Adam Gontier
So, I decided that it would be fitting to begin a (hopefully) long string of posts with my favorite vocalist of all time: Adam Gontier.
Adam Gontier was the frontman and vocalist in Three Days Grace, an alt rock/post grunge band from 1997-2013. He is the current frontman and vocalist in Saint Asonia, a hard rock group featuring Mike Mushok from Staind. He has been with that group since 2015.
Although Adam Gontier is my favorite vocalist of all time, I have many problems with how he sings. He is a tenor, with his range extending from G#2-E5. His low range is very weak and lacks breath support. His mid range has a very unique quality, with a very dark timbre. His high range is where he sings in most of his music. He has a very throaty belt that possesses a large amount of power, and he usually adds a vocal fry to these notes. His falsetto is almost never used because of the genre he sings in, but there is not much to say about that negatively or positively, in any case.
My favorite thing about Adam's voice is how unique it is. I have never heard anyone with a voice remotely close to his. He does know how to use a vocal fry quite well, and he has the ability to convey any emotion, whether it be anger, sadness, or love. That being said, there are a couple weaknesses. His low range is very weak and almost nonexistent, and I would assume this is from never singing there. He doesn't use his low range that often, and because it's not used, it isn't very strong. I also think he strains quite a bit on his top notes, and you can especially hear this in live performances.
WARNING! UNPOPULAR OPINION!
I love Adam's rasp. I really do. But there are places in which it shouldn't be used, like acoustic performances. This has been a major pet peeve of mine ever since I got into Three Days Grace in 2015. In most acoustic performances, he puts rasp on many top notes. Why is this bad, you may ask?
It's not necessarily bad, it's just out of place. The softness of the acoustic music does not blend with the hardness of the vocal fry. Plus, it sounds like Adam is straining the hell out of his voice in almost every clip. I think that it's good to incorporate a natural belt or even some falsetto in these performances. Lost Your Shot is a great example of Adam's natural voice. In conclusion, I would like to say that this is an opinion. It has more to do with taste than fact.
All of these critiques aren't really surprising, in my opinion. Rock is a difficult genre to sing, and many rock singers don't have any formal singing education. They don't generally have a good grasp of technique. As stated previously, it isn't surprising that Adam fails in many technical areas. This is sad to me because I feel that his voice is so special and unique in quality.
Glow: Unique, dark timbre and technically sound vocal fry.
Grow: Vocal strain and breath support.
Please leave a comment with your thoughts, questions, or requests for future posts.
Hannah Rose
Adam Gontier was the frontman and vocalist in Three Days Grace, an alt rock/post grunge band from 1997-2013. He is the current frontman and vocalist in Saint Asonia, a hard rock group featuring Mike Mushok from Staind. He has been with that group since 2015.
Although Adam Gontier is my favorite vocalist of all time, I have many problems with how he sings. He is a tenor, with his range extending from G#2-E5. His low range is very weak and lacks breath support. His mid range has a very unique quality, with a very dark timbre. His high range is where he sings in most of his music. He has a very throaty belt that possesses a large amount of power, and he usually adds a vocal fry to these notes. His falsetto is almost never used because of the genre he sings in, but there is not much to say about that negatively or positively, in any case.
My favorite thing about Adam's voice is how unique it is. I have never heard anyone with a voice remotely close to his. He does know how to use a vocal fry quite well, and he has the ability to convey any emotion, whether it be anger, sadness, or love. That being said, there are a couple weaknesses. His low range is very weak and almost nonexistent, and I would assume this is from never singing there. He doesn't use his low range that often, and because it's not used, it isn't very strong. I also think he strains quite a bit on his top notes, and you can especially hear this in live performances.
WARNING! UNPOPULAR OPINION!
I love Adam's rasp. I really do. But there are places in which it shouldn't be used, like acoustic performances. This has been a major pet peeve of mine ever since I got into Three Days Grace in 2015. In most acoustic performances, he puts rasp on many top notes. Why is this bad, you may ask?
It's not necessarily bad, it's just out of place. The softness of the acoustic music does not blend with the hardness of the vocal fry. Plus, it sounds like Adam is straining the hell out of his voice in almost every clip. I think that it's good to incorporate a natural belt or even some falsetto in these performances. Lost Your Shot is a great example of Adam's natural voice. In conclusion, I would like to say that this is an opinion. It has more to do with taste than fact.
All of these critiques aren't really surprising, in my opinion. Rock is a difficult genre to sing, and many rock singers don't have any formal singing education. They don't generally have a good grasp of technique. As stated previously, it isn't surprising that Adam fails in many technical areas. This is sad to me because I feel that his voice is so special and unique in quality.
Glow: Unique, dark timbre and technically sound vocal fry.
Grow: Vocal strain and breath support.
Please leave a comment with your thoughts, questions, or requests for future posts.
Hannah Rose
Hey there! Adam is the reason I started to sing. I wanted to achieve the rasp/vocal fry in Animal I Have Become, and it took quite a while to get there. My voice has grown to probably have a slightly broader range on the high side, but similarly 'weak' on the low side. My voice is said to be similar to Gontier, Kurt Cobain, Layne Staley and Shaun Morgan, in very different ways; but since they are all kind of under the same 'rock' umbrella, I feel like I am defending an entire style of singing.
ReplyDeleteWith my bias in place, I wouldn't call Adam's technical 'failings' a downside. His music isn't meant to be flawless. From experience, I can tell you that rasping during acoustic performances is very very enticing, and often times it is received warmly; other times, not so much. There are some of his performances that highlight the lower notes which are mostly absent from his band work.
I am not sure about the tone I should convey this in, since you're a fellow Gontier fan, but you seem to not appreciate the raw nature of his music - or rather, you do, but you personally regard a better-rounded vocal register higher. And that is completely your prerogative. Like you said, it is more to do with taste than fact.
I continue to be a categorically obsessed Gontier fan, even though I can relate to the sadness you allude to, with respect to some other artists (M Shadows for me during certain stretches of his career thus far, for example). I would urge you not to be sad, because there are a lot of 'perfect' singers who fail to elicit half the emotion Gontier, and his style of music do. However, it was great reading your post.
Cheers
Good analysis. Appreciated reading it. Thanks.
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