If you haven’t noticed, screaming vocals (aka Oscar the Grouch) is very much the in thing for metal music. And to drive this point home even more, there is now an instructional video “for that new breed of vocalist” called “
The Zen of Screaming”. This isn’t something that I would normally run across, but thanks to GoogleAds,
Melissa Cross’ ad popped up for one of my posts, and I had to go check it out. Her client list contains some of the most popular scream oriented bands out there (Underoath, SliPKnoT, Thursday), plus a bunch that know how to use it to accent their sound (BEDlight for BlueEYES, Armor for Sleep). The funny thing is that just last week my older daughter (whom has done the vocal training thing for a number of years now) was asked by one of the local bands to help “teach” the lead singer how to sing, and wound up spending a good amount of time helping the back-up vocalist learn how to scream using his diaphragm, instead of from the throat. Maybe I should have her create an instructional video for the local bands. It isn’t like these kids are going to spend the money on Melissa’s video (although they really should). Actually, most of the kids could really stand to get some real vocal training, but most of them are naïve and think that they can get by without. Take my advice, vocal training will help you in both your musical activities and your public speaking. Don’t be afraid or embarrassed about getting some professional training, all the best musicians take lessons.