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Wagner And Motörhead: More Than Umlauts In Common

Jul 30, 2010
By .
Geekery

A classical vocal instructor, who knows virtually nothing about rock, is asked to evaluate the stylings of various heavy metal singers.

I have nothing but admiration for this singer. Listen how he starts off with a soft growl, then moves seamlessly into a well-supported, sustained high full-voice sound that then evolves into an effortless long scream! His diction is easily intelligible, regardless of the range he’s singing in or the effect he’s going for. He achieves an intensely rhythmic delivery of the lyrics without losing legato and musical momentum, something a lot of classical singers struggle with, especially when interpreting the many staccato and accent markings that crowd scores by Bellini, Donizetti, etc.

She wasn't actually asked to evaluate the works of Lemmy Kilmister.  More's the pity.

Last 5 posts by Patrick

5 Comments
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5 Comments

  1. Grandy  •  Jul 30, 2010 @9:39 am

    She wasn’t actually asked to evaluate the works of Lemmy Kilmister.

    We are poorer for it.

  2. Chris  •  Jul 30, 2010 @10:18 am

    That's great – made my day.

  3. Brian  •  Jul 30, 2010 @11:06 am

    While Lemmy would certainly have been an interesting study I would have liked to see her appraisal of Geoff Tate.

  4. LawMonkey  •  Jul 31, 2010 @9:53 am

    I've often thought that metal and opera have more in common than aficionados of either style care to admit. Never really thought it was the vocals, though…

    No love for Ozzy, though–of the five evaluated, he's the only one I'm really a fan of, though Dio's got a place in my heart too. King Diamond–yech. That falsetto, or countertenor–that thing he does, it's the worst thing to happen to metal in ever. Ruins the song as soon as he busts it out.

  5. Chris Berez  •  Jul 31, 2010 @4:11 pm

    Wow, this is really, really cool! What a clever, cool idea!