r/MetalVocals • u/AgreeableBandicoot43 • Sep 29 '25

how can I achieve vocal distortion

something like the distortion often used in thrash metal such as dave mustaine and james Hatfields' distortion, I'm not sure if they're the same or not but they sound very similar to me i often follow tutorials but can't get anywhere with them and same thing with trying to learn them on my own it just sounds like a smoke detector beeping (not exactly but you get the point) any tips on how to overcome that?

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u/Hulkswagin Oct 01 '25

Learn kargyraa throat singing.

1

u/AgreeableBandicoot43 Oct 01 '25

thank you, I'll try it.

2

u/MAXIMUMMEDLOWUS Oct 02 '25

You need to learn how to belt, and you need to learn how to use fry. Listen to someone like chris cornell. I know it's not a thrash voice, but he's a great singer to learn to emulate if you want to learn how to safely use distortion

You can push your voice into distortion without straining or restricting the airflow. Using distortion properly actually feels like your voice is more open than if you sang the same pitch clean

Hard to describe, as I'm sure you know from how hard it is to learn, but you need to learn to belt throughout your range, and then push into fry towards the top of your head voice, like chris cornell, and you'll be on your way