Death growl: Difference between revisions

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The '''death grunt''' (also referred to as "harsh vocals", '''death growl''', '''death vocals''', '''dry-lung vocals''' and (usually derogatorily or humorously) '''[[Cookie Monster]] vocals'''<ref>{{cite web | title=Cookie Monster Vocals | work=about.com | url=http://heavymetal.about.com/od/glossary/g/gl_cookiemonste.htm | accessdate=January 21 | accessyear=2006}} See further examples of this usage at {{cite web | title=The cookie monster vocal explained | work=rocknerd | url=http://rocknerd.org/article.pl?sid=04/07/15/1626209 | accessdate=January 21 | accessyear=2006}} and {{cite web | title=The categorization of death metal | work=[[metalstorm.ee]] | url=http://www.metalstorm.ee/forum/topic.php?topic_id=2153 | accessdate=January 21 | accessyear=2006}}</ref>) is a growling vocalization style usually employed by vocalists of the [[death metal]] musical genre, but also used in a variety of other [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]] subgenres. Stylistic similarities in vocals can be heard in [[grindcore]] and [[hardcore punk]] bands, among others. [[Melodic death metal]], [[Goregrind]], [[doom metal]] and [[gothic metal]] bands tend to use the technique with substantial modification.

{{Short description|Vocal style in music}}

{{For|the sound sometimes made by the dying|Death rattle}}

[[File:Growl (wokal).ogg|right|thumb|Demonstration]]

[[File:George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher of Cannibal Corpse.jpg|thumb|[[George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher]], of American death metal band [[Cannibal Corpse]]]]

[[File:Dying Fetus Party.San Metal Open Air 2018 02.jpg|thumb|Sean Beasley, one of the two growling vocalists of American death metal band [[Dying Fetus]].]]

The '''death growl''', or simply '''growl''', is an [[extended vocal technique]] usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in [[death metal]] and other [[Extreme metal|extreme]] [[Heavy metal genres|subgenres]] of [[heavy metal music]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfbg.com/38/42/art_music_metal.html|title=Voices from hell|access-date=21 April 2007|author=York, Will|date=July 2004|publisher=San Francisco Bay Guardian|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303204411/http://www.sfbg.com/38/42/art_music_metal.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Sometimes death growl vocals are criticized for their "ugliness" and inability to be understood without an accompanying lyric sheet, but the presentation of gruff vocals contributes to death metal's abrasive style and often dark and obscene subject matter.<ref name="ReferenceA">Sharpe-Young, Garry. ''Death Metal'', {{ISBN|0-9582684-4-4}}</ref>

Death grunts are [[guttural]] and often difficult to decipher, particularly to listeners unfamiliar with the style. Most vocalists who employ the technique choose to vocalize indecipherably, such as [[Sylvain Houde]] from [[Kataklysm]] or [[Lord Worm]] from [[Cryptopsy]]. However, some vocalists vocalize such that their lyrics remain intelligible, [[Karl Willetts]] from [[Bolt Thrower (band)|Bolt Thrower]] being an example. Few female singers make use of the technique, [[Lori Bravo]] ([[Nuclear Death]]) and [[Angela Gossow]] ([[Arch Enemy (band)|Arch Enemy]]) being exceptions.

==TechniqueDefinition==

Death metal, in particular, is associated with growled vocals; it tends to be lyrically and thematically darker and more morbid than other forms of metal, and features vocals which attempt to evoke chaos, death, and misery by being "usually very deep, guttural, and unintelligible".<ref>David Konow. ''Bang Your Head:The Rise and Fall of Heavy Metal''. Three Rivers Press, 2002, p.228.</ref> Natalie Purcell notes, "Although the vast majority of death metal bands use very low, beast-like, almost indiscernible growls as vocals, many also have high and screechy or operatic vocals, or simply deep and forcefully-sung vocals."<ref name=purcell>Purcell, Natalie J. ''Death Metal Music: The Passion and Politics of a Subculture''. McFarland, 2003, p. 11.</ref> Sociologist Deena Weinstein has noted of death metal: "Vocalists in this style have a distinctive sound, growling and snarling rather than singing the words, and making ample use of the voice distortion box."<ref>Weinstein, Deena. ''Heavy Metal: A Cultural Sociology.'' MacMillan, 1991, p. 51.</ref>

==Terminology and technique==

Death grunts can be obtained with various voice effects, but the effects are usually used to enhance rather than create, if they are used at all. However, virtually all singers produce them with their bare voice. Voice teachers teach different techniques, but long-term use eventually wears the voice out, so any technique is actually for "less harm", not for harmless vocalization. Most "correct" death grunts use the [[false vocal cords]] or "[[Thoracic diaphragm|diaphragm]]" instead.

Death growls and their variants are also known as '''death metal vocals''', '''brutal vocals''', '''guttural vocals''', '''death grunts''', '''growled vocals''', '''low pitched vocals''', '''low growls''', '''unclean vocals''' and '''harsh vocals''', and for a different technique, '''[[vocal fry]]''', '''glottal fry''', '''false cord vocals''' and '''death cord vocals'''. Despite the misconceptions and stereotypes that are associated with them, usually by non-extreme metal fans, death growls require traditional clean/melodic vocal techniques to be done properly.<ref>''Death Metal Growl: The Story and Technique''. heavychronicle.com</ref>

{{quote|...You have to change your way of thinking about death metal vocals. Many metal singers think that it’s all about yelling or screaming. That’s actually not the case unless you want permanent damage to your voice. Rather… singing death metal is an organic vocal effect that you learn to master. And it’s actually the opposite of what many think.<ref>Jason Stallworth. ''How to Sing Extreme Metal without Killing Your Voice''</ref>}}

==History and variations==

The use of growling, "monstrous" vocals for ominous effect in [[rock music]] can be traced at least as far back as "[[I Put a Spell on You]]" by [[Screamin' Jay Hawkins]] in 1956. Though humorous in intent, the 1966 [[novelty song]] "[[Boris the Spider]]" by [[The Who]] features deep, guttural, gurgling growls somewhat similar to those performed by modern death metal vocalists. In the early 1970s, the songs [[Iron Man (song)|"Iron Man"]] by [[Black Sabbath]] and "[[One of These Days]]" by [[Pink Floyd]] both contain brief passages of ominously growled, low-pitched (albeit studio-manipulated) vocals against a heavy background of rock [[riffs]]. The 'Neanderthal' from [[Tubular Bells]] by [[Mike Oldfield]] may also be considered in a similar vein.

In June 2007, [[Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre]] in the Netherlands reported that, because of the increased popularity of growling in the region, several patients who had used improper growling techniques were being treated for [[edema]] and [[Polyp (medicine)#Laryngeal polyps|polyps]] on the [[vocal folds]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-06-28 |title='Grunten' sloopt de stem |trans-title=Growling destroys the human voice |url=https://www.nd.nl/varia/varia/714557/-grunten-sloopt-de-stem |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=[[Nederlands Dagblad]] |language=nl}}</ref>

The advent of the death grunt as it is used today coincided roughly with the gradual emergence of death metal, and it is thus difficult to pinpoint a specific individual as the inventor of the technique. Different vocalists likely developed the style over time. The band [[Death (band)|Death]] (and its precursor Mantas) with its two vocalists — initially [[Kam Lee]] and subsequently [[Chuck Schuldiner]] — have been cited as influential (although Schuldiner would eventually switch to a more high pitched screeching style). [[Possessed (band)|Possessed]] is considered by some to be one of the earliest bands to employ death growls, as are [[Necrophagia]] and [[Master (band)|Master]]. Around the same time, bands such as [[Hellhammer]], with [[Tom G. Warrior]] on vocals, and seminal act [[Massacre (band)|Massacre]] also employed a variation of the death grunt.

In 2005, professional vocal coach [[Melissa Cross]] released the instructional DVD <i>The Zen of Screaming</i>, to teach students the proper way to sing in several styles of rock, metal and hardcore. It has since been re-released as a digital download.<ref>''The Zen of Screaming (Digital Download Edition)''</ref>

The vocalists from the British [[grindcore]] band [[Napalm Death]] — consecutively [[Nicholas Bullen|Nic Bullen]], [[Lee Dorrian]] and [[Mark Greenway|Mark "Barney" Greenway]] — further developed the style in the late [[1980s]], adding more aggression and deeper guttural elements to it, while also speeding up delivery of the lyrics. Around the same time, in the United States, [[Chris Reifert]] (from [[Autopsy (band)|Autopsy]]) began combining shrieks with his deep grunts. Also, [[Chris Barnes (singer)|Chris Barnes]] (from [[Cannibal Corpse]]) is notable for having deepened his grunts to tones lower than those which had been recorded at the time. Some death metal bands such as [[Carcass (band)|Carcass]], [[Exhumed (band)|Exhumed]], [[Dying Fetus]], and [[Gorerotted]] have experimented using two vocalists, alternating vocalization duties between lighter and heavier death growls on their songs. The now-defunct Swedish grindcore band [[Nasum]] also utilised a similar arrangement, with two vocalists alternating between deep growls and high screeches. Vocalists of doom metal bands tend to put more emphasis on adding atmospheric and emotional overtones to their death grunts. [[Nick Holmes]] (from [[Paradise Lost (band)|Paradise Lost]]), [[Darren White]] (from [[Anathema (band)|Anathema]]) and [[Aaron Stainthorpe]] (from [[My Dying Bride]]) were the main developers of grunts within this context, in the early 1990s. Stainthorpe was one of the first to combine grunts and clean singing, a technique which was developed further in large part by [[Opeth]]'s [[Mikael Åkerfeldt]]. In gothic metal, the death grunts are typically contrasted by female [[opera]]tic vocals.

The low, raspy, aggressive pitch of [[Lemmy|Lemmy Kilmister]] of [[Motörhead]], [[Conrad Lant|Conrad "Cronos" Lant]] of [[Venom (band)|Venom]] and [[Tom Warrior]] of [[Celtic Frost]] were not unlike the death growl and may be thought of as precursors to the current style.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110007902 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090103110228/http://opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110007902 |title=Leisure & Arts|archive-date=3 January 2009|work=opinionjournal.com|access-date=29 March 2015}}</ref>

[[Funeral doom]] metal bands have taken a different approach to death grunts. Deep guttural vocals are often replaced by hoarser, almost whispered grunts. Examples of vocalists which make use of the technique are "Matti" (from [[Skepticism (band)|Skepticism]]) and [[John Paradiso]] (from [[Evoken]]).

There are other genres which have their own approach to death growls, mainly [[Deathgrind]] and [[Brutal Death Metal]]. Here, the vocals are often pushed to the extreme, being as deep, guttural and indecipherable as possible without the use of any effects. Examples are [[Frank Mullen]] of [[Suffocation (band)|Suffocation]], ex-[[Disgorge]] member [[Matti Way]], [[Joe Horvath]] of [[Circle of Dead Children]] and [[Ruben Rosas]] of [[Devourment]]. There is also an inhaled death grunt style. This technique is often referred to as "pig squeals" or (more plainly) inhales. Examples of vocalists using this technique are [[Phlegeton]] of [[Wormed]] and [[Jamie Bailey]] of [[Brodequin]].

==Key death grunt vocalists==

Vocalists essential to the development of the death grunt and the bands they represent are:

<!-- Don't update singers without discussion on the talk page -->

* [[Mikael Åkerfeldt]] ([[Opeth]], [[Bloodbath]])

* [[Chris Barnes (singer)|Chris Barnes]] ([[Cannibal Corpse]], [[Six Feet Under (band)|Six Feet Under]], [[Torture Killer]])

* [[Jeff Becerra]] ([[Possessed (band)|Possessed]])

* [[Nicholas Bullen|Nic Bullen]] ([[Napalm Death]])

* [[Lee Dorrian]] ([[Napalm Death]])

* [[Martin van Drunen]] ([[Pestilence (band)|Pestilence]], [[Asphyx]])

* [[Mark Greenway|Mark "Barney" Greenway]] ([[Benediction (band)|Benediction]], [[Napalm Death]])

* [[Nick Holmes]] (pre-1995 [[Paradise Lost (band)|Paradise Lost]])

* [[Sylvain Houde]] ([[Kataklysm]])

* [[Dave Ingram]] ([[Benediction (band)|Benediction]])

* [[Kam Lee]] ([[Massacre (band)|Massacre]], [[Death (band)|Mantas/Death]])

* [[Darren Moore]] ([[Mourning Beloveth]])

* [[Frank Mullen]] ([[Suffocation (band)|Suffocation]])

* [[Chris Reifert]] ([[Autopsy (band)|Autopsy]], [[Abscess (band)|Abscess]], [[The Ravenous]])

* [[Chuck Schuldiner]] ([[Death (band)|Death]])

* [[Aaron Stainthorpe]] ([[My Dying Bride]])

* [[Bill Steer]] ([[Carcass (band)|Carcass]])

* [[John Tardy]] ([[Obituary (band)|Obituary]])

* [[Jeffrey Walker|Jeff Walker]] ([[Carcass (band)|Carcass]])

* [[Darren White]] ([[Anathema (band)|Anathema]])

* [[Karl Willetts]] ([[Bolt Thrower (band)|Bolt Thrower]])

* [[Lord Worm]] ([[Cryptopsy]])

==See also==

* [[Screaming (music)|Screaming (in music)]]

*[[Clean vocals]]

* [[Screaming|Screaming (in general)]]

* [[Strident vowel]]

* [[Harsh voice]]<!-- not to be confused with the general term "harsh vocals" -->

* [[Creaky voice]]<!-- compare vocal fry exhale screams -->

* [[Ingressive sound]]<!-- compare vocal fry inhale screams/pig squeals/"bree" -->

* [[Pharyngealization]]

* [[Voiced epiglottal trill]]

==References==

{{Reflist}}

<references />

==External links==

*[http://www.[wikihow.com/:Do-Harsh-Death-Metal-Vocals ''Learn|How to doDo Harsh Death Metal Vocals'']], from '''www.wikihow.com''' [[WikiHow]]

*[http://opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110007902 ''That's Good Enough for Me: Cookie Monsters of death-metal music''] from '''The [[Wall Street Journal]]''' OpinionJournal [[February 1]], [[2006]]

*[http://www.wikihow.com/Do-Harsh-Death-Metal-Vocals ''Learn to do Death Metal Vocals''] from '''www.wikihow.com'''

*[http://www.wikihow.com/Discussion:Do-Harsh-Death-Metal-Vocals ''More Death Metal Vocals info''] from '''www.wikihow.com'''

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