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Ahhhh... The 90's! What a fantastic ten years for metal. Did I say metal? I meant EXTREME METAL!!!
Some of the most innovative, and groundbreaking stuff came out in the 90's. The same can be said about vocals. Many patterns of various vocal trends continuously went towards farther reaches of the same old game, but others found ways to skip your eardrums, and BLOW your fucking mind with unheard ferocity, and emotions never tapped into before. We're talking about vocal performances that will stand the test of time, and endure ages of subpar clones and copycats who'll never quite reach the same pinnacle of revolutionary greatness.
Here are my nominees:
Stevo
Impetigo - Ultimo Mondo Cannibale (1990)
This band invented Goregrind. Stevo's vocals, to this day, still stand up to even the most vile and depthy vocal performances of today's most revered and feared porngrind acts, death grunters, and anyone else who wants to copy his game. The band itself was great (Who else can say they MADE Gut Gut?), but Stevo was the vomit screamer who made your heart sink first. I still get chills thinking about where they came up with this stuff, kickin' it in boring Bloomington, IL.
Varg Vikernes
Burzum - Hvis Lyset Tar Oss (1992)
Jesus, when I first heard the vox... Anyone would be lying if they said they weren't slightly taken aback by these. Seriously, they aren't that BM at first glance. They sound animal like, and even funny. You grin, but only for a second, as you would hearing a strange funny noise... only to realize it's the gargle of your mother being strangled. Varg held nothing back, and his art shined brighter than ever before on Hvis. The pure torment that his vocals emit are far beyond any level of straight-on brutality. Varg makes the torment real, and when this record is done spinning, you know he left a piece of himself with it. Very, very cold, and very disturbing. Yet beautiful. Varg was a vocal genious.
Kevin Sharp
Brutal Truth - Need to Control (1994)
Kevin Sharp comes off as some berserk maniac, belting out mindless churnings of lunacy. In actuallity, Kevin Sharp is a highly organized vocalist of intense complexity, and little compromise. And to think, this came out in fucking 1994, even before mighty Lord Wurm's vocal performance on None So Vile (Not saying one is better than the other...). Seemingly influenced by rage alone, Kevin Sharp essentially developed a style of planned randomness that even mainstream SOAD wishes they could emmulate. Not to mention the the grind world, and many a death act. So why has no one ever been able to top him? Curious. Oh, right. BECAUSE HE FUCKING DID IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME! Still, it's nice to hear his voice used to this day.
Lord Wurm
Cryptopsy - None So Vile (1995)
Inaudible. Uncompromising. A style unseen before Lord Worm, but perhaps we should've seen it coming... Obituary, Impetigo, Cannibal Corpse, Burzum, Brutal Truth, vocally, they were all good signs of what was to come, but... Then again... No one could REALLY see Lord Wurm coming. And that's what makes him special. Despite the already growing line of vocal revolutionaries, he still created something completely out of left field. Very violent. Don't enroll your kid at his school. (shivers)
Please, drop a name I missed or ignored.
Yeah. Sure, they were all backed by incredible music. But, they were also essential to the projects they stood with... and the decade they dominated. So let's jabber about 'em. w00tw00t.
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