death metal albums with fry vocals only

[z3r0]

On 7/4/2023 at 6:33 PM, SurgicalBrute said:

Just FYI, that's not really deathcore. Deathcore would sound more like what you said you didn't want in vocals....

so you're trying to tell me that deathcore bands without low guttural growls don't exist? i actually founded this record accidently on some 90s deathcore list. it's mostly considered to be a deathcore/metalcore album for what i've seen

[GoatmasterGeneral]

4 hours ago, z3r0 said:

Are you into blackened death metal?

By good production I actually meant the golden era of the 90s where even some better known underground bands like Arkangel and Acid Bath had well recorded and mastered production. I myself rarely listen to anything produced after that decade.

Yes, blackened death metal would definitely be my favorite overall sub-genre. I just don't find as much standout black/death as I'd like, so I end up listening to a lot more black metal because there's so much more of it that comes to my attention. There are several different general types of black/death because different bands can mix these two genres in very different ways. We can go into that in more detail if you'd like. But I will say as much as I love death metal, I don't listen to very much death metal that hasn't been blackened to at least some extent.

I'm aware that many (maybe most) people consider "the golden age of the 90's" to unquestionably be the best era of both death and black metal, but I disagree. I prefer the beefier poduction of post 2000 death and black metal. There are quite a few 90's black and death metal albums I'm quite fond of, I'm not saying the 90's was shit. But if you asked me to name some albums with what I'd consider the ideal production, I would mostly be choosing shit from the 2010's. Not so much of the major label stuff though, because even when the music's ok it still tends to be overproduced and overly compressed. I stick to the more underground stuff primarily for that reason.

I've also seen there seems to be a low key backlash against modern black metal bands that use an intentinally "retro" 90's sound where they make it sound "fuzzy" on purpose in attempts to evoke some of the classic early 90's stuff. I personally love this and think it gives me the best of both worlds where the albums are well recorded with the low end well represented (this seems to have been a big problem for many black and death metal bands in the 90's) but I still get the rawness and the fuzz so it doesn't sound too clean.

[SurgicalBrute]

8 hours ago, z3r0 said:

so you're trying to tell me that deathcore bands without low guttural growls don't exist? i actually founded this record accidently on some 90s deathcore list. it's mostly considered to be a deathcore/metalcore album for what i've seen

Oh, I'm sure they exist...I'm speaking more generally. I'm not super familiar with that band Jane, but from the small pieces of it I sampled, it sounds more like Metalcore than Deathcore to me, which was why I was pointing you more towards metalcore, hardcore, and death metal/hardcore hybrid bands.

Deathcore as a genre typically sounds like this:

...and asking for more deathcore recommendations is probably going to get you a lot of bands that fall into this same vein (If this is what you're looking for though, that's fine...carry on).

Metalcore tends to fall into two separate camps, depending on what decade the band is from. 90's metalcore is more hardcore based and sounds a lot like the bands Converge, Intergrity and Merauder that I posted to you. Metalcore from the 2000's tends to sound a lot like melodic death metal, but uses breakdowns and yelled vocals like you'd find in hardcore. This is where you'll find your bands like Darkest Hour, As I lay Dying, etc.

I promise though, I'm not trying to get hung up on genres just to be obnoxious. I just want to make sure I'm not wasting your time by recommending a bunch of bands you won't like.

(Again, my apologies if this is stuff you already know)

[GoatmasterGeneral]

I've gotta admit I'd never even heard of "fry vocals" before I saw this thread. I'd never really thought that much about it but it seems there are all different kinds of extreme metal vocals, I had no idea. I've only ever broken vocals into two basic categories: death metal and black metal. Then after that I just separate them into the ones I like, and the ones I don't. Now I see there are 151 different flavors.

 

Different types of metal screams

 

[AlSymerz]

151 vocal difference?

Fuck me, no wonder I hate get involved in conversations about genres and types of music.

 

[z3r0]

14 hours ago, SurgicalBrute said:

Metalcore tends to fall into two separate camps, depending on what decade the band is from.

i'm mostly into mid-late 90s metalcore like arkangel (first ep and dead man walking album era) where they tend to take some influence from melodic death metal and i was just looking for something with this type of vocs but more death metal elements in the instrumental. i'm sorry if my post was a bit confusing but i like a lot of metal subgeneres (mostly death, thrash, sludge, all things core and oldschool 90s nü metal comes to mind right now) and i think mixing them is the best thing that can happen to metal music. there's nothing worse than these one-true-genre-pattern wannabe bands that won't enter anything new and original into the genre and are just a rip-off of the most popular bands who invated the subgenre.

[RelentlessOblivion]

Careful now, while I agree retro bands generally don’t offer anything new I’m one of those elitists, apparently anyway, who likes his metal pure. So I do think plenty of black, death, doom etc bands are doing cool things without abandoning the hallmarks of their genres.

 

As for fry vocals I can’t think of anything with it the metalcore influenced vibe you’re searching for.

[JonoBlade]

16 hours ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

I've gotta admit I'd never even heard of "fry vocals" before I saw this thread. I'd never really thought that much about it but it seems there are all different kinds of extreme metal vocals, I had no idea. I've only ever broken vocals into two basic categories: death metal and black metal. Then after that I just separate them into the ones I like, and the ones I don't. Now I see there are 151 different flavors.

#metoo. #ineverheardoffryvocalseither

In fact, I thought the OP made a mistake in the thread title. Even now, it doesn't make much sense because death vocals (low guttural ones) can also be considered "fry" vocals. (Death growl - Wikipedia) Whereas he specifically wanted death metal without... the death metal.

Practically no one takes to death metal vocals on first exposure. I didn't. You get used to it.

Now "fry vocals" are a way that any twit with a microphone can sound half decent in a metal band without having to have exceptional vocal ability like a Dio or a Halford. In the old days, a vocalist that was certifiably bad was an almost insurmountable barrier to success.  Now, just be shouty and you can get away with it.

[SurgicalBrute]

9 hours ago, z3r0 said:

i'm mostly into mid-late 90s metalcore like arkangel (first ep and dead man walking album era) where they tend to take some influence from melodic death metal and i was just looking for something with this type of vocs but more death metal elements in the instrumental.

Okay...I think I get what you're saying. Did you try that Black Breath album I posted? That should be pretty close since it seems to use the same vocal style, but musically it pulls a lot of its influences from the Swedish death metal sound.

If you like that you might want to check out the early Swedish death bands like Entombed and Dismember. They were all kids out of the local hardcore scene when they started playing death metal so the influences are all over the music. Vocals have a bit more of a death metal growl, but they're not so deep you can't understand them.

 

Entombed - Left Hand Path

 

Dismember - Override of the Overture

 

Xibalba might be worth a try as well since they mix death metal with hardcore and metalcore.

Xibalba - Hasta La Muerte (music starts at about 1:25 into the video)

 

If you just want death metal with vocals that are a bit different though, check out anything Martin Van Drunen is attached to as the singer. His vox are pretty distinct.

Hail of Bullets - Ordered Eastward

 

[z3r0]

almost exacly what i was looking for. thank you \m/

[Dead1]

11 hours ago, JonoBlade said:

 

In fact, I thought the OP made a mistake in the thread title. Even now, it doesn't make much sense because death vocals (low guttural ones) can also be considered "fry" vocals. (

 

Never heard of fry vocals.

 

To be honest just growly vocals can get tedious.  A good band mixes it up eg Carcass or Deicide or Edge of Sanity or older Cattle Decapitation or Morbid Angel.

Or they just have a more dynamic shrieky approach to the vocals eg Entombed or Asphyx  or actually bother enunciating words ala Cancer or even a slightly off thrash approach ala Pestilence.

So add a few shrieks, a few grunts, maybe a black metal snarl here and there and it so much more adds to the DM experience than just guttural lows.

 

Just listening to Extreme Noise Terror circa 1987 and it's a great example - there's some low bits but lots of dynamic shrieking.

Couple with crusty production and playing like your life depended on it and it's perfect. 

[RelentlessOblivion]

I tend not to notice vocals unless they’re bad, at least in the extreme metal subgenres. So for me Suffocation, or Immolation to both have little in terms of vocal variety are just as enjoyable as Death or Kronos. Speaking of which they might actually fit what the OP is after vocals wise, particularly on Colossal Titan Strife, albeit the other elements of the sound have more in common with slam or tech death then metalcore.

[SurgicalBrute]

14 hours ago, JonoBlade said:

Even now, it doesn't make much sense because death vocals (low guttural ones) can also be considered "fry" vocals. (Death growl - Wikipedia)

Not all death metal vocals are like that though (low and guttural). A lot of death/thrash tends to use vocals similar to what you'd hear in hardcore punk, which is probably what they're referencing in that wiki page. Honestly, I wasn't familiar with the term either, but once I listened to a couple of the bands she mentioned I realized that's basically what she's talking about...hardcore vocals

[RelentlessOblivion]

1 hour ago, SurgicalBrute said:

Not all death metal vocals are like that though (low and guttural). A lot of death/thrash tends to use vocals similar to what you'd hear in hardcore punk, which is probably what they're referencing in that wiki page. Honestly, I wasn't familiar with the term either, but once I listened to a couple of the bands she mentioned I realized that's basically what she's talking about...hardcore vocals

I’m only familiar with the term from vocal lessons I did years back, Asphyx probably fit the mold is the best example of a straight vocal fry in DM, I associate it more with black metal ala Celtic Frost or Inquisition, or as the basis for the BM shriek. Fundamentally the death growl is a similar concept, it’s just a different placement which creates the different tone. Sorry music nerd, couldn’t help myself. 

[z3r0]

On 7/6/2023 at 12:07 AM, GoatmasterGeneral said:

Different types of metal screams

 

kvlt screams are awesome. tunnel throats too.  do you people know any death metal bands using this type of vocals mostly?

3 hours ago, RelentlessOblivion said:

Asphyx probably fit the mold is the best example of a straight vocal fry in DM

just listened a couple of tracks and they're exacly what i was thinking about when i was making this post. just the sound i was looking for. huge thaanks \m/

[Nasty_Cabbage]

On 7/5/2023 at 5:07 PM, GoatmasterGeneral said:

I've gotta admit I'd never even heard of "fry vocals" before I saw this thread. I'd never really thought that much about it but it seems there are all different kinds of extreme metal vocals, I had no idea. I've only ever broken vocals into two basic categories: death metal and black metal. Then after that I just separate them into the ones I like, and the ones I don't. Now I see there are 151 different flavors.

 

Different types of metal screams

 

Haven't seen the video, but what's the over/under on whether homeboy here is wearing that cap to cover up his thinning hair? 

Anyway, Mask of Zero, how do you feel about King Fowley and his vocals? Can't believe I didn't think of this after your initial post.

Fearless Undead Machines | DECEASED (bandcamp.com)

By the by, I know zombies are played out, but if you are going to go the zombie theme route you can't get better than that album for my money.

[SurgicalBrute]

6 hours ago, z3r0 said:

just listened a couple of tracks and they're exacly what i was thinking about when i was making this post. just the sound i was looking for. huge thaanks \m/

That's Martin Van Drunen...so you may like that Hail of Bullets track as well

[SurgicalBrute]

10 hours ago, RelentlessOblivion said:

I’m only familiar with the term from vocal lessons I did years back, Asphyx probably fit the mold is the best example of a straight vocal fry in DM, I associate it more with black metal ala Celtic Frost or Inquisition, or as the basis for the BM shriek.

You may well be right. I was trying to find matches to the vocal examples from the beginning of this video:

 

...which is a style of vocals I'd generally associate with hardcore, so it's quite possible I'm missing something. As far as I can tell, actual vocal fry sounds like the ghost chick from that movie The Grudge

[GoatmasterGeneral]

On 7/6/2023 at 10:45 AM, JonoBlade said:

#metoo. #ineverheardoffryvocalseither

In fact, I thought the OP made a mistake in the thread title. Even now, it doesn't make much sense because death vocals (low guttural ones) can also be considered "fry" vocals. (Death growl - Wikipedia) Whereas he specifically wanted death metal without... the death metal.

Practically no one takes to death metal vocals on first exposure. I didn't. You get used to it.

Now "fry vocals" are a way that any twit with a microphone can sound half decent in a metal band without having to have exceptional vocal ability like a Dio or a Halford. In the old days, a vocalist that was certifiably bad was an almost insurmountable barrier to success. Now, just be shouty and you can get away with it.

It occured to me just now that Monsterworks' vocals could be right in the OP's area of interest. So I went and had another listen and I guess I must have forgotten just how ear-piercingly high your vocals actually were. Then I started wondering could Jon-boy actually be one of the dudes from 3 Inches of Blood incognito? So I went and had a look at one of their videos and decided no, there's not really much resemblance. Were they an influence?

Was just reading the M-A review for the most recent MW album Malignment and I have just one question, do you read any of the reviews on the internet for your hundred albums or do you prefer not to know? I don't think I'd be keen to read them if it were me. I will say though for the record I do think your lower register bellows are exceptional, (lower than your higher register vox, not low as in super deep, they're more mid) not sure why you choose to stay up in your higher register so much of the time. Not that those higher vocals aren't well done because they are, just not so much my cup of Earl Grey.

With regards to your any twit with a microphone comment, I for one very much appreciate that metal is not just for opera singers anymore.

 

 

1 hour ago, Nasty_Cabbage said:

Haven't seen the video, but what's the over/under on whether homeboy here is wearing that cap to cover up his thinning hair? 

Anyway, Mask of Zero, how do you feel about King Fowley and his vocals? Can't believe I didn't think of this after your initial post.

Fearless Undead Machines | DECEASED (bandcamp.com)

By the by, I know zombies are played out, but if you are going to go the zombie theme route you can't get better than that album for my money.

I remember going to the Metal Threat festival in Chicago with a bunch of friends back in 2019. They were all stoked as fuck for the Deceased set but I was not familiar as I had never even heard the band before. After their set I was not impressed and then when I got back home I listened to a few of their albums they'd recommended and was still not particularly impressed. My buddies gave me their 19 reasons why I should be impressed, but yet I remained steadfastly unimpressed. Wouldn't go as far as to say I dislike them, but I wouldn't be tempted to buy their albums either. I've seen KF in interviews and he seems like a pretty cool dude and a regular bloke, but I'm not gonna buy his albums just because he's a man of the people.

[z3r0]

16 hours ago, SurgicalBrute said:

That's Martin Van Drunen...so you may like that Hail of Bullets track as well

yeah they're dope too

[z3r0]

𖤐

[JonoBlade]

On 7/7/2023 at 6:48 PM, GoatmasterGeneral said:

...could Jon-boy actually be one of the dudes from 3 Inches of Blood incognito? So I went and had a look at one of their videos and decided no, there's not really much resemblance. Were they an influence?

I've heard of them and recall having listened to "Fire up the Blades" a couple of times, but that was well after establishing a vocal style.

On 7/7/2023 at 6:48 PM, GoatmasterGeneral said:

Was just reading the M-A review for the most recent MW album Malignment and I have just one question, do you read any of the reviews on the internet for your hundred albums or do you prefer not to know? I don't think I'd be keen to read them if it were me. I will say though for the record I do think your lower register bellows are exceptional, (lower than your higher register vox, not low as in super deep, they're more mid) not sure why you choose to stay up in your higher register so much of the time. Not that those higher vocals aren't well done because they are, just not so much my cup of Earl Grey.

With regards to your any twit with a microphone comment, I for one very much appreciate that metal is not just for opera singers anymore.

Not sure I had read that M-A review, but it had some good lines in it. Yes, I do read reviews. I can see why it wouldn't be a good idea for some people, but I take the praise as some validation and the criticism as invalid because they obviously haven't got it. Ha. No album has been trashed across the board like a Cold Lake or something. 

Reviews are useful for me as a metal fan in general, although a mediocre review is basically pointless. It doesn't do the band any favours because it will not inspire anyone to buy the album or even listen to it. The best reviews are where the critic gushes over it (more often than not you listen and think "what are they taking about?" but it served its purpose to encourage a listen) or trashes it with clever wordplay, because at least that is funny/entertaining.

High register vocals? Blame Rob. It is what came out the first time I stood in front of a microphone and the recording light went on. There was no practice on my part because the other guitarist had written the music/lyrics and did the lead vocals....which sounded awesome - to this day, the most demonic roar I ever heard. I was just doing back up yelps and shrieking but for some unfathomable reason I took over lead vocals after that because he didn't want to do it.

[GoatmasterGeneral]

4 hours ago, JonoBlade said:

I've heard of them and recall having listened to "Fire up the Blades" a couple of times, but that was well after establishing a vocal style.

Not sure I had read that M-A review, but it had some good lines in it. Yes, I do read reviews. I can see why it wouldn't be a good idea for some people, but I take the praise as some validation and the criticism as invalid because they obviously haven't got it. Ha. No album has been trashed across the board like a Cold Lake or something. 

Reviews are useful for me as a metal fan in general, although a mediocre review is basically pointless. It doesn't do the band any favours because it will not inspire anyone to buy the album or even listen to it. The best reviews are where the critic gushes over it (more often than not you listen and think "what are they taking about?" but it served its purpose to encourage a listen) or trashes it with clever wordplay, because at least that is funny/entertaining.

High register vocals? Blame Rob. It is what came out the first time I stood in front of a microphone and the recording light went on. There was no practice on my part because the other guitarist had written the music/lyrics and did the lead vocals....which sounded awesome - to this day, the most demonic roar I ever heard. I was just doing back up yelps and shrieking but for some unfathomable reason I took over lead vocals after that because he didn't want to do it.

It's astonishing how often you'll hear a similar "I never wanted to do vocals but it just worked out that way when no one else wanted to do them" story. "Blame Rob" that's a new one, although yes sir, I do blame Rob for a lot. I personally blame him for a good portion of the high-pitched screechy-squealy vox I've had to endure over the years. You know, the ones that make you wince and subconsciously grab the jewels. He did it, and that made everyone think they could do it, even some dudes that maybe shouldn't be doing it. 

I think you have to take both good and bad reviews with a grain of salt. As the reader we have no way of knowing how serious or invested or engaged the reviewer is. I don't really use reviews the way some people do as a tool to help me decide whether or not to buy. Because like a picture, a song is worth 1,000 words. In 2023 I can just hear things for myself and skip the middle men attempting to describe them to me. I prefer reading reviews of stuff I've already heard and have become a bit familiar with already and then seeing how other people's perceptions stack up against mine. But I almost never go looking for reviews of new stuff I've yet to hear. I have seen a lot of classic stuff mentioned in reviews that has made me curious enough to go check it out for myself though. That to me has been the biggest benefit of reading reviews, the other bands and albums that get mentioned incidentally that I might have missed altogether but fortuitously caught because of that review.

[JonoBlade]

17 hours ago, GoatmasterGeneral said:

I think you have to take both good and bad reviews with a grain of salt. As the reader we have no way of knowing how serious or invested or engaged the reviewer is. I don't really use reviews the way some people do as a tool to help me decide whether or not to buy. Because like a picture, a song is worth 1,000 words. In 2023 I can just hear things for myself and skip the middle men attempting to describe them to me. I prefer reading reviews of stuff I've already heard and have become a bit familiar with already and then seeing how other people's perceptions stack up against mine. But I almost never go looking for reviews of new stuff I've yet to hear. I have seen a lot of classic stuff mentioned in reviews that has made me curious enough to go check it out for myself though. That to me has been the biggest benefit of reading reviews, the other bands and albums that get mentioned incidentally that I might have missed altogether but fortuitously caught because of that review.

Actually, it's true that I also don't actively seek to read that many reviews these days. But I look out for recommendations in places like here...which is basically like a wordless or one line review. It is more about awareness I guess and I'm only interested if the poster thought it was great. A review or a forum post is never going to "influence" an actual purchase...except it made you aware of it, enough to give it a chance. There are 8 bazillion new metal albums released every day so it is impossible to find out about all of them.  

Whatever I'm doing seems to work for me as I get a steady enough stream of new release material and sometimes come across something older because someone mentioned it, like you said.

Year end lists tend to be the best source of information.  

[DoomedFromTheStart]

On 7/1/2023 at 3:20 PM, z3r0 said:

do albums like this exist? i'm really into death metal drums and riffs but i can't get into these low death metal growls you hear in most death metal albums.

the vocals in death metal influenced albums i enjoy:

arkangel - dead man walking

acid bath - peagan terrorism tactics / when the kite string pops

converge - petitioning the empty sky

pantera - the great southern trendkill

shadows fall - somber eyes to the sky

only oldschool bands recommendations please.

what about obituary. there not too heavy singing. slowly we rot is cool album of theres or even more recent dying of everything is good. 

theres definitely death metal with cleaner singing. maybe you need a subscription to a heavy music magazine. you will get a bigger range of stuff in there.