A Vocal Styles Primer

Not intended as a complete overview of all styles of metal, but rather a quick look at metal singers and their various methods. Most metal vocalists, and by extension bands within particular subgenres, fall into one of two general camps - clean or growled. That said, variations on these themes exist. Here's a few examples:

Clean vocals:
Dragonforce (power metal)

Slayer (thrash metal)

One of the keys here with clean vocals is comprehensibility. Tom Araya of Slayer is certainly gruff and harsh in his singing, but his intention is for the lyrics to be as clearly comprehensible as he can. Well, that, and to be metal as fuck, which should go without saying. But, while Mr. Araya is meant for metal and nothing else, ZP Theart of Dragonforce has the chops to sing just about anything. Power Metal and Glam (or Hair) Metal are the subgenres which regularly feature powerful high sung vocals.

Then there's King Diamond.

Death Metal Growling:

Sometimes compared to Cookie Monster, Death Metal Growls are almost more of a vocal technique like yodeling or beatboxing than singing. Not a viewpoint I endorse, but I can understand it. The uninitiated won't be able to distinguish much difference between Death Metal vocalists, but to the trained ear it does become pretty distinct.

Morbid Angel

At the Gates

Arch Enemy (noteworthy here is that Angela Gossow is to my knowledge the only female vocalist to have mastered this style)

Demilich (seriously, this guy sounds like a croaking frog - there's nothing else like it!)

Black Metal Shrieks and Growls
For some, Black and Death metal sound almost identical, and in fact there's quite a bit of crossover, though they tend to vary greatly in tone and production. Black Metal has very little in the way of a formalized structure, so keep in mind that different bands will have a VERY different sound. Here's a couple of examples:

Xasthur
Please don't cut yourself listening to this one.

Windir

Beauty and the Beast:
A few bands, mostly Gothic Metal, have developed a style in which a clean, melodic female vocalist is paired with another vocalists nasty growls.

Theatre of Tragedy

\m/
Prof. Organgrinder