Most versatile Prog-Metal singer!
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Polls
Forum Description: Create polls on topics related to progressive music
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=49475
Printed Date: August 13 2025 at 17:36
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Most versatile Prog-Metal singer!
Posted By: The Crow
Subject: Most versatile Prog-Metal singer!
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 11:05
|
Maybe this poll has been done before...
But I find it really interesting anyway! The decission of wich singers should be in this poll was really hard... But finally I decided to include the most versatile 9 in my opinion, and I leave the "Other" question if you are not agree with my decission. I restricted the singers not only in Progressive Metal, but Prog Metal in general (Experimental and Tech metal too). I tried to be objetive in the choice, so I hope you are also objetive. So please, don't vote for you favourite one, but the one you think has a most verstile voice. Let's see who wins! |
Replies:
Posted By: The Pessimist
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 11:09
|
It was between Maynard and Mikael... But because Opeth are my favourite band at the moment, Mikael it is.
------------- "Market value is irrelevant to intrinsic value." Arnold Schoenberg |
Posted By: sleeper
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 11:10
|
Gildenlow, he makes his voice do as much as Gabriel and Hammil ever did.
------------- Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005 
|
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 11:14
^ agreed. 
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/release-polls/pa" rel="nofollow - Release Polls Listened to: 
|
Posted By: darksideof
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 11:34
|
goes like this
1 Russell Allen. Mr. Allen does it all and quiet amazing well.
2 Maynard James Keenan
3 Daniel Gildenlow
4 Mikael Akerfeldt
5 Mariusz Duda
there is a band called wastefall from Greece that has awesome singer his name is Domenik Papaemmanouil. a highly recommended band by the fans of Pain of Salvaiton.
another verstile singer is Jørn Lande from the band Ark too band the band managed make only 2 studio albums. but Jørn Lande is a incredible singer. Even my wife how isnt' a metal or prog fan like his voice and you know that is something.  ------------- http://darksideofcollages.blogspot.com/ http://www.metalmusicarchives.com/ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Darksideof-Collages/ |
Posted By: Kazuzu
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 13:25
|
Daniel Gildenlow, Mikael Akerfeldt and Dan Swanö, he is just as versatile as Mikael, or maybe even more, just listen to Edge of Sanity(death growls and mellow vocals), Nightingale(mellow vocals) or Steel(80's heavy/power/speed metal higher-as-f**k vocals). ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Kazuzu/?chartstyle=basicrt10"> 
|
Posted By: Norbert
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 13:25
|
Daniel is really versatile, and brilliant IMHO. Devon Graves was as Buddy Lackey the best. It's a bit unfair, that he has 0 votes now, he will get mine, beside the wonderful guitar playing his voice makes the classic Psychotic Waltz albums so memorable. |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 13:44
^ you have a point there ... as Buddy Lackey he almost compares to Peter Hammill.
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/release-polls/pa" rel="nofollow - Release Polls Listened to:
|
Posted By: Treasure
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 14:04
|
Mikael Akerfeldt, only because his harmonic vocals are THE BEST IN METAL. ------------- 
http://www.last.fm/user/YertGuy - http://www.last.fm/user/YertGuy |
Posted By: The Crow
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 14:07
Hmmm... I will give this band from Greece an oportunity! It sounds pretty well. I'm agree with you... Jorn Lande has a great voice. But he is involved in so many groups and projects, that I did forget his relation with Prog-Metal. Nevertheless, I think that Lande is more interested in Hard Rock than in prog... But he has a really interesting and worthy career! Greetings! |
darksideof wrote:Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 14:17
|
^ Jorn Lande in Prog: - Ark - Burn the Sun - Beyond Twilight - The Devil's Hall of Fame - Ayreon - 01011001 ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/release-polls/pa" rel="nofollow - Release Polls Listened to:
|
Posted By: The Crow
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 14:42
Jorn Lande in Hard Rock: - Nikolo Kotzev "Nostradamus". - Allen-Lande "The Battle", "The Revenge". - Jorn "Starfire", "Worldchanger", "Born to Every Nation", "The Duke", "Unocking the Past", "The Gathering", "Lonely are the Brave". - Vagabond "Vagabond" - The Snakes "Once Bitten" etc, etc... This is what I meant! Of course he participated in some prog rock and prog metal albums, but his style and carrer is more oriented towards Hard Rock. I think his voice is perfect for this style, in wich he shines specially in my opinion. Best regards!
|
Posted By: sleeper
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 15:14
I've heard a couple of wastefall songs, its surprising just how much the dude sounds like Gildenlow in timbre, but he has non of DG's dynamics. ------------- Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005
|
Posted By: The T
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 15:17
Agreed... Not only a singer.. an actor... a theater character... from this list, without doubt the most versatile.... ------------- 
|
Posted By: horsewithteeth11
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 16:10
I really wonder who I'm voting for?  ------------- 
|
Posted By: eon_
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 17:49
|
Gildenlow definitely. One of the greatest prog singers ever...
------------- Spiral out, keep going... |
Posted By: Drew
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 17:53
|
Mikael Akerfeldt by far. Devin is second, and Maynard third. ------------- |
Posted By: Queen By-Tor
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 18:18
|
Being only familiar with a few of the singer this poll has opened my eyes to how much more Prog Metal I need to get No vote, but I was thinking Maynard until I thought - "can I imagine him outside of Tool... no". |
Posted By: Genesister
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 18:38
| Daniel Gildenlow. How is this even a poll? I thought it was common knowledge that he is the best prog metal vocalist. |
Posted By: horsewithteeth11
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 18:42
Now that I'm looking at the list more carefully, I'm surprised that Labrie isn't on here
-------------
|
Posted By: Queen By-Tor
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 18:48
|
I'm surprised that no one brought that up yet more than I'm surprised he's not there
|
Posted By: Plankowner
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 19:11
|
Daniel Gildenlow fits. |
Posted By: ProgBagel
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 21:35
| Gildenlow bar none. |
Posted By: el böthy
Date Posted: June 16 2008 at 23:48
|
Whaaaaat? No James Labrie? jajaja, my vote goes to Gildenlöw!!! ------------- "You want me to play what, Robert?" 
|
Posted By: The Crow
Date Posted: June 17 2008 at 02:40
I think that every singer in this list surpases James LaBrie in terms of vocal versatility... Though I love Dream Theater! |
Posted By: b_olariu
Date Posted: June 17 2008 at 04:23
| Russell Allen from your list follow closely by Dan Swano. |
Posted By: sleeper
Date Posted: June 17 2008 at 11:03
I think Labrie is a good singer, but he's not that versatile. ------------- Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005
|
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: June 17 2008 at 11:16
|
I also wouldn't call Akerfeldt a versatile singer ... he switches between two distinctly different styles, but Gildenlow uses like half a dozen.
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/release-polls/pa" rel="nofollow - Release Polls Listened to:
|
Posted By: darksideof
Date Posted: June 17 2008 at 11:21
Agree!! and in his early days he used to scream like Bloody Mary!  ------------- http://darksideofcollages.blogspot.com/ http://www.metalmusicarchives.com/ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Darksideof-Collages/ |
Posted By: The Crow
Date Posted: June 17 2008 at 11:34
In my opinion, Akerfeldt makes more than switch between growl and mellow singing... Through the years, his clean vocals have improved very much, giving his singing a lot of textures and changes. This is more evident in "Watershed", where he even "break" his usually cristal clear mellow vocals, in songs like Burden or Hessian Peel. His double vocal harmonies are also very good, specially in the last Opeth release... And in The Lotus Eater, he has some surprising high-pitched voices. This is the reason I included him in this poll! Of course, in the first Opeth releases, his vocals were not so diverse. Speaking about Gildenlow... I'm agree with you, he is incredibly versatile, and his vocal range is huge. But he sings almost the same in every Pain of Salvation album. Maybe in BE, he experimented with new vocal sounds... But if you hear "Entropia", and "Scarsick" later (apart from the caress of quality the last has...) you will realize he sings not really different. This is the reason my vote goes clearly to Devin Townsend... His singing is different in every album he has made, and his vocal range in just awesome. He can create every type of growl (from brutal death to black metal...), and his clean vocals have an incredible range, with nothing to envy the Gildenlow's one. In my opinion, Townsend is the most versatile singer in metal today. Best regards! |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: June 17 2008 at 12:08
|
^ still, Gildenlow has recorded theatralic parts, rap parts, extreme whining/whispering and falsetto screams within 2 octave intervals. Things which Akerfeldt hasn't done ... which is no problem for me, this thread is about versatility and not about how much we enjoy the vocals. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/release-polls/pa" rel="nofollow - Release Polls Listened to:
|
Posted By: StyLaZyn
Date Posted: June 17 2008 at 13:23
|
I can not believe that Russell Allen is doing so poorly. Have any of you really listened to him sing? This guy has an amazing voice and range. Not that the other guys are bad, but Allen is light years beyond them in ability. ------------- 
|
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: June 17 2008 at 13:37
|
^ He's my favorite metal singer, but not as versatile as Gildenlow. First and foremost he's a "metal shouter", but within that domain he has an amazing bandwidth of expression.
------------- https://awesomeprog.com/release-polls/pa" rel="nofollow - Release Polls Listened to:
|
Posted By: The T
Date Posted: June 17 2008 at 14:06
Labrie is my favorite singer... but that doesn't mean I think he's so versatile.. I just put versatility in a singer very low in my list ofd requirements.... But again, Labrie is not that versatile... He sings melody very well, he sings metal very well.. but don't aski him to get violent, or to "rap" (that would be a disgrace and an embarrasment.... ).... He's not that versatile-------------
|
Posted By: The T
Date Posted: June 17 2008 at 14:08
I don't agree Allen is a "shouter". He still manages to sing, though he also shouts at the same time.... For true shouters, I guess we can go to the atrocious "singers" in most metal-tech-whatever-core bands like Dillinger Escape Plan... those people don't sing at all, don't growl, they just shout... IMO -------------
|
Posted By: StyLaZyn
Date Posted: June 17 2008 at 14:55
I have to agree. How one can consider growling singing is something I just can't come to grips with. If someone could burp sing effectively, would that make them a good singer? I've listened to plenty of Riverside, Opeth, and PoS. Still, Allen is eons vocally better to my ears. He exhibits a tremendous range, low to high. Only in the recent SX albums has he given in to the new vocal metal style, which I think does no justice to him. The earlier albums are the best examples.
This isn't about popularity of singers, or is it?
-------------
|
Posted By: BroSpence
Date Posted: June 19 2008 at 02:56
| Maynard Maynardson. |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: June 19 2008 at 03:21
I know what you're trying to say. On my website I introduced two different tags: "shouting" and "screaming". I know this might seem to be an odd distinction, but consider this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screamo - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screamo It describes exactly what the Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist is doing. On the other hand, you often hear metal vocalists being described as "shouters". I think the most iconic shouter is Ronnie James Dio. Shouting is very close to (clean) singing - it's still very melodic - but more pressure is applied and the voice becomes more "sharp" and - depending on the vocalist - a good deal of "grit" is added (for example listen to Russell Allen on The Odyssey). I should write a wikipedia entry about these vocal styles! ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/release-polls/pa" rel="nofollow - Release Polls Listened to:
|
Posted By: StyLaZyn
Date Posted: June 19 2008 at 08:11
I find it very interesting that RJD was a shouter. Sure at times I can see this, but his vocal control put him somewhere between opera and pure pop (boy band) vocals. The 80's vocalists really seemed to go after this quality, especially with the Hair Metal genre. Another fine example of fantastic quality vocals is Geoff Tate of QR.
Shouter? I consider Henry Rollins closer to a shouter (i.e. Liar). He did not have a very controlled singing voice. In fact, he was not much of a singer, IMO. Devin Townsend bridged the singer-shouter. He could sing, but also chose to shout lyrics.
This said, Allen is near to never a shouter. He does have a ballsy quality. Super machismo type vocals. Like I mentioned, the more recent releases he abandons for the most part, his vocal style that proved his superiority in Symph/Metal Prog, and it extended beyond that. Comparing him to some of Prog's top vocalists should be strongly considered. The other choices in the list, not so much.
I am not a big fan of LaBrie, however, he also should not be discounted. His trained voice is obviously one that needs to be highlighted in the records as one of Prog's best. -------------
|
Posted By: sleeper
Date Posted: June 19 2008 at 12:45
I agree that Allen has a huge range, though I think Gildenlow matches it (certainly he comes close at least) but this poll is about versatility, and you need more than just a an inhuman range. Its why I didnt consider Allen, though I think he's a great singer I dont find him particulalry versatile, while I think growling is the only thing DG hasnt done, and he's come close to that on Beyond the Pale. ------------- Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005
|
Posted By: preqT0THEseq7
Date Posted: June 19 2008 at 13:11
Ummm...have you ever heard of Mikael Akerfeldt? ------------- Idk, My BFF Steve. http://imageshack.us"> 
|
Posted By: Norbert
Date Posted: June 19 2008 at 13:35
|
Daniel sings Akerfeldt out of his pants. Period. |
Posted By: The Crow
Date Posted: June 19 2008 at 13:58
This is a poll, because my idea was not to find the best Prog-Metal vocalist... But the most versatile one! My intention was having an objective opinion, because saying "the best" it doesn't mean nothing more than your favourite! And being versatile, in my opinion, is not a synonime of being a good singer, or someone you specially like on microphone... I think it's a more objective subject. Of course, there are singers with a huge range, and they are great... But I've heard some versatile voices, wich are totally spoiled because the lack of musical habilities of its owner. For example, Zachary Stevens, former vocalist of Savatage, it's one of the best metal singers I've heard... His vocal melodies are stunning, he sings with passion and in a very dramatic way, and he is always in tune. His voice is not really versatile... But in my opinion, he easily surpase almost all the singers I've included in this poll. Just because I think that quality and versatility are different things, although usually they come together. Greetings! |
Posted By: Treasure
Date Posted: June 19 2008 at 14:01
|
Honestly, I think James Labrie isn't versatile at all, he just sings high pitched a little. He can't do different styles of vocals.
That's why he isn't on the poll. -------------
http://www.last.fm/user/YertGuy - http://www.last.fm/user/YertGuy |
Posted By: preqT0THEseq7
Date Posted: June 19 2008 at 14:40
Versatile means being able to do many different things. Daniel can't growl like Akerfeldt can... + Akerfeldt is a better singer anyway IMO Opeth > Pain of Salvation (IMO) ------------- Idk, My BFF Steve. http://imageshack.us">
|
Posted By: markosherrera
Date Posted: June 19 2008 at 22:01
|
Russell Allen.
------------- Hi progmaniacs of all the world |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: June 20 2008 at 05:13
You're confusing shouting and screaming. The meaning of those two words is not carved in stone and/or intuitive, but in reference to the coined label "Screamo" (see wikipedia page) I am using that word to reefto more or less atonal, uncontrolled screaming, while shouting refers to traditional (clean) singing with more punch/pressure and slight distortion/"grit". With that definition, Russell Allen is a shouter par excellence ... in addition to his beautiful clean voice. Check out this list of styles: http://ratingfreak.com/home/music.xhtml?path=tags/vocals/vocals_male/overview - http://ratingfreak.com/home/music.xhtml?path=tags/vocals/vocals_male/overview ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/release-polls/pa" rel="nofollow - Release Polls Listened to:
|
Posted By: sleeper
Date Posted: June 20 2008 at 09:22
Akerfeldt does two things, clean vocals and growls, that does not make him more versatile than Gildenlow, who does a hell of a lot more than Akerfeldt with his voice (rapping, a harsh gutteral voice thats close to a growl, high falsetto and anything inbetween those last two). The last two statments are irelavent opinions that myslef and, I suspect, Norbert dont agree with. ------------- Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005
|
Posted By: Norbert
Date Posted: June 20 2008 at 09:30
| I listened to some Devin Townsend song yesterday evening, and I must say that a two-tricks pony should not be even in a top 3 in this poll(Daniel, Buddy, Devin). Plus Trickster G/Garm(Kristoffer Rygg to put it simple) deserves a mention, although latter day Ulver is not so metal. His work with Arcturus is enough reaon to consider him though. |
Posted By: MikeEnRegalia
Date Posted: June 20 2008 at 10:21
|
^ then you obviously didn't listen to too many Devin Townsend tracks. Recommended album in terms of versality: Infinity. ------------- https://awesomeprog.com/release-polls/pa" rel="nofollow - Release Polls Listened to:
|
Posted By: spookytooth
Date Posted: June 20 2008 at 10:24
|
I'd have to go with Mikael Akerfeldt for this poll. Russel Allen is second, IMO.
------------- 
Would you like some Bailey's? |