Who, rather fittingly, is much worse live. But anyway, that shit ain't metal (though it is awesome).

I can't remember Brann Dailor's vocals being any worse all three times that I've seen Mastodon, but I was drunk at all three so my memory may be shot a bit.

I just came in here to say that Lord Tim of Dungeon, and Lord fame is a great guitarist/vocalist. His stage presence doesn't suffer one bit. I haven't heard a single live performance where he noticeably fucks up anything. Also, George Kosmas of Be'lakor is fantastic too. His stage presence DOES suffer, but the actual performance doesn't. And not metal, but both Justin Hawkins (The Darkness) and Colin James can both do all the guitar acrobatics without losing any steam presence, or performance wise. I saw Colin James last week live, and holy shit, that man sounds like right off record. He's a really fantastic guitar player, too.

Uh, Chris Reifert, anyone? Amazing how he does his vocals and drums at the same time. King Fowley of Deceased is another fine example of drummer doing the vocals.

All the guys in Mastodon are significantly weaker vocally in their live shows, particularly Brent Hinds. God that dude is already nasal as fuck on record, but he's worse live. Their harsh vocals are still good though.

Hehe, actually Mustaine's singing doesn't suffer from his guitar playing. He probably can do anything while playing guitar. The man just can't sing very well......

Yeah, Mustaine just really has a shitty voice. *shrug*

Kai Hansen of gamma ray isn't that bad as a singer and he does both. Though he is no halford atleast he is not a dave mustaine. Though if you heard his early helloween stuff you would think differently, but hey got a lot better.

The right to write music? LOL. If they have what it takes to play in the band or write music, than they've earned the right to do whatever the fuck they please, just like any other member.

I don't know, but it seems like drummers and singers are often perceived as morons who don't actually know anything about music other than screaming and beating drums. That is, IME, not the case. FYI, a lot of lead singers can play other instruments, even if they don't do so within the band. A lot of them are fully invested in the music, not just their vocals. I just read a Chuck Billy interview recently where he was saying how he always tries to crank the guitars in the studio mix. He's not the exception IME.

Vocalists are like any other musicians. They're not any better or worse. And just like guitarists, drummers and bassists, some of them take their craft seriously and some don't. Some are naturally gifted while others work their asses off. It's really not that different. It also comes with its own set of limitations. It can be very demanding physically and mentally.

Primadonnas doing sexy moves? Maybe if you're into glam metal bands and enjoy watching guys who act like they want to take it up the ass but that ain't metal. And other musicians in those suckass bands are just likely to be pulling the same stuff anyways. I agree that several singers do however try to put on a show. Just for your information, this is often very often encouraged by their bandmates and is sometimes a band prerequisite when they audition guys. Vocals are about technique but also emotions. Your body is your instrument. You're less likely to be still on stage and that's a good thing as far as I'm concerned.

As for singers being the most replaceable part of a band... well good for you. But decades of rock and metal music history says otherwise. Singers and main composers make or break bands in the eyes of most people. They can close or open doors for the band as far as what they can do, in what keys they should play and so on. And they can alter what your setlist of former songs can be.

To most people, oh really? Hey, some of us have opinions that aren't similar to those held by most people. The fact that the majority of people think something isn't at all a counterargument to a personal opinion expressed by an individual.

If he sounds any bad is because he is a chain smoker, pretty much like Andi Deris.

Ah i see. He did have the crackly smoker singing voice haha. Though I do think he has a better voice than Andi Deris. Never liked him.

And I never said otherwise.

As I said originally, good for you if you hold that opinion that singers are the "most replaceable". Sounds fucked up and ridiculous to me but whatever floats your boat!

If you think that being just the lead singer is an easy feat or that they get too much credit, try actually being a lead singer. As someone who has been in bands as just the guitarist and just the singer I can tell you that they both prevent definite difficulties. Just because a singer doesn't have to remember as much intricate note work or finger movements doesn't mean what they do have to do is easy. Especially if you sing metal and use a larger range, you really have to be able to control your voice even on the days when the weather is bad and all odds are against you. It is NO easy feat. Plus I don't really think the whole idea of a "frontman" is so bad a thing as long as the person in question doesn't exude dickish behavior. Because an enthusiastic frontman stage presence can get the show going very well and ultimately make it more entertaining.

Just my two cents. And as far as singers not being as good if they also play an instrument, I think it depends on whether they were a instrumentalist who had to fill the singing gap in the band (see Mustaine) or if they worked on both along side each other (see Gildenlow). Sure there may be some case where a person doesn't sing as well when playing because their attention is somewhat diverted, but after you do it long enough that goes away for most people I've talked to.