Please Review my Progressive Metal Tune!

[Drucifer]

I was posting here little bit about 5 years ago and made random posts since then. It's really amazing how just lurking and retaining as much info as possible on these forums can really help you out, so first, thanks to all who contribute here, both the people who ask the question and those who answer them, because both have helped me along the way.

 

A bit of my vocal history-

I started "singing" in a band when our vocalist quit and I had to take over, this was 10 years ago. While I grew up on Alice In Chains and Ryche, this was a heavy prog metal band that required screaming closer to Lamb Of God, to which I couldn't pull off....though I thought I was.

 

After that I fronted a couple other hard rock/metal bands that I purposefully joined to get better as a vocalist, as in a real singer, not just some guy who screams in a mic. I took a couple years away from screaming and really worked on opening up my range. I've got a low voice but I've never believed it'd stop me from hitting some Tate and Halford highs.

 

I'm not fronting another prog-metal band, but this one really allows me to go all over the place with the vocals, from Mike Patton-esque to Chris Cornelly to Phil Anselmo and everything in between. This tune was recorded about 7 months ago and even now I'd like to go back and redo some of it because I can do it stronger/better, but it's a good marking of where I'm at now. My guitarist sings the chorus at 1:18, but the rest of it is me.

 

The first half of the tune is clean/raspy singing and the 2nd half goes into a more distorted, full on vocal fry screaming sound. It's tricky to not go too crazy with that stuff live....the good screamers don't get enough credit!

 

https://www.youtube.com/embed/BSfjDFSi884

 

I openly welcome any and all criticisms and insights! Take care!

 

[Robert Lunte]

Me likey Prog...

 

Cool song... and great, distorted vocals... I dig it!

 

Cool dynamics and "mojo'... you did a great job on this... 

 

 

2:18 - 2:20 - Sounds a bit flat... but no big deal.

 

If you were in a lesson with me, I would encourage you to maintain this basic distorted sound, but try to amplify more in the forward palette so you can amplify brighter harmonics... it would make it "cut" more on the track and give you more color... it would also be less fatiguing without sacrificing any of your mojo or vibe.

[Drucifer]

Thanks, Robert! That means a lot, coming from you!

 

I get what you're saying about the forward pallete, as I've been finding that if I focus on that area a little more I've got that much more control over what I'm doing at that particular second. Definitely good to know I just have to keep working it!

[Robert Lunte]

Your welcome... Yes, at TVS we call it "Edging" because you slightly tune the formant to Edging singing vowels/formants to amplify the forward palette... its all explained in my training system.  Good edging also allows you to articulate lyrics better as well, so there is less of a need to modify vowels if you don't want to... it takes training... I can help you learn how if your interested.

[Drucifer]

I'd definitely like to get some lessons in before we do our next studio stretch. We're in the middle of mixing a batch of tunes now and some live shows, but when things calm down I'll be in contact, for sure!

 

Thanks again, Robert!

[Robert Lunte]

Sure my friend, that is what I am here for. Get in front of me, I promise you it will be worth it. I do this 30 hours a week ad have developed so many things to listen for and techniques for singers, that I can hear you and diagnose whats going on very quickly and put you straight into techniques that will make immediate changes. Frankly, any of the great coaches on this forum can do that... it is what great coaches do, diagnose with their ears and then apply techniques to help the student work out of it... Apart from the fact that I can connect with your genre to a large extent as well, will be helpful.

 

Here is the link to the "New Student Package", it actually is the best deal I offer... you save $152, a good value for "Pillars" + 3 private lessons with me.

 

Where are you located? 

[Drucifer]

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where we've got the total opposite weather you do!

 

I'm a major Layne Staley nut, I know who he studied with and I know who you studied with, so it's stupid for me NOT to reach out for some lessons! Just need a bit of time because life is crazzzzzy these days!

[HM Darius ( Conrad Noto)]

Awesome! You do what you do well. How's the throat? if you have no problems, keep it up. You have a sweet blend there, melodic, some rasp, some fry, and something even cooler. I can understand your every word,  A+ for that. You understand it is a skill.. 90% of people who do this style, just scream and sound like shit. You the heaven and hell sound, melodic on top, sweet over tones and a devil crawling out of a grave yard.

[Drucifer]

Awesome! You do what you do well. How's the throat? if you have no problems, keep it up. You have a sweet blend there, melodic, some rasp, some fry, and something even cooler. I can understand your every word,  A+ for that. You understand it is a skill.. 90% of people who do this style, just scream and sound like shit. You the heaven and hell sound, melodic on top, sweet over tones and a devil crawling out of a grave yard.

 

Wow, thanks, man!

 

It's mainly the aggressive screaming stuff that you hear at the end of the song that causes the most stress, almost entirely on my jawline and under my tongue. In the studio it's not as bad, but live when you're jumping around and trying to be a performer, I all too often break concentration and start tensing up my face/neck/shoulder muscles. I've never lost my voice, it certainly doesn't have the same quality to it by the end of a set.

 

Really, thank you for the kind words. In the metal scene here in South Florida, the majority of the audience and peers seem to care only about how gutteral a scream can get.....I feel often that I'm on the other side of the playground saying "Dudes!! We've been playing dodgeball for years, doesn't one of you still have some lawn darts in the garage?!"

[HM Darius ( Conrad Noto)]

Cool man, where in South Florida are you? I'm in RPB/West Palm Beach area now. Meant everything I said there. If you can record a few tunes next time you do them live and send me links so I can hear what is actually going on live. I will send you some appropriate exercises to help. On the studio recording it doesn't sound strained ( even with the fry, rasp, grit. ) it sounds very controlled. I would need to hear some of the live to see what your talking about.

[HM Darius ( Conrad Noto)]

Didn't see the post in between, Your in Ft.Lauderdale not far.

[Drucifer]

I've got a couple vids from a few months back, actually, these two are from our first live show together.

 

The first half of this one is all screaming and the second half is singing with that gritty voice and a couple screams. Actually, this one I'm using 2 different kinds of screams; the verses and choruses are all fry screaming, at 2:56 it goes to false chord screaming (or at least that's what everyone calls it). That false chord screaming, if not really careful, that stuff will blow your throat out quicker than most everything else, for me anyway.

 

These videos are loud on my laptop, so watch the volume, I dunno if that's just on my side or not.

 

 

 

And here's the same tune that I posted in my original post. This was the 7th song in the set. This must have been in-between recording the final version of that song because there's stuff that's not smoothed out yet. Man, I wish I hit that same note at 2:45 in the studio.....I've been hitting that note every time we do it live since this show. I don't know why that's not on the damn recording....anywho...

 

 

 

I don't really have strain issues in the studio, it's just in a live setting. I don't follow every rule in the book, for sure. I don't get drunk but I'll have a few beers (no more than 3 before a set and then one towards the end of the set) and I've been slowly quitting smoking, to just a couple every few weekends instead of 1.5 packs a day. 

 

Staying hydrated properly is something I've had to focus on because I'm just not thirsty all that often so I have to force myself to drink water frequently. This has been one of my biggest issues since I started taking singing seriously.

 

And WPB isn't far at all! I'm literally 2 minutes off of 95! Thanks for taking interest!

 

Thank you, Bzean!!!

[HM Darius ( Conrad Noto)]

Sounds good, to be very honest. If this is the style you are going to be singing and you don't have strain or problems, I would just keep doing what your doing and fine tune things as you go along. Sounds solid for that style of music. Not sure how old you are, but you may start having a hard time around 40 keep an eye on it and if you do you might have to adjust. Most Opera singers just start peaking around 40, because the voice fills out, many people in rock however have the opposite, because the registration of the voice firms, it doesn't always get darker in sound but the voice " feels" heavier and rock people then start pushing too much. You can hear it in these people if you compare there first recordings with their later recordings. Anne Wilson, Stevie Nicks, Geoff Tate, Steve Perry. Many ( Not Tate or Anne) like Stevie, Perry started getting nodes at that point from the pushing. In Opera singers it usually will enhance their natural qualities. it will make the coloratura whistle brighter, bass darker etc.

[Drucifer]

Right on, thanks again!

 

I'm 32 currently. I'm hoping that I'll get some life out of my voice because I feel that I've only really been singing for the last year or two and the previous 10 years or so was just testing the waters. I can't sing anything unless I'm properly warmed up and that took a while to figure out what worked for me. I used to just warm up an hour or so before rehearsal or a gig but I've found lately that if I just do small things to warm up throughout the whole day that I get a LOT more length out of my voice. I do need to look into some warming down techniques though, that's something I haven't really looked into at all.