Male Vocalist for the Band's Band - It's A Knockout (Winner: Freddie Mercury)

[Corki]

The Band of the Red Hand is now over half way in its search for its Dream Band, and "It's A Knockout" continues again now that we are onto the fourth stage. We have already filled the position of Guitarist, which was won by Carlos Santana, Geddy Lee was picked as the bass player, and Within Temptation's Sharon den Adel won the spot of female vocalist. The fourth leg of the search is the place of Male Vocalist, leaving just Drummer and Keyboardist to complete the line up. You managed to nominate thirteen (13) Male Vocalists to challenge for the honour, and Corki has filled the remaining three positions to compete the line up for the position in the Band's Dream Band. The Male Vocalist that makes it into the Band's Dream Band is the one that wins this "It's A Knockout" contest. It is basically down to you to pick who gets that important position.

 

"It's A Knockout" remains with the longer format this month - and this means there are 16 male vocalists instead of 8!

 

 

"It's a Knockout" - Format

For those of you who have not been involved with a "It's A Knockout" thread before, the rules are quite simple. The Band of the Red Hand is DM's travel, music and eating out Social Group, and "It's a Knockout" is a knock out competition to find out the winner of the chosen category (past categories include Micheal Jackson songs, Classical Music, One Hit Wonders). Each day, 2 male vocalists will be posted, along with a link so you can listen to some of their vocal skills if you do not know it, and all you have to do is post who you think is the better singer/vocalist of the two. After a day, the votes will be counted, and the winning male vocalist will progress to the next round, until we only have 1 male vocalist left as the winner at the end of the competition - who will take their place in the Band's Dream Band. It's very simple, so I look forward to seeing you getting involved!

 

So without further a-do, let the competition begin!

[Corki]

RESULTS

 

Round 1

 

1. Ray Davies (of the Kinks) beat Gerard Way (of My Chemical Romance) (3-2)

2. Corey Taylor (Of Slipknot/Stone Sour) lost to Hansi Kürsch (of Blind Guardian) (1-2)

3. Ronnie James Dio beat Brian Adams (3-2)

4. Steve Perry (of Journey) beat Jeff Buckley (2-1)

5. Michael Barnes (of RED) lost to Joacim Cans (of Hammerfall) (2-4)

6. Meat Loaf beat Bruce Dickinson (4-2)

7. Dustin Kensrue (of Thrice) lost to Freddie Mercury (of Queen) (1-4)

8. Glen Hansard beat David Cook (4-1)

 

2nd Round

 

1. Hansi Kürsch (of Blind Guardian) beat Glen Hansard (4-1)

2. Steve Perry (of Journey) lost to Meat Loaf (3-4)

3. Freddie Mercury (of Queen) beat Ray Davies (of the Kinks) (5-0)

4. Joacim Cans (of Hammerfall) lost to Ronnie James Dio (1-4)

 

Semi-Final

 

1. Hansi Kürsch (of Blind Guardian) lost to Freddie Mercury (of Queen) (1-4)

2. Ronnie James Dio beat Meat Loaf (4-1)

 

3rd/4th Play-off

 

1. Hansi Kürsch (of Blind Guardian) beat Meat Loaf (3-2)

 

Final

 

1. Freddie Mercury (of Queen) beat Ronnie James Dio (4-1)

[Corki]

THE CHOSEN MALE VOCALISTS

 

1. Ray Davies (of the Kinks)

I blame my mum for liking Ray Davies - I even went to him with her in the wet last summer as my dad wouldn't go! He is a brilliant and talented songwriter, which has been called more mature, sophisticated, and subtle, and covers a wide variety of topics. Davies and the Kinks have been cited as major influences in the Britpop craze of the 1990s. The two songs I have chosen I feel show the depth to Davies' vocals - the softness of Lola and the roughness in You Really Got Me.

 

 

2. Gerard Way (of My Chemical Romance)

I think Gerard has a great voice, and it's pretty unique, too.  At least, I haven't really heard anyone who sounds quite like him.  At any rate, My Chemical Romance has won some awards (see here for a list of nominations and won awards), and they have a huge fan following.  I'm not nominating the band, though, just the vocalist. :D (even though I really really like some of their stuff >.>)

 

 

3. Corey Taylor (Of Slipknot/Stone Sour)

First person that honestly came to mind when I saw this thread. I love his vocals in both bands, awesome harsh angry vocal as well as more melodic tunes- as well as his guest vocal in Apocalyptica's song "I'm Not Jesus"...hmm, do I need any other reason?

 

 

4. Hansi Kürsch (of Blind Guardian)

I really am struggling to think of much to put here other than "What a Voice". It pretty much sums it up. He is able to change between soft and powerful so easily that it means he can sing a wide variety of songs. A signature of Kürsch's songwriting is his practice of doubletracking his own voice innumerable times in complex, overlapping harmonies on his recordings, effectively creating the atmosphere of a huge choir - something that Freddie Mercury employed.

 

 

5. Ronnie James Dio

One of the most influental vocalists in the history of rock music, with a career starting with Elf in 1969, followed by Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and his own band Dio. Despite being about 100 years old, and slightly taller than the average smurf, he possesses one of the most powerful voices you can hear. He has also been credited with more or less inventing fantasy metal.

 

 

6. Brian Adams

I just love his gravely voice, especially his earlier stuff, he also siongs fabntastically live, which included his own songs and a whole section of roak'n'roll songs which sounded great.

 

 

7. Steve Perry (of Journey)

Just listen to Journey. I don't really know what else to say, the guy's an icon, and worthy of it too. Perry is classified as a "Tenore contraltino", a term used to describe a man who sings in the highest possible male register (above tenor and including what would, if sung by a woman, be called alto or mezzo). He is known for his extreme range of vocals, and for his ability to change quickly from a low to high note, which can be heard on the Journey song Homemade Love.

 

 

8. Jeff Buckley

Jeff Buckley only managed to record one studio album before his untimely death in 1997. He started his early career covering songs in New York, before venturing onto his own material. He signed for Columbia, and recorded his only album with a band he recruited. His cover of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah reached number 2 in the UK charts for Christmas 2008, thanks to a massive internet campaign.

 

 

9. Michael Barnes (of RED)

Hmm...I first consciously heard RED when my sister bought the song Never Be the Same from their album Innocence & Instinct and it accidentally got downloaded to my iTunes library. While Michael Barnes doesn't write the music, his vocals bring the song to life. I also have recently fallen in love with their song Breathe Into Me from their debut album, End of Silence (I'd heard it before but never really listened to it). Breathe Into Me peaked at #15 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart and won the "Rock Recorded Song of the Year" award at the 38th annual GMA Dove Awards in 2007. It also broke the top ten on Active Rock charts.  Anyway, I just really love his voice.

 

 

10. Joacim Cans (of Hammerfall)

This man's voice emits power, beauty and metal tenacity.  His control is superb and there is a quality to his vocals rarely seen in the power metal genre, none of the overdone vibrato or loss of control on high belted notes.  He carries himself as a professional as well, having been beat down by some "black metal" (I forget his name) fellow, he didn't let it put him down.

 

 

11. Meat Loaf

Meat Loaf is an American rock musician and actor, with over 50 appearances in either TV or film. He experienced some initial difficulty establishing a steady career within his native United States despite huge popularity in Europe, where he ranks 23rd for number of weeks overall spent on the UK charts alone. During a recording session early on, Meat Loaf hit a note so high that he managed to blow a fuse on the recording monitor!

 

 

12. Bruce Dickinson

Most famous as Iron Maiden's vocalist 1981-1993, 1999-present, he has also enjoyed a fairly successful solocareer. Dickinson is famous for his operatic style, and the use of highpitched screams that has nicknamed him the Airraid Siren.

 

 

13. Dustin Kensrue (of Thrice)

In my opinion, this guy is one of the most brilliant vocalists I've ever heard. He has an unmatched ability of combining eloquence with aggression melodically. Not to mention that the lyrics he sings (which he also writes), will keep you entertained and make you think as well. He is also a successful solo artist. Upon the release of his first album, Please Come Home, he appeared on David Letterman's talk show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Fuse Network. Please Come Home met with mostly favorable reviews from critics, who have compared Kensrue's versatility in his vocals to singer/songwriter Ryan Adams and Johnny Cash. He has also recently released another solo album titled This Good Night Is Still Everywhere, which was a Christmas album, and his most recent album with his band Thrice was Beggers.

 

 

14. Freddie Mercury (of Queen)

Freddie Mercury is best known as the iconic lead singer of British rockers Queen, and was also a solo artist. As a performer, he was known for his powerful vocals and flamboyant performances. He was a natural baritone, but sang mostly as a tenor. He was also a superb songwriter, as many of Queen's hits came from his writing - Bohemian Rhapsody, Somebody to Love, Crazy Little Thing Called Love and many, many more. Mercury also claimed never to have had any formal vocal training.

 

 

15. Glen Hansard

Writer and star of the movie Once, Hansard began his career as the frontman of the group "The Frames" before finding success with Marketa Irglova as "The Swell Season". He has the voice of an angel hard-drinking Irishman, but it's a great voice worthy of being our Male Dream Vocalist. The Swell Season's song Falling Slowly won the Oscar for Best Original Song for 2006.

 

 

16. David Cook

David Cook was the winner of Season 7 of American Idol.  Before you judge, David has one of the best rock voices I've ever heard.  He was known for changing up well known songs such as Billy Jean by Michael Jackson, Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles, and Music from the Night from Phantom of the Opera.

[Corki]

Round 1, Tie 1

 

 

Ray Davies (of the Kinks)

I blame my mum for liking Ray Davies - I even went to him with her in the wet last summer as my dad wouldn't go! He is a brilliant and talented songwriter, which has been called more mature, sophisticated, and subtle, and covers a wide variety of topics. Davies and the Kinks have been cited as major influences in the Britpop craze of the 1990s. The two songs I have chosen I feel show the depth to Davies' vocals - the softness of Lola and the roughness in You Really Got Me.

Links:

and Lola

 

vs.

 

 

Gerard Way (of My Chemical Romance)

I think Gerard has a great voice, and it's pretty unique, too.  At least, I haven't really heard anyone who sounds quite like him.  At any rate, My Chemical Romance has won some awards (see here for a list of nominations and won awards), and they have a huge fan following.  I'm not nominating the band, though, just the vocalist. :D (even though I really really like some of their stuff >.>)

Links:

and Sleep

 

 

Voting ends Monday 15th March 2010 at 11pm (GMT)

[Corki]

Banders, Please Note:

 

Voting in "It's A Knockout" threads counts towards posting in an activity thread for points gained through the roll call. However, in order for that to qualify, you need to post and vote at least 4 times.

 

Corki

Marshal-General

Social Group Leader

[Corki]

Voting is underway!

[mmeeshal]

Gerard Way

[Corki]

Time to level the tie - Ray Davies.

[Majsju]

Ray Davies.

[Imperium]

As much as it pains me to say I'd have to say Gerard Way. I just don't like Ray Davies' voice at all (this pained me big style as I hate My Chemical Romance)

[Krakalakachkn]

Ray Davies

[Corki]

Ray Davies currently leads 3-2, but there are still several hours to go, and that can all change!

[Corki]

Ray Davies wins through to Round 2 with a 3-2 victory.

 

Time for the second tie of the first round to go up.

[Corki]

Round 1, Tie 2

 

 

Corey Taylor (Of Slipknot/Stone Sour)

First person that honestly came to mind when I saw this thread. I love his vocals in both bands, awesome harsh angry vocal as well as more melodic tunes- as well as his guest vocal in Apocalyptica's song "I'm Not Jesus"...hmm, do I need any other reason?

Links: Duality and

 

vs.

 

 

Hansi Kürsch (of Blind Guardian)

I really am struggling to think of much to put here other than "What a Voice". It pretty much sums it up. He is able to change between soft and powerful so easily that it means he can sing a wide variety of songs. A signature of Kürsch's songwriting is his practice of doubletracking his own voice innumerable times in complex, overlapping harmonies on his recordings, effectively creating the atmosphere of a huge choir - something that Freddie Mercury employed.

Links:

and

 

 

Voting ends Tuesday 16th March 2010 at 11pm (GMT)

[mmeeshal]

This one was tough.  But I'm going to go with Corey Taylor.

[Corki]

Time to make a tie again - Hansi Kürsch.

[Imperium]

Funny this is I would vote for either of these over the first two anyday.

 

Seen Slipknot twice and Corey can do so much with his voice but has to be Hansi Kürsch.

[Corki]

Not many votes in that round, but enough to see Hansi Kürsch of Blind Guardian squeeze home 2-1.

 

Time for the 3rd tie of the 1st Round to be posted.

[Corki]

Round 1, Tie 3

 

 

Ronnie James Dio

One of the most influental vocalists in the history of rock music, with a career starting with Elf in 1969, followed by Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and his own band Dio. Despite being about 100 years old, and slightly taller than the average smurf, he possesses one of the most powerful voices you can hear. He has also been credited with more or less inventing fantasy metal.

Links:

and

 

vs.

 

 

Brian Adams

I just love his gravely voice, especially his earlier stuff, he also siongs fabntastically live, which included his own songs and a whole section of roak'n'roll songs which sounded great.

Links:

and (Everything I Do) I Do It For You

 

 

Voting ends Wednesday 17th March 2010 at 11pm (GMT)

[mmeeshal]

Ronnie James Dio

[Majsju]

Dio \m/

[Krakalakachkn]

Dio

[Talya]

Bryan Adams

[Corki]

Brian Adams

[Corki]

Ronnie James Dio takes his place in Round 2 with a 3-2 win over Brian Adams.

 

The 4th tie of the 1st Round is on the way.