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59-508: Russian Circles is an American instrumental post-metal band based in Chicago , Illinois . The band was originally formed by childhood friends Mike Sullivan and Dave Turncrantz after their previous musical projects dissolved. After parting ways with their original bass player Colin DeKuiper in 2007, the trio was rounded out by Brian Cook . The band has gained widespread recognition based on
118-527: A "heavy-lidded yet eye-opening" effect. The New York Times associated the term with a "wave of bands using metal as a jumping-off point for a range of experimental styles, dabbling in free jazz , minimalist post-rock, noise and even modern classical music ." Contemporary post-metal bands incorporate influences ranging through doom metal , black metal , shoegaze , progressive rock , folk music , and classical music . Writing for Slate in 2009, Simon Reynolds reflected: Post-rock doesn't have
177-485: A Cowboy and Despised Icon used pig squeal vocals, but they abandoned the sound in later material. Alternative metal and nu metal bands sometimes employ screaming as well. Jonathan Davis screams in most of Korn 's earlier songs. American nu metal band Otep frontwoman Otep Shamaya is also known for her use of death growls as well as high pitched screaming. Serj Tankian occasionally performs both exhale and inhale screams, which are especially notable on System of
236-617: A Down 's first two albums. Limp Bizkit sometimes uses screamed vocals, especially on songs from their first album . Some bands combine screaming techniques with clean vocals to create a noticeable change in tone; Chino Moreno of Deftones , who is famed for combining his high-pitched, aggressive screams with his calm and melodic singing, is an example of the concept, alongside singers such as Corey Taylor of Slipknot and Burton C. Bell of Fear Factory . Linkin Park 's original lead singer Chester Bennington , in addition to being an example of
295-454: A band which became central to an increasingly recognizable post-metal movement. In particular, their 2002 album Oceanic – which showcased "buzzing washes of multilayered sound that ebbed and flowed in intensity", combining the "barbed guitars" and " shouted vocals " of post-hardcore with "meandering, psychedelic progressions" – has become regarded as a classic of the genre. At the same time, Hydra Head signed further prominent bands, releasing
354-454: A close connection with. I feel we're part of a community with some bands – Mono are good friends of ours, but I don't feel that we're that similar musically. Their music is more similar to classical music, whereas I feel ours has more in common with punk and hardcore . Screaming (music) Screaming is an extended vocal technique that is popular in "aggressive" music genres such as heavy metal , punk rock , and noise music . It
413-501: A distinctive "screaming" style in the majority of the genre's vocals, though in varying degrees. Some black metal acts use a simple rasping sound, but others use a louder, more "grim" scream to accentuate the cold, evil, and frightening atmosphere of black metal. Vocalists like Ihsahn of Emperor , Grutle Kjellson of Enslaved and Pest of Gorgoroth use loud screaming in their vocal work, while other vocalists take differing approaches; for example: Shagrath of Dimmu Borgir once used
472-464: A genre has achieved major critical acclaim. This was reinforced by the "widely publicized" success of California band Deafheaven , whose second album Sunbather became one of the most celebrated releases of 2013. The band's successful fusion of caustic black metal with blissfull shoegaze in the vein of My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive , although preceded by the French musician Neige of Alcest ,
531-462: A major factor in the evolution of post-metal. Many bands employ the "speed and ferocity" of black metal in "contrast to slower, more ethereal compositions". This approach was pioneered by Agalloch , who formed in 1995 and also employed elements of doom metal, progressive rock , folk music , and post-hardcore. Wolves in the Throne Room , who became a significant act for American black metal by
590-399: A majority of the songs the band has done, most notably in " Let Go " for 13 seconds straight. 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. The logical extension of this aesthetic
649-740: A scream. Other composers have employed screaming in avant garde works in the twentieth century, typically in the post-World War II era, as composers began to explore more experimental compositional techniques and nonstandard use of musical instruments (including the voice). Composers who have used shouting or screaming in their works include Luciano Berio , George Crumb , György Ligeti , Charles Mingus , Meredith Monk and Karlheinz Stockhausen . The use of hoarse vocals in choral and orchestral works continues today in some productions such as film scores; mainstream examples include some works by Don Davis and Wojciech Kilar . Experimental music genres often feature screamed vocals if vocals are employed in
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#1732802463809708-476: A series of critically acclaimed albums and extensive international touring. Their name is taken from a drill exercise used in ice hockey, a sport Sullivan and Turncrantz grew up playing in their original hometown of St. Louis . Russian Circles was formed in late 2004 by guitarist Mike Sullivan and bassist Colin DeKuiper (both formerly of instrumental band Dakota/Dakota), they quickly recruited drummer Dave Turncrantz, formerly of St. Louis band Riddle of Steel. In
767-607: A style similar to loud roaring in the band's Enthrone Darkness Triumphant days, and vocalists such as John Gossard of the San Francisco band Weakling and Pasi of the Finnish band Darkwoods My Betrothed used a style that sounded more like wailing mixed with the genre's more recent use of screams. The American black metal group Wolves in the Throne Room employ long shrill screams influenced by Gorgoroth's early work. Some folk noir bands (often ones that have come from
826-614: 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. 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. However, screaming, growling and harsh vocals require traditional melodic vocal techniques to be done properly and without physical damage of any kind. For example, in 2005 professional vocal coach Melissa Cross released
885-555: Is guttural and can be demanding to perform. The death growl is common in death metal . Other forms of extreme vocalization can be found in black metal , which generally has a higher-pitched sound, and deathcore , which uses either a low growl or a high pitched scream. 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." Natalie Purcell notes, "Although
944-494: Is common in the more extreme subgenres of heavy metal , such as death and black metal , grindcore , as well as many other subgenres. Although screams are often suggested in stories performed in the grand opera tradition, they were never performed as literal screams, but delivered in a singing tone. The first significant example of a literal scream being required in an opera is in Alban Berg 's Wozzeck (1922), where
1003-593: Is generally heavy, aggressive, and dark, but explores a variety of musical approaches alien to conventional heavy metal and extreme metal . It mirrors post-rock and post-hardcore in its emphasis on atmosphere and deep emotion and may be considered abstract, introspective, expansive, hypnotic , progressive , layered, or even apocalyptic . Jon Wiederhorn writes that though some post-metal bands "sought to break away from their raging roots by exploring less bombastic and more dynamic musical techniques" and others "sought to remain raw and corrosive", their music shares
1062-553: Is indebted to Isis' Oceanic ; Amenra from Belgium, who signed to Neurosis' label Neurot Recordings and rival their predecessors in sheer spiritual intensity; and Year of No Light from France, who have transitioned from a sludge-oriented sound to monumental instrumental compositions, "beautifully layered, but still dark and heavy". Back in the US, another instrumental band rose to prominence: Russian Circles , also strongly influenced by Oceanic . By contrast, True Widow , whose sound
1121-484: Is known for "insane" and "constant" screams. Like metalcore, deathcore is known for its use of aggressive screaming, though much more frequently. Vocals range from the low death growls of vocalists such as Phil Bozeman of Whitechapel to the high pitched screams from vocalists like Alex Koehler of Chelsea Grin . Some bands related to the deathcore genre perform what has been called "pig squealing" for its resemblance to that sound. Early albums by deathcore bands Job for
1180-424: Is related to other experimental styles of metal: avant-garde metal , drone metal , progressive metal , and industrial metal . It has also been called metalgaze and art metal , highlighting its connection to shoegaze (an indie music style related to post-rock) and art music , respectively. Contemporary post-metal, pioneered by diverse groups such as Isis , Agalloch , Boris , Pelican , Jesu , Wolves in
1239-596: Is rooted as much in 1990s indie rock and psychedelic rock as in doom metal, offer a distinctive take, most impactfully on the 2013's Circumambulation , by employing "male/female vocal interplay" and showcasing "vulnerability and restraint". Meanwhile, the Melvins returned to the sound they themselves helped inspire, impacting it with the 2004 album Pigs of the Roman Empire , a collaboration with Welsh dark ambient composer Lustmord . Gradually, post-metal as
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#17328024638091298-638: 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" 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). Some vocalists who employed improper screaming techniques have had problems with their throats, voices, vocal cords , and have even experienced major migraines . Some vocalists of metal bands have had to stop screaming, making music altogether, or even undergo surgery due to damage to their vocal cords. One example
1357-630: Is something that has been done and redone, and it seems pointless to adhere to that structure when there are so many other avenues to explore". Noting the divergence from typical metal fashion , The New York Times described a 2005 Pelican show at the Knitting Factory in New York City : "Instead of long hair and all-black outfits, the crowd was displaying the trappings of brainy, slightly nerdy indie rock . Young men wore artistically cropped hair and tight-legged jeans , and there
1416-558: The 1950s, one principal screamer was Little Richard , beginning with his " Tutti Frutti " (1955). Elvis Presley also screamed some of the lyrics to " Jailhouse Rock " in its original 1957 recording, although recordings of live performances of the song in Presley's later career featured him strictly singing the words. The first take of the Beatles ' recording of " Twist and Shout " for their debut studio album Please Please Me (1963)
1475-579: The Reverend J.M. Gates "I'm a Soldier in the Army of the Lord" or Reverend J.C. Burnette's "The Downfall of Nebuchadnezzar". The screams are essentially acapella. The main singer leads with the scream and shout and a group respond following the traditional African call and response pattern. Bessie Johnson's "He Got Better Things For You" with her group Memphis Sanctified Singers, released in 1929, can be considered
1534-444: The Throne Room , and Russian Circles , typically employs the deep heaviness of doom metal and sludge metal and/or the dark ferocity of black metal . The widespread acclaim of Deafheaven , who succeeded Alcest in combining black metal and shoegaze (a fusion nicknamed blackgaze ), made this global post-metal underground more visible. The groundwork for post-metal was laid in the 1980s and early 1990s by various artists (mostly in
1593-575: The US) combining heavy metal and punk rock sounds with an " avant-garde sensibility", such as the Melvins (particularly on 1991's Bullhead ), The Flying Luttenbachers , Justin Broadrick of Napalm Death and Godflesh , Swans , Gore , Last Exit , Glenn Branca , Rollins Band , and Fugazi . Helmet 's albums Meantime (1992) and Betty (1994) were also significant, while Tool 's music
1652-581: The autumn of 2007, it was announced that the band had parted ways with Colin DeKuiper. As a result, the bass tracks on their second album, titled Station , were handled by ex- Botch / These Arms Are Snakes bass player Brian Cook , who then joined the band permanently. The group's third full-length, Geneva , was released on October 20, 2009 and reached No. 24 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. In 2011, Russian Circles signed to Sargent House who had previously only exclusively released
1711-426: The band's albums on limited edition vinyl. Their fourth studio album Empros was released on October 25, 2011. A supporting tour with Deafheaven followed the release. In May 2013 the group began recording their fifth studio album, produced by Brandon Curtis. Memorial was released at the end of October 2013 and featured a guest-vocal by Chelsea Wolfe . Together they embarked on a co-headlining UK/European tour in
1770-516: The black metal scene originally) use guttural growls and shrieks occasionally, mostly for dramatic effect. Examples include Empyrium and Uaral. Metalcore is a genre that employs both screamed and clean vocals. Screaming became more common for the genre in the early 1990s with bands such as Earth Crisis and Converge . Some bands employ dual vocalists, one performing traditional sung vocals and another doing screamed vocals, such as The Devil Wears Prada . Greg Puciato of The Dillinger Escape Plan
1829-405: The closing track of their seminal 2001 album Jane Doe . According to Jahdi, the genre emerged as "those young intellectuals decided to slow it down" and labels such as Relapse Records and Hydra Head Records began releasing "slower, more bass-heavy and abstract" music more akin to post-rock. Hydra Head Records had been established in 1993 by Aaron Turner . In 1997, Turner co-founded Isis ,
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1888-640: The darkness and intensity of extreme metal with an emphasis on atmosphere, emotion, and even " revelation ", developing an expansive but introspective sound variously imbued with elements of ambient , noise , psychedelic , progressive , and classical music , and often shoegaze and art rock . Songs are typically long, with loose and layered structures that discard the verse–chorus form in favor of crescendos and repeating themes . The sound centres on guitars (subjected to various effects ) and drums, while any vocals are often but not always screamed or growled and resemble an additional instrument. Post-metal
1947-603: The desire to expand beyond established rock boundaries". As this movement swelled, bands from post-hardcore and experimental backgrounds began to incorporate its tendencies of " ambience , offbeat experimentation, downcast melodies and psychedelia " into metal. The two genres further converged through the influence of post-rock bands such as Mogwai , Godspeed You! Black Emperor , and Lift to Experience who shared metal's emphasis on loudness. Neurosis ' third album Souls at Zero and Godflesh's second album Pure , both released in 1992, are often retrospectively considered
2006-417: The early '90s onward. Sometimes beat-free and ambient , increasingly the work of home-studio loners rather than performing bands, post-metal of the kind released by US labels like Hydra Head often seems to have barely any connection to metal as understood by, say, VH1 Classic doc-makers. The continuity is less sonic but attitudinal: the penchant for morbidity and darkness taken to a sometimes hokey degree;
2065-403: The early records of Pelican and Jesu . While Pelican are an instrumental quartet inspired as much by Neurosis and Godflesh as by Mogwai, Jesu was formed by Justin Broadrick after the breakup of Godflesh to explore "ambient guitar compositions", embracing shoegaze and slowcore influences. As black metal "spread beyond Scandinavia to infect the global underground", it joined shoegaze as
2124-474: The fall. Russian Circles released its sixth studio album Guidance on August 5, 2016 through Sargent House . The album was produced by Kurt Ballou of Converge fame. On August 1, 2019, they released their seventh studio album, Blood Year , recorded at GodCity Studio in Salem and Steve Albini's Electrical Audio Studio in Chicago and again produced by Kurt Ballou . The band's eighth album Gnosis
2183-443: The first gospel song featuring screaming, backed by an instrument (acoustic guitar). Blind Willie Johnson is widely considered to be the pioneer of screaming in blues music. In 1928, he performed the song "Jesus Is Coming Soon" with a soft screaming style. Vaudeville blues singer Ora Alexander was also one of the earliest blues vocalist recorded to perform screaming with her song "You've Got To Save That Thing" in 1931. One of
2242-527: The first known R&B songs to utilize screaming vocals is said to be Screamin' Jay Hawkins ' " I Put a Spell on You " (1956). 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." Rock and roll (before the advent of heavy metal and punk rock) employed occasional brief screaming. In
2301-693: The first post-metal records. Godflesh had already pioneered "sluggish and tortured" industrial metal of their 1989 debut Streetcleaner , but Pure showcased "more expansive structures and long stretches of billowing noise ", inspiring a number of subsequent bands to combine metal with "layered washes of sound". Neurosis on the other hand were a hardcore band who embraced doom metal , post-punk and industrial influences, experimenting with texture and dynamics . They have since become recognized "for their pioneering post-metal efforts and unwavering dedication to expanding their artistic boundaries." In 2010, guitarist Steve Von Till stated: We always knew there
2360-762: The genre cannot be readily distinguished from doom metal, modern black metal, and progressive metal , "taking in all of these elements without being entirely any one of them". Contemporary post-metal is often seen as combining "elements of doom metal, sludge, and/or black metal with elements of post-rock and shoegaze", being more "peaceful" than metal but retaining its dark theming and harsh vocal style . As with post-rock, however, many bands are instrumental and when vocals are used, they often "resemble another accompanying instrument" rather than actual words. Songs are typically long and employ crescendos , gradually building upon repeated themes ; Aaron Turner of Isis stated that "the standard song format of verse-chorus-verse-chorus
2419-504: The late 1990s US noisecore of bands such as Botch , Kiss It Goodbye , the Dillinger Escape Plan and Coalesce , who merged brutal metallic hardcore with jazz into fast-and-complex compositions, as a fundamental influence on post-metal. Writing for Bandcamp Daily , Jon Wiederhorn also noted the significance of Botch and Cave In , while Converge have been connected to post-metal through their longer songs since
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2478-515: The music, as a form of alternative expression rather than conventional singing. The song " Paralyzed " by the outsider musician the Legendary Stardust Cowboy is an example of the use of screaming vocals in experimental music. Noise music is notable for screamed vocals, examples being the well-known noise artist Masonna and the vocalist Maja Ratkje . Several gospel recordings of the mid-1920s include screaming, such as in
2537-425: 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. Black metal music in particular has
2596-544: The release of their 2007 album Two Hunters , were also inspired by Neurosis in combining "ambience and violence" to craft deeply melancholic music. While all aforementioned post-metal pioneers are either from the US (Neurosis, Isis, Pelican, Agalloch, and Wolves in the Throne Room) or the UK (Broadrick's Godflesh and Jesu), the genre soon spread internationally. The Japanese band Boris , formed in 1992, "have always embraced
2655-506: The same temporal aspect that post-disco or post-punk have; it's not about the ripples set in motion by a galvanizing "event." Rather, it evokes a sense of "going beyond" the structures of a genre of music without completely abandoning its legacy of attitudes and assumptions. For similar reasons, the term post-metal seems increasingly useful to describe the vast and variegated swath of genres (the thousand flavors of doom/black/ death / grind / drone / sludge /etc., ad infinitum) that emerged from
2714-465: The scream-singing technique described above, was well-known for his aggressive screaming ability as featured in many Linkin Park songs, most notably the 17-second scream in the track " Given Up ". 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 ". Michael Barnes of Red has screamed in
2773-474: The somber clothing and the long hair; the harrowed, indecipherably growled vocals ; the bombastically verbose lyrics/song titles/band names. It's that aesthetic rather than a way of riffing or a palette of guitar sounds that ties post-metal back to Judas Priest and Black Sabbath . Fact writer Robin Jahdi notes that "the best Neurosis albums don't sound anything like the best offerings from Isis " and that
2832-442: The spirit and vitality of the vibrant movement" and some of their works, such as the 2005 albums Dronevil and Pink , have become influential to it. Boris often employ elements of drone music and have collaborated with prominent Seattle drone metal band Sunn O))) , who have also been associated with post-metal. Several European bands also gained prominence within the genre, including: Cult of Luna from Sweden, whose sound
2891-407: 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. Thrash metal was influenced both by heavy metal and by hardcore punk , the latter of which often incorporated shouted vocals. The first time heavy metal used screaming for constant delivery of lyrics (rather than as a temporary effect)
2950-452: The title character screams "Murder! Murder!" in the fourth scene of Act III. Furthermore, Berg's unfinished Lulu , written mainly in 1934, features a blood-curdling scream as the heroine is murdered by Jack the Ripper in the closing moments of the final scene. In Mascagni's 1890 Cavalleria rusticana the final line "They've murdered Turiddu!" is spoken, not sung, and often accompanied by
3009-622: 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." Music sociologist Deena Weinstein has 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 ." A progressively more forceful enunciation of metal vocals has been noted, from heavy metal to thrash metal to death metal. To appreciate
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#17328024638093068-563: Was Chuck Schuldiner of the band Death . 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." The vocal delivery of thrash metal is diverse; some bands such as Anthrax use relatively clean vocals, early Metallica vocals are very influenced by hardcore punk, while other bands such as Slayer use more "evil" shouts and yells not typically heard in hardcore punk. Screaming in some subgenres of heavy metal music
3127-599: Was credited by Terrorizer with "effectively invent[ing] the post-metal genre" and named the best post-metal album of all time by Fact . The fluctuating 12-minute song "Purify" has been described as the album's "signature track". Neurosis' work has also contributed the development of doom metal, sludge metal , and drone metal , and these genres have been associated with post-metal since. Similarly, drone metal pioneers Earth have been significant to post-metal ever since their 1991 debut release Extra-Capsular Extraction . Furthermore, Fact writer Robin Jahdi highlights
3186-399: Was described as post-metal as early as 1993. Many of these artists emerged from hardcore punk and post-punk circles but their combination of sonic violence with experimentation and eclecticism made them difficult to categorize under any one genre. The term post-rock was coined in 1994 and soon used to describe a diverse group of bands that shared "a penchant for drifting melodies and
3245-499: Was even a smattering of young women in librarian glasses and worn-out Chuck Taylor sneakers." Jon Wiederhorn describes the post-metal scene as a "global community of artists" positioned on the "fringes of the underground ." Pelican's Trevor de Brauw stated in 2007: I have an affinity [f]or metal, but I don't think of Pelican as a metal band. So when people call us 'instrumetal', or post-metal, or metalcore or whatever, I can see why they say that, but it's not something that I feel
3304-558: Was nicknamed blackgaze and met with controversy among fans of conventional extreme metal . It has also inspired a new wave of bands such as: Ghost Bath from North Dakota, who use undistorted guitar melodies to develop unsettling atmospheres; Austria's Harakiri for the Sky , whose despairing sound melds black metal and post-hardcore; and the recent work of Oathbreaker , who are rooted in the Belgian dark hardcore scene of Amenra. Post-metal
3363-458: Was released on August 19, 2022 via Sargent House. It was engineered and mastered by Kurt Ballou. Post-metal Post-metal is a music genre rooted in heavy metal but exploring approaches beyond metal conventions. It emerged in the 1990s with bands such as Neurosis and Godflesh , who transformed metal texture through experimental composition. In a way similar to the predecessor genres post-rock and post-hardcore , post-metal offsets
3422-544: Was something deep to Neurosis's music, but ... I think Souls at Zero was when the music became something else. It was taking that material out on the road and losing ourself in the trance states induced by playing hypnotic , super-heavy loud music that we really figured out how to surrender to it. Then we said, OK – this is going to take us to where we wanna go: somewhere deeper, somewhere more emotional, somewhere elemental . The band's 1996 fifth album Through Silver in Blood
3481-455: Was the only complete take, since John Lennon 's voice was torn up, partly by his screaming in the song. Lennon, inspired by Arthur Janov 's Primal Scream therapy , screamed in his later songs " Mother " and " Well Well Well " on John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band . 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
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