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Best Metal Frontman?


RelentlessOblivion

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  • 1 year later...

This thread is as old as Methuselah or however you spell it. 

The best frontmen as far as entertainment value, for me without a doubt are: 

Tomi Joutsen (Amorphis)

Nygard (Turisas)

Hoest (Taake)

Maniac - back in his prime that is (Mayhem)

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  • 3 months later...

I dont know why no one is mentioning Mikael AKerveldt! So many years of Opeth and they've been consistently great while changing genres and musical styles over the years. I cant think of a guy who can both sing and growl the way he does! Not to mention his guitar-work is quite decent too.

An example to illustrate my point would be :

 

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18 minutes ago, thev_666 said:

I dont know why no one is mentioning Mikael AKerveldt! So many years of Opeth and they've been consistently great while changing genres and musical styles over the years. I cant think of a guy who can both sing and growl the way he does! Not to mention his guitar-work is quite decent too.

An example to illustrate my point would be :

 

This thread has apparently been confusingly merged from at least three previous threads, so I'm not surprised you didn't read through the whole thing, but there's a good bit of discussion about Åkerfeldt two pages back (or four, depending on your page view settings). He's one of my favorites, but I have to say his harsh vox sucked last time I saw them. His cleans were awesome but the growls didn't have any heart or expressiveness. It seemed obvious that he'd lost interest in doing them.

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27 minutes ago, FatherAlabaster said:

This thread has apparently been confusingly merged from at least three previous threads, so I'm not surprised you didn't read through the whole thing, but there's a good bit of discussion about Åkerfeldt two pages back (or four, depending on your page view settings). He's one of my favorites, but I have to say his harsh vox sucked last time I saw them. His cleans were awesome but the growls didn't have any heart or expressiveness. It seemed obvious that he'd lost interest in doing them.

Yeah, maybe I didnt read through each and every post that as carefully as I should.

Well yeah. His growls have started becoming bad in recent years and he's revealed in many interviews that he doesn't want to go back to growling coz its not good for him and he doesnt feel like it musically either. I'd still rate him at rank 1 just for his growling past and his current cleans. I don't even find pop or country or any other genre singers who sing better cleans than him!

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6 hours ago, thev_666 said:

I dont know why no one is mentioning Mikael AKerveldt!

Because he is no Ronnie James Dio, nor Rob Halford, nor Eric Adams, nor Bruce Dickinson, nor Lemmy, nor Alice Cooper, nor Blackie Lawless.

Having seen all of the above live, save for Eric Adams (but I hope I will), I have no doubt that they are my favorite front men (which is not the same as best singers, but in some cases it comes in pairs).

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2 hours ago, Skull_Kollektor said:

Because he is no Ronnie James Dio, nor Rob Halford, nor Eric Adams, nor Bruce Dickinson, nor Lemmy, nor Alice Cooper, nor Blackie Lawless.

I don't think this comparison is relevant. Åkerfeldt has a totally different persona, musical style, and approach to performing. I'm not saying he's the best frontman ever, but I have a feeling that kind of swagger would be sorely out of place in the context of Opeth's music. 

You know who was an awesome frontman, was (is?) Adrian Belew. He's got showmanship, but he doesn't force it on anyone, just has a totally natural connection to the music. He's so completely in the moment when he plays that I find it impossible not to get dragged in along with him.

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12 hours ago, FatherAlabaster said:

I don't think this comparison is relevant. Åkerfeldt has a totally different persona, musical style, and approach to performing. I'm not saying he's the best frontman ever, but I have a feeling that kind of swagger would be sorely out of place in the context of Opeth's music. 

You know who was an awesome frontman, was (is?) Adrian Belew. He's got showmanship, but he doesn't force it on anyone, just has a totally natural connection to the music. He's so completely in the moment when he plays that I find it impossible not to get dragged in along with him.

Depends what we mean when we say 'frontman'.

Sure, Akerfeldt is amazing on those records, and he's obviously a talented guitarist/songwriter. But I've seen Opeth maybe four or five times and I have to say it but he isn't that great a 'performer'. Especially the last time I saw him it seemed like his heart wasn't in it, and a friend of mine saw them last year and they left early because he was bitching about having to play - on stage. 

To me a frontman is someone who can hold the audience the palm of his or her hand. We all know them when we see them. People like Alan Averill from Primordial. They just own the stage.

These days I just feel like Akerfeldt has had his fun and now just turns up for the paycheck. 

 

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37 minutes ago, Requiem said:

Depends what we mean when we say 'frontman'.

Sure, Akerfeldt is amazing on those records, and he's obviously a talented guitarist/songwriter. But I've seen Opeth maybe four or five times and I have to say it but he isn't that great a 'performer'.

 

I agree with this. My point to Skully is that there are other kinds of effective showmanship aside from the classic heavy metal swagger, and it's not always appropriate in the context of the music. Saying he's not a great frontman because "he's no Ronnie James Dio" seems kind of glib and unhelpful.

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9 hours ago, FatherAlabaster said:

I agree with this. My point to Skully is that there are other kinds of effective showmanship aside from the classic heavy metal swagger, and it's not always appropriate in the context of the music. Saying he's not a great frontman because "he's no Ronnie James Dio" seems kind of glib and unhelpful.

Of course it's unhelpful, I didn't mean to help anyone, I'm a selfish fuck! Somebody has got to tell it like it is. Dio is Dio, man. Some things, you just don't mess. 

And don't forget to gather the wind, though the wind won't help you fly at all.

Your back's to the wall. :)

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Ive seen lots of the biggest metal bands, many big stars with massive reputations and high profiles...but only one guy has absolutely blown me away. 'Cyco' Mike Muir with Suicidal Tendencies. I've never seen one guy own a stage, one guy totally intimidate a crowd the way he did in Melbourne when they came out here in the early 90s. Still to this day, he remains head & shoulders above anyone Ive seen first hand. He was a force of freakin nature.

Kory Clarke from Warrior Soul was also a great frontman (albeit in a band that no-one really cared about in the end..). Very very strong presence. 

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