Hello Everybody,
Firstly, I just want to explain my view of the "growling" and "Pig Squeals" of Extreme Metal. I've been listening to metal since i was 10 years old (im fourteen now-i know its not a long time, but ive been completly immersed in metal for that time, so id consider myself a longtime metalhead), and over time, my taste from metal has grown more extreme, starting off with bands like Kiss, AC/DC, Queen, and Black Sabbath, to now, with bands like Cannibal Corpse, Meshuggah, Necrophagist, and Cryptopsy.
That being said, i still appreciate and even love the likes of Freddy Mercury, James LaBrie, and even singers like Beyonce and Aretha Franklin for their vast musical talent. Although the Chris Barnes's and Lord Worm's of the world may not be the best singers in a pop/classical sense (where beautiful melodies and harmonies are almost a neccesity), they are great singers in their own way, and it takes true love of their style of music to appreciate their vocals.
For example: while a classic rock fan may revere Freddy Mercury for his use of dynamics, tone, harmony, ect...an extreme metal fan such as myself finds pleasing qualities in the "death growls" of today. Such qualities include: the "gutteral" qualitiy of the singers voice, the ability of the singer to effectivley growl loudly while still maintaining form without the use of cupping the mic or using electric harmonizers, how long a singer can sustain a growl, and the ability of a singer to growl with a single tone without sounding like he/she (and yes, girls can "growl" too) is strianing his/herself.
Although a person who does not regularly listen to and enjoy etreme metal may not like the style of vocals bands under its umbrella use, it is not simply each singer's attempt to "sound like the devil", it is a unique art which takes a keen and enjoying ear to appreciate.
Also, not everyone can just growl or pig squeal at the drop of the hat. It suprisingly takes a great deal of practice to refine and sustain the extreme metal sound. I challange anyone who disagrees to look up the lyrics to Cannibal Corpse's "Hammer Smashed Face", Dying Fetus' "Insidious Repression" or Behemoth's "Conquer All" and attempt to sing along while sounding the same as the singer, and still singing the words.
And finally, as a side note, the lyrics of extreme metal are usually suprisingly well written. Look at, for example" Cryptopsy's "Slit Your Guts". The lyrics evoke images of a dark psychopath who eloquently murders his victims, with his favorite blade, "Tuesday". The writing style also is reminiscant of French prose, directly associated with Cryptopsy's hailing from Canada. The point I'm trying to make is that in the context of a song, the tone and quality of the vocals is used as a complimentary instrument to the generally dark sound, and upon finding the eloquently written vocals, the listener turned reader becomes pleasantly shocked.
THAT BEING SAID:
My personal favorites include:
Chris Barnes-Ex. Cannibal Corpse, Six Feet Under
Lord Worm-Ex. Cryptopsy
John Gallagher-Dying Fetus
Nergal-Behemoth
Jens Kidman-Meshuggah
Tim Roth/Stu Block-Into Eternity