Top 10 Most Recognizable Voices in Heavy Metal
#10: Serj Tankian
System of a Down
The music of System of a Down technically features two singers, since guitarist Daron Malakian also contributes his own idiosyncratic vocals into the mix. However, it’s Serj Tankian’s voice that we consider to be the true shining star of SOAD’s discography. His voice is one that can soar high above the band’s occasionally busy and energetic sound, yet Tankian can also mix it up with some intense performances of his own. Beyond this, however, he approaches using his voice as an actual instrument, utilizing percussive sound effects and varied melodic styles to create lead vocals that even those not familiar with SOAD’s music can easily distinguish.
#9: Klaus Meine
Scorpions
The heavy metal genre absolutely possesses an international language, with artists hailing across the world, from every imaginable country. As a result, accented vocals can often be signaled out as immediately recognizable, especially if that singer chooses to perform in language that’s not their mother tongue. Klaus Meine of Scorpions is perhaps one of the great success stories to this end, since this German band managed to grow from humble Krautrock roots to become one of the world’s most successful metal acts. It’s Meine’s accented English that’s consistently led the charge this whole time, serving as a German cultural ambassador for the international heavy metal community.
#8: Doro Pesch
Warlock
Speaking of German metal, Doro Pesch is another massively important figure from that country’s heavy metal heritage. Pesch has enjoyed a successful solo career in the days since she fronted the band Warlock in the early ‘80s, all the while paving a path for young female singers in her wake. Doro’s vocals are immediately recognizable, thanks to the power she puts into each and every performance. Her German accent also ties her, historically, with singers like Klaus Meine, yet Pesch also possesses an emotional vulnerability that helps set her apart. Said simply, Doro Pesch is a trailblazer and a game-changer, but it’s her voice that changed the often testosterone-fueled world of heavy metal forever.
#7: Phil Anselmo
Interview with Machine Head's Phil Demmel About Unto the Locust
Pantera
Obviously, heavy metal vocalists can often be an aggressive, testosterone fueled lot. This isn’t a slight, of course. Not when you can count singers like Phil Anselmo among those ranks. Anselmo started off his musical journey emulating classic metal frontmen like Rob Halford. And he took this high-pitched approach on his earliest efforts with Pantera. Anselmo’s voice changed over time, however, becoming deeper and more gruff, yet not losing any of the dynamics or versatility of his youth. Additionally, his vocals on slower projects such as Down, or the comparatively chaotic Superjoint Ritual, showcased how the singer could pretty much do anything, and have it sound great.
#6: Bruce Dickinson
Top 20 Bruce Springsteen Songs
Iron Maiden
He’s affectionately known as “The Air Raid Siren,” the voice that single handedly helped launch the careers of a thousand other imitators. He’s Bruce Dickinson, and, for many, he is THE voice of Iron Maiden. Dickinson took over from the comparatively grittier and punk rock sounding Paul Di’Anno, and brought with him a wider range that could handle the band’s increasingly more complex compositions. Whereas Di’Anno fit the more New Wave of British Heavy Metal styled anthems of the early days, Dickinson’s enviable screams were matched only by his ability to captivate an audience. Here was one of heavy metal’s premier storytellers, ready to take the reins and front Iron Maiden throughout its most successful and definitively relevant period.
#5: Ronnie James Dio
Top 10 Ronnie James Dio Songs
Dio
Power. Unlimited power. This was what seemingly dwelled within the otherwise diminutive frame of Ronald James Padavona, otherwise known as Ronnie James Dio. The man wasn’t all bluster and bravado, however, and could easily tackle balladry with a voice so adept that it could bring even the hardest heart to weep. Dio’s career led him from rock and proto-metal bands like Elf and Rainbow, all the way to fronting Black Sabbath around the early ‘80s. And then there’s Dio’s solo career, which helped solidify him as one of the definitive voices of the genre. The man may be gone, but the impact his voice made upon the world of heavy metal will last forever.
#4: Lemmy
Motörhead
His mother may have named him Ian Fraser Kilmister, but he eventually became known to the musical world under only one name: Lemmy. This number one bass assassin and frontman for the English band Motörhead started life in more psychedelic realms with another U.K. act, Hawkwind. However, his move from that group to Motörhead shined a light upon Lemmy’s iconic vocals: a mixture of sandpaper, Jack Daniels, and attitude that went a long way for defining early heavy metal in the 1970s. Oh sure, Lemmy may have always started shows by saying, “We are Motörhead, and we play rock ‘n’ roll,” but legions of headbangers wore their throats out singing along to dyed-in-the-wool metallic gems like “Overkill” and “Ace of Spades.”
#3: King Diamond
Izzo Blues Coalition - Hide Away (Freddie King Cover)
Mercyful Fate
Falsetto vocalists, by nature, can be a divisive breed. Not everyone appreciates this sort of approach with pop music, never mind the over-the-top sound of heavy metal. Yet, Denmark’s own King Diamond has been able to carve out a career so influential, that it went on to inspire world-dominating acts like Metallica. The King’s voice IMMEDIATELY stands out right from the jump, thanks to his piercingly high falsetto wail. This approach was balanced with lower, semi-growled tones on early Mercyful Fate records, while King Diamond’s solo career saw the man getting more dramatic and operatic than ever. Love him or hate him, King Diamond’s voice will never change, and his fans wouldn’t want it any other way.
#2: Rob Halford
Top 10 Frontmen in Heavy Metal and Hard Rock
Judas Priest
What do you think of when you hear the term “heavy metal”? Do you think of loud guitars, pounding drums and a singer that can peel paint from the walls? If so, then congratulations! You’re listening to Judas Priest, and you have great taste. It’s Rob Halford who’s been a huge part of Priest’s success over the years, thanks to the man’s enviable range and amazing power. Halford’s vocals are theatrical, and able to capture a wide variety of moods, sometimes within a single song. In fact, his voice was so tied into the musical DNA of Priest that, when he briefly departed the band, a singer from a Judas Priest tribute act, Tim “Ripper” Owens, was signed up as a replacement!
Before we name our number one pick, here are some heavy honorable mentions!
Glenn Danzig, Danzig
Elvis Presley Via Punk Rock & Heavy Metal
James Hetfield, Metallica
Often Imitated, Never Replicated
Udo Dirkschneider, Accept
Udo Sounds Like Cobra Commander…& That’s a Compliment!
Mikael Åkerfeldt, Opeth
Seventies Prog Moodiness Meets a Death Metal Growl
#1: Ozzy Osbourne
Top 10 Ozzy Osbourne Songs
Black Sabbath
It all hard to start somewhere. The gloomy, tolling church bells, howling wind and ominous atmosphere that foretold the birth of heavy metal. Black Sabbath were there at the beginning, and it was Ozzy Osbourne’s inimitable wail that started it all. It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about these early days with Ozzy, or of the man’s super-successful solo career: he simply embodies Heavy Metal. Capital H. Capital M. Ozzy’s voice probably couldn’t be substituted in any other genre, and why would you want it to be, anyway? His charm takes him a long way, sure, but he’s also amazingly talented when it comes to developing innately memorable vocal patterns. There will probably never be another singer quite like Ozzy.
