EXTREMEEE!!!!! metal vocals

The amount of times I would be absolutely loving some music, and thinking “oh yeah, this is for me”, only to be ruined as soon as the vocalist opened his mouth seemed to be unreal. I hated the vocals for ruining the music for me. They were a barrier, that seemed to deny me entry into a world I could tell was otherwise one I would most likely enjoy,

It took me years to get over my aversion to harsh vocals. I eventually managed to build up a tolerance to them. I still didn’t like them (AT ALL!!!), but I could manage to listen past them, in able to enjoy the music. Once I had managed this, a whole new world opened up to me. There were some bands that I still couldn’t listen to, because not all harsh vocals are alike. Some are far harsher than others, and many were still beyond my tolerance level. I also couldn’t listen to any bands that utilised only harsh vocals at this time. I needed to have a mix of clean and harsh (the greater the ratio of the former to the latter, the better).

But over time, my tolerance seemed to almost naturally grow. There are still bands I can’t listen to, and some vocals I can’t deal with, but I can listen to a lot. And in some cases (a minority, it is true), I actually not only tolerate the vocals, but enjoy them! 😱 I still prefer to have some clean vocals, but I no longer be require them, and I do own and enjoy some albums that have solely harsh vocals.

What it comes down to me, always, is the music. If the music is good enough, I can hear last the vocals. And, to be fair, this is something I have always done (and in some cases HAD to do). I like Yes, but can’t stand Jon Anderson’s vocals. I like Smashing Pumpkins, but can’t stand Billy Corgan’s vocals. For a lot of people, those vocals are one of the main drawcards. For me, they are no different in many ways to harsh vocals - a hurdle that I need to get over to enjoy the music.

Those vocalists certainly seem like they are very upset about something, I just can't quite make out what.

I had an album of In The Woods, and I've got a CD by Ulver. Very good ! 

I usually respond with a growling "No it's not"

I don't mind little bits of growling, but constant throat-vomit sounds turn me off.

I especially don't like it when I'm listening in my car, with the windows open.  It's embarrassing when someone hearts me go by.

It's interesting though, my mom listens to this kind of stuff, with growling vocals and blast beats (another thing I find is just white noise that distracts from the music), but she finds stuff like Zappa or ELP noise and 'nervous'. Go figure.