he really does sing higher more often then in hybrid theory days listen to the chorus(the last one expecially), he has trouble keeping the raspy voice through the whole thing, sometimes he sounds clean just like nowadays, but stronger and not sounding "like a bitch" [video=youtube;BepgqpXMZQs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BepgqpXMZQs[/video]
lol its a good way to describe his voice sometimes its sad to see their old outfits, they look way better now
I’m a singer and screamer myself and although I’m not even close to Chester’s level I can guess where the “problems” are. When my band went into the studio for the first time, I tried to go with raspy vocals just like Chester did on early LP-releases. That was something I got myself into around 2 years ago. In a studio situation, I’d try to sing every single line separately. Sometimes I’d try the same high notes over and over again until I’d finally manage. Now, Chester is a professional and way better than me, but some Linkin Park songs are equally harder to sing than the songs of my band. I think that Chester has a similar approach and that is not recording a track in its entirety but rather recording line by line. However, a real concert is a completely different situation. Apart from that, on HT and Meteora there is obviously multiple Chesters, especially during the choruses. If you want to pull off something that sounds close to these recordings at a show, you’ll have to give 110%. There are a few shows from that period where Chester sounded incredible, such as RaR 2004 or LiT. But that was 10 years ago. For me, I realized that if I have to play shows every night (we usually don’t play more than two shows in a row with some exceptions) I have to get rid of the raspy vocals but rather sing in a more clean tone. I realized that if I want to keep doing this for the next years I can’t do it like I would in a studio. Besides, if my voice gets exhausted nevertheless, it needs time to recover. Chester plays so many shows, with LP and STP, plus he seems to be recording constantly, that I really think it’s not that healthy for his voice. Now, Chester is doing that for 15 years now and I still wonder how he can sound that good today. Compare that to singers like Oli Sykes who is way younger but sounds like shit for the most part live. You just can’t expect Chester to sound like he did 10 years ago. In fact, I’m kinda worried how long he can go on. I love the fact that THP will be heavy but I hope he’ll find a way that prevents him from losing his voice eventually. Hope this made any sense.
I think Chester's vocals are just as strong as ever! He is like the perfect singer, he always sounds good, whether it be in the studio or at live shows. I think he is going to have some great vocals on The Hunting Party album, too!
After watching last night's performance, I can say he is doing just fine, but we'll see just how long it goes for. At the start of 2012, Chester was fucking awesome at the live festivals, but went downhill throughout the LIVING THINGS tour.
The setlist is very energetic, wouldn't surprise me if it did a number on Chester, but I give him props. Great way to start the Festivals they'll be playing.
If GATS, and Until it's Gone's weak vocals were not done on purpose oh dear. I never had any problem with his vocals, until I heard GATS, and I think he strained his voice as badly as i strained my eyes. I remember worrying that joining Stone Temple Pilots would tax his voice before he started making LP stuff. I hope I'm wrong, but if that's the case than I'd have been much happier if he waited a while before making a new record. A few more years waiting, would be fine if it meant his voice recovered.
I have to say, that i'm really concerned about Chester's voice since 2012, but even more since i saw the Rock in Rio Festival now. I had hope, that he regenerates his voice after the tour break, but it seems that he really can't be much better than this. I really can't remember that he ever struggled that much and that his voice is really thin, especially the screaming parts. I'm not trying to blame him and i'm really not the person, who see's everything pessimistic, but i think that his (glorious) time is over. But i'm surprised that he constantly getting weak so fast. He was mostly really great at the iTunes Festival 2011.
So I just listened to Wastelands all the way through and I have to say, Chester's parts are weak. Even when I saw them on the ATS tour he was going pretty strong, but his voice has been in a pretty serious decline. He's squeaking live. Having trouble holdng notes. Some of his screams are great but then his melodic vocals really fall short. Now you can tell they're avoiding the screaming on this record. I think his voice might be past the point of returning to old form. Which is unfortunate. I was just saying today how he is one of the best heavy vocalists around but I think he might have thrashed the chords a little too much. I think it might be time to shorten the tours.
Chester's vocals are better now IMO. I like how the songs on THP arent over produced and its clearly his natural voice
I wouldn't say his voice has gotten greatly worse since 2012 because he sounds pretty much the same at the rock in rio 2012 performance and 2014. [video=youtube;m5Fva-TDF8g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5Fva-TDF8g[/video] [video=youtube;KzIgwuAnt5g]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzIgwuAnt5g[/video] And here is 2008 just for the hell of it. [video=youtube;atMSqWhIsyo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atMSqWhIsyo[/video] Agreed. At least a year of no touring.
Lol they're not less produced, they're just more middle of the road. They have the same effects on his voice they've been using for the past couple records. His performances are just lackluster so far. Lackluster does not equal less produced. It's not like the vocals on ATS or LT weren't his natural voice.
In GATS and Wastelands his voice doesn't have as many effects as most songs in LT (by effects I mean beyond pitch-correcting software). I think Chester's best live vocal period was right after MTM came out. He still had a raspy enough scream, but could also sing very beautifully when he sang soft. For instance, compare the following two versions of pushing me away: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcyCmczO0-Y http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkY3eqGBTjo If you compare the first verse in both versions, you'll notice how much more control Chester has in singing softly. I doubt he could have done this in 2000. All this being said, I think Chester still sounds awesome. IMO he will go down as one of the best rock vocalists of this era, if not just one of the best rock vocalists of all time. His range is pretty incredible and his early days screaming could bring the house down.
His performance in Rock in Rio wasn't top notch. He can still screams well but he can't really do the earlier songs justice with his vocals. While I can't wait for the Hunting Party I really feel like the band should make more music that doesn't make Chester have to struggle so hard. I mean the ballad medley was awesome, and he can still sing the softer songs well(like Numb). Not saying they should make more ballads but I think that vocal style fits Chester voice better these days.
Rock in Rio 2014 was okay preformance for Chester ( good screams but couldn't hit high notes like 2012/13 ), the best time for his voice was probaly 2007. He could hit the high pitched notes while doing awesome screams. I really liked that he joined STP but was concerned that he doesn't overdo his voice. Let's hope he can continue to make music for a long time.