There have been many a great vocalists throughout history. The twentieth and twenty-first centuries gave society some of the most talented and creative singers to ever walk the earth. Some of the greatest singers range from jazz singers like Ella Fitzgerald to screamers like Corey Taylor of Slipknot. Now obviously it is impossible to actually label anyone the best of anything, but I'm going to try to limit it down to the top thirteen singers in the genres of rock and metal, according to my own personal tastes and in no particular order. See the list after the jump.
- Trent Reznor (pictured above) - Trent Reznor is a singer-songwriter, musician, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Need I say more? Yes I must. Trent Makes my list because he created the one man army known as Nine Inch Nails. He sings with such emotion and feeling that you can clearly understand what his deep lyrics represent and what Reznor was feeling when he wrote the song. Basically the man is pure awesome.
- Corey Taylor - Corey taylor is the Iowan singer from metal band Slipknot and hard rock band Stone Sour. He sings in a wonderfully melodic and emotional voice and than transitions to soaring sreams. He's got the kind of voice that works for a lullaby and for getting a mosh pit thumping. His ability to transition his voice so well gets him on my list.
- David Draiman - The Disturbed frontman is known for his distinctive grunts and distorted yet melodic voice. His voice is extremely powerful and commands him a powerful stage presence. His voice combined with his lyrics get him a spot on this list.
- Steve Perry - He's the lead vocalist for one of the world's most well-known rock bands, Journey. He's also one of the most talented singers to ever grasp a microphone. Perry's vocal classification is Tenore contraltino, a term used to describe a man who sings in the highest possible male register (above tenor and including what would, if sung by a woman, be called alto or mezzo), using a natural or "full" voice and employing falsetto only in his extreme upper register (thanks wikipedia). He can shoot from a low note to an excessively high note within a second. He was sadly replaced in the nineties. He will always be journey to me.
- Chester Bennington - He's the very talented vocalist from Linkin Park and Dead by sunrise who quit his job at Burger King to start a singing career, smart move. He has a really unique voice that's taken Linkin Park into Diamond album status. Ever since I heard the song Crawling I was hooked on LP. His vocals are just phantasmic.
- Serj Tankian - is the amazing Armenian-American singer of System of a Down as well as his own band. He has one of the most distinctive voices that you'll ever hear. Different isn't always a bad thing. Tankian has a moving voice that when accompanied by his lyrics, make you really feel all sorts of things.
- Till Lindemann - A six four German from industrial metal band Rammstein who sings bass toned lyrics in his native tongue with rolled r's and heavily growled ach's awesomely enough to make anyone stop and listen. His vocals range from downright scary to melodic ballad. He is a licensed pyrotechnician who likes to create a story for every song while shooting flames inches from his face. This Germanic poet is definitely one of the greatest.
- Ronnie James Dio - Dio's powerful voice can basically be called the platform for which all heavy metal is based on. He is known for being Ozzy's replacement in Black Sabbath and of course his own band Dio, and more recently Heaven & Hell. He popularized the "devil horns" hand gesture that has become a staple of metalheads everywhere. His superpowered voice soars into the darkest fantasies imaginable. Sadly Dio passed away on May 16, 2010 of stomach cancer. If I had to pick a number one Dio would definitely be my choice. The man is a legendand his music will live on forever.
Now onto the ladies of the list.
- Simone Simons - The Dutch symphonic metal songstress from Epica who at the age of 14 quit her pop singing lessons for classical singing lessons. Her beautiful operatic vocals lift you straight up and immerse the listener into a world of symphonic bliss. Plus she's a gorgeous redhead.
- Mary Zimmer - is the growling melodic death-metal songstress from now defunct bad Luna Mortis. Her growls are excessively powerful and surprisingly so is her voice. She can growl with the evilist ans sing with the best of 'em.
- Sharon Den Adel - Another Dutch woman makes my list. The Within Temptaion frontwoman has one of the most beautiful voices to ever travel into my mind. Her voice can calm a cyclops with a bad outbreak of hemorrhoids. She has an amazing vocal range that spans over three octaves, plus shee looks like an actual goddess.
- Cristina Scabbia - This Italian soundmaker is talented and immensely beautiful (Great example of both). She's the female half of the singing duo in the band called Lacuna Coil. Along with her singing partner Andrea Ferro, she puts out some of the most beautiful gothic metal music in existance. Ms. Sabbia even writes an advice column for Revolver Magazine. She is definitely number one on the beauty scale. Italians are just bred of pure beauty. Pic to Justify...
Well that's thirteen, it was hard keeping the list this short. There are so many talented artists that deserve recognition. Well thanks for reading.
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