Singers who developed vocal-cord problems

[benduncan]

i don't know if it's a matter of coaches. The fashion of "growling" is still pretty new, I mean, we don't have a single exemple of a 70 year old that can growl after a 40 years career.
It's entirely possible that this kind of singing is just damaging and that those who can carry it longer suffer less damage, but damage still.

Also, remember that rock singers do expose themselves more: when Pavarotti had a cold, he canceled his representations. Last time I saw Ozzy he was sick to death but played his show anyway (was awful...)
Makes sense Ozzy's voice is shot at 70.

ah, my vocals are all clean so i feel better

 

[CrushingAnvil]

Sonny from From First to Last and the guy who was in Eyes Set To Kill.

Not that anyone cares about either of those two mind....

That assertion is correct

Just teasing, someone does.

 

[fps]

as a singer this thread scares me.

im sure if youre touring none stop its unavoidable, but is their anyway to try to avoid permanently altering the sound of your voice? i have a voice coach and i know how to sing from my diaphragm correctly, but they all probably had better coaches than i do so..

Any kind of harsh vocal pretty much involves pushing lots of air while compacting your airway, putting massive strain on your vocal chords. If you scream or sing with grit it is just a matter of time.

 

[Metal_Webb]

i don't know if it's a matter of coaches. The fashion of "growling" is still pretty new, I mean, we don't have a single exemple of a 70 year old that can growl after a 40 years career.

Well even though he's backed off a bit on the old harshness scale it'll be interesting to hear where Mikael Stanne's voice (from Dark Tranquillity) will be in 10 years. He's pretty much done the same mid range growl for his whole 20 year career and still maintains it live AFAIK. He can still also pull out his clean baritone voice every now and again and have it sound good. Maybe some people are luckier than others when it comes to vocal chord endurance.

 

[Metaguitarist]

I know he's considered immortal and omniscient, but how long do we think Devin Townsend's voice will last?

 

[kris_jammage]

I know he's considered immortal and omniscient, but how long do we think Devin Townsend's voice will last?

Ah he's just getting better and better.

As for James Hetfield, as far as I know he shot his voice while recording "So What?" during the black album sessions.

 

[iron blast]

King diamonds voice is better than ever I think alot can be said for proper technique.

 

[The Beard]

Frankie from Emmure's gurgly throat scream sounds like his voice could give out at any moment XD

 

[sol niger 333]

Frankie from Emmure's gurgly throat scream sounds like his voice could give out at any moment XD

I used to scream like that as a teenager and taste blood. Cant do it forever, shit is all kinds of wrong. Slowly learned as a singer, if it hurts, find a way that doesn't.

 

[GSingleton]

The a7x thing, he did have vocal problems but he wanted to stop screaming before hand anyway.

 

[RevDrucifer]

I always get a kick out of people saying, "He blew his voice out on that album (or song) and it's never been the same."

You can blow your voice out and still go back to singing the way you always did, the thing is, if you're serious about taking care of your voice, you're going to learn how to approach it differently so you don't blow it out again.

I've been singing in bands for 10 years and it's been the biggest learning curve I've ever come across. Every few months I take a different approach.

I watch All That Remains vids just to see the trainwreck that is Phil live. I don't know if that dude just hates warming up or hates drinking water to stay hydrated, but those are the 2 first things that come to mind when I hear him live. It'd also help if he'd write a song with some vocal rests in it, "Two Weeks" would be a pain in the ass to sing even with a well-working voice, it's just nonstop vocals.

But I think a big reason some vocalist make drastic changes after their first 2 albums or so, is because they realize that what they were doing before wasn't working consistently, so they change their approach to be able to do it longer.

It takes a while to find your range. You start off singing in a style that you WANT to sound like but ultimately change things up because that may not work for you on a regular basis.

Thing about singing, it's like being given an Axe-FX for your first amp with no prior gear/amp experience. You've got all the tools you'll ever need right off the bat, but you'll spend forever learning how to dial it in.

 

[datalore]

I know he's considered immortal and omniscient, but how long do we think Devin Townsend's voice will last?

He's definitely not pushing things as hard as he used to, and he seems pretty conscious of the fact that he needs to take care of himself. I think he's got a good 10 years left.

 

[Sephael]

Stevie Nicks, though her gravely voice in her later works is still hot as fuck.

 

[potatohead]

Didn't Mustaine just have surgery in the spring?

 

[benduncan]

Didn't Mustaine just have surgery in the spring?

IF THERES A NEW WAY!

 

[SD83]

Burton C. Bell. I love his cleans on the records, but I have yet to hear a recent live recording where he sounds good...

 

[BillNephew]

Why no mention of Chris Barnes? His early Cannibal Corpse had some of the best growls. It's what made CC legendary. Now, Six Feet Under's live vocals sound nothing like those 20 years ago.

 

[phillisbeuford]

Schylar from he is legend is the one that always stands out for me. He destroyed his voice after the "I am hollwood" album. They still carried on and he does ok now but if you listen to before and after his range has been at least cut his half. He cant do soaring cleans anymore..just the gritty throaty singing..which is ok..but he used to have my fav voice in the world so its a little sad :/



before

He is Legend - ...Best in Mexico - YouTube
after

He Is Legend - Attack Of The Dungeon Witch - YouTube[/QUOTE


I love HiL and while Schylar's voice has changed drastically, I still dig it. I think a lot of his problems came from drugs and smoking as much as he does.

As a singer, I've found that the voice is a pretty fragile thing. I've experienced a lot of vocal fatigue from a ton of shows back to back from festivals I've played, but luckily my voice wasn't seriously injured. When your young and you "blow your voice out" most of the time you can bounce back and still continue to sing. You only get one voice in your lifetime though.....

 

[phillisbeuford]

Actually, what happened was he was in Cuba on vacation. He got food poisoning and became violently ill, and in the course of vomiting, ruptured his vocal cords.

I think it *was* technically during the Awake touring cycle, but the incident itself had nothing to do with touring or singing.

James Labrie was insane back in the day. The live at the Marquee album is by far some of the best live singing I've heard from ANY singer (although some people say it was recorded later).

There was a big difference after James got the food poisoning, but I think he is bouncing back. I would take a 20 year singing career like he has had any day. I mean no one really maintains their vocal range late in life. Unless your Michael Sweet from Stryper, he still kinda kills their old stuff in original keys......

 

[abandonist]

I actually have semi-destroyed my vocal cords due to a severe case of bronchitis.

There's scarring all through my throat.

Doctor says it may never be the same. Which is super unfortunate since I really had a tremendous voice.