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werewolfgraveyard
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Sep 07, 2022 5:10 am
Posts: 203
PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2024 1:41 pm 
 

This seems absurd but bare with me, this is a theory I've had for a bit and I'm gonna explain even if it seems outlandish. I think some European bands, usually ones associated with the 80s thrash scene, get associated or mistaken for extreme metal genres not because they're actually all that extreme but because their accents are so rough that it feels more reminiscent of the aggressive harsh vocals associated with extreme metal. A particular one that comes to mind is Celtic Frost. They get called black/death metal and all that in their early years, and I don't think it's all that extreme. Sure, an influence yes, first wave in a similar way to Venom, sure. But death metal? I think Tom G. Warrior just sounds like that. At least with Hellhammer it makes way more sense, but with Celtic Frost I think it has more to do with his Swiss accent than any extreme vocals or riffing.

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DoomMetalAlchemist
Veteran

Joined: Mon Dec 27, 2010 6:10 am
Posts: 2849
PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2024 1:56 pm 
 

Not extreme in the "extreme metal" category sense, but Ari's rough accent makes Minotauri sound more extreme for sure. A reviewer on MA said he sounds like a barbarian, and I have to agree.

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CoffeeCat
Metal newbie

Joined: Fri Apr 22, 2022 9:09 am
Posts: 330
PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2024 2:12 pm 
 

There's definitely something to the idea that certain accents and languages are more aggressive sounding. Germanic languages in particular have a lot of sharp consonants that harsh vocals tend to accentuate, and that also applies both to English lyrics spoken by bands from those parts of Europe, as well as their own native languages.

More broadly, I also think music written in languages you don't understand tends to come across as more exotic and unfamiliar, and that can increase its mystique. If you can't understand what's being said, you tend to focus in more on the emotional delivery of the music and vocal performance, rather than the content of the lyrics. It's the same reason why to me, an English speaker, a lot of English lyrics are pretty lame sounding to my ear, but you could literally be singing nursery rhymes in Norwegian and it'd still sound kvlt.

But it's probably a stretch to say that's what pushes something over the line into another genre. It adds to the overall package, but it's not going to turn heavy metal into thrash metal or thrash metal into death metal on its own, and there are plenty of heavily-accented European vocalists that sing in English that don't sound any more extreme than if they were British or American.
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Last edited by CoffeeCat on Fri Feb 02, 2024 2:16 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Lane
Metalhead

Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2002 11:54 am
Posts: 1088
Location: Finland
PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2024 2:13 pm 
 

Well, Finnish is very blunt language. We do not have much of round phoning. It's rhythmic.

And yep CoffeeCat, German is another harsh language.
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Evil Entity
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2023 5:31 am
Posts: 122
PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2024 2:21 pm 
 

Macbeth is one of my favorite bands and I don't speak German....however that language + thrashier trad metal completely works.

Same for Hulkoff and his 'viking metal' solo records. You have to have that vocal inflection.

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Ghost of Christmas Last
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2021 6:37 pm
Posts: 101
PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2024 3:16 pm 
 

Thrash counts as extreme metal, right? Which defeats a vast chunk of this premise - I mean, it's in the name...

Meanhwille growling is in fact an animalistic accent, and while it may make the songs SEEM more extreme, are they really?

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Rosenthorn
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Dec 11, 2013 8:51 pm
Posts: 535
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2024 5:09 pm 
 

I actually think a heavy Italian accent makes power metal sound more, uh, power-y? Not necessarily less heavy, but it definitely alters the feel of the music vs a less noticeable accent.
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SanPeron
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2023 6:56 pm
Posts: 980
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2024 6:22 pm 
 

Spanish and Italian are both great languages to sing power metal, both are Latin-based and have a more romantic sound than other languages.
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Ace_Rimmer
Metal freak

Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2017 11:30 am
Posts: 4580
PostPosted: Fri Feb 02, 2024 11:25 pm 
 

Yeah, I think Piotr's vocals in Vader have more punch with that accent.

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morbert
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2007 2:36 am
Posts: 1274
PostPosted: Sat Feb 03, 2024 3:21 am 
 

The sound of a language does a lot for me. An accent can make or break a lot to my ears.
Some people mentioned power metal already
For me English/Irish/Scottisch accents do a lot more in (rawer) punk and grind than any American accent (plenty of US bands I like though)
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Lane
Metalhead

Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2002 11:54 am
Posts: 1088
Location: Finland
PostPosted: Sat Feb 03, 2024 8:56 am 
 

I've noticed, that many Italian vocalists do not articulate the letter "h". "Home" becomes "ome", "hate" becomes "ate", and so on.

Some Rotting Christ albums have such an extreme accent, that it almost makes them unlistenable to me if I start thinking about it too much.
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tomcat_ha
Minister of Boiling Water

Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2006 8:05 am
Posts: 5570
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Sun Feb 04, 2024 3:58 pm 
 

I dont think the accent or language itself makes something more extreme but it definitely can give the vocals a lot of flavour. I quite like Czech for example.

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Poisonfume
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2011 7:26 pm
Posts: 1227
Location: Greece
PostPosted: Sun Feb 04, 2024 5:07 pm 
 

For me, what's most important is grammar. Sure, your rough Eastern European accent may complement the music, but if you choose to write lyrics in broken English it's just goofy and the opposite of extreme. Not saying your underground war metal band has to spit like Shakespeare, but it can't sound like pre-preschool either.
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DoomMetalAlchemist
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Joined: Mon Dec 27, 2010 6:10 am
Posts: 2849
PostPosted: Mon Feb 05, 2024 10:31 am 
 

Poisonfume wrote:
For me, what's most important is grammar. Sure, your rough Eastern European accent may complement the music, but if you choose to write lyrics in broken English it's just goofy and the opposite of extreme. Not saying your underground war metal band has to spit like Shakespeare, but it can't sound like pre-preschool either.


Not European, but I thought everyone loved "If you are a false, don't entry!"

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tomcat_ha
Minister of Boiling Water

Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2006 8:05 am
Posts: 5570
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Thu Feb 08, 2024 6:06 pm 
 

Definitely care more about Sarcófago's lyrics than any band with "good" lyrics. I know where to find a good book.

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kemoarps
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Fri Jun 23, 2023 11:37 am
Posts: 5
PostPosted: Thu Feb 15, 2024 7:00 pm 
 

I will admit that accents can be way more distracting than they probably should be. There are some artists where the vocalist's accent just makes it all sound so off to my ear that it can just about ruin the music for me. I think part of what it is is that accents are really derived from a similar place as tone/etc so singing with a bad accent sometimes to my ears sounds similar to someone singing way out of tune/not hitting their notes/etc.

I've noticed it in some thrash and power/speed primarily, and the bands I can think of off the top of my head are mostly from either Germany or Italy.

Certainly some accents make certain styles sound even better, and sometimes the accent isn't a problem at all (plus who the hell am I to criticize, right... like I barely speak the one language I live in let alone multiple others... but at the same time, I'm not trying to make a living speaking in those other languages, either. So +/-)

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Zerberus
Metalhead

Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2008 4:29 pm
Posts: 2308
Location: Denmark
PostPosted: Fri Feb 16, 2024 4:02 am 
 

My band used to play a cover of Barbatos' Dick is Fucking Big. We're Danish so there's definitely still an accent, but it's not quite as thick as Yasuyuki's. So while we may play it faster and more extreme, it just doesn't sound as unhinged as the original.

Thinking of early Sodom and stuff like that, Tom's German accent coupled with the lyrics really does sell the idea better than if he had had no accent at all. I wouldn't say it sounds more extreme, but it definitely sells the aesthetic better.
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irishpip
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2019 2:37 pm
Posts: 19
PostPosted: Fri Feb 16, 2024 5:11 am 
 

Zerberus wrote:
Thinking of early Sodom and stuff like that, Tom's German accent coupled with the lyrics really does sell the idea better than if he had had no accent at all. I wouldn't say it sounds more extreme, but it definitely sells the aesthetic better.


The primitive delivery of early Sodom gave their material a feeling of rage straining against the band's limitations.

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