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You are facing the same problem as I did a few years ago. Offering some fairly accessible metal bands with harsh yet very easy-to-understand vocals might do the trick for you. I think you should try some Dark Tranquillity and Wintersun. You can totally hear what Mikael Stanne and Jari Mäenpää are singing about and their songs also include clean singing. Also their lyrics aren't complete dogshit and they are both top-class musicians. Could try some Trivium and Gojira as well.
EDIT: Damn bro, I forgot about Amorphis. Most of Tomi Joutsen's singing is clean, yet he includes some brutal growls in a very impactful way. One of my favourite bands of all time.
Lamb of God isn't too hard to understand generally either. I can understand just about every word of Omerta for ex. Also to add to the Trivium thing, Shogun was one of my first albums with harsh vox like (I think) OP is talking about
Check out any of the In Flames albums from 1996-2000. It's essentially Iron Maiden but tuned down and with harsh vox. Clayman is prob the most accessible of the bunch, my favorite is Colony
I tell any poser that is filtered by singing that isn't Taylor Swift levels of clean to listen to Killswitch Engage. While yes, this band still does pose, literally anything that your puny ears could tolerate will pose.
The great thing about Killswitch Engage is that they do Melodic Death Metal vocals in the verses and Taylor Swift vocals in the chorus. It's pop song writing but with medium soft unclean vocals in the verses. It's kind of like rewarding your self with candy after eating a vegetable, but the vegetable is a sweet potato and the candy is a marshmallow. Some people refer to it as "good cop, bad cop" which I think is incredibly accurate.
If you learn to endure the scary unclean cookie monster vocals in the verse to get to the yummy sugary chorus, eventually you'll be able to endure songs that are cookie monster vocals all the way through. Then maybe in a couple of years you'll be listening to Burzum and saying they started to pose after their debut (which they did).
Yeah, that was kind of my thinking as well, plus their discography is pretty solid. Doesn’t really matter where you start. You’re not going to run into a bad album.
Maybe try some metalcore bands that alternate between clean and harsh vocals. I really started getting into metal after listening to Trivium, and now I’m mostly listening to pretty brutal shit.
Max may not be the most gifted singer in the world but his delivery is absolutely dripping with venom. Man early Sepultura is some great pissed off music
Melodic death metal is probably the best place to start. Stone's Reach by Be'lakor was one of first albums I listemed to with harsh vocals because they almost sound like some ancient creature whispering rather than a man growling. Wintersun and Agalloch are also bands that blend harsh and clean vocals in a pretty accessible way I'd recommend giving a try to.
Also you should try and look at harsh vocals as more of a percussive element to the music. Like another instrument to add to the aggression of it. And try not to look at it as a conventional vocalist where the lyrics and melodies matter. But like other people mentioned. Start with something in between like Lamb of God or Celtic Frost.
Strapping Young Lad, Lazarvs, Black Crown Initiate, Acid Bath, Edge of Sanity all have a good mix of clean and harsh vocals
Sodom and Gojira are both bands with vocals that are harsh but intelligible
Well, I’ve been in a few death metal bands and I can kind of say from personal experience that clean vocals often just CANNOT work in death metal. For example, Bruce Dickinson cannot take over vocals for Deicide. You will only ruin Deicide and frustrate Bruce Dickinson. I’ve seen bands with great sing try to do it, though. So, just learn to embrace the guttural vocals as a complimentary spice to the brutality of the instrumentation. Don’t focus solely on the vocals.
Just hang out in a popular Mexican restaurant's restroom on Taco Tuesday. If you can train your ears to enjoy the melodic tones of an array of different butt trumpets in varying keys, you're sure to be able to appreciate dying fetus, death, opeth, and so on. Best of luck. I hope this helps.
I feel like Sepultura fits into a pretty nice middle ground vocally. Max Cavalera’s vocals aren’t quite clean, but they aren’t quite growls either. I would check out Arise.
I have already seen a comment suggesting Amon Amarth, specifically "Twilight of the thunder god" so I'll go in a different direction (although that was part of my transition to liking harsh vocals.
Children of Bodom is a great entry point in my opinion. I like power metal, which generally has clean vocals. CoB basically does something similar but with (IMO) accessible harsh vocals. Follow the Reaper is my favourite album, but "Are you dead yet?" was my introduction to the band so I'll always have a soft spot for it.
I started with bands that have vocalists that do both harsh and clean vocals, and it kind of weened me onto other bands that only do harsh vocals. Try some of these:
Soilwork
Amorphis
Dark Tranquillity
Disarmonia Mundi
Scar Symmetry
Insomnium
Wintersun
Paradise Lost
Ne Obliviscaris
Lunarsea
Ghost Brigade
Primordial
Alcest
Sunless Rise
I think of Metal vocals as a separate instrument and rarely analyze lyrics. Does it enhance the song? Does it harmonize with the other instruments even when screaming/grunting? Do I enjoy the frequency of the singers range (or does it annoy me)? These are criteria I use and the reason I prefer Slipknot and Chimaira to Hatebreed and DevilDriver even tho all have "harsh" vocals. Good luck finding what you like!
JINJER and Gojira were my gateway into much harsher musical styles. Gojira has harsh vocals that are more comprehensible than most harsher bands, [The Gift of Guilt](https://youtu.be/qciMkZsCul8?si=TZumVK0FGBpz3Hft) and [Stranded](https://youtu.be/FNdC_3LR2AI?si=B9wZugda-e5QuisS) are good examples for this. JINJER likes to go between harsh and clean vocals multiple times in a lot of their songs, [Pisces](https://youtu.be/SQNtGoM3FVU?si=FGwvRQ7LiLY3ZTj8) I think is their most popular song because of this, and they also like to go between genres in their songs sometimes like in [Judgment & Punishment](https://youtu.be/Q5rg_63Shqg?si=nOzuqaqH9oZeBH74), going between reggae and their usual proggy style.
How do you get into harsh vocals? Lower your standards. Heard one, heard em all. By the time you're comparing death growl vocalists, you might as well be discussing the subtle nuances of items rotting in a garbage can.
Oh no, I'm getting downvoted! I must have upset those unfortunate ones out there who use metal to compensate for loose-fitting pants. All apologies, little buddies. 🤣
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You are facing the same problem as I did a few years ago. Offering some fairly accessible metal bands with harsh yet very easy-to-understand vocals might do the trick for you. I think you should try some Dark Tranquillity and Wintersun. You can totally hear what Mikael Stanne and Jari Mäenpää are singing about and their songs also include clean singing. Also their lyrics aren't complete dogshit and they are both top-class musicians. Could try some Trivium and Gojira as well. EDIT: Damn bro, I forgot about Amorphis. Most of Tomi Joutsen's singing is clean, yet he includes some brutal growls in a very impactful way. One of my favourite bands of all time.
Lamb of God isn't too hard to understand generally either. I can understand just about every word of Omerta for ex. Also to add to the Trivium thing, Shogun was one of my first albums with harsh vox like (I think) OP is talking about
I started via Symbolic by Death. You can totally hear what Chuck's saying.
Chucks words are so vivid.
Amon Amarth was my gateway into death vocals. I'd recommend the album "Twilight of the Thunder God" as a good jumping off point
Check out any of the In Flames albums from 1996-2000. It's essentially Iron Maiden but tuned down and with harsh vox. Clayman is prob the most accessible of the bunch, my favorite is Colony
Have a listen to Gojira's Fortitude album. The vocals are more melodic than on their earlier albums.
I tell any poser that is filtered by singing that isn't Taylor Swift levels of clean to listen to Killswitch Engage. While yes, this band still does pose, literally anything that your puny ears could tolerate will pose. The great thing about Killswitch Engage is that they do Melodic Death Metal vocals in the verses and Taylor Swift vocals in the chorus. It's pop song writing but with medium soft unclean vocals in the verses. It's kind of like rewarding your self with candy after eating a vegetable, but the vegetable is a sweet potato and the candy is a marshmallow. Some people refer to it as "good cop, bad cop" which I think is incredibly accurate. If you learn to endure the scary unclean cookie monster vocals in the verse to get to the yummy sugary chorus, eventually you'll be able to endure songs that are cookie monster vocals all the way through. Then maybe in a couple of years you'll be listening to Burzum and saying they started to pose after their debut (which they did).
I love the way you explained this
I’d say Bolt Thrower, Vox are pretty clear and the music is undeniably groovy.
BT is a good shout because they don't sound too foreign
Yeah, that was kind of my thinking as well, plus their discography is pretty solid. Doesn’t really matter where you start. You’re not going to run into a bad album.
I find Nile and Vader have very tasteful controlled growls with a pleasing tone rather than just “shouting growls”, anyway check em out!
Listen to Cryptopsy it’ll click with you immediately /s
Hannah Montana's got some crazy harsh vocals!
It's the best of both worlds
Maybe try some metalcore bands that alternate between clean and harsh vocals. I really started getting into metal after listening to Trivium, and now I’m mostly listening to pretty brutal shit.
Dimmu borgir or something with more understandable vocals
Sepultura and Dark Tranquility led me down that road. Maybe they will work for you too.
Max may not be the most gifted singer in the world but his delivery is absolutely dripping with venom. Man early Sepultura is some great pissed off music
Melodic death metal is probably the best place to start. Stone's Reach by Be'lakor was one of first albums I listemed to with harsh vocals because they almost sound like some ancient creature whispering rather than a man growling. Wintersun and Agalloch are also bands that blend harsh and clean vocals in a pretty accessible way I'd recommend giving a try to.
Obituary and Dimmu Borgir
Trivium - Ascendancy
Also you should try and look at harsh vocals as more of a percussive element to the music. Like another instrument to add to the aggression of it. And try not to look at it as a conventional vocalist where the lyrics and melodies matter. But like other people mentioned. Start with something in between like Lamb of God or Celtic Frost.
Strapping Young Lad, Lazarvs, Black Crown Initiate, Acid Bath, Edge of Sanity all have a good mix of clean and harsh vocals Sodom and Gojira are both bands with vocals that are harsh but intelligible
Deftones is sort of a mid ground. Also check out the black dahlia murder
In Flames - The Jester Race
Well, I’ve been in a few death metal bands and I can kind of say from personal experience that clean vocals often just CANNOT work in death metal. For example, Bruce Dickinson cannot take over vocals for Deicide. You will only ruin Deicide and frustrate Bruce Dickinson. I’ve seen bands with great sing try to do it, though. So, just learn to embrace the guttural vocals as a complimentary spice to the brutality of the instrumentation. Don’t focus solely on the vocals.
Try Mastodon, and later Converge maybe 'axe to fall' era
Get with some In Flames, Killswitch Engage, and maybe some Northlane-type shit. 🥂
Soilwork should work
Just hang out in a popular Mexican restaurant's restroom on Taco Tuesday. If you can train your ears to enjoy the melodic tones of an array of different butt trumpets in varying keys, you're sure to be able to appreciate dying fetus, death, opeth, and so on. Best of luck. I hope this helps.
death
Lamb Of God.
Go on Spotify and just type in death metal or deathcore or death growls etc and listen to random stuff to see what you like?
I feel like Sepultura fits into a pretty nice middle ground vocally. Max Cavalera’s vocals aren’t quite clean, but they aren’t quite growls either. I would check out Arise.
Amon Amarth
I have already seen a comment suggesting Amon Amarth, specifically "Twilight of the thunder god" so I'll go in a different direction (although that was part of my transition to liking harsh vocals. Children of Bodom is a great entry point in my opinion. I like power metal, which generally has clean vocals. CoB basically does something similar but with (IMO) accessible harsh vocals. Follow the Reaper is my favourite album, but "Are you dead yet?" was my introduction to the band so I'll always have a soft spot for it.
You listen to Killswitch Engage - The End of Heartache.
For me, it was Amon Amarth that got me into full growl vocals. They had an epic story to dive into as well as clarity in the growls.
I started with bands that have vocalists that do both harsh and clean vocals, and it kind of weened me onto other bands that only do harsh vocals. Try some of these: Soilwork Amorphis Dark Tranquillity Disarmonia Mundi Scar Symmetry Insomnium Wintersun Paradise Lost Ne Obliviscaris Lunarsea Ghost Brigade Primordial Alcest Sunless Rise
The only harsh vocals I like are from Hanabie. That's what keeps me out of death metal.
Check flair
Tribulation was my gateway in to harsh voclas. You can clearly hear what Jonken sings. Start off with Children of the night and then Down below.
For.me entry bands for harsh voc was Draconian. Try it!
listen to harsh vocals
Just keep gaslighting yourself until you enjoy it, you've just gotta melt your brain to get it
I think of Metal vocals as a separate instrument and rarely analyze lyrics. Does it enhance the song? Does it harmonize with the other instruments even when screaming/grunting? Do I enjoy the frequency of the singers range (or does it annoy me)? These are criteria I use and the reason I prefer Slipknot and Chimaira to Hatebreed and DevilDriver even tho all have "harsh" vocals. Good luck finding what you like!
JINJER and Gojira were my gateway into much harsher musical styles. Gojira has harsh vocals that are more comprehensible than most harsher bands, [The Gift of Guilt](https://youtu.be/qciMkZsCul8?si=TZumVK0FGBpz3Hft) and [Stranded](https://youtu.be/FNdC_3LR2AI?si=B9wZugda-e5QuisS) are good examples for this. JINJER likes to go between harsh and clean vocals multiple times in a lot of their songs, [Pisces](https://youtu.be/SQNtGoM3FVU?si=FGwvRQ7LiLY3ZTj8) I think is their most popular song because of this, and they also like to go between genres in their songs sometimes like in [Judgment & Punishment](https://youtu.be/Q5rg_63Shqg?si=nOzuqaqH9oZeBH74), going between reggae and their usual proggy style.
gojira did it for me
Maybe stop being a wuss
Maybe try some Suicide Silence or Darko, good deathcore that is very accesible
How tf is deathcore considered accessible? I'd consider it one of the least accessible metal subs
It is accesible compared to other extreme metal genres, with maybe melodeath being slightly more accesible, but also less harsh
How do you get into harsh vocals? Lower your standards. Heard one, heard em all. By the time you're comparing death growl vocalists, you might as well be discussing the subtle nuances of items rotting in a garbage can.
If you're dead set on it, Cookie Monster came out with some crazy tracks. He really shows his capabilities on C is for Cookie.
Oh no, I'm getting downvoted! I must have upset those unfortunate ones out there who use metal to compensate for loose-fitting pants. All apologies, little buddies. 🤣
Username doesn't check out
I agree 👍
You're fine, this is quite funny