Scream science: University of Utah researchers study how exactly metal singers sound like that

The University of Utah is leading the charge in a new field of research: the science of screams. Their subjects? Metal singers.

“I think when people think of the musical genre of metal, the first thing they think of is, like, ‘Ow, it sounds painful,’” said speech pathologist and University of Utah vocal researcher Amanda Stark. “Their first instinct is ‘ouch,’ and I wanted to show people that it’s not an ‘ouch.’”

That’s why Stark and her team invited Will Ramos, the lead singer of New Jersey metal band Lorna Shore, into their lab to study how he manages to perform such harsh vocals.

“We were really interested to see what structures in the back of the throat were working,” said Stark.

A screamer by trade, Ramos has a variety of extreme vocalizations. “Will has what he calls a ‘false chord scream’ or a ‘pig squeal.’ He’s got names like ‘goblin,’ ‘pterodactyl,’ ‘tea kettle’ … and then on stage, he puts all of these different sounds together,” Stark explained.

Researchers wondered: Is it healthy to produce these noises?

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Scream science: University of Utah researchers study how exactly metal singers sound like that

Scream science: University of Utah researchers study how exactly metal singers sound like that

Scream science: University of Utah researchers study how exactly metal singers sound like that

Scream science: University of Utah researchers study how exactly metal singers sound like that

Scream science: University of Utah researchers study how exactly metal singers sound like that