Where did the metal scream originate?
The metal scream stands as a defining hallmark of the genre’s essence. Whether delving into iconic tracks like Judas Priest‘s ‘Painkiller’ or Deftones’ ‘Lotion’, these screams symbolise the inherently primal and forceful nature at the core of metal music.
While the origins of metal screams can be traced back to the rebellious nature of rock ‘n’ roll in the 1950s, pinpointing the merging of primal screams and music requires us to delve deeper. Although the exact time and reason why screaming and music intersected remains open to question, it’s likely that it first occurred in tribal music from around the world.
However, these primal and often haunting vocalisations have played a crucial role in shaping the identity of metal music, evolving from mere signifiers of rebellion to becoming a refined form of artistic expression. In the 1950s and 1960s, musicians seeking to push boundaries experimented with vocal techniques that conveyed raw emotion and a sense of defiance.
As rock evolved into heavier sounds and genres like hard rock and proto-metal emerged, vocalists began exploring the boundaries of their voices, venturing into more aggressive and intense territories. The emergence of true heavy metal in the late 1960s and 1970s solidified the use of screams as an integral part of the music. Bands like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple incorporated powerful vocal deliveries that teetered between melodic singing and raw, aggressive screams.
As a result, vocalists like Ozzy Osbourne, Robert Plant, and Ian Gillan demonstrated the range and depth of screams, employing them as tools to convey emotion and amplify the intensity of their music. However, in the 1980s, during the rise of subgenres like thrash, speed metal, and eventually extreme metal, the metal scream found its distinct identity.
Bands like Metallica, Slayer, and Venom pushed the boundaries even further, introducing harsher vocal techniques characterised by growls, shrieks, and guttural roars. The vocals became more extreme, often mirroring the aggression and intensity of the music itself. Figures like Tom Araya, James Hetfield, and Cronos helped define and popularise these harsher vocal styles, influencing generations of metal vocalists to come.
Then, the advent of death metal and black metal in the late 1980s and 1990s saw further evolution, with bands like Death, Morbid Angel, Mayhem, and Emperor taking screams to new levels of brutality and darkness. It’s unclear who delivered the first, metal-defining scream, but it’s almost impossible to imagine metal with its sheer power.
