Quote:
Originally Posted by hip hop bunny hop
The point of the death/black metal vocals is for them to be incomprehensible. The idea behind, say, the traditionally piercing high black metal scream is to transform the voice into a non-melodic instrument the primary purpose of which is to cause a sense of unease. Whereas with death metal, the traditionally low guttural growl is a non-melodic instrument used to add to the rhythmic flow of the music.
As far as understanding the lyrics, it depends, but it's generally pointless. If we use Panzer Division Marduk as an example; the music is bent on giving the listener such a feeling exhilaration, of power, that it is apparent without knowing the lyrics or looking at the art on the album. The lyrics are there to simply reinforce the feeling of power already apparent in the music.
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Pretty much.
I often personally struggle to grasp the thought process that goes in to someone telling me "I don't like bands that scream" or something similar, when they are talking about more extreme types of heavy metal. I understand it not being a sound that would be pleasant to everyones ear, but is it really just the vocals or is it the music itself that they don't like?
If someone listens to music for the overall tone and feeling of a record, and view the vocals as just another instrument used to achieve it, then surely a growled vocal is in keeping with the tone of a death metal record and a more snarled, shrieking vocal in keeping with black. Being able to identify the lyrics when listening becomes largely unimportant.