What is with Progressive Metal bands' singers?

Okay, maybe someone knows. I love progressive metal. But why, WHY???, do so many prog metal singers sing like it is the 80s? And you know what I mean. That 80s hair metal sound of vocals. Dream Theater has it, though not like they do on earlier albums, and that is also why I won't buy early DT albums. Symphony X. . . love the music, and really like the singers voice, but damn, he is annoying. Spiral Architect, one of the most complex albums ever, is a great album. . . but the vocals ruin it. Well, they don't ruin it, because I still listen to it, but it really is annoying.

Yeah, I agree to an extent. Whenever I played Dream Theater for my dad, he would safy it sounds just like a hair band. And to be honest, it's not that inaccurate, in my opinion.

rael, check out the Tech Extreme genre on here... no glam there.

kibble_alex wrote: Why not MESHUGGAH??? If it says "cheesy 80s vocals" on one side of the coin, then it says "Meshuggah" on the other side. Check um out. I DARE you

Hehe I second that motion.
Meshuggah is so far removed from 80s hair metal. Absolutely crushing.

 Most of the prog metal bands are influence by the '80's metal - exactly hard and heavy and here and there some trash and powermetal. So why is not so obvious that the vocals, the manner of interpretation is took from that era. While symphonic prog bands are more influenced by the '70's prog, that why on some symphonic bands from today you may never found vocal parts like on Fates Warning for example, because they are influence by a diffrent kind of music and manner of interpretation. Always prog metal from today will be influenced by '80's metal, like symphonic or eclectic by the '70's, each genre with thier influence.

actually anything from the tech/post/experimental genre is very removed from almost anything that fits the classical prog metal description. cant think of one band that has that 80's style of vocals. 

Nil Recurring wrote: Opeth

I don't think so, but even so, it doesnt sound so bad as Rael is referring.

Norbert wrote: Rather Neurosis than  Meshuggah, if you ask me. That music really doesn't sound like glam metal.  And  I actually like most DT and SX albums, and Spiral Architect, too.

Edited by Moatilliatta - August 30 2008 at 03:31

^Not singing like Angela Gossow is definitely a good thing!

There are a lot of these "hair metal" type singers in Prog Metal, many growlers just arent good at it (even Akerfeldt on those first two albums) and lets not get started on Black Metal vocals. But, there are some really strong, unique, powerfull and above all pleasent singers in any of the three metal sub genres here. The likes of Gildenlow, Toby Driver, Maynard James Keenan, Anneka van Giersbergan, Devin Townsend,  Akerfeldt, Dameon Wilson, July Kiss, Simmone Simons, Niko Knappe and many others are all excellent.

ya, i dont like the high pitched 80's sound either. as for meshuga, that would be prog metal which really doesnt sound the same. between the buried and me, a life once lost, opeth. strictly in the prog rock section it is pretty much all 80's voice. i really like porcupine tree though. no high squeels there. Personally i love the alice in chains type vocals and wish a super technical, jazz theory prog rok band would come out with those type of vocals.