There isn't such a big difference in more softer songs like numb, true, but he is struggling way more often. So, i just can agree the statement of Pidgeon, that Chester is squeaking more than ever. But personally, i think "Shadow Of The Day" is the only song (and maybe "Leave Out All The Rest" too), which Chester sings even better now then 2007/2008 (i found that 2008/09 weren't good years from Chester anyway^^). But i spoke rather of his screaming and the rough parts. When i compare Given Up for example of Rock in Rio '14 with this: [video=youtube;gglo2VjH88w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gglo2VjH88w[/video] ...then i see a huge difference. Don't get me wrong, i'm not obsessed with his screams, even i like them very much. But to me, it doesn't make much fun listen to him that way - honestly. I know to 100%, that it isn't fair coming with that, since it is more or less 20 years old (+ with a unconsumed voice), but i just get goosebumps, when i listen to this: [video=youtube;9XhMr6bfbO4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XhMr6bfbO4[/video] [video=youtube;2TJX_XTn8E0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TJX_XTn8E0[/video] Such a deepful (and lovely) voice with power and a huge range, which shows, that he is undoubtable one of the most talented singer. I don't wanna say, that Chester isn't passionate anymore in concerts, not at all. That is one thing, which i really like, but his voice don't let him anymore and this is sad.
Lately his voice has been squeaky clean and a bit overly nasal. I wish he'd sound a little more raw. Also, he's gotta try some different ways of singing if LP are to continue making music in the future. I barely ever hear him sing in falsetto or just employ other such singing techniques. I think he's got a great voice still... just needs to venture out and try different styles. And tone down on the screaming maybe, because a lot of the times these days they don't sound too good.
Anytime I watch Chester it looks like he's singing from the throat rather than the diaphragm, which is how you should sing. The way his shoulders raise every time he takes a breath is a dead give away of this. No clue why he doesn't take some voice lessons to learn how to preserve his voice and everything, or if he is, why they don't seem to be working. That said, I don't think his Rock in Rio performance yesterday sounded any worse than how he's been sounding the past couple years. He sounded great on most shows in 2007, took a decline in 2008, really didn't sound too good for all of the ATS touring cycle, but made a nice comeback once the LT cycle began. Again, no where near his prime, but he seems to get by fine for now.
I think Chester not changing his style is partly because of Mike. In the interview below Chester explains that Mike is the reason that he sounds the way he does on LP records. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QVV-CfQfBw Skip to 4.00 I love Chester's vocals on the STP EP and I had hoped that working with STP would influence his vocals in LP, but unfortunately that does not seem to be the case.
thats exactly the problem, chester need not only rest, but vocal lessons, he needs to learn how to sing properly. the way he sings is damaging his voice, as he gets older its getting harder and harder for him to hit notes that are in his confort zone, he is getting squeaky and thin. the good part is that its not impossible for him to get his voice in a better shape, but he got to realise that his voice is getting worse, and i dont think he does. if he keeps singing this way i dont think he will still be able to sing most of LP songs in about 5 years. crawling and new divide sounded like shit at rock in rio, no more sorrow is gone from the sets since 2012, and so far the hunting party songs are not vocal demanding, still he doesnt sound very good in them, GATS specially. i think he is singing safe purposely. when they play hybrid theory we will be able to tell more about how his voice is now.
His technique I believe had a serious change in M2M and onwards. His voice was pretty nasal on the first 2 albums, since then he's been using more of a head voice, and his range has increased. The way he puts distortion into his voice has changed too, that's why he started sounding differently in live shows. Personally I believe he knows how to sing with proper technique, but it sounds like he is deliberately not doing it in Linkin Park.
Completely false. You can scream and scream for a living without shredding your vocal cords. Problem is most singers in this genre don't and ruin their voice which leads to the false assumption that screaming = ruining your voice. Screaming wrong = ruining your voice. And honestly, after a complete tour any singers voice will be a little off. If he just sang clean 100% of the time I guarantee his vocals on the 1st, 40th and 90th show would show considerable wear. From what I can see he's going more with a vocal fry technique then a straight "yell" like most of us would do. It allows for extended notes without using a ton of air and not so much cord wear (hence him doing the full Given Up scream during the AOL sessions). Do his screams sound different? Yes. Is it because his voice is giving out? It's possible but I would put money on it that he just went to a vocal coach like Melissa Cross (who specializes in screaming technique) and that his screams are safer but don't have the same huge raw power which will shred your vocal cords. The range of Chester's voice doesn't seem to really allow for a nice deep "scream" outside of growls. He CAN do it but it tears up his vocal cords. Take someone like Corey Taylor of Slipknot who can use the same vocal fry technique but get nice deep (and what some may call more "metal") screams and yells because his natural vocal range is much lower than Chester's.
he droped the drive he used in songs like Crawling, with you, somewhere i belong and others after MTM, and started singing clean, but songs like iven up have a raspy tone that is different from what he used to do, sounds more natural. he changed his singing live in 2004, before that he sounded like in live in texas raspy and nasal, his live performances in 2004 had a lot of nasality but with clean singing, like Rock am ring. look at his face while he sings high notes, he is pushing then out, its very unhealthy, you can see a lot of tension in his neck and shoulders. but for some reason he sounds better without LP, his performances with camp freddy from 2007 to 2008 are amazing. with DBS in 2009 he was singing higher than usual and with power on clean singing and screams but with LP he was just ok most of the time. a light that never comes at 1:29:00 he struggle so much to hit notes that he is used to, in the last chorus his voice is barely coming out. its pretty clear that this is why No More Sorrow, Lying From You, From The Inside and In My Remains are out of the setlists. [video=youtube;JbJG7FL8U-4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbJG7FL8U-4[/video]
I see the point. Tbh i dont know much about vocals etc and changing. So its good that you answered in that way. Thank You.
Absolutely! It's tough to judge in a live situation because I certainly see him dropping technique sometimes to just go for power and to try to hit a note when he's a little out of breath. And I do agree with Outcastboy that his DBS singing is probably the best clean singing he's put to record BUT he didn't sound that good live with DBS (just my opinion to be honest). On wax is not a good judge when you have 50 takes to get it perfect along with punching in vocals.
It's true that he's got his moments. There are times that he's using very descent technique, especially when screaming (I remember the last chorus of Lies Greed Misery or the video he's recording victimized) and others where he just yells like there's no tomorrow. All that being in studio. In live shows, considering how he's moving around all the time, he just NEVER supports from the diaphragm, and his whole body positioning is just wrong. I believe the reason he was so much better with camp freddy is that he was using more of the original singer's head voice techniques for those songs. You can easily tell he's positioning his voice differently than he is in LP, when singing Paradise City, Whole Lotta Love for example. Nevertheless he is a great and very talented singer. And his voice is still really powerful. Considering the strain he puts it through all these years, he shouldn't be able to talk, let alone sing and go around touring the world.
Rebellion. End thread. Live may be a different story though. It'll definitely put his screaming chops to the test.
well, in Rebellion hes still kind of weak, and he seems monotone at times, Guilty all the same and Wastelands basically have the EXACT same parts, shit "wastelands of today" even sounds like "guilty all the same"
For me: Wastelands > Rebellion > Guilty All The Same > Until It's Gone I think that the song is amazing! For the first time in a long time I had chills all over my body from the music of Linkin Park. Awesome melody and guitar. Very catchy and two - screams in the bridge have destroyed me. Something... just fantastic.
I'm referring to the fact that he screamed for bloody murder on the bridge. There's definitely none of that shit on Guilty All The Same or Wastelands. His singing is another matter entirely, but the supposed "weak" sound is due to the fact that they finally stripped all those digital layers off his voice in the studio.
rebellion is probably the least vocally demanding song ever for chester, its not a bad thing, but we cant judge his voice based on this song. the screaming is good, but it sounds a bit "shouted" to me, not very strong and consistent, like on victimized where he struggled to sing because he was sick. in my opinion the best screaming he done recently is LGM, but he never attempted it live EDIT: chester is much better here than on rock in rio, he nailed POA chorus [video=youtube;rLB0aIGS0zE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLB0aIGS0zE[/video]