The Top 10 Vocalists of 2015

Often left as the icing on the cake or as an after thought these days , particularly with metal, vocals are what I scrutinize the most and is most often the deal breaker for me. Here we are talking about singing, there are a couple on the list who incorporated screaming in various degrees into what they do , but this list are the singers that went that really poured their hearts and souls into each note.

10-Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden

 This is almost more of an honorable mention as there is more strain on his highs which are not as high as well even a "Matter of Life and Death" , but then again being the Trooper , Bruce came back from a bout of cancer that could have made matter's much worse so that combined with taking his age into consideration, Bruce still does better than most.

 9- Lariyah Hayes of Khaotika

Hayes dominates "the Flame Unleashed" with a range that dips down into a urgent alto before soaring up into her more power metal soaring register. She manages to pull off a classic metal vocal without getting mired down in cliches of 80s metal yodeling. Even at her most melodic she doesn't take away from the heaviness of her band and can rough it up with the boys who provide most of the backing growls. Expect big things from her in the future and check out their most recent album if you have yet to give it a spin.
 



 

8- Joy Von Spain of Eye of Nix Joy

Von Spain  can belt out an operatic soprano, but isn't afraid to tighten up her vocal cords and give an anguished scream either. Her vocals set "Moros" ahead of the pack when it comes to bands experimenting with sludge encrusted metal. The dark back drop her band sets behind her compliments her voice and gives her the breathing room to belt it out as needed. Projects like Myrkur which might have gotten more press tried their hand and similar, Von Spain just executed it with a broader emotional range and a more expansive set of pipes.
 

7-Kennedy Ashlyn of Them are Us too

 While Ashlyn's style might wear it's influences on her black sleeves. To pay such homage to Elizabeth Fraser is a feat in and of itself and she nails. You can hear who she is and she doesn't sing in her own made up language so this is not a total hero worship affair. She bends her melodies with fey grace and really made "Remain" an album I keep returning to.
 

6-Ryan Adams

 It was a bold move to cover an entire Taylor Swift album. Up until this point I had respect for Adams and had a curiosity in regards to his stuff ,but the passion he injected into "1989" sealed the deal. He takes pop melodies and puts is heart into them blending a style that mixes Bruce Springsteen with Tom Petty, but much more melodious than either and allowing me to really hear his voice as never before.
 

5- Chelsea Wolfe

 "Abyss" found Wolfe stepping out of the ghostly shadows and baring her voice in a more vulnerable manner than largely shed the effects dripping approach she did so well and showing a lot of growth. Live she was even more impressive, and her praises have already been sung on this site a hundred times over, you are probably shocked that she is ranked higher and while she had the best album of the year , she worked well within the context of the songs and got the job, where the next four singers really caught me by surprise where I saw Wolfe coming a mile away. This is not to say she wasn't awesome after all anyone who made this list really accomplished something considering all the albums I heard this past year.
 

4- George Lewis jr aka Twin Shadow

 Here is where it gets really competitive , "Eclipse" hung tough on my iPod thought out thanks to smooth melodies Lewis had such mastery of . He was often dark yet very soulful and encapsulated everything I could want from a male pop singer as far as dynamics go, despite the fact he largely stays out his head register and I'm a sucker for a good falsetto, but we'll get to that one soon enough. His voice always goes to the perfect places in the song making for something very infectious.
 

3-Emma Beth Rundle - Marriages

 She really came into her own on "Salome" and displayed a more emotive power and greater range. At times she sounds like Tori Amos, but this speaks more to her willingness to cut loose and pour her heart out into the songs, which earned other singers like Ryan Adams a place on this list as well. Emma just managed to make my jaw drop a few more times than most.
 

2- Miny Parsonz of Royal Thunder

Miny  brought it on "Crooked Doors" taking her voice up into places where classic rock gods used to go. She not only flexed her pipes to a greater extent on this album , but really created melodies that stuck in my head and had me listening to this album in binges. She went to some grittier places and also back off and offered some more reserved lines that were just as emotional due to her willingness to get real lyrically and immerse not only herself in the experience , but the listener as well.
 

1- Abęl Makkonen Tesfayeaka aka The Weeknd

 When he preforms at the Grammys this year the secret will be out of the bag. I told you I'm a sucker for falsetto, by Abel comes with a Michael Jackson like tenor, but with more of a gangster lean to it. His music is darker than any soul music has been since Marvin Gaye's "Here My Dear " album, with Abel singing out drug induced antics in a tongue and cheek manner than has a passion to it that makes you wonder where his legend begins and life ends. "Beauty Behind the Madness" is what pop should be.
 

Khaotika : " The Flame Unleashed"

If bands like In This Moment  and Huntress actually played metal and committed to their more power metal moments then the result might be something more along these lines. But this is also a lesson in just because you wear corpse paint doesn't make you black metal.  The first song was spent with me trying to figure out what the hell was going on. The second song reaffirms their affinity for shred and keyboards. Their singer drops down into her lower register before going back into a more Solitude Aeturnus like upper register. The growls chime in and it sounds like they are saying " Run Forest, Run". So they might be taking a cue from Lonely Island there. Then the vocals are layered with an Immortal like croak in the mix. I like the energy and passion they attack the songs with but none of the melodies have really blown my mind.

While they are currently based out of Atlanta their singer Lariyah  hails from Poland and the European influence thankfully wins out and they do not sound like another Atlanta band who wants to be either  Eyehategod, High On Fire, Exodus or Red Fang. The male grounds lead into "Hollow Grounds" which races off into a more thrashing take on power metal. Blackened Power metal might be sub-genre these guys could aim for. They have aggression, but none of the dissonance that gives black metal it's evil edge. There are some Dimmu Borgir like moments particularly when the effects drip from the spoken vocals midway into the song, but lets face it Dimmu hasn't been black metal in over a decade. While some of their influences can be seen above the surface they still have woven together their own sound. They give "Sulphur Road' a more deliberate chug before going off into their brand of gothic power-metal. This song is tighter in it's composition and feels the most focused from what I have heard thus far.

After an interlude, her naked vocal harmonies start off "In Khaos We Trust" , which comes closer to being black metal than any of the previous songs. Then Lariyah's vocal melodies smooth everything out taking some of the sting out of the venom from the more scathing vocals. When she comes back in Lariyah gives one of her more impassioned performances in what I suppose is the verse. "The Final War" makes it clear that their drummer has a grip on double bass. At this point we have settled into the middle of the album, so this song really just gives us everything we have already figured out this band is about. The creepy dissonance I felt was lacking from their black metal color the fringes of the riff that opens "Bleed For Me" , however this is short lived before  they fly into a more death metal tinged riff. Her vocals continue to soar over the heavier land scape of jagged guitars below her and the chorus of growls chanting the songs title. All of this and they still have three minutes left in the song.

There is a slow wind-up into "Black Moon Lilith", that has an almost "For Whom the Bell Tolls" feel to it. Three minutes in and they are still lugging around the intro , even faking you out by leading you to believe the pay off is coming. Aside from moans in the background this is pretty much an instrumental, the vocals are really just a touch of texture and the guitar solo which is one of the albums most tasteful waits until the final 30 seconds to join in. From what I have heard from the band up until this point it seems the other songs have had riffs that would have been more interesting to make instrumentals out of . They keep things darker for "Heretik Within", lingering on clean guitar tones in an almost King Diamond like manner, before the double bass thunders in. The verses have a melodic death metal feel to them aside from the power metal vocals over  them. At the four minute mark this gives way to a darkly melodic section that makes the best use of her voice. They gallop of into death ridden take on power metal. The shreddy guitar shows some restraint and serves the song. The final two minutes finds an Iron Maiden like riff dipped into doom being soloed over. The drummer speeds along with maniacal feet under it all. As an Atlanta band they should be careful with the chant of heretic since that is also the name of one of the oldest gay bars still standing in town.

The album closes out with one of it's strongest songs "In the Shade Ov Night". The growled vocals give a call and response with Hayes' more commanding shout back. This goes into a more melodic chorus that the drums refuse to relent beneath. Lariyah has a great voice, and truth be told this band was formed not quiet two years ago and have already gather steam even after being a part of the fatal wreck Wormreich was involved in, so I think the best has yet to come from this band. I'll give this a 8.5, which is the highest any band out of Atlanta , aside from Royal Thunder has earned recently so give them a listen especially if  you have outgrown Night Wish and things like Fly Leaf are too mainstream for you then these guys are worth your time.