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Dim 
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 17 2007
Location: Austin TX
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 Topic: James labrie vs. maynard james Keenan
Posted: May 06 2007 at 13:00 |
the two biggest names in prog metal right now, who's better?
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Kurpij
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Joined: November 21 2006
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Posted: May 06 2007 at 13:04 |
Both are good singers.
Very emotive voices, but technically, LaBrie is better, has better range.
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TheProgtologist
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Posted: May 06 2007 at 13:05 |
Maynard just "does it" for me more than Labrie.
I like his lyrics better,and Labrie can't hold and sustain a note anywhere near as long as Maynard can.
Edited by TheProgtologist - May 06 2007 at 13:06
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chamberry
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Posted: May 06 2007 at 13:07 |
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Even though I've been a longer fan of DT than Tool I have to vote for Maynard. He sings with more emotions plus I love his voice in A Perfect Circle's 13th Step.
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magnus
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Joined: November 19 2006
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Posted: May 06 2007 at 13:16 |
Both are amazing. I'm not really sure I can choose one, they're poles apart. Technically, LaBrie is of course waay better, and I absolutely love all the vocals on IAW and Awake, and I love most of the later work nearly as well. But Maynard... His tortured vocals are just amazing, and the way he screams for half a minute in The Grudge... it's just heartwrenching. I'll have to decide some other time, this is just too hard 
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The scattered jigsaw of my redemption laid out before my eyes Each piece as amorphous as the other - Each piece in its lack of shape a lie 
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GoldenSpiral
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Posted: May 06 2007 at 13:23 |
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If anyone's voice has the power to ruin a band, it's LaBrie. He seems to suffer from 'trying too hard' and it seems like when he tries to sing with a 'metal' voice he's just trying to be someone he's not. I also dislike that fake vibrato that he tries to use.
Maynard just is who he is all the time and his voice is pretty great.
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KoS
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Joined: May 17 2005
Location: Los Angeles
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Posted: May 06 2007 at 13:37 |
The guy in my sig.  I am one of the the few people who actually like LaBrie's voice but as people have said , he tries to do something he can't.
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KansasRushDream
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Posted: May 06 2007 at 13:56 |
 TheProgtologist wrote:
Maynard just "does it" for me more than Labrie.
I like his lyrics better,and Labrie can't hold and sustain a note anywhere near as long as Maynard can. |
I disagree with the sustain comment (especially from the "James LaBrie Scream" YTMND entry where he sustains a note for 14 seconds on a live recording), but lyrically you may have a point there. For me though it's definitely James, especially with his voice harkening back to Images and Words and Awake days on Score (although I am scared of what is coming on Systematic Chaos from what I hear from others). I'll take James over anybody in his Images and Words and Awake days. Even though the melodies in Dream Theater's music are much less interesting and leave little room for showcasing James' talent nowadays, he still shows he can hang with the best of them on Ayreon's "The Human Equation," his own "Elements of Persuasion," and on older tracks featured on Score. Personally I think Elements of Persuasion and The Human Equation are the 3rd and 4th best vocal efforts of his career respectively, and they are from 2005 and 2004 respectively as well. I'll take LaBrie.
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Spacemac
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Joined: June 15 2005
Location: Poland
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Posted: May 06 2007 at 13:56 |
james keenan 
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enteredwinter
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Posted: May 06 2007 at 14:02 |
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Keenan. Technical proficiency aside, for me it's a simple matter:
Keenan is one of my favorite singers ever. LaBrie may very well be my least favorite singer among music I own.
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MajesterX
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 30 2005
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Posted: May 06 2007 at 14:06 |
Kurpij wrote:
Both are good singers.
Very emotive voices, but technically, LaBrie is better, has better range. |
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Equality 7-2521
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Joined: August 11 2005
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Points: 15783
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Posted: May 06 2007 at 14:18 |
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Maynard's sustain is mindblowing. He also sings with much more energy
and general emotion than LaBrie. Plus, when LaBrie is at his worst it's
utterly attrocious.
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"One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. "
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The T
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Posted: May 06 2007 at 14:29 |
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There's no question, one is a good wailer, good angst-boy, the other one sings. You know, LaBrie is one of my favorite singers and even though he can actually sound weak when he tries to do things he can't (like sing with the same power as Bruce Dickinson), when he's at his best, he can SING. When it comes to melody, he can deliver. The other one is capable but if I wanted Keenan to sing a soft melody he'd probably ruin it making it look like an schizophrenia attack. Good singer for Tool's style of music, but I doubt he would be somebody outside Tool. He can sing very well, but only Tool's music. LaBrie can sing other styles.
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Equality 7-2521
Forum Senior Member
Joined: August 11 2005
Location: Philly
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Posted: May 06 2007 at 14:34 |
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^ Obviously you've never heard any A Perfect Circle. If you want someone to sound weak listen to Keenan on 3 Libras or Orestes.
Saying LaBrie can sing other styles is a stretch too. He butchers a Hetfield imitation throughout ToT
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"One had to be a Newton to notice that the moon is falling, when everyone sees that it doesn't fall. "
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Kid.A
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Joined: April 08 2007
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Posted: May 06 2007 at 15:14 |
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James Keenan, no doubt in my mind
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Melomaniac
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Joined: May 07 2006
Location: Canada
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Posted: May 06 2007 at 15:27 |
enteredwinter wrote:
LaBrie may very well be my least favorite singer among music I own.
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Seconded. As I said in another thread, I watched the Live at Budokan DVD again yesterday evening, and he is the weakest link in the band. Why ? If you record albums, make sure you can do live what you record, which, obviously, isn't always Labrie's case. It's as if he sings melodies the others from the band write for him, and if that's the case, I understand the situation a bit more, but still...
Would love to hear Sebastian Bach (Skid Row) or Russell Allen (Symphony X) sing in Dream Theater, now THAT would be something...
Anyways, I vote for Keenan.
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"One likes to believe in the freedom of Music" - Neil Peart, The Spirit of Radio
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puma
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Joined: April 15 2007
Location: Boston, MA
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Posted: May 06 2007 at 15:36 |
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Well yeah, if technical skill was the definition of good music, DT wouldn't go through all the criticism they do
Maynard is a better showman, and a better source of emotion rather than a medium through which to say things. Labrie's voice is cutting and clashes with the rest of the band, while Maynard's voice almost sounds like an electric guitar at times (vocal distortion aside)
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lightbulb_son
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Joined: March 20 2006
Location: United States
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Posted: May 06 2007 at 15:55 |
GoldenSpiral wrote:
If anyone's voice has the power to ruin a band, it's LaBrie. He seems to suffer from 'trying too hard' and it seems like when he tries to sing with a 'metal' voice he's just trying to be someone he's not. I also dislike that fake vibrato that he tries to use.
Maynard just is who he is all the time and his voice is pretty great. |
Exactly. And Maynard's lyrics are incredible as well.
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When the world is sick Can't no one be well But I dreamt we were all beautiful and strong 
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Dim
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 17 2007
Location: Austin TX
Status: Offline
Points: 6890
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Posted: May 06 2007 at 16:25 |
The T wrote:
There's no question, one is a good wailer, good angst-boy, the other one sings. You know, LaBrie is one of my favorite singers and even though he can actually sound weak when he tries to do things he can't (like sing with the same power as Bruce Dickinson), when he's at his best, he can SING. When it comes to melody, he can deliver. The other one is capable but if I wanted Keenan to sing a soft melody he'd probably ruin it making it look like an schizophrenia attack. Good singer for Tool's style of music, but I doubt he would be somebody outside Tool. He can sing very well, but only Tool's music. LaBrie can sing other styles. |
Have you even heard wings for mary part one? the whole song is meynard singing a soft melody! And he pulls it off better than Roger waters in the flesh!
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darkmatter
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Joined: November 23 2006
Location: New Jersey
Status: Offline
Points: 2760
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Posted: May 06 2007 at 17:03 |
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As much as I like James LaBrie, I pick Maynard by a huge margin. This isn't even close to me. Maynard has an amazing voice (it's even better in A Perfect Circle), he has great vocal range (so does LaBrie, but he seems to struggle at higher notes), and he puts tons of emotion into his singing.
Oh, and don't read this and think I don't like LaBrie. I like LaBrie a lot, but Maynard is my favorite singer.
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James labrie vs. maynard james Keenan
