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[J_Saunders]

I really love metal. Sounds easy so far, huh? The thing is, I really dislike that gutteral screaming voice that nearly all metal bands have adopted these days. I loved metal from the era of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Metallica. This style seems to have come to an end, though... If there is anyone who can mention a band like these, I would be very grateful.

(I know that this voice is now as much a part of metal as fast guitar playing and driving drums. But there must be someone who sticks to the early metal styles.)

[Storm Rider]

Well, you could try Nevermore. It's not exactly the same, but it fits the category of clean vocals at the very least.

I used to be in a similar position, but really, after you listen to enough gutteral vocals you begin to get used to it, and after a while you can start to differentiate between bad gutteral vocals and good gutteral vocals. There is a difference, trust me. If you want to try to get in to gutteral vocals, just so you can listen to, like, every modern metal band, I would suggest listening to Testament's first 3 albums (The Legacy, The New Order, and Practice What You Preach), and if you like those, then download their later album The Gathering. After their singer got older and recovered from throat cancer, they switched to a sort of hybrid of thrash and death vocals. 'Eyes of Wrath' from that album was the song that made death metal vocals finally make sense to me. If you're not interested, then nevermind, but it worked for me so I figured I'd suggest it!

[J_Saunders]

Thank you! Though I cannot provide immediate feedback, my torrent program has suddenly become very buisy =) I have spent a couple years searching for a band I can follow, and you are the best source I have come across. I will be sure to post feadback once I have heard Testament.

[Scytale]

Nevermore, Iced Earth, Jag Panzer, Gamma Ray (Later stuff sounds a lot like Classic Judas Priest, earlier stuff is more Power Metal) and Primal Fear.

That's a few bands anyway. If you need more post back, there are a shit load of metal bands who still use clean Vocals, most Power Metal nad Thrash Metal bands use clean vocals.

As Storm Rider says though guttural vocals aren't really a huge deal...

[J_Saunders]

Again, Thank you! These are bands I have yet to discover, however. It will be a while before I can respond. But there more info i have, the more I can research! I will be sure to remember your name, Scytale. I get the feeling that you will be able to point me in the right direction in terms of looking for new music.

- That guy who has not listened to anything recorded after 1990.

[amok]

most Power Metal

Aye, good call, if it's NWOBHM type vocals you're looking for and you don't mind a bit of cheese, power metal is the way to go.

Dragonforce are probably the most popular proponents of this stuff at the moment, check out "A Night At The Opera" by Blind Guardian too. Hammerfall have a very classic Maiden sound to them, and you could look into later Amorphis (especially the "Tuonela" album - early stuff is growly).

Moving away from the 'classic' metal sound, some gothic/doom metal bands still have clean vox, albeit not in the same style. A good transitional record would be "Of Empires Forlorn" by While Heaven Wept, the singing is still very power-metal-styled but the music is moving more towards doom*. Another CD you might like is "Atlantic" by The Wounded.

Finally, if you want to get into growly metal but find jumping straight into death/black metal stuff a bit off-putting (I had the same problem for years), the best way might be to listen to bands that use this vocal style but have enough interesting things going on with the music that you notice it less. The band that did this for me were Finntroll - however bad/silly you think the vocalist is, you're bound to like something about the "Jaktens Tid" CD. Also check out Opeth because if you haven't already, it's pretty much inevitable that you'll hear them at some point. Avoid "Ghost Reveries" though and start with "Still Life" and/or "Blackwater Park", which are usually seen as their more 'accessible' albums.

Aaaand I'm spent.

*This may or may not be a bit hard to track down, post in here if you want me to upload it for ya.

[J_Saunders]

Wow, this community is so much more helpful than I had expected. Thank you again for the advice. But I fear that it will be a long time before I am able to post feedback. I have found a band who's music I really love,but the vocals drove me away Their name is Agalloch. I feel that if I can get past them, I can start to appreciate modern metal. (The whole nature theme really appeals to my having grown up in a town in Maine that is supported by hunting and fishing.) These other bands listed will make for great stepping stones along the way. This is too much for me to handle at once, but I will keep a record of those who I like and dislike. All advice here is appreciated, but I am afraid that I must retire for this evening. Thank you again for your insight!

[amok]

Here's that WHW cd for when you get around to it. Only 128kbps 'cos I ripped this ages ago, before I really knew jack about mp3 quality.

http://download.yousendit.com/EC14E58432C3B30C

[öde]

Dead Heart in a Dead World and Enemies of Reality are fantastic Nevermore albums.

[Caspian]

Blistered Earth. Freaking awesome band. Total old school thrash stuff, epic, lots of huge solos and big riffs. The guy sings 90% of the time, and screams about 10% (His vocals are very much like Hetfield's in RTL). They might be a bit hard to find though.

Also: Keep it up with Agalloch! They are very good.

Finally, a bit of a deviation from trad metal, but I would recommend Ulver's debut album Berglatt. It's like a faster and angrier Agalloch. The guy sings with a clean voice most of the time. It's not their best album, but if you don't like Agalloch's vocals, then chances are you won't dig Nattrens Madrical at all, because it's way extreme (though really freaking good.)

[Scytale]

Actualy Bergtatt is my favorite Ulver album, I'd rate it in my top 10 albums of all time. I wouldn't say it was angrier then Agalloch, I've only heard two Agalloch albums though (Pale Folklore and the new one), Too me Bergtatt has a very chilled out atmosphere, especially with the flute passages and the interludes with the forest sounds...

Garm's voice is seriously godly, one of the best vocalist I can think of. Bergtatt's the sort of album you can close your eyes to and get transported away into a forest. The Album art and booklet images sum up the album personally, my copy of Bergtatt is actually one of my most treasured possesions.

[valley_parade]

It's a little more folk oriented and there is screaming, but check out Vintersorg. Dude's got a hell of a voice.

[J_Saunders]

Actualy Bergtatt is my favorite Ulver album, I'd rate it in my top 10 albums of all time. I wouldn't say it was angrier then Agalloch, I've only heard two Agalloch albums though (Pale Folklore and the new one), Too me Bergtatt has a very chilled out atmosphere, especially with the flute passages and the interludes with the forest sounds...

Garm's voice is seriously godly, one of the best vocalist I can think of. Bergtatt's the sort of album you can close your eyes to and get transported away into a forest. The Album art and booklet images sum up the album personally, my copy of Bergtatt is actually one of my most treasured possesions.

That one sounds pretty good. I actually grew up in a town surrounded by forest. For a school project, I once video taped a family of bears who had gotten drunk from fermenting apples that had fallen from a tree after a frost. lol

[Storm Rider]

Dan, are you suggesting that Enemies of Reality is better than This Godless Endeavor?

I challenge you to fisticuffs, sir.

[J_Saunders]

Here's that WHW cd for when you get around to it. Only 128kbps 'cos I ripped this ages ago, before I really knew jack about mp3 quality.

http://download.yousendit.com/EC14E58432C3B30C

I just finished listening to this one! The music I listen to is usually a bit more driving, but this is good. I have never heard anything like this almost electronic orchestra sound that they have. The sound quality is good enough for my worn out speakers and ringing head anyway =)

[Technetium]

You might enjoy progressive metal, if you haven't already tried it. There are usually no growls in that genre (Opeth being an exception). Dream Theater is probably the most well-known band in that genre. Symphony X is another that is fairly popular. Lesser known bands include Andromeda, Adagio, Eternity X, Pain of Salvation (recommended), and Vanden Plas (not recommended). I also recommend the King Crimson albums Red and The Power to Believe; they're better than just about everything I just mentioned.

As far as power metal goes... Check out Angra (borderline power and prog metal), Blind Guardian, Kamelot, and Sonata Arctica. I don't recommend either Stratovarius or Dragonforce. You might want to try Rhapsody, if you can ignore the cheesiest lyrics ever written.

Honestly, though, your ability to enjoy metal will open dramatically if you can learn to get past not liking growled vocals. Agalloch is a friggin phenomenal band. A standard gateway band to this sort of vocal style is Opeth. The best way to go is to just go and get Blackwater Park. Listen to the songs "Bleak", "Harvest", and "The Drapery Falls". Give it a week or so to settle in. Lots of people think "there's no way in hell I'm ever going to like this shit" but Opeth has proven many wrong. 

[David_Dovey]

I don't think I've ever seen anybody rank Enemies of Reality up the top of Nevermore albums before Dan. I love it meself.

[Storm Rider]

Nevermore albums rank as follows:

This Godless Endeavor
Dead Heart in a Dead World
Dreaming Neon Black
Politics of Ecstasy
Enemies of Reality
S/T

Of course, this is a bit misleading, since Nevermore hasn't released a bad album to date. Who Decides is still one of my favorite songs, ever.

[Dimmukane]

Old school type metal:  The Lord Weird Slough Feg.  Or as they're now known, just Slough Feg. 
Best Prog-Metal band with a vocalist I have ever heard:  Aghora

[J_Saunders]

Lots of people think "there's no way in hell I'm ever going to like this shit" but Opeth has proven many wrong. 

I can relate to that already. I used to hate metal all together. I used to always listen to jazz (Even played a pretty good jazz trumpet). Miles davis and Winton Marsalis made up more than half of my CDs. But the manager of a place I once worked at always had metal playing. Eventually, I found that I was really into it, and listen to it almost exclusively now. Metallica's For Whom the Bell Tolls was the song I had this epiphany during. Not their best song, but driving enough to keep me moving despite how tired I was.