Good vocals vs. Good guitar riffs

mc666 wrote:

Rexorcist wrote:

Temple of Blood wrote:

Because I like good, well-written music?

I must not understand your question.

I see it like this, the vocals are part of the music, just another instrument.

very well said bro.

Bingo

As for me, I don't think I have ever listened to a band and thought to myself, "Wow, this guitarist sure does suck." I have thought that about some singers, however.

I tend to go with a little of both but I mostly go with vocals. I dont always need my guitars to be doing crazy fancy things. If the vocals dont fit with the music or if they just dont get my attention in some way then that just kills the band for me. For instance my gf will listen to Epica and I listen to Nightwish, Lullacry ,Lacuna Coil etc... and I just cant get into Epica. No matter how much I try to listen to it her vocals just dont hit me, I especially dont like their growling vocals either they sound too fake to me. Now some bands that I listen to like Grave Digger, Destruction, Lake of Tears, King Diamond/Mercyful Fate and even old Faith No More took me a while to get into them because of their vocals but I liked the way their music sounded.

Now what about bands that change their singers? Like Van Halen? When Roth left and Hagar joined Their music changed a little but you still knew it was Van Halen and people are like the Hagar era sucked blah blah blah, but to me I liked the Hagar era best. Roth was annoying at some points. So do you stop liking bands that you liked for years just because of the singer change?

Helloween is my all time favorite band and theyve had 3 different singers. I think they just keep getting better and better with each album and yet the people who were into them when Kiske was in the band hate them now because of Deris. So it just factors on so many things on what people like from bands I dont think it can just be singled down to vocals or guitars.

make any sense? lol

Its all a group effort in a rock band. Bass, Drums, Vocals, and Guitar. If one sucks the rest goes to hell. All very equally important.

As long as they hit their beats, the drums don't mean much to me. The bass? Eh...glad its there, but don't notice it at all. For me, metal is about guitars and vocals. And even the guitars...if they're capably performed, I will like it. I'm not hard to please. I'm more about song structure, the hook, the lyrics, etc. anyway.

But the vocals? Man, the vocals have to be good. They're the most out-front part of the music. They are the hardest thing for me to ignore.

If I don't like the vocals, I'm not listening, period.

Everyone has their own taste.Plenty of singers who aren't "vocal gods" have done fairly well in hardrock/metal/thrash etc.Same with guitarists.You need a balance of both quality riffs and some decent vocals.For me it goes back to the song.Are your songs good ? Ive known and seen guys who can shred tale on the fretboard,but couldn't write a decent song to save their lives.

Vocalists have to be extemely bad for them to ruin a good riff for me. That being said I have run into a few that have been just plain off key or flat out annoying. That's really tragic. The one that comes to mind is a band called Magic Kingdom, I liked the music but the dude flat out couldn't sing. A few others like that too. I guess the rule is they can't be so bad that they distract me from the music. As long as they stay pretty much on key, I can usually deal with it if I don't really like their voice.

All is important and vocals can be a turn off. Like Seventh Power's debut, great music but the vocals just don't cut it, same goes with Seven Angels debut (one of the worst female singers I've heard). However, there are bands, that while the vocals are great (yet not that bad), I still like the music and will listen to it. However, the bands and artists I enjoy the most are the ones with the total package.

Trust me. If the bass wasnt there...you would notice.

Seven Angels is a god example here. Their debut would have been such a stellar effort, had they only had a decent singer. She totally ruins it! But the music is great, I mean absolutly phenomenal!

kmorg wrote:

Seven Angels is a god example here. Their debut would have been such a stellar effort, had they only had a decent singer. She totally ruins it! But the music is great, I mean absolutly phenomenal!

I wouldn't say the band is ruined by her, but you're most definetely onto something.

I am of the mindset that I can thoroughly enjoy a band if the band has a pretty good rhythm/lead guitar player, and a singer with a rocking voice (that make the lyrics distinguishable). I can also state that a band can have great rhythm/lead guitar players, but if their singer is weak, or if you're one of the many death metal bands out there who has a lead vocalist that sounds like they're gargling razor blades, my interest will wane quickly.

Ultimately, I believe metal fans are more awestruck when it comes to the guitar playing ability rather than the singers (though there are those exceptions), but for a band to have anytype of following/longevity, I think the vocalist is the most important dynamic.

kmorg wrote:

Seven Angels is a god example here. Their debut would have been such a stellar effort, had they only had a decent singer. She totally ruins it! But the music is great, I mean absolutly phenomenal!

The thing is she just sounds too off key in most places. Some male metal vocalists can get away with that but not female ones IMO.

I tend to lean toward the "if the vocals are bad, then it's tough to listen to" camp. I have a few CDs that are like that, and I don't listen to them as often because of it.