Actually I do like a limited amount of metalcore, but only when the songwriting is decent. But even then I won't get something like the riffs from "Frantic Disembowelment" (the instrumental version of that made my day) which were freaking sweet.... but the vocals actually destroyed the rhythm of the instrumentals! Funny, eh?

If only a death metal band could figure out how to make their voice sound more tonal and genuinely menacing, that'd be nice... sometimes I'm almost wishing for something like "get Crispin Freeman on vocals" but that ain't gonna happen.

.... holy god creepy... though still Narm when he holds that long vowel, but it's when he speaks that the awesome shines through. That and someone has finally understood that proper reverb is a nice thing to have. Who are these guys? I might want to hunt down a whole album or two...

Didn't think you'd actually like it to be honest... A lot of people (including metal fans) don't like Demilich because of the incredibly exaggerated growls. I personally think they would be better off taking up less of the mix.

But yeah, this is a Finnish band called Demilich, and they have only one album, Nespithe, released in 1993. It was reissued in 2009, but I believe it's out of print. The band's vocalist/guitarist has been working on a high quality reissue of his own in defiance of the incredibly spotty reissues for a very long time - you can follow him on Facebook if you want to get it physically that much.

In the meantime, you could just download it track-by-track from the band's website for free, even in FLAC. Or find a link to an archive for the convenience, the band's okay with that either way.

edited 24th Mar '12 5:24:53 PM by Litis

I love the music to the sound, but still..the vocals kill it for me. I just can't do metal growls. I love a good metal scream in short bursts - Like what tech n9ne does on devil boy, but if its the whole song it also kind of ruins it.

Maybe I'm just picky on my metal because I'm not really a metal head, and most of the metal I do listen too is older stuff like black sabbath, rob zombie, never been much into doom/black/death metal. Only real nu-metal I listen too is static X.

As for Demilich, the song you posted, and how much growls should take in a mix — either you push them back so they don't intrude on the guitars (then growls are just pieces of rhythm) or you go the opposite route and make them as FULL as possible. Demilich do the second. Many many bands fall somewhere in the middle, which to my ears sounds like the worst way to fail at both possibilities that are there.

For what it's worth, I got "into" death growls by listening to Opeth's songs that featured purely clean singing and progressing from there, learning first to tolerate the growls and then actively enjoy them.

Here's a (personal favourite) song of theirs that has examples of both singing styles.

????

I did that with Epica.

Yeah, the 90's: that was, like, really long ago.

I would probably like a lot of recent (as in post-1990) mainstream rock fare if it wasn't for that godawful Perishing Alt Rock Voice.

I agree.

Yeah, Opeth was my gateway too (along with Scar Symmetry later).

IMO every single growl-hater in the world should listen to Opeth

The funny thing about a lot of post-grunge-era mainstream rock is that it takes up all the worst aspects of grunge and runs with them while utterly missing that movements better points. It's... embarrassing.

Seriously, there are some genius uses of the Perishing Indie Voice; they just aren't in mainstream rock music.

Well, for me it's not about good or bad uses. I just can't stand that type of singing, no matter how well it's 'used', and won't enjoy any song that features it unless that song has some VERY big "redeeming qualities".

I can't remember ever disliking harsh vocals. I was pretty taken aback when I first heard screaming (through Trivium, I believe), but as soon as I formed an opinion on them it was 'that sounds cool'. I like raw, emotional screams, but over time I've developed a preference for inhumanity in growled vocals; they're best when as much of the human voice has been replaced by pure distortion as possible, the pinnacle of this being Marcus Bischoff from Heaven Shall Burn, who pretty much has the voice of an Elder God.

Same here. I don't understand why so many people, even many metalheads, have a problem with them.

It probably helps that Ensiferum was the first band that really got me into metal.

edited 26th Mar '12 4:07:30 PM by MidnightRambler

Because sounds harsher than radio rock lie firmly outside "many people"'s comfort zones, and "many people" mind violations of their comfort zones - homosexuality for instance - very much. It's a fact of life.

edited 26th Mar '12 4:27:25 PM by Litis

Yeah, I get that your average chart-pop fan wouldn't like it, but many avowed metalheads shy away from them as well. I've heard lots of people - including someone on This Very Forum, IIRC - say about bands like Ensiferum or the CoB that 'I'd like it if it wasn't for all the screaming!'

Said "avowed metalheads" may be giant pussies and putting on a show to seem tougher only like the radio rock equivalent of metal, thus placing them squarely back into the aforementioned group of "many people".

edited 26th Mar '12 5:01:41 PM by Litis

Anyone think that maybe more people could gradually get acclimated to death growl-style harsh vocals if more radio rock bands started incorporating them in their music? Just a thought...

(and chances are, if that happened, a fair number of metalheads would go "It's Popular, Now It Sucks"...but it would be hilarious for me to hear Wormed-style frog vocals on the radio)

I would like country music if not for:

• The accents. I am instinctually repulsed by hick accents.
• The repetitive themes. This would work if the themes were interesting.
• The attitude of country music stations. I can't bring myself to like a station that talks about all music that isn't country like some unpatriotic mockery of America.

I would like modern metal if the bands who made it would do two things...

• remember what a melody is.
• actually bother to find a singer, instead of just tossing a wolverine in top-loader and hitting "spin cycle" when it's time to record vocals.

Granted, there are exceptions...and I've never found metal lyrics all that cheesy (well, actually I do but it's part of the charm, I like Dio, early Queensrÿche and Iron Maiden for crying out loud). But in most cases meh.

I can understand the appeal of really loud music and screaming for vocals; I went to a Walls Of Jericho concert shortly after my divorce and found moshing to "Fuck The American Dream" to be pretty cathartic. I just don't get why you'd want to listen to something like that on album.

Try power metal. Closest modern metal to the glory of Maiden and Dio. One of the few genres not hugely influenced by post-Judas Priest thrash.

Fist band tha comes to mind is Blind Guardian. Fast instrumentals without too much distortion, operatic vocals mixed with occasionally harder-edged stuff (though never growls), and the obligatory Maiden-esque lyrics.

edited 26th Mar '12 10:10:38 PM by Exelixi

@Exe: there have been some power metal bands that I like, but not enough to get into. I'm kind of particular about metal; it either has to be so cheesy it's awesome or bring something new to the table, and while the first is easy to find the second seems to usually come at the small price of the band sort of sucking.