They were basically just a thrash band before Chaos A.D.

Listening to "Roots Bloody Roots" now -- this is emblematic of the big problem I have with nu-metal vocals, and this style of singing even as it extends beyond this genre. There always seems to be this really self-conscious attempt on the part of the singers to sound as intense and brutal as possible, like they're really just going for broke with those screams, but still -- they sound like they're holding back. I feel like there is more audible strain in John Lennon's voice when he sings "Twist and Shout," or Eddie Vedder's when he sings "Blood." These sound like sound effects by comparison, not singers pushing their voices to their outermost limits, which is what this music demands. It feels unbearably contrived to me, in a genre that prides itself on the opposite (I struggle with punk and emo-type subgenres for the same reason).

Anyway, still an easy vote over "Bodies."

I would not call Max a Nu Metal vocalist. He’s just a metal vocalist. And he definitely sounds like he’s pushing his voice here, especially if you compare it to other songs he sings on. I can hear it breaking in a few moments.

Words cannot describe how much I adore the vocals in this song.

Try to say it with interpretive dance.

Bodies.

I guess my ears register a difference between a singer's voice breaking because he's repeatedly making a sound that's bad for his vocal cords, and a singer's voice breaking because there's inherent tension between his limitations and the demands of a musical composition. Listening to some of these guys growl and roar is on par musically for me with Chris Martin singing falsetto to hit notes that he could easily achieve without it -- yes, it's a stylistic choice, and yes, it adds a sonic dimension to the music that is deliberate and some would say necessary for it to be what it is, but it doesn't excite me or reach me emotionally in any way. It just feels like a bunch of smoke and mirrors.

Listening a second time I do hear some of those moments you describe -- those are the best parts of the performance, where it feels like the voice is tearing away from itself. It's his default setting in the verses and parts of the chorus that feel kind forced to me.

Who the fuck are these jabronis who keep pushing Drowning Pool ahead?

Voting should be closing soon, yeah?

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Oh yeah such deep meaningful lyrics.

Leave it open for the 4th

secondaccounttovoteforbodies

You mean 2ndacct2vote4bodies

Do you have an eidetic memory for all things RM?

Hey, that account was meant to vote "Bodies" by the Smashing Pumpkins forward in the 1991-1996 grunge tournament!

I can’t stand growly metal vocals but I don’t get that same vibe from RBR at all.

Yeah, I am very picky about harsh vocals, and Max has always been someone I point to as a guy who does it right. The power has to come from the lungs, not the throat.

Maybe it's just one of those things where it all sounds the same to someone not enough in tune with the genre to pick up on the finer discrepancies.

There are some songs that I knew I was going to vote for before the tournament began, and Bodies is one of them. Just so iconic for being so fucking ridiculous.

Where the fuck are these uneducated Drowning Pool fucking voters trickling in from?