Challah

I have spent the last few years listening almost exclusively to death metal, grindcore, tech metal, etc. Many of the bands who have worked their way into my collection have harsh, dark and sometimes plainly unpleasant vocals.

I am now looking for artists whose work is driven by beautiful, highly emotive vocals.

On the middle ground there are bands like Tool, Opeth, Disillusion, Orphaned Land, etc. but many of these still have, at the very least, elements of the harder stuff I listen to.

I'm looking for enchanting voices, here. Artist suggestions would be wonderful and specific album suggestions would be one better.

Thanks in advance,
Challah

Willravel

Have you ever heard of Brea? They are a local (to me) band out of Morgan Hill, CA and the lead singer, Leia Layus, has a really authentic and fascinating voice. I've seen a few shows and they're something. I particularly like their song "Old Haunts". Their myspace is as follows:
http://www.myspace.com/brea

fightnight

Are you looking for this type of vocal in a metal type of music? Or are you straight up looking for a genre change? If you're looking for metal with emotive vocals i'd probably be rather useless, but if you're just broadly looking for music with beautiful vocals, that's a whole different ball game. Please clarify.

meanSpleen

The only thing I can think of is Within Temptation - Mother Earth (album). They are out of the big Scandinavian Metal scene, but pride themselves on highly orchestrated songs (without being cheesy) with an operatic female vocal.

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Challah

Willravel, thank you for the suggestion. Her voice is wonderful and, while the rest of the music is closer to "rock'n'roll" than I'm used to, it's a good change of pace. I'll keep an eye open next time I'm at the cd shop.

Fightnight, I'm looking quite generally for music with beautiful vocals. Metal would be fine, but I'd prefer non-metal suggestions. Most of the music with vocals that I've listened to for the past few years has been extremely heavy and a departure from that would be ideal. That being said, all suggestions are appreciated.

meanSpleen, they remind me of Evanescence but more genuine. Cool. Thanks.

Sion

off the top of my head:

Crosby, Still, & Nash (& sometime Young) - pretty much anything they've done
Heart (older albums like Dog & Butterfly, Little Queen, etc)
Dream Theater (Images & Words in particular)
ELO
early Genesis
Kevin Gilbert's version of Led Zep's "Kashmir" is killer
Patti Smith
Scandal featuring Patty Smythe: "The Warrior" (PS absolutely wails on this tune)
anything by Queen or Queensryche
Supertramp
Sinead O'Connor has/had a beautiful voice
anything by Yes....one of my faves is "Saving My Heart" from the Union album

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Willravel

If you're looking for a new genre, I've got some really amazing vocals for you:
(Song, Artist, Album)
-"O Mio Babbino Caro", sung by Angela Gheorghiu, composed by Puccini, from A Celebration of His Life in Music - Sir Georg Solti
-"Dido's Lament", as sung by Iva Bittova, composed by Purcell, from "The man Who Cried" soundtrack
-"Ave Maria", Vienna Boys Choir or Pavarotti, any album you can get your hands on
- "Don Giovanni, a Cenar Teco M'invitasti" from Don Giovanni, as sung by Bryn Terfel, from Mozart: Don Giovanni Highlights, conducted by Sir George Solti

Just a few ideas.

SecretMethod70

I'm surprised, based on the things you mentioned in your opening post, that no one has recommended Nightwish yet.

Here's a video for a sampling:

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Challah

Sion, I believe that my mother owns some CSNY albums. I'll be sure to look into that. As for Dream Theater, I have to say, they're the type of metal band that pushed me to the more extreme corners of the (very broad) genre. They're such amazing musicians but as a group they don't do much for me. Thanks, though. I believe that a friend of mine has Operation: Mindcrime and I'll be sure to borrow that from him and also look into the others you suggested.

willravel, do you know where I can listen to legal samples of those songs? I'll check, but I doubt they have Myspaces

And SecretMethod70, I do enjoy the vocals of Nightwish but my more extreme metal leanings nudge me away from the other aspects of their music. They seem similar to Within Temptation, suggested earlier by meanSpleen. Is it common for these sorts of bands to be fronted by an operatic female vocalist?

LoganSnake

I'd like to recommend After Forever. Here's a sample:

After Forever - Monolith of Doubt

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/V2YJ2Nh-Miw"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/V2YJ2Nh-Miw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

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roachboy

it's early and my brain isnt quite working yet, but here are a couple suggestions:

antony and the johnsons.
http://www.antonyandthejohnsons.com/

persian classical: shajarian.
good god what a lovely voice.
snippets are available here:

http://www.opus125.org/shajarian/pages/sh_listen.html

click on the titles--the stream that opens with the page is a talk intro, not the same thing.

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fightnight

Here's a bunch of songs off of my sleep playlist:

Arcade Fire - Crown of Love (they go up and down on how rockey or quiet they can be but I find his voice to be rather beautiful if a little different)

Stars - Calendar Girl (they are guy/girl vocals and both have pretty nice voices, hers moreso than his although i love both of them)

Sufjan Stevens - To Be Alone With You (off of the seven swans album which is much quieter and more folky, however illinois and michigan are amazing albums as well. He has a fantastic voice and the instrumentation is outstanding)

Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah (very sad song, he's got a fantastic voice)

Other options (just scrolling through my ipod)

Ben Gibbards groups (Postal Service and Death Cab For Cutie) - he's got a good voice if you're into his sort of thing.

Those are just quick, if any of those grab you I can give you more stuff that heads in a similar direction. I tried to pick slightly more mainstream stuff, will be easier to find.

vanblah

Digging into my gothy, artsy past:

Dead Can Dance
Cocteau Twins
Bel Canto
Madredeus
Loreena McKennit

If you end up liking some of this goth crap , then you might check out the "This Mortal Coil" project which was a compilation project for 4AD (the "goth label" from the 80's).

I don't have as many male vocals that I consider beautiful. Jeff Buckley (sometimes).

And if you want to hear some amazing vocals:

Basso Profundo from Old Russia
Huun-Huur-Tu

jimk

i would recommend cat power's The Greatest disc.

her voice isn't technically great, but the things she does with it can be beautiful and/or haunting.

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FoolThemAll

Some myspace links and my favorite song from each...

Bic Runga - "Birds"
Brian Vander Ark - "Survival"
- vocalist/frontman for The Verve Pipe
The Dears - "The Death of All the Romance"
The Ditty Bops - "Ooh La La"
Feist - "Mushaboom"
Fields - "Song For the Fields"
Mason Jennings - "Be Here Now"
Mew - "The Zookeeper's Boy"
Midlake - "Roscoe"
The Negro Problem - "The Teardrop Explodes"
Nickel Creek - "Eveline"
- I simply can't recommend this band enough. Favorite discovery of the past two years. They're in the midst of a farewell tour.
Regina Spektor - "Samson"
Turin Brakes - "They Can't Buy the Sunshine"

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skinnymofo

damn near anything with chris cornell in it?
softer being the solo stuff "Euphoria Morning" and the harder being Soundgarden and then finally Audioslave
"Superunknown" being the best mix of soft/hard

radioguy

zac maloy...he used to be the lead singer of the nixons. once he went solo, he voice matured more (i think) and became more melodic. it's not heavy metal, that's for sure. check out his LIFE album...i think that's his best one. http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...endID=25922997 myspace page....no song from life, but other songs are great...radio's a plum, sister, and okie from muskogee


another one is THE FORMAT - INTERVENTIONS AND LULLABIES

their myspace link http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...iendID=2823645 "on your porch" is the only song from that album on their page. the other songs are good too, i just prefer this album

Derwood

Sigur Ros

Start with the Aegitis Byrjun album and never look back

Sion

I cant believe that no one (myself included) has thought to include Van Morrison on this list. George Ivan Morrison is one of the most amazing voices in popular music EVAR!

if you're not familiar with his stuff, start with Moondance, Into the Mystic, and Domino. Or if you want to go with full albums, get Astral Weeks and the two albums that followed.

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He's the best, of course, of all the worst.
Some wrong been done, he done it first. -fz

I jus' want ta thank you...falettinme...be mice elf...agin...

Derwood

death metal to van morrison is a pretty big jump

radioguy

he did say that it didn't matter if it was death metal or gay van morrison shit!!!

Sion

what an ignorant thing to say

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He's the best, of course, of all the worst.
Some wrong been done, he done it first. -fz

I jus' want ta thank you...falettinme...be mice elf...agin...

Derwood

i didn't imply anything was wrong with van morrison, just saying it's a big leap.

radioguy does not speak for me!

Challah

Wow, thanks for all the suggestions. I'm at home for the summer and it turns out that my mother actually has albums by a couple of the suggested bands; CSNY and some "gay Van Morrison shit." Quite enjoyable.

After spending some time listening to the metal bands with operatic female vocals, I have to say that I didn't manage to get as into them as I thought I might. The music is still pleasant, though, so I'm glad I had a listen.

Derwood - Holy hedgehogs, Sigur Ros makes beautiful music. It's certainly a departure from what I'm used to but perhaps that's why I find it so enjoyable.

I'm still looking into bands/artists that people have suggested. Thanks again, everyone.

Manic_Skafe

Ingrid Michaelson
Regina Spektor
Bright Eyes

With your metal tastes they may be a bit too folk/pop for you but if you're looking for music driven by beautiful vocals then they should be up your alley.

Ulver

Similarly to you, I listened pretty much exclusively to death metal, grindcore etc. for years, one of the bands that really helped me expand my musical pallet was Ulver. I was surprised to find a band with such a diverse discography driven by such beautiful vocals. They began as an old-school black metal band, got really deep into the minimalist electronic sounds, went heavier into the electronics with some jazz influences....

Just download/purchase "Blood Inside" and you'll see what I mean.

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Challah

Ulver is actually largely responsible for my desire to branch out and find new music. I own Bergtatt, Kveldssanger and Blood Inside - all excellent.

The trouble I'm having with indie/pop is that, while it is immediately enjoyable on some level, it doesn't have the lasting appeal that I find in heavier, more complex music.

I'll continue listening. This is definitely a process, hopefully it will continue to yield results.

pig

challah,

check out this thread since you're music hunting; pandora

i'm not really sure what musical styles you're chasing; in addition to the csn(&y?) stuff, a lot of the 60's/70's folk music might be up your alley..for instance peter, paul and mary do some really neat three part vocal harmonies. roach will inevitably suggest you check out the eagles. if bluegrass / nickel creek hits you where you itch, you might try some Newgrass Revival (sam bush, bela fleck); they sound like a 70's hair band that picked up bluegrass instruments...so the vocals sort of sound like kansas or something. its a little fucking weird for me, being a moderate redneck and all. i think mudhoney has decent vocals (male), and perhaps something like teenage fan club. some people might say fleetwood mac. if you just want crazy vocal harmony, you might try some barbershop quartet junk. when i was 12, i somehow found myself listening to the nylons - did the cover of 'nah nah nah hey hey hey goodbye' that was so popular at highschool basketball games. some old school bob marley and the wailers with bob, bunny and tosh doing three part harmony are pretty tight. there was a guy in illinois named brandon washington who could belt out the sound, if you like the holyshit black male vocal sound. i ummm...can't find anything by him on the web, but fuck it why not?

good luck.

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Challah

Damn it.

If I remember correctly, Bela Fleck (and the Flecktones) performed at the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival in Fredericton, New Brunswick, around the time I was living there. I'll look into Newgrass Revival.

I've never liked Bob Marley. Don't know why.

And what do you mean by the "holyshit black male vocal sound"?

pig

well, one thing that occurs to me is running your internet connection through a proxy located inside the us borders. bela fleck and the flecktones aren't really what i'd consider outstanding vocalists...instrumentalists, hell yes. bob marley you no likey...me can't helpy. and by 'holyshit black male vocal sound' i mean the type of 'holyshit that dude can belt out some sound' sound that you almost only get from really strong black dude's voices. almost akin to gospel singing...

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FoolThemAll

Bright Eyes? Really? I actually like his whiny-assed vocals (and his often melodramatic lyrics), but I'd have never described his vocals as 'beautiful' - at least not in a mainstream, generally understood use of the word. Hell, Conor even says in one of his songs, "I could've been a famous singer if I had someone else's voice."

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pig

speaking of bright eyes...i know these guys have been posted elsewhere, but for beautiful vocals and outstanding awesomenacity, you can't beat hurra torpedo

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Sion

I don't get it.
I couldnt finish either of those videos. Not even interesting in campy way.

__________________
He's the best, of course, of all the worst.
Some wrong been done, he done it first. -fz

I jus' want ta thank you...falettinme...be mice elf...agin...

Manic_Skafe

Awesome - make sure you get ...The Marriage Of Heaven And Hell and Perdition City. Easily two of the best purchases I've ever made.

And to finish the quote "...but failures always sounded better. Let's fuck it up boys, make some noise!!". I can see how anyone could consider he voice a bit caustic at times but it's nothing when compared to the guttural growls and distorted screams I'm used to listening to.

I suppose it's just a matter of taste but I can't imagine anyone considering the tracks Lua, Time Code, Gold Mind Gutted, Down in A Rabbit Hole, Take It Easy Love Nothing, We Are Nowhere And It's Now, First Day Of My life.... as anything but beautiful - especially the vocals.

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FoolThemAll

Yeah, I'm not saying that the word 'beautiful' can't be applied to those vocals, but you get a much less certain concept of 'beautiful' when you do so. If I were searching for vocals like that, I probably wouldn't request "beautiful vocals", I request "whiny vocals", or to use more flattering terms, "beautifully rough vocals" or "emotional vocals".

But I guess I don't really have much of a point here, as it turns out. Carry on.

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Caco

Iron Maiden
Spellblast
Rhapsody
Dream Theater
The Gathering

These bands are graet Vocals are amazing

Leander

Cocteau Twins
Beth Orton
The Housemartins

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radioguy

possibly....i may be the dumbest person in the world....i just cna't stand the music of van morrison, therefore, to me, it's gay as shit...sorry

factiongroove

ok, i did the same exact transition a couple of years ago.... and the bands to find (in order to respect the transition)

Built to Spill
Robert Johnson
Elliott Smith
Postal Service
Grandaddy
Melanie (i highly recommend her to any music lover!)- check out "i loved harold"
Sparklehorse
Apples in Stereo
and mixed in with all of that, post 1960 beatles

god i love those bands.....

willynilly

October Project. I only know this one song, but my wife and I saw them when they opened for Crash Test Dummies.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=dZSMK_w3f3U

Alison Krauss, from O Brother Where Art Thou"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=F1FQqSGxBso

Ralph Stanley, also from "O Brother Where Art Thou"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9E8S3tCWmiQ

This is slightly different from the movie version.

Just see the movie and get the whole soundtrack. It is an amazing homage to early twentieth century american music.

Pogue Mahone

Porcupine Tree - Particularly their In Absentia album. Great stuff. Steven Wilson's a great vocalist. But chances are if you're into Opeth, you're already familiar with them.

Steven Wilson's other project, Blackfield is really good, too. It's basically him with Aviv Geffen, an Israeli pop star, making music that would make Radiohead seem like happy, cheery music.

Oh, and you can't go wrong with anything from Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantomas, Peeping Tom, etc). Mike Patton's voice is out of this world!

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