How to Do Harsh Death Metal Vocals

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A guide to death-metal growls from technique to warm-ups

Co-authored by Amy Chapman, MA

Last Updated: October 16, 2024 References

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Warming Up Your Vocals

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Growling Your Death Metal Vocals

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Video

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Q&A

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Tips

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Warnings

Singing harsh death metal vocals may seem like it’s just a bunch of screaming and shouting, but it’s actually a technique that takes a lot of practice to master. You can learn to perform the harsh vocals of death metal by properly warming up your vocal cords so you don’t damage them and learning how to breathe and sing from your diaphragm while you add guttural growls to your vocals. Now get out there and sing your death metal heart out!

Tips for Singing Harsh Death Metal Vocals

Gargle warm salt water and baking soda beforehand.
Do warm-up exercises using the "hee-haw" donkey sound.
Scream the word "yeah" and growl the word "wow" to practice.
Relax your throat and hang your mouth open before you growl.
Breathe deeply, pushing the air up from your diaphragm.
Incorporate growling sounds from the back of your throat.
Try to sing some lyrics while you growl.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Warming Up Your Vocals

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1
Gargle warm salt water and baking soda to moisten your vocal cords. Mix together ¹⁄₂ cup (120 mL) of warm water, 1 teaspoon (4.9 mL) of salt, and ¹⁄₄ teaspoon (1.2 mL) of baking soda. Gargle the mixture for 30 seconds to loosen and moisten the back of your throat and vocal cords so you’re ready to sing death metal vocals.^{[1]
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- Gargle using a high-pitch note to loosen and moisten your vocal cords.
- Don’t use very hot or boiling water or you could damage your throat.
2
Do some “hee-haw” vocal warm-ups. All singers need to warm up their vocal cords before they perform, but for death metal music, you need to warm up the growling and screaming involved in the vocals so you don’t damage your vocal cords. Imagine the “hee-haw” sound that a donkey makes and use the sounds for a vocal exercise. Repeat the “hee-haw” sounds in different pitches and with varying intensity to prime your vocal cords for death metal vocals.^{[2]
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- Start off gently so you don’t strain your vocal cords, then pick up the pitch and intensity.
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Warm-up your vocals by screaming “yeah” and growling “wow.” Death metal vocals are characterized by deep growls and screaming sounds. Warm-up your harsh vocals by scream-singing the word “Yeah” and get your deep vocals ready by growl-singing “Wow.”^{[3]
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- Start to scream and growl more intensely as your vocal cords get warmed up.
- Practice singing death metal lyrics that you know to warm up.
4
Suck on a slippery elm lozenge to keep your vocal cords protected. Slippery elm contains mucilage, which coats your throat and helps prevent it from getting hoarse. Singing, especially, metal vocals, can take a toll on your vocal cords. While you’re warming up, suck on a lozenge that contains slippery elm to help lubricate and protect your vocal cords.^{[4]
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- You can find slippery elm lozenges at health food stores and online.
Tip: If you don’t have slippery elm lozenges, use a cough lozenge to keep your vocal cords coated and protected.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Growling Your Death Metal Vocals

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1
Relax your throat and allow your mouth to hang open. In order to make the guttural, harsh-sounding vocals of death metal, you need to let the noise emanate from deep within your diaphragm. Allow your throat and mouth to relax so you’re only producing sound from your diaphragm and vocal cords.
2
Take a deep breath into your diaphragm. In order to create the deep growls of death metal vocals, you need to expel the air from your diaphragm, rather than just from your lungs. Start by taking a big breath and allowing your belly to inflate.^{[5]
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- Make sure the area around your stomach fills up when you take your breath or you may be breathing from your chest.
- Place your hand on your chest when you take a breath. If your hand moves more than your stomach when you inhale, then you’re not breathing into your diaphragm.
- Breathing deeply helps anchor your body and control your vocal cords.
3
Push the breath up from your diaphragm. Use the muscles of your diaphragm to press the air out of your mouth so it sounds like wind coming from your body. Don’t use your vocal cords yet so you can be sure the air is coming from your diaphragm and not your chest.
- Push the air out quickly and forcefully by tensing your diaphragm and abdominal muscles.
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Add growling sounds from the back of your throat. As you’re expelling the breath, add harsh growls from the bottom of your throat to the sound. It should sound raspy and almost gurgling.
- If the sound hurts or tickles your throat, you may not have warmed up enough or you may not be pushing the air out from your diaphragm.
Tip: Place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth to make the growls sound even deeper.
5
Sing lyrics while you’re growling. Once you’ve established the growl and you’re singing from your diaphragm, start adding lyrics to your harsh vocals. Start with short verses that you know before you move to entire songs. Practice singing lyrics in different pitches so you can find what sounds best for you.
- It will take lots of practice for you to master singing death metal vocals.
- Work on enunciating the lyrics while you’re growling so they’re discernible.

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Does doing death metal screaming damage your voice?

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If done incorrectly, it can cause damage. However, many death metal singers use a technique in which there’s minimal friction between the vocal cords, similar to the way a baby screams and cries without hurting their throat.

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Why do death metal singers growl?

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The death metal growl is a stylistic choice that’s also meant to convey the intense emotion of the song. Many singers (and listeners) find the intensity of death metal growling to be satisfying and cathartic, and also feel that it matches well with the style of the instrumentals.

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Who invented the death growl vocal style?

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It’s hard to pin it down to a specific individual, but one of the first known recorded examples appears in the 1966 song “Boris the Spider,” by The Who.

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Altering the shape of your mouth can dramatically change the sound you produce. Let your mouth relax and hang on open to produce harsh metal vocals.

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The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

If your throat starts to feel strained (not painful—that's a red flag), try taking a rest. This will probably happen when you attempt to reach a larger vocal range. Just like with regular singing, you need practice to increase your range.
As the lead singer of The Last Word, I can definitely tell you that it takes a lot of practice. You need to hydrate a lot as you practice, since this technique will definitely make you tired.
Try to find songs in your vocal range, otherwise you may cause damage to your vocal cords.

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Warnings

Death metal vocals can damage or strain your vocal cords if you don’t properly warm-up and allow them to rest and heal after prolonged use.

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