Today i got to meet the METAL GOD Rob Halford himself today. This is a man who's voice has pretty much stayed in my stereo system since I saw them live in 04. His is also the one that inspired me to learn to sing in the first place. I hope you all have the honor of meeting your favorite singer.

I wish I was like you in the matter. There are things that I like in many singers, but all of them have their own weak spots and drawbacks. However, I wish that Jim Gillette would come to Edmonton. That would be amazing!!! Too bad, Nitro has been disbanded. I would definitely go to the concert. Iron Maiden is coming in the summer, so I'm going. Can't wait. I like Bruce. Even though his technique is no the best, passion and love that he puts into singing live compensates for all that. And you know what I also like about Bruce? Despite being sooo famous, he manages to remain just a simple guy, himself. Many singers fall in love with fame and popularity. They begin to think of themselves as superior to others. In my opinion it destroys everything that is good in music. I appreciate and love Halford's voice and technique; unfortunately, I cannot say the same about Priest music. The only album that I really like is the "Painkiller." Russian Metal band that got me into metal doesn't have the same singer anymore. He moved into another band, and his voice is absolutely horrible now. Going to his concert would make me depressed. Good example of what can happen to one's voice if one doesn't take care of it. So I don't think I have a real, just one idol as far as metal singers go. And to me, singer is not the only thing that makes music great. I would go to a Metallica concert without hesitation. I'm talking about Metallica before "Black Album" here. I'm a guy who took piano lessons for years, and who listened to a bunch of classical music. That has greatly affected my taste for music. I would rather listen Mozart than a bunch of punk or rap music. Technique, is not the only thing that makes a great musician. Listen to Malmsteen for example. He's fast. Can't argue there.. His technique is amazing. Agree. So what? Would I listen to his music? NOOOOO. Once you get past the point "Wow this guys is fast," you'll realize that his songs are not memorable; they are not unique, they don't have much emotion attached to them. Melody, rhythm, variety, and feelings are the things that make a great song. Playing a bunch of 64s with 200 bpm rhythm does not make your music beautiful or memorable. The same applies to singing. Just being able to sing high, does not make you a great singer.

However, I have one vocal coach idol. Guess who that is? Jaime Vendera!!!! He has it all: passion for teaching, love for the job, great skill as well as and innovative, efficient, and fun method of teaching. And most importantly, he is open-minded and always looks for better ways to teach. After writing "Raise your Voice" one he could've said, "I'm done. That's it. I'm financially set for life." Instead he went on to write another 2 times larger book with many improved techniques and tips. Even though I never had private lessons with Jaime, all those things are crystal clear even without personally knowing him. One couldn't ask for a much better teacher than that. And trust me in my life-time I've had soo many different teachers and profs. There are those who know a lot and don't have passion. I tend to fall asleep in their lectures if that's the case. The result, I don't get much out of their lectures. There are those who are lazy and just do it for the money. They would scan a book into pdf; they would tell you to read it and do the exercises at the end of the chapter. That's all the teaching you would get from them. Yes, I've had that kind of a teacher. The question: "What's the point of having a teacher in that case?" I can go buy that book, do those exercises at the end of the chapter with the same result. And then there are those who know only what they must; I hate that. They will tend to copy info from the textbook and the only things they will talk about in class are examples and explanations that are in the text. They never bother to read extra things or try to learn more and expand their knowledge. Of course, I've had some really nice profs. For example. My psych class sucks balls, but the prof makes it so interactive and interesting that I never fall asleep in that class. And that prof really knows his staff, and actually teaches you the information in such a manner that you retain a good chunk of it. That's one of the reasons why I rarely skip psych. I know that I would loose a lot by doing so. It doesn't matter what you teach, psych or singing. Same rules apply to being a good teacher.

Oh, guys and let me tell you something! You know what question beats me? Why are singers and musicians called Gods? I absolutely cannot stand when people call musicians GODS!?!? Get real people. They are just humans, like you and me. And many of them have some really big life problems: aka alcoholism, drug addiction, family relationship issues. The only difference is that they are good at their job. By calling them Gods you are putting them above human plane, above reach. So by thinking that they are Gods, you're automatically implying that you will never be able to get to their level, unless you think of yourself as a God. That's just plain selfish and egotistic. To those who think that way, tell me what does it take to become a God? Long hair? Leather jacket? Lots of tattoos, piercings? Being able to sing high and play fast? Wow, I never thought that I was on my way to becoming a God!?!? To me being great and amazing is being yourself. That's what makes you unique, that's what makes you an individual, makes you a person. God gave people free will; using it wisely is one of the hardest things in life. All people are good at different things. We're all equal with our own strengths and weaknesses. For your info guys, being a great doctor does not take any less time or dedication than being a good singer. Yet, people don't call doctors GODS. Hmm, why? The major reason, I think that those who want to be doctors have years of post-secondary education and know how to think critically and how to use their brains. They think beyond being cool, man-like, "normal" etc; they also think beyond what media and others tell them. That's called SKEPTICISM. Unfortunately, the vast majority is not like those "nerdy" people. That's probably one of the major reasons why presidents like Bush get elected TWICE, isn't it? So, please, do me a favor and do not call any musician a GOD on this forum because it disgusts me every time I hear/read this. By calling musicians Gods you are betraying the very essence of what is good in music. It's also worth mentioning to those of you who are Christians, and statistically a vast majority of American population is, that you're committing a great sin by calling any human, other than Jesus Christ, a God. I hope that was enough to get my point through.

Stan H.

James Labrie is a deity of higher existence...
sorry, i just had to :P

Chill out dude, when i say something like Roy Khan is a god, its just my exaggeration to other people to get across to them that hes an incredible singer, i dont for one moment think hes a god and im sure everyone else is just the same. Its just a word...

Awesome that you got to meet the metal god . Hopefully i'll get to meet him someday too...hes one of my biggest influences for sure

I agree with Lee... it's just a term. No need to get so upset about it and ask everyone to quit using the term. Its not like people are actually worshipping these singers, although you never know. Someone may be praying to their Michael Jackson statue somewhere in the world as we speak!

I pointed out that the term God is unfair and unjust if applied in such a manner. If you are worshiping a singer than you need to get really real. I wasn't talking about those people; I was talking about people who just call musicians gods. That statement has sooo many problems. I am not really upset; I just wanna point out the problem with it.

Stan H.

I'm a Christian too. I don't take the statement as a sap in the face. To each his own. In the Bible, it states we are all gods; we are part of the creator. However it also states not to worship any false idols. Take what Stan has said as a helpfu statement not a harmful one. This board must remain neutral, no arguing;) BTW- Wish you woud've interviewed Halford for this site:)

JV

wow i had no idea that using rob halford's nickname could cause someone to get so upset. chill out friend. and no im not all about technique without soul. ill take glenn tipton over yngwie any day of the week

and i am catholic not atheist or metallist or whatever you would call it

I don't call it anything. I am not Christian. Well I was baptized Christian, but I don't follow Bible word-for-word anymore. On top of that the corruption of the Church is astonishing. I don't want to listen to the guys who tell you what to do, when they themselves don't do it. Actually, I come from a relatively orthodox Christian family. I used to go to Church relatively often. Now, I just know waaay too much science and history to just blindly believe everything the Bible says. To me it's just a book, written by humans. And just like other sources it has its own problems. However, I do believe in some form of a Supreme being, or energy source, or whatever you call it. And we as humans are a part of it. I try to search for common aspects in many religions; to me there is no one right religion. To me a Muslim guy is as much of a brother as a Christian. And no, not all Muslims are evil terrorists. In fact, there are only a handful of terrorists among Muslims. Christians weren't a heck of a lot better (they probably were worse) in the past. Think inquisition, crusades! To me there is no real boundary between religion and science. Science is the philosophy about the world that surrounds us, that we're a part of. It is study concerning the nature of reality. Isn't it the same question that religion is trying to answer? Science and Religion are not mutually exclusive. To me nothing in the world is what it seems to be; everything that I perceive is what my brain tells me. Is it necessarily the truth? No. For example, 99% of what you see is not really there. Or how can an electron be on both sides of the wall, when it cannot pass through the wall? Furthermore, the same electron can be in two places at the same time. Experiments tell us this info; that's actually the case. This is where the common 3-d view of the world breaks. Like I said, nothing is what it seems to be.
I am not as narrow minded dude as you think. That's why the religion point was the last one I brought up; people have different forms of beliefs and I don't wanna involve it in this argument too much. I have no right to question people's faith. The only reason I brought it up is because it's kinda hypocritical saying that you're a Christian and then calling a human being a God. Like I said to me it's not about religion here; calling someone else a God is just not right for soooo many reasons. That's what I was trying to point out. K, it's time to end this argument; otherwise, it's gonna turn into flaming. I'm not posting anymore information in this thread.

Stan H.

The ones who we shouldnt be calling gods are the Goauld!
Seriously, they're just snake like creatures born in the swamps of a hell hole planet in the corner of the galaxy! They are not gods! They take over our bodies and use us as hosts! And they do not possess powers, its just technology!
Thankfully, SG-1 are out in the galaxy battling them everyday, if they werent, we would be bowing down to Apophis by now...
Duuuuuuun duuuuun....dun dun dun dun duuuuunnnnn.....dun dun dun duuun....dun dun dun dun dun dun dundun duuunnnn *hums stargate theme*

Yeah guys I don't think Stan meant any harm. It's cool for everyone to state their opinions, but we'll try to keep it to music and voice so noone gets upset;)

JV