This article was written by my good friend, bandmate, and former co-worker Doug Moore! Doug is best known as the vocalist for extreme death metal noise maniacs Pyrrhon. https://pyrrhonband.bandcamp.com/album/abscess-time He is also the vocalist for the death metal band Glorious Depravity, in which I drum. This makes best use of his DME skills. https://gloriousdepravity.bandcamp.com/album/ageless-violenc... . Look at…
Who are the lyrics for and what is expected of the audience? Are they purely artistic or do fans usually read the lyrics at some point and appreciate them and do they ever understand them in the song?
Screamed metal vocals are a rhythm instrument and intensity amplifier. They serve as a focal point for the atmosphere that a band is trying to create. They provide a path for the audience to connect with music in a visceral way. It’s akin to listening to music in another language. I don’t need to understand Italian to appreciate opera or comprehend the emotion behind any particular moment, the presentation alone is enough when it’s done well.
The lyrics themselves serve different purposes depending on the band, genre, and topic. They often act as a signifier of identity, something that helps readers categorize genre and properly contextualize the complete package. Sometimes they’re just fun for the vocalist to bark, offering some combination of rhythm and sound that lets them perform with the intensity that they’re looking for. Some bands use more personal, meaningful lyrics, at which point they’re poetry. The DME piece is a brilliant glimpse into one kind of death metal lyricism but it’s far from exhaustive where the genre is concerned.