How to Sing Death Metal

Death metal is not everyone's favorite style of music. But if you've ever tried to sing it, you know that there is some serious skill involved. Most people can make themselves sound like the cookie monster for a minute or two, just by using brute force. But if you want to sing in this style without destroying your vocal cords, you'll need to follow these steps.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Relax your throat and let your mouth hang open slightly.
2. Take a deep breath.
3. Push the air up from your diaphragm, making the sound of wind. Try not to involve your vocal cords in this process.
4. Bring some raspy gurgle sounds slowly into your exhalation. These should come from the bottom of your throat, not the top.
5. Place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth to make this sound a little more evil.
6. Practice this process regularly until the sound of hell itself emerges from your throat. This will happen eventually.

Tips & Warnings

• Drink plenty of water when you are practicing your death metal growls.
• Find the growl or scream pitch that is most comfortable for you and work with that initially. You can test your extremes, both low and high, later on. First you need to build a foundation.
• Stand up straight. Slouching will cut off the air flow.
• If your throat hurts, stop. You are doing it wrong. Your vocal cords have very little role to play in death metal singing. Most of the sound is produced at the base of your throat before the air reaches your vocal cords.
• Once you have the correct technique down, avoid the temptation to scream and growl all day long. Even correctly executed death metal singing can cause injury if you overdo it. Work up your endurance little by little over time.