Twang: Man in the Box and self composed video, feedback appreciated!

[thethomas]

Hi people!

After a few years with alot of back and forth regarding my health I've finally got back to excercising vocals again. Starting over has kind of been my thing unfortunately.

I've been heavily influenced by typical 90's grunge vocalists like Chris Cornell and Lane Staley, so I do like to twang alot in my higher registers, while focusing on keeping muscles relaxed and unstrained. I'd love to hear critiques and suggestions to where I should improve my voice further, as I'm sure I have lots of room for improvement. I've added two clips of my most recent work that might give you an idea about where I stand today:

This is a melancolic song I wrote, one-man-band style (I even made the musicvideo)

I also had a go at "Man in the Box" by the good old Alice in Chains and Staley here, this is done with a cheap dynamic mic and a karaoke backing track:

The Thomas - Man in the Box cover

(with a quick search on my Soundcloud account there's a version of me singing Rolling in the Deep as well, but be warned, that was recorded only a couple of days after I took up singing again)

Hope I was able to make some enjoyable tracks as well. And remember: any feedback is good feedback!

Rock on! :cool:

[Kain]

Im no expert,so Im not gonna critique anything about your singing on a technical level..But I can say that I like it..You definitely got a Chris Cornell sound to your voice.So thumbs up as far as Im concerned.

[thethomas]

I'm very glad to hear you liked it :)

[ronws]

I liked your cover of "Man in the Box." Though, your voice sounds more, to me, like M Shadows, from later, rather than earlier work.

[thethomas]

Now that's a great vocalist that really developed over the years, actually it's been awhile since I've listened to A7X, gonna have to check them out again now - thanks for the reminder, hehe :)

[ronws]

Now that's a great vocalist that really developed over the years, actually it's been awhile since I've listened to A7X, gonna have to check them out again now - thanks for the reminder, hehe

According to some bios, he decided to move away from the screamo and took voice lessons with Ron Anderson to still have a good note underneath and then still have some rasp. Their newest album, Hail to the King, has the title track as the first release and it went to number 1 on the top 200. It is also the most accessible to audiences because his sound has cleaned up, somewhat. And the style is closer to bluesy rock and ballads. For example that huge sweeping chorus in "Hail to the King" is something that everyone can appreciate and it sounds heroic.

Anyway, your voice sounds similar to that. So, repeat after me ...

"Hail to the King.

Hail to the one.

Kneel to the crown.

Stand in the sun ... "

[thethomas]

Repeat, you mean like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzo84_xzzEo

Not that I feel close to M Shadows here but it was fun giving it a try. Quite a challenging chorus to sing, especially since my bridging is out of shape at the moment. I even managed to get the lyrics slightly wrong, tough luck.

A7X have defineately turned a little more mainstream on their new album, I've only listened to a couple of songs but it sounds good so far.

[Duchi]

I'm no expert, but you seem to be singing with a lot of closed vowels, especially during the Man in the box chorus, like fIIIIId my eyes, jIIIIsus christ, doesnt that tire out your voice faster than if you were to sing the vowels more open towards Eh, like Layne sings it? Cornell also opens up the vowels on the higher notes.

Other than that, I liked the Man in the Box cover!!

[thethomas]

You might have a strong point here, I'm a self thaught vocalist and never got any theory/technical tutoring, so making use of particular vowels is unfamiliar ground to me. I felt really relaxed and unstrained when I recorded the Man in the Box cover, but maybe I get a little stronger on those top notes if I try to emphasis a Eh sound?

Thanks for the tip, I'll certainly look into it!

Glad to hear you liked my cover!

[Duchi]

I guess it depends on the vocalist, for example when Dio sang the line "like some neverending wheel" in holy diver, he stayed true to the vowel and sang whIIL on a C5, not whEEHl. When cornell sings "the day i tried to live", he sings lEEHv on a C#5. Experiment with vowel sounds and shades and listen to the way others shape them, thats one of the best advices I received on the forum!

[Duchi]

By the way, just checked your Cornell's Steel Rain cover, that was very cool!!!

[thethomas]

He also goes for C#5 with "Aaall" on Limo Wreck, The highest pitch I've reached while practicing was F5 with the word "lie". Seems like an amazing word for reaching new heights with, haha Anyways, I'll look into what you've said about vowels, seems like a great tip.

And thanks, I love that song!