Greatest Thrash Metal Vocalists

The Top Ten
1 James Hetfield (Metallica) James Alan Hetfield was born on August 3, 1963. He is an American musician, singer and songwriter known for being the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and main songwriter for the American heavy metal band Metallica.

I think it's this man's vocal style that let Metallica fly away from everybody else. A lot of Metallica's contemporaries just shouted quickly, which to be honest, kind of bugs me. James, on the other hand, actually sings, but it is still gruff and edgy.

No offence, but I don't think that James Hetfield should be #1. I mean, he's a sellout and there are way better vocalists then him! (Tom Araya, Bobby Blitz, Dave Mustaine, Phil Anselmo, Mark Oseguda, Miland Petrozza etc.) Personally, I think Max Cavalera should be #1. He's in another band now, but when he was in sepultura he was awesome and I bet he still is today!

Has a great vocal range even-though he doesn't want to use it. He is amazing not because of his voice but because he can play insane riffs while singing in ways some people can't dream of singing and that is amazing.

Such a unique and addictive voice. His range from growls to more melodic vocals shows what a talent he is. Hetfield is the main catalyst behind the commercial success that Metallica have acheived.

2 Tom Araya (Slayer) Tomás Enrique "Tom" Araya Díaz is a Chilean American musician, best known as the bassist and vocalist of the American thrash metal band Slayer.

Amazing screams from songs like Angel of Death and War Ensemble. He sings with power and energy just awesome thank you Tom for being a great not only thrash but every genre singer!

He is the best thrash metal vocalist! James Hetfield is amazing too but I think Tom Araya deserve the crown.. Hear Disciple, Raining Blood, Angel Of Death.. And you will know what I mean!

' SLAYER!
Often imitated, never duplicated...Slayer is by far the best thrash metal band of all time...and Tom Araya leads that charge with his depth and range of vocal styles.

John Connelly is my favourite, but I'm voting for Tom Araya to dethrone James Hetfield who certainly does not deserve even top 10.

3 Chuck Billy (Testament) Charles "Chuck" Billy is an American vocalist, who is best known as the vocalist for the thrash metal band Testament.

This is the only list that makes sense. Not that the placements are correct but at least it has just thrash vocalists. The other lists have more non metal people like kurt cobain or chris cornell or layne stayley. People at least keep it metal.
And on this list, chuck is the only one that can kickass even today. Others have been affected by age. :P

It is a close one for me between James and Hetfield and my pick Chuck Billy. Chuck edges out, in my humble opinion, simply because I prefer his voice over James.' His clean singing is very good, he growls are awesome, and everything in between is fantastic.

James Hetfield - seriously? Question missed by many people I guess. Metallica is (was) an awesome band but saying that hetfield is a great singer?!?!? Megadeth : awesome band - terrible voice.

Chuck as a powerful voice and can reach notes.

He is one the best thrash metal vocalists, he sings with a clean voice.. On the legacy album he used the highpitched vocals, today he is more of a growler, but still good.. His voice developed a lot, and he is still a powerful vocalist, so I vote for chuck

4 Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) David Scott "Dave" Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, actor and author. Mustaine is best known as a pioneer in Thrash Metal, being the former lead guitarist of Metallica before his dismissal in 1983, leading to finding and becoming the front man of his own band Megadeth shortly after.

Voting for mustaine because he is actually my favorite.. But I'm pretty sure hetfield is better at singing... And I see mille, chuck billy and araya above him.. Ohh please hot the heck you do this... Mustaine is better for sure... Even slayer vocalist who is considered one of the best here because of slayer don't forget slayer have the tune and the riffs not the singing to make them a considerable band.. Even if I like araya voice its not that good at all.. 1. James Hetfield 2. Dave Mustaine 3. Joey Belladonna (for me a very skilled signger who is making anthrax one of the top 4)

If I could say, he shouldn't be first, because dave voice aren't his best; snarling, annoying high-pitched voice, and sometime bit squeaky, and even now is mickey moused. but it's really stick into megadeth satyrical theme and made it as his trademark, and honestly I really loved it sometimes just like his live monster of rock italy 1992. if james is a singer-who-play-guitar, dave is more like guitarist-who-sing. just my opinion

His voice is so unique. His snarls are great. He sounds angry with out doing death metal vox. Being honest, Tom Araya is a pretty crappy singer, and Paul Baloff may be one of the worst ever. Hetfield is okay, as is Joey Belladonna. Dave, Bobby Blitz, Chuck Billy, Mille Petrozza, and Eric AK from Flotsam and Jetsam are the only stand-out singers.

He's not a great vocalist, but I like his style. The reason I think he deserves to be fourth (after Billy, Araya, and Hetfield) is because he just stepped up to the mic with 0 experience. That's pretty cool.

5 Joey Belladonna (Anthrax) Joey Belladonna is the American Thrash Metal singer, best known for leading the band Anthrax. He also sings and drums for the cover band Chief Big Way.

I think Chuck Billy's voice is simply better suited to the thrash genre, but it can't be denied that he is one of metal's most technically proficient singers. Listen especially to his work on Spreading the Disease. He can sing with excellent vibrato live as well.

I'm a huge Megadeth fan but Dave Mustaine is not a good singer at all. Joey should be #1 along with Bobby Blitz, James Hetfield, and Chuck Billy. Also, why is Tom Araya even on this list. I love Slayer but he is a terrible singer!

The fact that this man isn't in the top 5 makes this list invalid. I like expdus and megadeth but seriously, paul baloff and dave mustaine are both awful singers. Joey is one of the best metal vicalists in general, let alone thrash

This man is one of the most underrated singers ever! The fact that he's not even top 5 in his genre (which is not known to have great singers in the first place) is criminal!

6 Bobby 'Blitz' Ellsworth (Overkill)

Can this dude still sounds like it did in the 80's. Watch a live performance if you don't believe me. Tom Araya's shouts get annoying. The dude can't sing. I like Dave's vocals, but they were never his strong suit. Hetfield can't sings anymore. And it's actually a little annoying on his last album. The only other singer in a league with Blitz in Petrozza, because he can still sing like he did in the 80's, too. Also Chuck Billy.

Perfect voice! Right breaths on lives and his voice is made for singing thrash! The number 1 and number 2 chuck billy! The greatests vocalists in the gratests thrash metal bands! And guys are you serious? Hetfield number 1?!

Blitz is simply the best thrash (and also one of the best in metal overall) singer. Hetfield, Mustaine, Araya and the others WERE good, but Blitz is still awesome!

Bobby Blitz King of thrash metal vocalist.. So Powerful his voice is like a killer perfect for thrash metal... Awesome

7 Miland 'Mille' Petrozza (Kreator)

He just has such an amazing voice. It's incredible and just really fits the music. Also he can do pretty good cleans and screams too. And I love how he can transition from pretty clean into slow and massive screams. He's awesome.

German thrash is always at it's own best level and Kreator with Petrozza is just awesome ... has an unique baritone vocal with strong German English accent in his vocal, I just want to say this guy should be in TOP 4.

Hear the difference in his voice on Coma, Renewal, Endorama, Hordes of Chaos. He adopts to the overall album need. Thrash is aggressive. Mille is aggressive, Mille is Thrash no1

Mille has very strong German voice and he beats hatfields vocals all the way

8 Paul Baloff (Exodus)

Legendary. He couldn't stay in tune, but he didn't need to. His chaotic performance on Bonded By Blood is a perfect fit for thrash metal. Shame Exodus didn't keep him.

HE IS THE GOD OF THRASH METAL! Seriously, when I mention thrash metal (which I do a lot) I always have to mention this dude.R.I.P.

I'm not really an exodus fan

9 Max Cavalera (Sepultura) Massimiliano Antonio "Max" Cavalera is a Brazillian singer, guitarist, and songwriter who currently plays in heavy metal bands Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy, and Killer Be Killed.

His voice is very strong and his screams actually have some raw tone to them. Roots does a very good job of showcasing these vocals.

Don't have the "best" voice but Got to say he got the most raw,rugged, autentic, honest, agressiv thras metal voice! "Beneath the remains" still
REMAINS one of the best thrash metal albums I ever heard!

I appreciate thrash metal without the high-pitched screams. The screams get old after a while.

10 Phil Anselmo (Pantera) Philip Hansen "Phil" Anselmo is an American musician who is best known as the former lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Pantera. He currently is the vocalist of heavy metal bands Down and Superjoint Ritual.

This guy was incredible in PanterA, his lyrics were amazing, watch any live PanterA concert. The audience's reaction is the best indicator to how good someone is and the energy from any PanterA concert is incredible. The energy from their concerts are incredible I've only seen one that compares which is Megadeth in Buenos Aires and they love him. He's not the cleanest vocalist but this is a heavy metal list ain't it?

This shows once again how overrated the big four are. When it comes to vocalists Phil is incredible and outstanding talent. Not comparable to Araya or even Hetfield.

Phil Anselmo it's better than Hetfield, even Tom Araya I'd think is a great performance, but Anselmo it's the best.

Dave mustaine is a horrible vocalist. He doesn't even sing in a lot of songs. He talks. He's a talkalist not a vocalist laugh out loud

The Contenders
11 Mark Oseguda (Death Angel)

Mark is the best hands down, he can sing like Dio and he has the best high screams in all thrash metal, you guys seriously need to listen to the first album : The Ultra Violence and the last album : The dream calls for blood.

Like Anselmo, he can growl at various ranges and has the best scream in metal. He is extremely aggressive and usually has some clever lyrics along with it.
(this is not a pass by, you really need to check him out)

He sounds like Joey Belladonna for normal top-range vocals but he can also do some pretty convincing aggressive vocals.

Sadly not the most popular one, hence only #12 right now, but certainly one of the most talented singers in thrash.

12 Steve Souza (Exodus, Testament)

Steve Souza was in Pleasures of the flesh, Fabulous disaster, impact is imminent, Force of habit, Tempo of the damned and Blood in blood out.

GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT!

This guy sounds like Bon Scott if he sang Thrash Metal songs and come to think of it Exodus does share similarities with AC/DC both their logos are red and have 5 syllables (Yes I'm counting the Lightning Bolt) and Exodus even covered some AC/DC songs so I guess Exodus is the AC/DC of Thrash metal

Listen to Exodus' early albums with him and you'll realize how talented he is!

My favourite singer, I also sing his songs I have found that I have a similar voice as Zetro

13 Jamshed Chowdhury (Powersurge)

The best thrash metal vocals in the history of metal. Look at the range he has and how he hits all the notes with firm accuracy and precision. Piercing aggression blended with pounding energy of thunder has placed his roar thousand times louder than the strongest atom bomb. An astounding mixture of thrash, scream and growl at times has given thrash metal another spectrum of thrash.
Hail Jamshed Chowdhury. Fist in the air m/

He is undoubtedly one of the best thrash vocalists of this generation. Speaking globally. Those who don't know him, he s the vocalist of a pioneering thrash metal band from Bangladesh: Powersurge. Look them up on Google and YouTube. I promise you will not be disappointed, wherever you come from. You might not understand the lyrics, but music has no language:-). Arif Sadab Khan

Powersurge. A group of few talented musicians those who are holding the flag of thrash metal for Bangladesh and leading from the front. He is one of the best in our generation globally for sure. There won't be any doubt for those who have listened them even for once.

He is incredibly talented, revolutionary and not to mention the energy he exudes! Definitely the next big thing in the metal music arena. Hats off to this man.
Do yourself a favor, and listen to "Mitther Agrashon". Even in you're not into metal, this is what will turn you into it.

14 Tom Angelripper (Sodom) Thomas Such, better known by his stage name Tom Angelripper, is the founding member and main songwriter of German thrash metal band Sodom.

His voice is amazing, it's not growling but still at least as heavy, his screaming is amazing. Sodom is the most underrated thrash band ever.

One of the best vocalist of the whole thrash metal bands he can spawn you a war inside you! AGENT ORANGE!

Damn! He is So low on The list... Amazing Singer... In Every Style that Sodom Has Been Into... JUST Awesome!

The gruff singer for the German Motorhead. Their first album is regarded
As black metal then eventually becoming thrash.

15 John Connelly (Nuclear Assault)
16 Stace McLaren (Razor)

Those banshee screams are brutal

17 Robb Flynn (Machine Head) Robert Conrad "Robb" Flynn is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the heavy metal band Machine Head. Flynn formed the band along with Adam Duce, Logan Mader and Tony Costanza after leaving Bay Area thrash band Vio-Lence.

Way too low on the list in my opinion, this dude has insane variety in his clean vocals as well as his amazing not quite a growl heavier vocals

He Is Awesome... He Can KickAss And Be So emotional At the SameTime... Amazing Singer

18 Ryan Clark (Demon Hunter)
19 John Bush (Armored Saint) John Bush is a singer who was first in the band Armored Saint however he then went on to join Anthrax after they got Joey Belladonna their last singer out of the band. John Bush then left Anthrax in 2005 though briefly rejoined in 2009 only to leave again in 2010
20 Don Doty (Dark Angel)
21 Aftabuzzaman Tridib (Mechanix)

I've never even heard of this band. I'll have to check it out.

This guy is something elce, ,powerful and melodic vocal with headbanging, ,great screamer

His screams are too awesome

22 Matt Drake (Evile)
23 Matt Barlow (Iced Earth) Matthew 'Matt' Barlow is an American heavy metal singer and police officer. He was the lead singer for Iced Earth in the 1990s and 2000s. He is currently the lead singer for Ashes of Ares. After the September 11 terrorist attacks Matt Barlow decided to become a police officer and contribute to the "real world" instead of living the illusion of a "rock star." In 2007 he returned to music.

! How can you forget Iced Earth?! Iced Earth are one of the best thrash metal bands ever! And, this man Barlow is the biggest reason why I got into thrash metal and other extreme metal subgenres!

Iced Earth is one of the best thrash/heavy metal bands and Matt Barlow has got amazing voice. Just listen Dracula or Damien!

Great singer, but he doesn't really belong on this list. Iced Earth is more like power metal. Still a first rate singer.

One of my favorite vocalists! So sad he is not into muaic these days. Iiked IE with him on vocal duties. Yeah, Hetfield had the voice, now, is sad to listwn to him. Araya was great too, I guess age has take over.

24 Dave Di Santo (Vektor)

Them high pitched screams...

25 Sean Killian (Vio-Lence)
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