{"id":3547,"date":"2014-08-28T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-08-28T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.toiletovhell.com\/?p=3547"},"modified":"2014-08-28T12:13:05","modified_gmt":"2014-08-28T17:13:05","slug":"is-it-all-sound-and-fury-signifying-nothing-a-discussion-of-vocals-in-metal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/is-it-all-sound-and-fury-signifying-nothing-a-discussion-of-vocals-in-metal\/","title":{"rendered":"Is It All Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing? A Discussion of Vocals in Metal"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Are vocals necessary in heavy metal music? A recent thread in one of the toilet dwellers’ lairs led me to ponder this question. The thread was specifically asking for reasons why metalheads just can’t dig certain bands; the main complaint was almost unanimously leveled at vocals that detract from the overall quality of the music. However, I think it would be foolish to assert, as some other uninformed bloggers have, that vocals are completely irrelevant in heavy metal. I contend that vocals are extremely relevant for most bands and that the reason they can so easily ruin the music is because they are an integral component of a band’s sonic palette. In this opinion piece, I’m going to lay down three arguments to convince you that anyone who thinks metal vocalists are worthless is an imbecile.<\/p>\n

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1. Vocals act as the mechanism for delivering a message.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I know what you’re thinking. “W., most metal lyrics are total garbage.” Honestly, I agree with you, at least to a point. However, despite the often pointless violence espoused in metal lyrics, vocalists act as a focal point for emotional energy and enhance the emotional timbre a particular band is trying to convey. Therefore, vocalists are absolutely necessary for conveying a particular message. I’ll illustrate this point with two examples.<\/p>\n

First, vocalists add emotional depth to a song even when the lyrics are childish gibberish or horror movie nonsense. Metal musicians are extremely good at creating rich sonic expressions of emotion, ranging from the brooding fear of a particularly icy riff to the unbound ferocity of a d-beat attack. However, good vocals, regardless of what is actually being said, can act as a resonance tool onto which human psyches can latch. We are all familiar with what an anguished scream sounds like; we need not hear any words to understand the language of pain. Extreme metal vocals are particularly good at emanating that emotional connection and touching us at our soul. As an illustration, I’d like to exhibit Into Eternity’s “Diagnosis Terminal.” I don’t actually dislike the lyrics for this song, but Stu Block’s various growls, shrieks, and plaintive cries perfectly capture the mindset of a cancer patient being told he only has a limited time left to live. Even if the lyrics were utter rubbish, I believe the sound of pain is transmitted (it probably helps that the album was conceived during a period of mourning over the deaths of friends lost to cancer). This is audible agony, and it would still be evident if the lyrics were removed, but the meaning would not be clear if the vocals themselves were absent.<\/p>\n