(written by Islander)
As a reminder to people that our site’s name isn’t really the ironclad rule that it pretends to be, I always include songs on this list that include… singing.
I mean, the site’s name isn’t a complete joke. The vast majority of the music we feature has no singing in it — only growls, howls, or screams — and most of the time sung vocals don’t hold a lot of appeal for me. Given my tastes in metallic extremity, I find that they often tend to diminish or distract from the emotional and sonic intensity I’m after.
On the other hand, I readily admit that singing can enhance a song’s power, or add contrasting or complementary “colors” that elevate a song’s impact beyond what it could achieve with harsh vox or no vocals at all. The three songs I’ve added to this list today are examples of what I’m getting at. Of course, there are other aspects to the songs which make them addictive, but the voices — which are dramatically different from each other — are a key reason why they got their hooks in me last year.
GAAHLS WYRD
The famed Norwegian artist Gaahl has a fascinating singing voice, capable of a great range of tonal and emotional expressions. It’s relatively subdued in “Time and Timeless Timeline“, the song from Gaahls WYRD that I’m now adding to this list. Most often it’s a ghostly and gritty wail. In the accompanying video, you can sense him summoning inner pain.
As I hinted in the introduction, however, his singing isn’t the only thing that makes the song so killer. That’s down to the frantic, hook-laden riffing, the exhilarating drumwork, the way the music sears as well as gets a listener’s pulse jumping, the way it creates sinister grandeur when shrill cascades emerge in the upper reaches.
In other words, many things happen in the song, every damned one of them fantastic, including the way Gaahl’s voice creates a contrast with all the addictive propulsiveness around it. It’s heavy metal gold, and an easy addition to this list. (The song is off the 2025 Gaahls WYRD album Braiding the Stories.)
https://orcd.co/gaahlswyrdbraidinggthestories
https://www.facebook.com/gaahlswyrd/
BEASTWARS
I’ve raved about the vocals of New Zealander Matt Hyde for so long and with such over-the-top enthusiasm that I’m almost embarrassed to be doing it again today… almost. On Beastwars’ newest album The Ship // The Sea, the emotional power and range of his voice remains a marvel to behold, as it has always been. But it’s not the only spine-tingling aspect of the song from that album that’s next on this list.
Most immediately, “Levitate” will get your pulse-rate jumping like a well-fueled piston and your muscles will move too. It further includes slithering, darting, and screeching tendrils of devilishly delirious melody. I get strong hints of post-punk in the song, but it’s damned heavy too, and as catchy as chlamydia. And fuck, it’s so good to hear Matt Hyde again — and to see another tremendous painting by Nick Keller on the cover.
https://linktr.ee/beastwars
https://beastwars.bandcamp.com/album/the-ship-the-sea
https://www.facebook.com/beastwars666/
CHAMBER MAGE
Here’s another song I discovered because we premiered it in the early spring of last year. I began that write-up with a bold-faced warning: THERE WILL BE CLEAN SINGING! But I quickly followed that by adding that there would also be “[g]lorious riffs galore, pulse-pounding gallops, blazing solo work, and mystical melodies.”
The song was “Blades On The Rampart“, a track off the debut album of Colorado-based Chamber Mage. The name of the album is By Light of Emerald Gods, and I thought it was a good name because it points the way to heavy metal that’s lit by magical and mythic colors, the stuff of swords and sorcery.
Avery Berg’s singing is a vital feature to the kind of electrifying musical fantasies Chamber Mage create. He exhibits impressive range, in both octaves and emotion, and with a grittiness in his voice that puts an edge on the anthems.
And no doubt, “Blades On The Rampart” is an anthem, a battle anthem. Though its opening bars are sinister and arcane, the music quickly catches fire with fast-flying, nimble-fingered riffs and hurtling beats, laced with wildly screaming leads, Berg’s high-flying voice, fierce gang yells, and rising choral voices.
The riffing channels a charge, and its feverish energy charges up the adrenaline. The riffs are also big hooks, as are the vocal melodies. But the band also provide an interlude, a chance for listeners to catch their breath and to become immersed in a different kind of mood. The racing stops, and the music begins to sound like the mysterious and melancholy strains of a violin, like a last moment of somber peace before the blades must come out as the conflict resumes — and resume it does, with the music flying higher, augmented by gloriously delirious soloing that seizes and holds attention throughout.
https://chambermage.bandcamp.com/album/by-light-of-emerald-gods
https://www.facebook.com/chambermage