I agree with you! I love the way Mike sings. So of their songs sounds way different if Chester sings it compare to Mike!
No Roads Left was my favourite track on MTM (even though it is a b-side and technically not an album track, but it is on the deluxe edition). I wasn't particularly impressed by his performance on songs like Castle of Glass and Roads Untravelled, but I definitely liked it. However his singing in the Mall clip really impressed me (seriously if you haven't heard it by now, you need to, here it is: https://soundcloud.com/leftshoe18/mall-ost-clip ), I thought it was a different artist when I first heard it. I think Mike has some real potential he hasn't publicly revealed yet, but in saying that it's important to note that he simply just does not sound very good on some songs (for example the Leave Out All The Rest Demo) where Chester, the better singer, does.
That's why I love that this band has two singers. Some passages will just sound better in a specific singer's voice so Mike and Chester are allowed to fill different roles in regards to vocals beyond just "one guy raps, one guy sings/screams" like it had been in the beginning.
Some interesting points have been brought up, especially with the differences between what Mike and Chester convey with their singing. I feel that they complement each other very well. I'm not sure I can say one is better than the other (I haven't seen much of Mike performing live), however. It seems that both excel at their own talents in singing, with Mike bringing a darker, moodier vibe and Chester relentlessly delivering the energy and aggression.
Rebellion wouldn't be as nearly as good if Mike didn't sing during it. His voice suits it perfectly. I just wish they'd get rid of the screaming bridge!
Mike have an AWESOME tone, I really love it, but I think he is a LOT insecure about it: Get any live video of mike rapping and look his atittude, he was BORN to that, he rapes the mic. Now get a video from Burning In The Skies, Blackout, Castle of Glass, or any other song that mike really sings, look into his face, it's obviously evident the insecurity about it. I think the point that Mike really needs to work about singin (live) it's confidence, when Mike sings his face seems like an 12 years boysingin at some music school event. But I really like his voice although haha
They're very out of place. The transition from ''WE FALL APAAAAAAAAAART!'' to Mike softly singing ''We are the fortunate ones'' is ridiculous and kind of funny.
Just because the vocals aren't heavy? The song is heavy as FUCK without the screaming. The riffs are insane. The screaming was not needed at all.
i dont know how to explain myself. the instrumental is indeed very heavy but the melody is very soft, even if the vocals were more aggressive it would still lack a "punch". ballads are not necessarily completely soft tracks, only LP ballads usually are.
I'd describe it as jarring. Juxtaposition isn't necessarily a bad thing, I like to have a musical surprise like that. I'm actually quite happy with the relatively low amount of screaming in the songs so far, I think that rarity makes Chester's screaming that much more powerful when it happens. Going back on topic, I'm actually a little disappointed with Mike's performance in Rebellion. Actually, it's not so much Mike's performance but the octave that he chose to sang the verses. Chester's octave sounds much more natural in the section.
I seriously can't get enough of Rebellion. Mike, and his harmonies with Chester are just so good here. This song is Castle of Glass, but more exciting!