Screaming (music)

Screaming is an extended vocal technique that is usually harsh, loud and aggressive. While a few other genres have used screaming, it is especially popular in hardcore punk and extreme metal. Proper technique is required to scream safely, and some vocalists have experienced health issues due to improper screaming.

Barney Greenway performing with grindcore band Napalm Death

Overview

Blues

One of the first known R&B songs to utilize screaming vocals is Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You" (1956).^[1] Tina Turner used screaming in "A Fool in Love" (1960), her first recording as a lead singer, on which Juggy Murray commented, "All of those blues singers sounded like dirt. Tina sounded like screaming dirt. It was a funky sound."^[2]

Heavy metal

While occasional screaming has been used for effect in heavy metal since the genre's dawn in the late 1960s, with singers such as Robert Plant, Ian Gillan and Rob Halford employing the technique frequently, screaming as a normal method of lyrical delivery first came to prominence in heavy metal as part of the thrash metal movement of the 1980s.^[3] Thrash metal was influenced both by heavy metal and by hardcore punk, the latter of which often incorporated shouted vocals. Musicologist Robert Walser noted, "The punk influence shows up in the music's fast tempos and frenetic aggressiveness and in critical or sarcastic lyrics delivered in a menacing growl."^[3]

Death metal in particular is associated with growled vocals. It tends to be darker and more morbid than thrash metal, and features vocals that attempt to evoke chaos and misery by being "usually very deep, guttural, and unintelligible."^[4] Natalie Purcell notes, "Although the vast majority of death metal bands use very low, beast-like, almost indiscernible growls as vocals, many also have high and screechy or operatic vocals, or simply deep and forcefully sung vocals."^[5] Music sociologist Deena Weinstein noted of death metal, "Vocalists in this style have a distinctive sound, growling and snarling rather than singing the words. Making ample use of the voice distortion box, they sound as if they had gargled with hydrochloric acid."^[6]

A progressively more forceful enunciation of metal vocals has been noted, from heavy metal to thrash metal to death metal.

To appreciate the music, fans first had to accept a merciless sonic signature: guttural vocals that were little more than a menacing, sub-audible growl. James Hetfield's thrash metal rasp was harsh in contrast to Rob Halford's heavy metal high notes, but creatures like Glen Benton of Deicide tore out their larynxes to summon images of decaying corpses and giant catastrophic horrors.^[7]

Black metal

American black metal group Wolves in the Throne Room employ long shrill screams influenced by Gorgoroth's early work.^{[8][verification needed]}

Metalcore

Deathcore

Deathcore vocals range from the low death growls of vocalists such as Phil Bozeman of Whitechapel^[9] to the high-pitched screams from vocalists like Alex Koehler of Chelsea Grin.^{[citation needed]} A particular style known as "pig squealing" has been used by bands such as Job for a Cowboy^[10] and Despised Icon.^[11]

Alternative metal and nu metal

Linkin Park's original lead singer Chester Bennington, in addition to singing, was well-known for his aggressive screaming ability, most notably the 17-second scream in the track "Given Up".^[12] His successor in the band, Dead Sara frontwoman Emily Armstrong, has continued this trend in new Linkin Park songs, including a 16-second scream in "Heavy Is the Crown".^{[citation needed]}

Hardcore and punk rock

Yelling and shouting vocals are common in a type of punk rock known as hardcore. Early punk was distinguished by a general tendency to eschew traditional singing techniques in favor of a more direct, harsh style which accentuated meaning rather than beauty.^[13] The logical extension of this aesthetic is shouting, and in hardcore punk, vocals are usually shouted in a frenetic manner similar to rapping or football chants, often accompanied by "gang vocals"^[14][15] in which a group of people shout along with the vocalist. This style is very common in punk rock, most prominently Oi!, street punk and hardcore punk.^[16]

Health concerns

Some vocalists who employed improper screaming techniques have had problems with their throats, voices, and vocal cords. Some vocalists have had to stop screaming, making music altogether, or even undergo surgery due to damage to their vocal cords. One example is Sonny Moore (also known as Skrillex) of the band From First to Last, who had to leave the band as vocalist due to the damage it was causing to his vocal cords, which required surgery to repair.^[17][18] Kyo of Dir En Grey, noted for his extreme vocal range incorporating both clean and harsh vocals, was hospitalised for vocal nodule dysphonia in 2012, though has since recovered.^[19] Vocalist Mark Garrett of Kardashev told Science Friday that vocalists who scream can have difficulties with healthcare, as doctors simply tell them to stop rather than giving them exams.^[20] Screaming, growling and harsh vocals require traditional melodic vocal techniques to be done properly and without physical damage of any kind.^{[21][better source needed]} In 2005 professional vocal coach Melissa Cross released a DVD called The Zen of Screaming, which featured instructions on how to utilize said techniques without damaging one's vocal folds. The Zen of Screaming was re-released as a digital download.^{[22][better source needed]}

In 2024, the University of Utah studied the screaming technique of Will Ramos of Lorna Shore, with The Charismatic Voice posting a video of the process. They found that his technique, which he described as false cord, manipulated tissues above the vocal cords, protecting them from damage and producing less strain than even regular speech. They noted that such technique could be taught to other screamers, allowing them to maintain their health and careers, and that they had plans to study other screamers.^[23][24] Such supraglottal tissues of the larynx move minimally in clean singing, but more extensively in Tibetan chants and Tuvan throat singing. Elizabeth Zharoff of The Charismatic Voice recruited eight other vocalists and launched a Kickstarter campaign for a larger study which raised over $300,000. In March of 2025, four of those vocalists (Mark Garrett of Kardashev, Travis Ryan of Cattle Decapitation, Spencer Sotelo of Periphery, and Alissa White-Gluz of Arch Enemy) completed similar tests;^[20] Phil Bozeman of Whitechapel, Melissa Bonny of Ad Infinitum, Tatiana Shmayluk of Jinjer, and Devin Townsend were also set to undergo testing.^[25]

See also

• Death growl
• Screaming
• Screamo
• Harsh voice
• Creaky voice
• Ingressive sound
• Pharyngealization
• Epiglottal trill