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I mentioned last week in my Top Ten Female Artists entry, that despite listening to a very wide selection of music I tend to lean towards male artists. So this week I'm giving you a sample of but a few of them by showcasing my favourite male performers (in no particular order).
Favourite Song: Leave Out All The Rest is my favourite Linkin Park song and also my favourite song sung by Chester Bennington.
Favourite Song: The Islander gets my vote here, although Whilst Your Lips are still read is a close second.
Favourite Song: Because We Can, I love this song. It's catchy and cruisy but the vocals are still fantastic.
Favourite Song: This was a hard one but I'll go with Eidolon by Karnivool. This song is wonderfully eerie.
Favourite Song: I'll have to go with Shaman's Harvests' cover of Michael Jackson's Dirty Diana. They take an already great song and make it even better, primarily because of Hunts' vocals.
Favourite Song: Diamantina Drover, easily. This song is actually a cover, however his version is by far the best. In fact, it's my all time favourite song.
Favourite Song: Led Zepplin's oddly latin-influenced, Fool in the Rain gets my vote here. I love the way Plant sings it.
Favourite Song: The angry and intense Face to Face gets this one.
Favourite Song: Don't Cry hands down. Such amazing feelz.
Favourite Song: A Litte Piece of Heaven, musical theatre meets heavy metal and it's golden.
There you have it, my favourite male singers. Feel free to share your thoughts or even some favourites of your own in the comments section below.
-Gimmepie
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Top Ten Male Artists
I mentioned last week in my Top Ten Female Artists entry, that despite listening to a very wide selection of music I tend to lean towards male artists. So this week I'm giving you a sample of but a few of them by showcasing my favourite male performers (in no particular order).
Number One - Chester Bennington (Linkin Park, Dead by Sunrise)
Linkin park is my favourite band, I've said it before and I'll say it another thousand if I have to. Why? Well there are a lot of reasons, but Chester Bennington's vocals are a huge reason. I honestly believe he is the most talented singer of the modern era, he has excellent control of his voice and a pretty decent range. What really earns him such high regard from me though are his versatility and ability to convey emotion. He can scream like a demon, sing like an angel, make you riot or shed a tear just with his voice. That's pretty impressive.
Favourite Song: Leave Out All The Rest is my favourite Linkin Park song and also my favourite song sung by Chester Bennington.
Number Two - Marco Hietala (Nightwish)
Marco, who has the coolest beard in existence, is often overlooked as a vocalist since Nightwish is always lead by a female artist. However he more than earns his place on my list. Like Chester he has great versatility and ability to convey emotion or a story that is hard to top. I only wish he did lead vocals on Nightwish songs more often because his vocal talent is on a par, if not better than, the female leads.
Favourite Song: The Islander gets my vote here, although Whilst Your Lips are still read is a close second.
Number Three - Jon Bon Jovi (Bon Jovi)
Bon Jovi is as iconic a band as any and are amongst my favourites of the classic rock groups. A big reason for this is the powerful vocals of lead singer Jon Bon Jovi. There's not much else to say about him to be honest, he can convey emotion quite well, but that's not his strong point, he's just got a killer voice.
Favourite Song: Because We Can, I love this song. It's catchy and cruisy but the vocals are still fantastic.
Number Four - Ian Kenny (Karnivool, Birds of Tokyo)
Ian Kenny has a pretty high pitched vocal compared to a lot of other people who perform the genres he does, but he can still surprise you with the amount of power he can sometimes produce with his voice. What earns him his place on my list though isn't how strong he can sing, it's his ability to incite different moods with his voice. He can make you feel like rioting but in the next moment take you to eerie, disturbing places which is a rare and admirable quality.
Favourite Song: This was a hard one but I'll go with Eidolon by Karnivool. This song is wonderfully eerie.
Number Five - Nathan "Drake" Hunt (Shaman's Harvest)
This guy has two "modes" as far as I'm concerned. Dark and solemn, or hard and gritty. Both he does extremely well. Seriously, this guy just kicks ass. Even with throat cancer he is capable of belting out some of the most incredible vocals I've ever heard.
Favourite Song: I'll have to go with Shaman's Harvests' cover of Michael Jackson's Dirty Diana. They take an already great song and make it even better, primarily because of Hunts' vocals.
Number Six - John Williamson
He's certainly different to the first five artists on this list, but make no mistake this legend of Australian country music belongs on this list. His voice is nowhere near as powerful as the likes of most of these rock singers, but nobody I have ever listened to can convey a story or feeling with their voice like John Williamson can.
Favourite Song: Diamantina Drover, easily. This song is actually a cover, however his version is by far the best. In fact, it's my all time favourite song.
Number Seven - Robert Plant (Led Zepplin)
Robert Plant is on this list because he can do freaking anything. From belting out rock, to cruising with country or bringing the feels with blues Robert Plant can do any of those things and do them well. Nothing more needs to be said.
Favourite Song: Led Zepplin's oddly latin-influenced, Fool in the Rain gets my vote here. I love the way Plant sings it.
Number Eight - Lajon Witherspoon (Sevendust)
Lajon Witherspoon's voice is deep, rich and powerful as all hell. Of all the vocalists on this list, Witherspoon makes me want to go nuts and head bang the most. It should be noted that he can also tone it down when he wants to incite feelings other than rage and do that well.
Favourite Song: The angry and intense Face to Face gets this one.
Number Nine - Axl Rose (Guns n' Roses)
Axl may not have a record of being the nicest man around, but he is a damn good singer. He can sing slow, deep and low using his voice to make you think or, like in most songs he sings, he can let loose with high-pitched, frenzied gold.
Favourite Song: Don't Cry hands down. Such amazing feelz.
Number Ten - M. Shadows (Avenged Sevenfold)
M. Shadows has a strong voice that's greatly suited towards his genre, but what earns him his spot in this list is the theatrical quality to it that shines through in pretty much evert Avenged Sevenfold song.
Favourite Song: A Litte Piece of Heaven, musical theatre meets heavy metal and it's golden.
There you have it, my favourite male singers. Feel free to share your thoughts or even some favourites of your own in the comments section below.
-Gimmepie
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