A Brief How-To: Metal Vocals

**READ THIS, IT HAS ALL THE INFORMATION**

This video is a request piece for a few of my viewers interested in how to perform metal vocals. What you don't see in the video is probably listed here, but if you still have questions, just send me a message.

Metal vocals come from two distinct places. One is your secondary vocal chords, higher up in your throat, almost by your tonsils. The other is your diaphragm, which is in your stomach, just below your lungs.

The easiest way I know of how to flex your secondary vocal chords is to basically make fake gagging noises, almost as if someone was choking you. The noise this action produces is known as "rasp", and by tightening or loosening your secondary vocal chords, you can affect the amount of rasp in your scream. Tighter means more rasp (think Dimmu Borgir vocals) and looser means less rasp (think In Flames vocals).

Your diaphragm is what allows you to breathe. It is located just below your lungs, and by relaxing, it allows your lungs to draw in air. However, when you tighten your diaphragm, it forces air quickly out of your body (like when you blow out candles on a birthday cake). The fastest way to flex your diaphragm is simply to tighten your abdominal muscles. By controlling the power of your diaphragm, you can control the power of your screams. More flex in your diaphragm means more volume, less flex means less volume.

When I first started doing metal vocals, I thought the vocals were simply powerful whispering into the microphone. THIS IS COMPLETELY FALSE. However, forceful whispering is a great place to start when it comes to performing these kinds of vocals, because the muscle activity is extremely similar.

So, now to perform your first metal scream!

First, start forcefully whispering your metal lyrics. Once you start doing that, begin pushing more air into your whispers by flexing your diaphragm. The resulting sound should be pretty close to a quiet metal scream, with the whispers being very harsh. Finally, add the power of your secondary vocal chords.

Basically, if you do some fake gagging while forcing air with your diaphragm, you can get very similar vocals to Dimmu Borgir's lead vocalist, Shagrath. However, if you slowly release the tension on your secondary vocal chords, you will begin to notice the change in pitch and tone as your voice slowly becomes a true metal scream.

Congrats! Hopefully, by this point, your screaming like a pro (or an amateur at least, haha)!

Don't be afraid to experiment with your vocals. Experimentation is the gateway to discovery! However, you should be aware of a few things before you start screaming without a care in the world:

METAL VOCALS DO NOT HURT! This should not be hurting your throat in any way, shape, or form! If you are hurting yourself doing this, YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG! Your throat should not feel dry, or scratchy after you do metal vocals! If it does, lay off the vocal practice for a while, because if you keep it up, you'll damage your throat forever and your vocals will suck! I cannot say this enough because it is just that important!

METAL VOCALS DO NOT DRAIN YOU OF OXYGEN! The screams should come as naturally as singing! If you can hold a note for 20 seconds, chances are you can hold a scream just as long! If you feel unnaturally out of breath after screaming, STOP! Chances are, you're doing it wrong!

Well, enough warning you about things. Just get out there and do it!

---USER SUBMITTED TIPS AND INFO---

YouTube User "kyleandchristian" says:
"A lot of black metal bands don't always have to put too much work into this type of vocals all the time... Overdrive is very common for bands like Immortal. They crank the gain up and the volume down, which, if not used excessively, can provide some variety."

This is very important to keep in mind. A lot of what you hear on a CD or at a concert can easily be manipulated audio. If you can't hit a certain tone, or if the rasp of a singers voice seems a little too unreal, chances are IT IS. Don't kill yourself trying to hit impossible notes, and always keep in mind that everyone's voice is different. Notes or tones that another vocalist might be able to reach may not be possible for another vocalist. Case in point: picture Anders of In Flames trying to scream like Trevor from The Black Dahlia Murder. Probably not too likely...

YouTube User "Down4lyf3" says:
"Just whatever you do, guys, please don't do inhales... You can collapse your lungs and it will hurt your vocal chords."

True metal vocals are done using exhales. If you are inhaling to produce your scream, you can severely hurt yourself. It's that simple.

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If you have any questions, or suggestions to add to this video, just let me know and I won't hesitate to update!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• How
• To
• Metal
• Scream
• Tutorial
• Vocals
• Melodic
• Death
• Metalcore
• Instruction
• Help

[PattonBeowulf]

that's not metal. see Dio/Halford/Dickenson

[ShieldsChosen]

Very well explained dude, thumbs up!

[genreking1]

this is pretty sweet man

[dresen10]

best video out there ! thanks :D i could make a pretty sick growl i didnt even knew i could do!!! haha really awesome.

[DerSockenprinz]

@RhewBleiddiad are you able to sing normaly? if yes practise singing a tone as long as possible and then shouting as long as possible

[WpA09]

does this hurt your voice? i guess it hurts it a little, but nothing major`?

[Ishfunk]

WHISPERING REAAALLLY LOUD! WHISPERS!

[RhewBleiddiad]

@crayzeesheep I can do growls but I can hold them only for 5 secs the fact is that my throat doesn't hurt at all but I run out of air what's going wrong? And also do you know how to do vocals simillar to Norther because I really want to learn how to do this kind of vocals.

[999Veronica]

awesome vid, dude~ I like your teaching style~ haha

[Hipporabbit86]

Hey.. awesome info and tutorial... more? I'm a classical singer that wants to learn how to scream.... so scared of the pipes being damaged!