The topic of vocals in the industrial scene and related fields hasn't been explored that often (least as far as I've seen). But I live by a simple tenant: I much prefer someone screaming in a song horribly than someone attempting to sing horribly. I honestly feel as if there are a lot of vocalists in the scene who think they're great whose friends tell them that they're great when it's simply not the case. I've been exposed to this far too often. Please, if your friend sucks, tell them. In a nice way if possible. But criticism can make someone better at what they do instead of continuing a trend of mediocrity at best.

HOWEVER, I also believe that there are a ton of fantastic vocalists in the scene. I am a proponent of criticizing what you love, but I also enjoy talking about why I love what I love as well. In that spirit, I wanted to create a small little letter of affection to a bunch of different vocalists who I think rise above the rest in our humble little scene. So, here’s a bunch of vocalists who I think nail what they do on a consistent basis. Please keep in mind that this list is in no particular order and I just wrote names down on a mental note as I went along. Also note that this list goes a little beyond industrial, sometimes into synthpop territory, into goth, but generally under the umbrella in our small and humble scene. 

If you’re at all familiar with Brutal Resonance then odds are that you’ve seen at least one article covering Miss FD in the past. It’s no great secret that I take great pleasure in listening to her music. Singling out her vocals is something I do in most every single one of the reviews I do for her as her voice is absolutely fantastic. The best performance in her career thus far has got to be on her 2018 album “Transcendence”.  More of a Gothic affair than anything but with some pop in it nonetheless. Even going back into her past with albums such as “Comfort for the Desolate” or in recent times where she’s traveled back to clubby, electro tracks such as ‘Distractions’, there isn’t a single disappointing point in her career. 

A lot of bands bleeding into gothic and industrial genres tend to describe their vocalist as witchy. And more often than not I’m left disappointed with what I’m given due to them sounding like a normal singer. Now, that’s not a bad thing as some bands do have a decent vocalist; it’s just not what I would describe as witchy. Lynette Cerezo, however, takes that term and fucking flies with it. I remember I first heard her voice on the title track ‘Heartless’ from her 2016 album of the same name and I was absolutely blown away. Ritualistic howls and deep, clean sung chords combining with one another. It was something of beauty and horror mixed into one. But she’s not a one hit wonder; anything that she sings on turns into an occult hit. Her passion hasn’t died down, either, as can easily be seen on her most recent album “R.O.T.T. (inmyskin)”. Check out the title track, ‘Road Of Thousand Tears”, to see what I’m talking about. 

What can be said about Isaac Howlett and what he’s done with Empathy Test that hasn’t already been said? Honestly, probably not a whole lot more as the praise just keeps on coming and coming. That being said, I have to include him on this list as he’s a step above the rest in almost all the right ways. An empathetic voice that echoes to the Heavens above and cracks the cloud to let the sun shine down. His range of emotions when singing rings through my body every time I hear them; look at the title track from their 2020 album “Monsters”; all the hope, the sadness, and pain the song brings out is poured into his performance. My personal favorite from Empathy Test is the single ‘Demons’ and, once again, he bleeds for the performance. I can’t find a fault in his face and it’s fantastic. 

Whenever I see Mari Kattman’s name it kind of sends me on a road trip to when I first began writing for Brutal Resonance. I discovered her from her now finished band Day Twelve back in 2013. Back then I thought that her voice was pretty good but little did I know how much better she would become throughout the years. Honestly, I think this all culminated on her most recent EP “Swallow” as it’s one of her best performances of her career. But, even when she’s not producing under her solo banner she’s still a siren. Go no further than looking at her project with her husband Tom Shear called Helix. She still sings as if her career depends on it. And she’s a frequent collaborator with other musicians. 

I feel as if some people are going to harp on me for this choice as SKYND does use a ton of digital effects on her voice in a lot of the duo’s songs.  However, every once in a while we get to see through the effects to understand that she actually has quite a set of beautiful chords. The first time I heard them in full was on ‘Richard Ramirez’ as she belted out during the chorus. I was quite shook that she had such a powerful voice under all the effects but she proved it again, and in an even bigger fashion, on the ‘Chris Watts’ single. I think her pairing the altered vocals with her clean chords is amazing and has an eerie sensation when it does pop up in her songs; otherworldly, to say the very least. A spectator for these horrible events and nothing more. 

Whenever I see Alicia Mayhem’s name pop up somewhere in the scene I rush to that song or album and immediately consume it as quickly as possible. The vocalist is simply phenomenal. I heard about her as most others did when the project SNVFF was still alive (highly recommended if you’ve never heard them before). But I’m proud to say that she’s still active as a singer, recently popping up in Mechanical Vein’s album “The Storm You Can’t Contain”. To say the very least, it’s two powerhouses meeting to make one hell of a song. She even had a short-lived project titled Babetron where she showcased her voice / production skills but only made out with one single…Maybe it’ll return sooner rather than later? I hope so.