How to Scream Metal Vocals – Tips and Advice

Do you have a tip? – Let us know here and have it featured in this article!

If you are into metal music as well as learning to sing, you must have been interested in learning how to scream metal vocals. Metal is not everybody’s favourite genre but every once and a while it is good to experiment and try different styles of singing voices.

Metal can include high pitched screaming and singing, low vocal growling and the well-known and popular death metal scream. Learning how to sing metal can be difficult because of the amount of strain and force used. You can end up straining your vocals chords or even worse, permanently injuring your voice.

This is why it is so important not to attempt to sing metal without correct instruction. Death metal vocal training is very important and we highly recommend you find a professional teacher or a good online course. Having a good understanding on some basic microphone techniques is also very helpful for when performing live or recording your voice.

A good quality microphone will also help, read our review on the best mic for metal here.

There are many different types of singing and screaming, each of which has its own uniqueness and s found in a range of styles. A lot of people use the terms “clean” and “unclean vocals”. Clean vocals are the type you would usually hear outside of death metal and it is more of the traditional style of singing.

Unclean vocals are more harsh and aggressive, found in heavy rock, death metal and many other types of metal. In order to be able to do unclean vocals it is important to know some of the common techniques to help you produce the unclean, harsh sounding vocals. Read on to find out about some of the common terms and ways to produce vocals that are unclean, as well as what not to do when you are learning to scream.

A Majority of Vocal Injuries Occur When Learning How to Do Low Screams

When starting out, a lot of people experience pain in their throat and chest. If you do have any pain it is very important to stop and rest, then re assess what you are learning. Most vocal injuries occur while learning how to do low screams as this puts the most strain on your voice.

While learning to sing metal it is important to learn how to metal scream without hurting your throat, you use various techniques and the metal voice comes from the base of your throat using vocal fry and false chords. Another point to make is to ensure you have a good microphone and mic technique which you can learn about here.

Learning false chord screaming and vocal fry is very important. There is lots of helpful information around but it can be difficult to tell what is right and what is not. It is important to be patient and find the right advice when learning how to scream metal vocals.

The Zen of Screaming Can Help You Prevent Vocal Damage

Metal has many names and is split into different sub genres and categories including power metal, death, hard core screamo, djent and many more such as black metal. All require similar singing styles with the differences being how much screaming is involved and where in the voice the scream is placed and comes from.

We recommend listening to your favourite metal singers and try to distinguish what type of style they are using to produce their scream. When practicing your own screams, only attempt a max of five to seven per day.

You need to build up your stamina and endurance to be able to practice for longer periods of time. Obviously this requires a lot of time, patience and practice. Stay hydrated and drink room temperature water if you can which is important when learning how to do low screams.

Learning How to Scream Takes Time

As with many other types of singing, including classical and opera styles, metal screaming is a long and challenging process to learn. This process can be made a lot easier if you take lessons from a vocal instructor who knows and specializes in screaming. This way they will know what is required and how to effectively help you learn safely and correctly.

The only problem with this is that death metal vocal training is hard to find and expensive. It is best to use a vocal training DVD such as The Zen of Screaming by Melissa Cross.

Metal fans who look up to their favourite artist always try to imitate their vocals without any prior practice and knowledge. The main problem with this is that they don’t see how much work the singer went through to get to where they are.

Most have been trained in the traditional art of singing as well as how to develop and grow their own metal voice. This is done with a huge amount of practice over many years. If you want to learn how to sing like Corey Taylor then you are going to need vocal lessons.

Singers like Corey Taylor have been professionally trained and know exactly what they are doing. Another point to make is that anyone can learn to scream with the right instructions. Both males and females are able to do the correct metal techniques. It is just the same to learn how to metal scream for females.

Melissa Cross’s The Zen of Screaming DVD is really useful for learning how to sing metal. It comes with many tips and techniques from different heavy metal singers.

You will be able to learn warm ups and practice exercises to get you well on your way to your first scream. The DVD teaches vocal fry, false chords as well as how to do low screams. It is very helpful to learn by watching this DVD especially for amateur singers. We have reviewed the Zen of Screaming and highly recommend it as a great resource for metal vocalists.

Singing practice is great for breathing techniques and also stamina. Both of which you will need to be great at when screaming correctly. You can also use this resource while practicing with your death metal vocal training teacher.

Zen of Screaming Vocal Course Review

If you are a metal fan or in a metal band there is a good chance you have wondered how all of those great vocalists learn how to metal scream. Screaming is not something that many people can do naturally which is why it must be taught. There is a process and series of steps that must be taken in order to learn and develop your voice so that it becomes natural.

You may have gone to YouTube for information but found (as we did) that there are a lot of people giving out a lot of different and often incorrect information. This can leave you confused and frustrated going in circles not learning anything. There are people on there teaching false chords and vocal fry in ways that will just get you injured. If you are wanting to learn how to sing like Corey Taylor and many other metal vocalists, then you need to learn the right metal vocal techniques with an instructor who knows what they are doing.

There are very few people that teach screaming lessons and there is even less correct information about it. After a lot of research we kept hearing people talking about this great course that was taught by a female who teaches all of these famous metal singers how to improve their vocals and learn how to metal scream. This course was the Zen of Screaming by Melissa Cross and we just had to find out what it was and if it was actually any good. Read the review below on the DVD, find out how it can help you learn to scream properly and correctly. This also shows that females are able to scream just as good as male screamers.

What is The Zen of Screaming?… 

The Zen of screaming is a vocal course created by Melissa Cross to help you learn to scream and improve your screaming voice. The course is taught by Melissa and covers all aspects of what you need to learn in order to scream without damaging your voice. Melissa Cross is a vocal teacher who studied at Interlochen Arts Academy, she has worked with many famous singers including Randall Blythe and Corey Taylor helping them improve their vocals. So if you have always wanted to learn how to sing like Corey Taylor then this DVD is perfect for you!

The Zen of Screaming is an easy to use video course which is filled with valuable information on everything you need to learn.

Melissa takes you through vocal exercises that help to warm up your voice including diaphragm breathing, breathing exercises, posture and stance, false chords, improving high pitched scream and many more. What is great about this DVD is that there are examples for everything. All of the vocal techniques are explained clearly and you are shown why they are so important when learning how to scream metal.

What will I Learn?

The DVD covers all types of screaming and teaches you to scream without hurting your voice. It is great for beginners who want to start learning screaming vocals. As mentioned previously it covers everything you need including demonstrations and explanations for each technique. People who are already screaming and know how will also gain a lot from this DVD.

You will learn the vocal fry technique and how to apply it with power, you also learn how to high pitched scream. Included is an audio CD and a booklet with a really helpful practice program that you can follow to learn step by step.

Another point to mention is that the course is very visual, meaning that there are a lot of things that can only be described like the heat and fire technique. This helps you to easily visualize what you need to do when learning and practicing and there are audio examples of everything which makes the process much easier.

Melissa has done well to make what could have been a boring instructional DVD become really fun and engaging. Right off the bat it is like watching your mother in a metal band, but she kicks ass!

Melissa really does know what she is talking about when it comes to learning. It really shows by having some famous vocalists in the DVD such as Randall Blythe and Brian Fair talking about Melissa and how her course helped them improve.

There are even demonstrations by some of the artists she has taught, they show you some of the exercises and how they helped them learn how to scream metal.

Here is a quick run down on just a few of the techniques covered in the DVD:

• How to breathe correctly
• Screaming with power
• Vocal fry techniques and exercises
• False Chords
• High pitched screaming
• Vocal range
• Warm-ups
• Control
• How to metal scream

Check out the Zen of Screaming 2 Trailer Below

Recommended to purchase the original Zen of Screaming DVD before part 2

Summary

If you are looking for an affordable way to learn how to sing like Corey Taylor then look no further than this vocal screaming course. Melissa is a fun and highly skilled vocal instructor and you will learn a lot from taking her course. There are a range of DVD’s released by Melissa but it is recommended to purchase the original DVD.

A lot of the extra ones continue on from the original content and if you don’t have it, you will miss out on the topics that were covered previously.

A lot of the content in the original DVD covers exercises, breathing and warming up, with the hardcore screaming lessons focused near the end. This is a progress that you and anyone learning to sing or scream must follow as it is very important not to damage your voice by screaming incorrectly because it can be permanent.

Learn the Heat and Fire segment and you will be well ahead of many aspiring screamers. After going through that process it is much easier to do a high pitched scream or to learn how to scream metal. One thing that the course didn’t cover was some of the basic microphone techniques that metal singers need to know or even advising on some of the best mics for metal vocalists. This is a vocal course but it should be noted that those are also important things to learn as a metal singer.

• See also: How to record Your Voice

The most important part about learning is to be able to adapt it into what ever you are doing, The course doesn’t force you to sing in a different style, you can apply the techniques into any type of screaming you do. Melissa even says that it doesn’t matter what music you are into, the DVD allows you to carry on with your own style and improve on it which is great.

Check out the Zen of Screaming Here!