Top 10 Favorite Scream-Vocalists

Hi, I felt like putting together a blog post today so here we are. If you don’t care about music or screaming vocals, then feel free to stop reading. But if you do care, then these are the 10 best screaming vocalists in my very humble opinion. And no I did not forget about Corpsegrinder, I just hate Cannibal Corpse : D

10. Phil Anselmo (Pantera, Down, I think a couple other bands too)

I’ve not as big a fan of Pantera as others, I will admit that, but Phil Anselmo had quite the good screaming voice. Of course there’s the popular song Walk, but Cemetery Gates is overlooked I think, and it’s just as much of a good song. It’s not as much screaming, but I do recommend you check it out.

9. Ivan Moody (Five Finger Death Punch)

Ok so I know FFDP gets a bad rap in the metal community, but for the life of me I don’t get why. Sure they swear in a lot of their songs, but same goes for Pantera and they’re loved, so that’s not it. Their songs are pretty meaningful often too, like Gone Away is one of the few songs that’s gotten me to shed a tear. And if you watch the music video for I Apologize (As shown above) it’ll make any rock fan sad. But point is, this guy can scream, like you can feel the emotion in his voice and that’s the beauty of it. 

8. Randy Blythe (Lamb of God)

If you just knew the title of the band, you’d imagine them to be CCM or even a Messianic band (Josiah you out here). But click on any of their songs and you’ll quickly realize how wrong that assumption was. It’s headbanging heavy metal, with good riffs and the occasional breakdown. I wouldn’t be able to explain what sets Randy apart from other scream-vocal artists, he’s just got a really nice edge in his voice that goes great with the drums and guitar. The song I’ve posted is the one that made me a fan. 

7. Lauren Babic (Red Handed Denial, CrazyEightyEight)

Unfortunately, Lauren Babic isn’t a name well known by metalheads. Her presence is mostly felt on Youtube, but she deserves a lot more recognition for her amazing vocals, both clean and screaming. Out of all the musicians I follow on Youtube she is one of the best, and has collabed with many other good artists, including Jonathan Young and First to Eleven. 

6. Chuck Schuldiner (Death)

It wouldn’t be a proper scream list without at least one death metal band, so it’s important that we include the godfather of the genre, Chuck Schuldiner. Death was an amazing band not just because of the guitar riffs, but because of the uniqueness of Chuck’s screams and how they could pierce your soul pretty much. And that wasn’t just in studio, live performances by Death were very well done and loved by the fans. It’s a shame Chuck passed when he did, but he left behind us what many call a perfect discography of music. And come on, their logo was fire, you have to admit that. 

5. Corey Taylor (Slipknot, Stone Sour)

It’d be a crime to make this list and not have Corey Taylor somewhere on here. The guy’s a beast. He’s one of those few artists that can put you to sleep with their voice on one track and then send you on a nightmare ride in the next. And he’s also just a really chill guy, which I like a lot. I wanna meet him some day, and ofc see Slipknot live. Probably break my neck, but it’s a small price to pay for salvation. 

4. Chester Bennington (Linkin Park)

You could go to pretty much any Linkin Park video, and you’ll find at least one comment saying he “Sang like an angel and screamed like a demon”. While it’s slightly annoying to see that all the time, it’s not wrong. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe he broke the record for the longest scream in a live concert, something like 17 or 18 seconds long. That requires a pretty strong voice and a lot of training. Here’s the song that he did, which unfortunately is a lot darker now due to his passing. 

3. Benjamin Burnley (Breaking Benjamin)

I know most lists like this wouldn’t include Breaking Benjamin, I have them pretty high up. They were my first real exposure to screaming in a song, I believe the song was I Will Not Bow. It’s got a bit of a deeper sound to it than other screams, and if you haven’t heard me say it before, I love deep voices (#PeterSteele). So I do enjoy Burnley’s screams a lot, Tourniquet’s another good example of it.

2. Chris Cornell (Soundgarden, Audioslave, Temple of the Dog)

Coming in at #2, we have the legend himself, Chris Cornell. He and Bennington were unstoppable forces in the music world, and it’s a tragedy that we lost them so soon. He started out with Soundgarden, who were technically the first Grunge band. Then there was the side project with Eddie Vedder which led to some amazing songs, and his 2000s work with Audioslave. Just listen to Beyond the Wheel here, and you’ll see why he’s one of the greats of rock music.

1. Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth, Bloodbath)

And finally, we have the topper for this list, Mikael Akerfeldt. Please don’t kill me for saying this, but I think he is one of the most genius musicians of our time, if not the most genius. His guitar playing is on a whole level of its own, comparable to the 70s prog masterpieces that bands like Pink Floyd put out. When he wants to be his voice is like liquid silver, but can quickly change to literal nightmare fuel screams in seconds. But in reality he’s just a nice guy who can write amazing lyrics, play amazing solos, and sing terrifying songs. 

And there you have it, my favorite scream-vocalists. Thank you for reading if you made it this far, tell me if I should do another top 10 post, and I might see ya around.