man. Do you have any MP3's on line here? And thanks for the comments on my vocals guys. We're recording a demo this weekend, and maybe next weekend, so expect some quality shit coming up. Better than the first song we uploaded. That one was shit.

By the way Rob, that's one sick logo, did one of the band members make it, or did you talk to someone to make it for you? I'm trying to design one for my band, but mine come out looking like shit.

[Candyman77]

frontal labotomy-about the diaphragm thing--when I started doing vocals, of course I heard things like "use your diaphragm," but I had no idea what the hell that meant.

To get louder, be more forceful--you should feel like all the muscles in your body are tensing up, and that you're about to go up on your tip-toes--that's what using your whole diaphragm means. Just be careful with how you going about trying this, as I don't want you to misunderstand and think that you should put more force on your throat, as I don't want you to blow out your larynx/etc.

...

Diaphragm is the main breathing muscle [or should be, but many people breath in a wrong way-just like I (used to) do], so it has nothing to do with going up on yer toes! It divides your chest from your stomach, so the only real forceful thing you could actually achieve is squeezing the sh*t out of yourself. :toilet:

You should do the opposite- be relaxed. Use the lowest possible amount of muscles, cauze that not only takes a lot of your energy away, so it does decrease your ability to precisely controll the important muscles,too.
The same goes for your brain. As it can make up as much as 80 percent of the body´s total energy usage, excessive usage of brain while practicing or performing gets you tired for sure! Just imagine Muhammed or Stefan(I dunno how big fans of Stallone are the other band members) counting the total amount of Rambo´s victims in part 3 while performing live on stage. Also practice is important. You have to get a routine-not just know the technique, but the entire song! Imagine Muhammed screwing up , when he starts thinking if the next line is "Symbiotic in theoryyyy" or "Symbolic in harmony". there´s no room for finding out what it was, mainly if you have to keep going and keep up the speed and everything that concerns the perfomance... -Routine makes less need of using the brain so you will have enough free brain capacity to stare at the girls visiting your show and maybe to tell the other guitarist not to look at the blonde in the 3rd row, coz you were the first to realize her and still be loud and precise among all that... :emot-part
Or you could run the show with playback... :devilange

[Candyman77]

I'll give my input as a vocalist, maybe it'll be of help to somebody, maybe not.

The first and most important thing - as many have said already - is breathing. Learn to breathe with your diaphragm, get a couple of singing lessons if possible.

The next most important thing is practice. I've been doing growl vocals for around 5 years now and am constantly trying to get better and better, it's not something that happens over night.

From personal experience I would not recommend drinking milk or anything that increases a build up of phlegm as it blocks the throat and can decrease volume and intensity. I find room temperature fizzy drinks such as pepsi are helpful. I don't know if there's any scientific reason.

I find smoking is fine. I have been a smoker for most of my time doing vocals and have had no problems, also i gave up for 6 weeks at one point and experienced no change in quality for better or worse. So in my opinion smoking doesn't seem to have any effect on ability.

If there's any major advice I can give, it is to find a style that you're comfortable with, something that suits you. We're all different and some can handle things more naturally than others. It doesn't mean you should'nt try to improve your range, but just don't expect it to happen instantaneously. The amazing sounds you hear a lot of DM vocalists produce are the result of years of practice.

I don't know if that's any help, maybe it's just going over everything thats been said, I only discovered this thread today.


Fizzy drinks like Pepsi? Definitely not! :beerchug:
Smoking is one of the worst things you could do!(makes your throat produce more phlegm than anything else and weakens your larynx-kills all your efforts to achieve a good clean tone) :grenade:

-but yeah, all the negative effects can be overcome by right practicing of proper techniques. So can be your physical pre-disposition. This means you can sing any style if you want to. you just have to practice!

[Cognitive Defeat]

Damn, good shit man. Do you have any MP3's on line here? And thanks for the comments on my vocals guys. We're recording a demo this weekend, and maybe next weekend, so expect some quality shit coming up. Better than the first song we uploaded. That one was shit.

By the way Rob, that's one sick logo, did one of the band members make it, or did you talk to someone to make it for you? I'm trying to design one for my band, but mine come out looking like shit.

We've got some old mp3s on our myspace www.myspace.com/odiumincarnate they're nothing special really, bit of a weak recording and terrible vocal sound due to time constraints. The new EP is being recorded in June.

The logo was done by Christophe Szpajdel, he's designed logo's such as that of Emperor and Old Man's Child. He does literally thousands of logos. He's a great artist, you've just got to be patient. If you want his email address send me a mail odiumincarnate@gmail.com and i'll forward it to you.

[Cognitive Defeat]

Fizzy drinks like Pepsi? Definitely not! :beerchug:
Smoking is one of the worst things you could do!(makes your throat produce more phlegm than anything else and weakens your larynx-kills all your efforts to achieve a good clean tone) :grenade:

-but yeah, all the negative effects can be overcome by right practicing of proper techniques. So can be your physical pre-disposition. This means you can sing any style if you want to. you just have to practice!

Who said anything about clean tone? :icon_twis

[Candyman77]

Iverson : That "Barney the Dinosaur" thingy is f*ckin awesome. Lotta fun(made me laugh) and even it is not bad at all!!! Had a good time listening to it!... Much better than most of the wannabe brutal bands around.

[Candyman77]

Who said anything about clean tone? :icon_twis

No you misunderstood me. I´m not talking about clean vocals or clean voice! It´s clean T O N E. :lamo: Without any unwanted noise, that´s what I mean.
:dj:

[Candyman77]

Yeah, dude, Odium has made me laugh, too. But it was rather a funny listening than fun to listen. Actually the vocals were technical and clean, but kinda c..... Sorry, didn´t want to be offensive, but I just kinda felt like needing to tell it.
I know, you feel like kicking my ass and I´m not surprised, but I still claim it wasn´t meant to offend the hard work behind it, but it just actually offended my taste,too.

[Cognitive Defeat]

I'm not offended by your opinion. If you don't like it then that's fine.

[Candyman77]

Sorry I was a dick yesterday. Actually I liked most of it, but I kinda still can´t get the idea of the higher pitched vocal and sometimes even the lead vox, but it´s actually good anyways, this is what I should have said then.

[Cognitive Defeat]

I liek to throw in the higher pitched vocals for some variation, to give the songs more depth. I don't know what you mean by lead vox though... can you explain?

[inwakingwater]

Yeah, I find songs that just growl the whole time to be rather boring . . . they get repetitive easily. I throw in some high pitched screams and pig squeals in with my band's music. It's good to have a range.

[Toaster]

Yeah, I find songs that just growl the whole time to be rather boring . . . they get repetitive easily. I throw in some high pitched screams and pig squeals in with my band's music. It's good to have a range.

Your vocals sound amazing, well done.

[inwakingwater]

Heh, thanks. I still think I could do better.

[A. Iverson]

Iverson : That "Barney the Dinosaur" thingy is f*ckin awesome. Lotta fun(made me laugh) and even it is not bad at all!!! Had a good time listening to it!... Much better than most of the wannabe brutal bands around.

hey thanks, glad u liked it !! :banana:

im obsessed with barney. that fat purple bastard has me by the balls and he fucking knows it

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/6659/barney20i20love20u7rj.jpg

:bonk:

[Candyman77]

hey thanks, glad u liked it !! :banana:

im obsessed with barney. that fat purple bastard has me by the balls and he fucking knows it

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/6659/barney20i20love20u7rj.jpg

:bonk:

Barney´s Pedophililic Recta Mutilation - kinda gore-grind sounding
Viley Rotten Cat Raped on a Strat-like Guitar - another butchery
:grn1: what did I smoke?

[Candyman77]

I liek to throw in the higher pitched vocals for some variation, to give the songs more depth. I don't know what you mean by lead vox though... can you explain?

I meant like sometimes the main voice didn´t fit in there or what...

[Candyman77]

rob odium incarnate : I just checked out the practice room vids on youTube. Man are they insane! The critics were for the myspace songs, just that you know. These ones were great!

[Cognitive Defeat]

Oh right. Yeah the myspace ones are old and were rushed because we recorded 2 tracks with mixing and mastering in 1 day. So the outcome wasn't the best representation of our sound. Our new EP will be recorded properly though without time limitations.
Cheers for watching the youtube videos.

[Mayhem After Death]

Fizzy drinks like Pepsi? Definitely not! :beerchug:
Smoking is one of the worst things you could do!(makes your throat produce more phlegm than anything else and weakens your larynx-kills all your efforts to achieve a good clean tone) :grenade:

-but yeah, all the negative effects can be overcome by right practicing of proper techniques. So can be your physical pre-disposition. This means you can sing any style if you want to. you just have to practice!

Sure, smoking is bad. but look at Mikael from Opeth. he smokes cigarettes, has some of the best growls i've heard, and an amazing clean voice.

[Butnix]

Diaphragm is the main breathing muscle [or should be, but many people breath in a wrong way-just like I (used to) do], so it has nothing to do with going up on yer toes! It divides your chest from your stomach, so the only real forceful thing you could actually achieve is squeezing the sh*t out of yourself. :toilet:

You should do the opposite- be relaxed. Use the lowest possible amount of muscles, cauze that not only takes a lot of your energy away, so it does decrease your ability to precisely controll the important muscles,too.
The same goes for your brain. As it can make up as much as 80 percent of the body´s total energy usage, excessive usage of brain while practicing or performing gets you tired for sure! Just imagine Muhammed or Stefan(I dunno how big fans of Stallone are the other band members) counting the total amount of Rambo´s victims in part 3 while performing live on stage. Also practice is important. You have to get a routine-not just know the technique, but the entire song! Imagine Muhammed screwing up , when he starts thinking if the next line is "Symbiotic in theoryyyy" or "Symbolic in harmony". there´s no room for finding out what it was, mainly if you have to keep going and keep up the speed and everything that concerns the perfomance... -Routine makes less need of using the brain so you will have enough free brain capacity to stare at the girls visiting your show and maybe to tell the other guitarist not to look at the blonde in the 3rd row, coz you were the first to realize her and still be loud and precise among all that... :emot-part
Or you could run the show with playback... :devilange


Jip that's so true, the diaphragm is a litle bit overrated. It is your main breathing system and you really don't have to think to control it while singing. It's just a technique that you push from your stomach but not really thighten up your muscles, it's really takes energy like Candyman said, it really take's air to so you can't sing long line's, that's what I found out IMO. Just don't thighten up your troath and just sing with it, do it both, stomach & troath.
I don't really know if I'm/where totally correct but I'm going to take vocal lessons now and if I'm in a good mood I'm maybe share something :D



Oh yeah just a question
My growls/screams are like with that nasty/"brutal" "bubble-ing" effect... I really can't explaine it. Many vocalist don't sing like that/don't have that
Wait, let me explain with an example

http://users.pandora.be/retaliatehc/Claimyourprice.mp3
There are 2 vocalist but I mean the one with the moste "metal" voice, that does a growl in the beginning, like that sort of voice is what I have, with the "brutal" side on it
The other guy, doesn't have that at all, he has a more hoarse/dry voice
Or like
http://www.myspace.com/mordahc
He doesn't have that "bubbele-ing" effect either

Is that just technique or is that just your kind of voice?

[Cognitive Defeat]

Oh yeah just a question
My growls/screams are like with that nasty/"brutal" "bubble-ing" effect... I really can't explaine it. Many vocalist don't sing like that/don't have that
Wait, let me explain with an example

http://users.pandora.be/retaliatehc/Claimyourprice.mp3
There are 2 vocalist but I mean the one with the moste "metal" voice, that does a growl in the beginning, like that sort of voice is what I have, with the "brutal" side on it
The other guy, doesn't have that at all, he has a more hoarse/dry voice
Or like
http://www.myspace.com/mordahc
He doesn't have that "bubbele-ing" effect either

Is that just technique or is that just your kind of voice?

Technique I'd say. Maybe certain people would find the technique easier to pull off than other's depending on their voice and how they form their speech, but I reckon it's not a sound that is exclusive to certain people.

[inwakingwater]

To be honest, the brutal/bubbling effect sounds better to me.

[Butnix]

I could think of that, because your more of the metal type and shit. And so am I :D I love metal, -core and hardcore, but that's just out of proportion

[Lucas]

Dunno if this has been posted yet, but Never Ithaca frontman Tony Bullard posted this awhile ago. He used to be in a death-metal band, now he's in a metalcore band. In this tutorial thingy he showcases a good range of styles.

www.xscenesterx.org/Tony_Bullard_-_Metal_Vocal_Tutorial.mp3

[Spew]

Unfortunately with vokills, it's either you can or you can't.

It's that simple really.

[A. Iverson]

^ not true at all

next you'll be saying that its the same with playing guitar man

of course, talent has a lot to do with it

but practice makes perfect man

[Butnix]

^ Totally true, with lot's of practice you can get those pitches. But it's like guitar, practice practise & practise, but not to much on the same day if you can't pull it of properly yet

[helpless cucumber]

pitch-perfect doesn't matter much if the timbre of your voice is crap, and you can't really do anything about that

but if we're talking cookie monster vocals, timbre doesn't matter

[Lucas]

I'm not sure if there's such thing as 'crappy timbre'. Certainly the timbre of your voice won't work for certain styles, but to call it 'crappy'... I dunno.

At least, for tenors, there is a role for every type of voice tone.

[Spew]

^ not true at all

next you'll be saying that its the same with playing guitar man

of course, talent has a lot to do with it

but practice makes perfect man

Well,when you practice enough... let me know.

:emot-hug:

[A. Iverson]

http://www.labor.iu.edu/organizeindiana/images/clip%20art/Comic%20Thumbs%20Up.JPG

[Candyman77]

Sure, smoking is bad. but look at Mikael from Opeth. he smokes cigarettes, has some of the best growls i've heard, and an amazing clean voice.

So does Muhammed!

But read my post again! I said the neg. effects can be overcome by practicing...
The shit is that it´s easier without these bad habits...
And for me, I´m afuckin´ smoker moron, too, but wanna give up soon...

[Frederick]

Hey!Im the vocalist for my band www.myspace.com/silentsirenband I have an avarage vocal range(for ive only started to sing again for the last 2 weeks or so)

I manage whatever is needed but recently ive added some growling in the songs that i cant do.AT ALL!I seriusly want to learn how to do this but i have no idea where to begin.
Like do i just go crazy and screem and stuf/do i tri and do it with a song or something?.....PLZ PLZ help!!

Fred

[Degenerate]

So does Muhammed!

But read my post again! I said the neg. effects can be overcome by practicing...
The shit is that it´s easier without these bad habits...
And for me, I´m afuckin´ smoker moron, too, but wanna give up soon...

Muhammed is smoker? That comes as surprise for some reason.

[muertoenvida]

Do you think this guy is real? I mean... growls are insane but the high pitched vocals are inhuman. He reminds me travi Ryan from cattle Decapitation when he do the "pig-squeal" voices. Opinions?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SO1snjfKEI

And check the second part too.

[TheOtherOne]

haha, that video is funny...that guy is talented

[xolin]

Do you think this guy is real? I mean... growls are insane but the high pitched vocals are inhuman. He reminds me travi Ryan from cattle Decapitation when he do the "pig-squeal" voices. Opinions?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SO1snjfKEI

And check the second part too.


A singer in a band I'm jamming with: Bornwith2heads does those pig squeals pretty nicely. It just takes practice and adjustment to get comfortable.

[TheOtherOne]

The singer in that video sorta looks like the guy on the right in this one... Milk and Cereal (http://www.ebaumsworld.com/flash/milkandcereal.html)

[muertoenvida]

holy shit man, u gotta change that picture lol
thats just nonsense. i hate looking at it. like what the fuck is it anyways. i dont even want to know
Is a fake man, no one could put his head inside the ass... unless... you got a big big asshole! Ewwwwwwww

[xolin]

like the old Goatse.cx ? that was big

[muertoenvida]

I'd like to asnwer something, related to vocals:

How are the BLACK METAL screams done?

I'm interested because my vocalist is trying to do this kind of screeches.

[cp101]

Okay, so there's a fuckin' million ways to learn how to distort your voice. I know a few. So, here's a few.

First thing is first; you're not screaming. You're barely projecting your voice, depending on what kind of distortion you want

(the screech(The Alto)(the black metal esque vocals), the oink(the Bass)(the death metal pig sqeuals, obviously), the growling(baritone)(the death metal classic) or the barking(tenor)(lamb of god style)) I'm pretty bad at explaining the screech, but, I did cartoon voices a lot as a kid and i mimicked actors, so I never had a problem making my voice sound like The Wicked Witch of the West's Angry Brother. The high, black metal shit that some metalcore vocalists have borrowed.

Then there's the oink. The 'sqeual', the 'meep', the 'grr', or the 'brie', whatever way you look at it. There's the one you inhale, and then there's the one you exhale. But first... "How it won't hurt"

There's a couple ways to protect your chords, especially from nodes. The first exercise, is a cough. Now, this may take chance, but next time you cough, figure out what your stomach does. It'll generally feel like you're pushing with diaphragm. So, kinda like taking a crap, and that last one just doesn't wanna leave. Take in normal amounts of breath. If you need to hold a note for twenty seconds, obviously take more. But, you don't need half your lungs capacity to 'scream' or 'growl' half a second worth of music. That will just tire you out, and make it easier for you to run out of breath.

On to the show!

Exhalation pig-vocals produces a superior sound, the inhale doesn't actually project as well. I would suggest learning the Exhale first. The way I do the exhale: I purse my lips, move my tongue to the roof of my mouth(around the middle) and produce a grunting noise(like a cough, or a meow, or a low roar). Then I control dynamics of my voice; to make it higher or lower. For this technique we want to go low. Now, you can also do some goofy faces to control how much air is getting in your mouth. The smaller the mouth is, the lower you can go, and the contrast is true; the wider your mouth is, the higher the perceived tone.
Inhalation pig-vocals, it sounds like a pig about to die. The original pig squeal! It' slow, and very guttural(think certain Psycroptic vocals). Again, you move the tongue to the roof of the mouth. But, inhale as if you're yawning. Keep the tongue on the roof. Now, the same thing from Exhalation applies here. There's many ways to add dynamics, and you of all people should know how to do strange things with your voice-box. Always experiment.

The Death Grunt! Not the sqeual, or a bark, but something in-between. The Baritone between the Tenor and Bass. This is probably one of the easier ones. Now, grumble. Make a grunting noise. It'll sound like a dog coughing if you have your mouth closed. Again, control the dynamics to distort it further. If you know how to make your voice sound low, you know how to control the grunt. Depending on how you pronounce words, it will be inhaled or exhaled. You shouldn't worry about that, you can experiment. Feel free, find what feels and sounds better.

The almighty bark. The most popular of vocal styles, because it has a couple ranges(Basically, I call it the bark because of Testament. I got my vocal chops from Testament's 'The Gathering' and Rammstein. Though, you shouldn't mimick other voices, but you should find out how you are mimicking so you can use that technique to find your voice.) You've got the Exodus sing/bark, then the Lamb of God bark(one of the most popular, and poorly imitated barks) Melodic Death metal bands put their own spin on a bark. A lot of vocalists experiment in barks. Adding grunts, screeches, squeals to produce their own variety. The vocalist is still a musician, much like a guitarist who experiments with different modes, scales, chords, etc. Anyways, the way I've done the bark... I actually bark. I was walking home one day, and on the end of my block lives a man who leaves his dog outside all the time. I'm unsure of the breed. It may have been a pit-bull or something, but it was large. It had a very distinct, rabid bark. And once, out of anger, I barked back at the dog, louder and meaner than it did at me. The owner came out and yelled at me, but I learned how to bark.
Find a dog, who has an ugly as hell bark, and mimick the bark. That doesn't sound that hard, right? It really isn't. Just learning how to control it as a singing style and how to prevent pain(I was loud on purpose, but I can do a bark soft as well as loud).

Those are some examples, if you have any questions, just message me. I'll be glad to help


Tony Bullard sucks.

[A. Iverson]

^ very informative thanks for helping!

btw the black metal screeches are much much easier than the solid deathmetal (muhammed, akerfeldt) growls i think, because you dont really put much stress on your false vocal cords, AND, correct me if im wrong, it seems that your diaphragm plays little/no role at all when you scream in BM style, which makes it less exhausting and easier to endure.

[muertoenvida]

cp101, great guide, I think it will help a lot. Just another quetsion to clear things out... how are you supossed to "sing" while inhaling air? I've seen a a guy from a band here in Lima that growls inhaling but I can't explain how he does that. Seems pretty difficult.

[cp101]

eh, there's hardly any actual singing, just kinda rhythmic vocalization of words

it'll end up sounding like you can't breathe very well ; suffocation is pretty metal, think about it. :)

[DeathDealer]

cp101, great guide, I think it will help a lot. Just another quetsion to clear things out... how are you supossed to "sing" while inhaling air? I've seen a a guy from a band here in Lima that growls inhaling but I can't explain how he does that. Seems pretty difficult.
it's called circular respiratory some shit like that...i highly doubt the guy can sing & inhale at the same time,unless he does that inhale singing shit & mixes both

but circular respiratory is used mostly by trumpet players & other wind instrument blowers,what you kinda do is hold air in your cheeks & blow outwards with em while inhaling through your nose

In 1997, Kenny G earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for playing the longest note ever recorded on a saxophone. Kenny G held an E Flat for forty five minutes, forty seven seconds, a record he still officially holds. However, in 1998, a sax player by the name of Geovanny Escalante from Costa Rica claimed that he held an E Flat for ninety minutes, forty five seconds. This attempt is considered unofficial, as the Guinness Book of World Records judges were not present at the event, which is required for an official entry in the book

[muertoenvida]

45 minutes? Holly shit!!! That's hard. What I certainly know is that John Coltrane popularized this technique for his full lenght soloing style.

Returning to the vocal stuff... can anybody explain better how the vocals come from outside to inside. It doesn't make much sense to me.

[Mayhem After Death]

I can do inhale growls, but I cant do exhale. Man, inhales are so fun and easy. I just walk around and go ree ree, rahhhhhhhhh.

[Mayhem After Death]

btw, masters of inhale growls = Wormed. There's parts in songs where it literally sounds like they're retching their guts, and it's the most brutal thing I've heard, vocally wise.

[DeathDealer]

Returning to the vocal stuff... can anybody explain better how the vocals come from outside to inside. It doesn't make much sense to me.
i don't understand your question,do you mean inhale singing??
if so check out Gut
song jenna haze or GIA paloma
http://www.myspace.com/gutsoundsystem

you can tell when he's singing outward or inwards
the old stuff had mostly all in singing

[mikeb]

i don't understand your question,do you mean inhale singing??
if so check out Gut
song jenna haze or GIA paloma
http://www.myspace.com/gutsoundsystem

you can tell when he's singing outward or inwards
the old stuff had mostly all in singing
wait a second, so ur telling me theres a band that names their songs after porn stars?

[DeathDealer]

wait a second, so ur telling me theres a band that names their songs after porn stars?
grindgorecoreporn at its best :jerkoff1f

[Tech Death guitarist]

I love jenna haze just not her teeth

[A. Iverson]

:jerkoff1f

[xdavepearlx]

well i just finished recording this today, wonder if anyone will like the vocals on it, it was just a test for the vocals in logic since ive only just got it all up and running.

tell me what u think.

www.myspace.com/deification

its the song vocaltestsolo

[A. Iverson]

^ gave it a listen, pretty good, although lacking depth if you know what i mean.

[xdavepearlx]

no, thats not really descriptive, what u mean.....well theres nothing wrong with the vocals its just the mix i think, its coz im doing it on my hifi speakers so the cones are coloured cant mix shit properly on it

[cp101]

you sound almost the same as mikael. no offense meant at all, but totally opeth... :)