Best vocalists?

[GothiX]

I was wondering, who would you consider to have great vocals? Mind you, by that, I mean that their band could make them completely suck - but their voice remains great. In example.

 

For the male vocals:

 

5. Robert Smith - The Cure - Robert's vocal style is amazingly impressive. The emotion that echoes in it, is exactly what set the tone for the New Wave, and even today, I think his vocals are still amazing.

 

4. David Draiman - Disturbed - Power. That's what David's vocals are pretty much all about. The slight raw texture to his voice adds tremendous power, even though he still can produce beautiful harmonic vocals - like in the Prayer chorus. I do believe that his voice was better on Believe than on The Sickness, though.

 

3. Corey Taylor - Slipknot / Stone Sour - Probably the only really 'odd' one on this list. Corey's vocals for Slipknot were, as I see it, completely rubbish, and I wasn't very fond of Stone Sour as well. However, when a friend of mine brutally forced me to listen to Bother, I had to change my mind. Corey's voice is really emotional, touching, and he never even tries to scream. Sad to see such talent wasted on Slipknot's work.

 

2. Tim Owens - Judas Priest / Iced Earth - Though his work for Judas Priest wasn't really that great at all, Tim's voice worked amazingly wel for Iced Earth. On The Glorious Burden, it shows how much personality he can add to the music, through his voice. In fact, the music wouldn't nearly have been as good without it. The high pitches this guy gets to, are even scary at times, yet his voice remains very clear. Great vocals, thus.

 

1. Mikael Åkerfeldt - Opeth - While his grunts and grawls on Opeth's earlier work were impressive, it really is his soft, touching voice on Damnation that made me pick Mikael over others. The emotion in his voice is unbelievable, and definitely complements the music on the album. Number one, for sure.

 

 

As for female vocals:

 

5. Nicole Bogner - Visions of Atlantis - A sweet soprano, one that manages to sound very sharp and clear no matter at what height - that's great vocal work. Shame that VOA's male singer doesn't live up to her voice, though.

 

4. Sharon Den Adel - Within Temptation - Another soprano, though one that isn't as powerful. Her voice is very whispery and subtle at times, while she sounds great with an evil tone in her voice as well. Especially when she fades from shy to evil in a duet with After Forever, is incredible. Check out Beyond Me.

 

3. Stefanie Duchêne - Flowing Tears - Emotion. That's something you can hear even without trying to, when listening to Stefanie's voice. It's enchanting, and it sets the mood perfectly. Especially in songs like For Tonight, you can clearly notice that.

 

2. Simone Simons - Epica - Very classic vocal style, although executed close to perfection. Her voice has that special tone, that really makes you want to listen even more closely, and her vocal range is astounding as well. From whispers to long-stretched high singing, she pulls it off in remarkable fashion.

 

1. Tarja Turunen - Nightwish - Enchanting, wonderful and magic only begin to describe Tarja's voice. It's powerful, though serene at the same time. If anything would be perfect, I nominate Tarja's voice.

 

 

In case you think Amy Lee would also fit either of those descriptions: No. I've heard her live three times now, and it all were major letdowns. She can't sing live, at all.

 

Anyway, post yours!

[ET Warrior]

There are TWO of them?