Are death metal vocals like rapping

nyarlothothep

Death metal vocalists basically just say words in a more or less monotonal voice, this is similar to rapping no? I've rapped and done death metal vocals and to me it seems that both are similar in using words and in lacking melody?

Joe_Dull

Some of the time they are, but most metal has a completely different rhythmic style to rap music meaning the delivery of the words is also dissimilar. Rap often features complex rhyme schemes and wordplay, whereas death vocals are more likely to be in free verse and place emphasis on certain words (as Randy Blythe often does, for example).

nyarlothothep

So rapping requires more technique and is more complex? I always thought that the word smithery by a rapper like Ice T up to OG was really incredible, the amount of thought that went into writing lyrics that were hard hitting and insightful while maintaining a rhyme scheme and tempo must have been considerable.

Cill94

Hmm yes and no. Some death metal vocalists are basically speaking very fast and in an amelodic way, like rappers, but with a growl (Corpsegrinder from Cannibal Corpse does this a lot, though he includes intermittent shrieks and growls). However a lot of death metal vocals require serious lungs, as you're growling/screaming/grunting etc. from the bottom of your stomach (using the diaphragm rather than the throat).