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MJAlex

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Hey, everyone!

I'm Matt, a rasp/distortion specialist and teacher. I work with singers on building their death metal growls, fry screams, and false fold distortions in a way that doesn't lead to pain or fatigue. In learning how to make these sounds, I got insanely impressed and fascinated with how metal bands use their voices. Now, I wanna join a community of passionate metalheads, join in on the discussion, and dig into all the awesome suggestions you have for lesser known bands.

Looking forward to chatting and getting to know y'all. Thanks for having me!

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What's up, Matt?  I just joined this forum yesterday and am also really excited about getting to discuss the world of heavy metal with everyone here.  

 

I've always been fascinated by death metal vocalists and how they're able to not only record in the studio but also tour and put their voices through such a gauntlet in a live setting night after night.  

 

I'm not sure how familiar you are with the death metal genre, but two of the most killer vocalists in the genre in my opinion are Erik Rutan (his band is called Hate Eternal) and George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher (his band is called Cannibal Corpse).  If you're able to dive into those bands' material, I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

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James, Nice to hear from you!

I've been diving into Death Metal more and more recently. I find the technique immensely fascinating as well. Listened to studio recordings from Cannibal Corpse today (first time) and I love Fisher's control in his low growls and high screams. I'm gonna listen to live performances of both groups tomorrow and analyze what they're doing a little bit more. 

The cool part is, the vocals sound so harsh but the true vocal folds are barely involved in making any distortion. It makes it possible to stay vocally healthy while making such guttural sounds night after night as it's just cartilage smacking together over and over again. (Fry scream is an exception, but it's used with softer volumes so it isn't taxing at all on the voice). 

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Wow, that's awesome!  I would have never known that haha.  Yeah man, Fisher joined Cannibal Corpse in time for their 1996 release "Vile", and he's been in the band ever since.  The band's debut album "Eaten Back to Life" was released in 1990 and had a bit more of a thrash metal feel to it.  Their original vocalist was Chris Barnes, who went on to form the band Six Feet Under after leaving CC.  SFU released their debut album "Haunted" in 1995.  I'm not much of a fan of Barnes's vocal style, but if you have the time to check out that Six Feet Under debut, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on it.  Rock on, my friend! 

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James, these are some good bands.

So, I listened through most of the live performance of Cannibal Corpse at Bloodstock (2018) - 

Corpsegrinder is legit. His vocals are really controlled and consistent throughout, and goes to show that you can have a lengthy career in death metal and still sound awesome. Also, his headbanging is top notch, and most of the comments agree with me. He REALLY likes to boost the subharmonics of the distortion which makes it sound fantastic.

Then, I took a listen to Hate Eternal "Bringer of Storms" from 2009 - 

I didn't spend as much time with this band, but was very impressed that he had crisp distortion while playing the guitar. I felt that Rutan was easier to understand overall, but was disappointed that all of his higher frequency growls were doubled by a band mate to give it some more power. 

Both are great vocalists, and I'm excited to listen to SFU as well. Curious to hear what you agree/disagree with me on!

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Very interesting read. It has made me reach out to my local «culture school» (which has everything from dance lessons to instrument and singing) and ask them if they teach older people (I’m 40) in singing. I want to sing myself and do a proper metal solo project in addition to, and as opposed to, my other bands

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