Whose the best vocalist that metal has ever seen?

[CFH]

This thread stemmed from a discussion that took place in Slasher's forum in "The Best of the Classics" thread. In that thread, the usual suspects received lot's of props: Halford, Dio, Ozzy and so on.

With that said, who do you think is the best vocalist in metal?

I'll go with Tate since I have a feeling that no one else will. He sounded phenomenal from the EP to Mindcrime.

As for the other guys, I'm not taking anything away from them since they're all among my top 20 favorite vocalists.

With that out of the way, let the debate begin!

[Mark Carras]

As far as from a technical stand point, it is a real toss up between Rob Halford and Ronnie James Dio. Both are insanely solid and barely ever have an off night. Neither one is getting weaker with age. Both are amazing showmen and put on brilliant shows.

I voted for Rob Halford, but only due to a coin toss.

Everyone else on the list has live recordings out there where their voice cracked, went flat, or sounded out of breathe. Good sure, but Dio and Halford are the kings.

[SHUT UP AND DIE]

Damn, I thought I'd like at least one of those.....


well....Ozzy is cool. I'll go with him.

[CFH]

Damn, I thought I'd like at least one of those.....

So, do you like any metal vocalist who isn't a death metal vocalist?

[SHUT UP AND DIE]

So, do you like any metal vocalist who isn't a death metal vocalist?

Absolutely, man. But they don't have to be operatic to not be death metal, you see. Lot's of vocalists grunt/yell/sing/scream and are not death metal or the trad operatic style vocals. :)

A lot of people unfamiliar with dm mistake certain vocalists as being dm vocalists when they really aren't as well.....like Randy Blythe from Lamb of God. I've seen several folks describe him as dm in vocal style.....and to my ears that couldn't be further from the truth. As for clean vocals, some singers do it really well....Dax Riggs ( a guy who in my mind could blow all of the guys listed away, simply for being versatile and still sounding good with his cleans, and way more soulful than the operatic styles) Glen Danzig, and a lot of the nu-metal vocalists to be honest. Corey Taylor, Lajon from Sevendust, hell even Steev Esquivel from Skinlab to me is a better **vocalist** than those listed. Don't get me wrong, the guys on the list have been in the game for a long time and proven themselves in what they do, but what they do is not appealing to me.

[SLASHer]

OZZY!!!!! :monkeybang

[Bonehead]

Dio......been a serious fan since '75. Huge impact on hard rock and metal, still on the top of his game, elevated every band that he worked with including his solo stuff, never tanks a show, and continues to be one of the nicest people in the music biz. Oh..and he introduced "the horns" to the metal world. :monkeybang

[Rivethead]

Halford.

[Rivethead]

hell even Steev Esquivel from Skinlab to me is a better **vocalist** than those listed.


I saw Steev as a fill-in vocalist for Exodus and he sounded like fucking ass. I'm guessing he was having a bad night or something? Fucking horrible.

[Mythos Inibri]

Out of that list,Ozzy easily..:D

Never cared much for Dio but Halford is impressive too

[Bonehead]

I saw Steev as a fill-in vocalist for Exodus and he sounded like fucking ass. I'm guessing he was having a bad night or something? Fucking horrible.


I saw Steev on that tour, opening for Megadeth, right? Steev was awsome on our show, and far superior to Rob Dukes, in my opinion. His vocals were impressive, had great energy, and put on a terrifc show. Either we got lucky, or you saw a bad night.

[CFH]

Originally Posted by CFH
So, do you like any metal vocalist who isn't a death metal vocalist?

Absolutely, man. But they don't have to be operatic to not be death metal, you see. Lot's of vocalists grunt/yell/sing/scream and are not death metal or the trad operatic style vocals.

A lot of people unfamiliar with dm mistake certain vocalists as being dm vocalists when they really aren't as well.....like Randy Blythe from Lamb of God. I've seen several folks describe him as dm in vocal style.....and to my ears that couldn't be further from the truth. As for clean vocals, some singers do it really well....Dax Riggs ( a guy who in my mind could blow all of the guys listed away, simply for being versatile and still sounding good with his cleans, and way more soulful than the operatic styles) Glen Danzig, and a lot of the nu-metal vocalists to be honest. Corey Taylor, Lajon from Sevendust, hell even Steev Esquivel from Skinlab to me is a better **vocalist** than those listed. Don't get me wrong, the guys on the list have been in the game for a long time and proven themselves in what they do, but what they do is not appealing to me.

I see what you're saying and I understood why someone would like "vocalists that grunt/yell/sing/scream" better than those who utilize the "trad operatic style vocals." I also like Corey Taylor's vocals more often than not, and I'll even note that Lajon Witherspoon is one of my favorite vocalists. However, it really doesn't seem safe to say that any of the vocalists you mentioned, except for maybe Danzig back in the day, could "blow all of the guys listed in the poll away." Last but not least, when it comes to the actual reason why I asked you this question, I recall a few occasions in which you bashed the vocal style that Chuck Billy used during the 80's. During those occasions, you more or less said that "his singing pussified some of Testament's songs then." To this, I have to say that nothing I've heard Chuck Billy, Bruce Dickinson, Rob Halford or any other legitimate metal vocalist who uses the "trad operatic style vocals" sing sounds pussified in the slightest and the only whiny bitches who manage to pussify songs with their singing are those who sound like bitches in the first place, such as Michael Sweet. If I'm going overboard about this, am coming of like an ass or anything like that, I'm sorry since I merely want to know what's up regarding this issue.




hell even Steev Esquivel from Skinlab to me is a better **vocalist** than those listed.

I saw Steev as a fill-in vocalist for Exodus and he sounded like fucking ass. I'm guessing he was having a bad night or something? Fucking horrible.

Rivethead is absolutely right about this one. I saw Skinlab open for In Flames seven years ago and they sounded like a bunch of hacks who had just started "playing music" a few days before the show, which was a shame since I had heard a lot of good things about them beforehand.

Another shame was that In Flames put on amazing show that night during their tour for Clayman, but proceeded to release a monumental pile of shit known as Reroute to Remain a year and a half later and they haven't been the same since. FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Rivethead]

I saw Steev on that tour, opening for Megadeth, right? Steev was awsome on our show, and far superior to Rob Dukes, in my opinion. His vocals were impressive, had great energy, and put on a terrifc show. Either we got lucky, or you saw a bad night.


It was the final night of the tour in Portland, maybe they'd been partying it up a little before hand. Rob Dukes made his Exodus stage debut that night, BTW...

[Ogg The Barbarian]

CHUCK NORRIS FEARS ROB HALFORD.







You all tremble at my metalness.

[Bradzilla]

Michael Kiske's performance on the Keeper of the Seven Keys albums is phenomenal. Dio has had an amazing voice for so many years. Barlow is a powerhouse, and the one time I saw him with Iced Earth he sounded even better live than on CD. Ozzy, Klaus, Tate and Dickinson aren't as good as they used to be. LaBrie has still got it. Owens has always been solid, but not a legendary voice. Halford has still got a great voice, and as good as he has been and still is he's got my vote.

[CFH]

It was the final night of the tour in Portland, maybe they'd been partying it up a little before hand. Rob Dukes made his Exodus stage debut that night, BTW...

Ah yes, that show... It was performed three weeks before my term with the Army ended, and I couldn't go because I was stuck in a shithole known as Killeen, Texas until December 23. I will never forget how pissed off I was in October '04 when I saw the show announced on Megadeth's website. On top of that, I found out from a friend who saw the show that Megadeth owned the stage as they always do, and mostly played their thrashy material. With that said, if I find out that Exodus played "Seeds of Hate" that night, I just may have to throw someone off of a bridge. :pinky



Michael Kiske's performance on the Keeper of the Seven Keys albums is phenomenal.

I'm glad to see that Kiske didn't get completely overlooked in this thread. He truly is one of metal's most underrated vocalists.

Dio has had an amazing voice for so many years.

Yep.

Barlow is a powerhouse, and the one time I saw him with Iced Earth he sounded even better live than on CD.

Hell yes he is, and I now hope that one day he'll come back to IE so that I can see them live with him as their vocalist.


Ozzy, Klaus, Tate and Dickinson aren't as good as they used to be.

Klaus Meine sounded great when I saw The Scorpions live in '99, but that was eight years ago so maybe he has fallen a few notches since then.

I've never seen Maiden live, but I must say that Bruce still sounds good on CD. However, not quite as good as he did in the 80's.

Unfortunately, Tate seems to be a total hit or miss vocalist these days. For instance, he sounded good overall when I saw Queensryche '99, but he also seemed to have lost a vast majority of his range. However, he seemed to have almost regained it when I saw 'Ryche in '03, but since then who knows how many times he's sounded great one night and terrible the next?

As for Ozzy, I may catch a ton of shit for this, but I've never thought of him as a great vocalist. Sure he's discovered three amazing guitarists since his departure from Black Sabbath, but he just hasn't ever been vocally on par with anyone else in this poll. In fact, I included Ozzy not because I believe he's a good vocalist, but because he truly has done a lot for metal and most people here seem to think that he's a great vocalist.

LaBrie has still got it.

I don't know about today, but he sure did in '03 when I saw Dream Theater.

Owens has always been solid, but not a legendary voice.

Tim Owens is nothing short of a great vocalist. He's knows how to sound vicious, he has a lot of range and he does a great job at singing when he has to. However, he just isn't quite on the same level as Rob Halford or Matt Barlow. Perhaps he will be remembered as "metal's most unfortunate vocalist" since he made his way into the genre by stepping in for those two legends and he never has had a real chance to be judged in his own right.

Halford has still got a great voice, and as good as he has been and still is he's got my vote.

...And of course, Halford does still kick ass.

[SHUT UP AND DIE]

To this, I have to say that nothing I've heard Chuck Billy, Bruce Dickinson, Rob Halford or any other legitimate metal vocalist who uses the "trad operatic style vocals" sing sounds pussified in the slightest and the only whiny bitches who manage to pussify songs with their singing are those who sound like bitches in the first place, such as Michael Sweet. If I'm going overboard about this, am coming of like an ass or anything like that, I'm sorry since I merely want to know what's up regarding this issue.





'Tis all point of view, my friend. What sounds silly to one person will sound awesome and cool to another. There's not a lot of difference to me between Micheal Sweet and Rob Halford, except for that Sweet sounds like that much more of a girl. Since I don't want to be seen as "cockblocking" anything here, I'll leave it at that, more or less.....as I am not claiming that the vocalists I enjoy are "better" so far as talent goes, it's just that I enjoy their style more. Much in the same way that some fans can't listen to Cannibal Corpse vocals with a straight face, that's the way I feel with Halford/Dickenson, etc.

But back on topic....yeah, I voted for Ozzy simply because he doesn't have that operatic style. :D

[CFH]

Originally Posted by CFH
To this, I have to say that nothing I've heard Chuck Billy, Bruce Dickinson, Rob Halford or any other legitimate metal vocalist who uses the "trad operatic style vocals" sing sounds pussified in the slightest and the only whiny bitches who manage to pussify songs with their singing are those who sound like bitches in the first place, such as Michael Sweet. If I'm going overboard about this, am coming of like an ass or anything like that, I'm sorry since I merely want to know what's up regarding this issue.


'Tis all point of view, my friend. What sounds silly to one person will sound awesome and cool to another. There's not a lot of difference to me between Micheal Sweet and Rob Halford, except for that Sweet sounds like that much more of a girl. Since I don't want to be seen as "cockblocking" anything here, I'll leave it at that, more or less.....as I am not claiming that the vocalists I enjoy are "better" so far as talent goes, it's just that I enjoy their style more. Much in the same way that some fans can't listen to Cannibal Corpse vocals with a straight face, that's the way I feel with Halford/Dickenson, etc.

You definitely did not "cock block" with this post, but you did tell me what I wanted to know. Thanks, and I will now leave you alone about this from here on out.

[Lord Zombie]

Really dumb question,but who is Klaus Meine? :uhoh


But anyways I voted for Matt Barlow.

[CFH]

Really dumb question,but who is Klaus Meine?

The Scorpions' lead vocalist.


But anyways I voted for Matt Barlow.

Good choice. :metal

[Mythos Inibri]

"Ozzy Osbourne's so out in space'
He'd probably even love it if I pissed in his face"

from: "Acting like Black Sabbath" by: Dayglo Abortions

Even The Fucking Dayglo Abortions Love Ozzy!!!:brootal


:cool

[Vish]

out of all of these guys... Dio gets my vote.

[fuzzay crisis]

^^^ seconded.

[Mythos Inibri]

Ronnie James Dio looks like an evil dwarf from Dungeons and Dragons:rotfl

c'mon now,,it's just a joke:wtf















he really does..

[Lord Zombie]

Dio is an evil elf, not a dwarf. :D He is to tall to be a dwarf.

[Mark Carras]

Ronnie James Dio looks like an evil dwarf from Dungeons and Dragons:rotfl

c'mon now,,it's just a joke:wtf















he really does..

Dio is an evil elf, not a dwarf. :D He is to tall to be a dwarf.

Yeah Mythos, how could you get that wrong?! Dio is an elf! How many times do we have to point that out to people? :rotfl

[Postman]

Ronnie. James. Dio.