Bruce's Singing

[THESEVENTHMARINER]

Moderator Note: The following 8 posts were extracted from the thread The Future Past Tour 2024. I felt the contributions to this topic were interesting and might warrant a thread of its own. -Perun


Bruce is sounding phenomenal on this leg.

Usually he's knackered by the time the US leg comes round.

 

[matic22]

Bruce is sounding phenomenal on this leg.

Usually he's knackered by the time the US leg comes round.

He really hit the stride in last 2 weeks. Probably his best singing of this year.

 

[Poto]

Speaking of the guitarists, good lord, Dave was on fire last night.

Last year too. He was good in 2022 too, but had some very uninspired years before that.

His sound and playing on this tour has been a joy to behold.

 

[Mosh]

I was really impressed with Bruce at the two shows I saw, and I have been impressed from the bootlegs I've seen since. I also think he has been a more engaging and entertaining frontman this year than he has been recently. Lots of autopilot and leaning on the production for LOTB (and even TBOS to some extent), this has felt more like classic Bruce. I wonder if the solo gigs this year have helped him remember what it's like to command an audience.

 

[Ascendingthethrone]

I think the vocal training he had all those years ago is on show again with that post. Amazing breath control.

 

[matic22]

I think the vocal training he had all those years ago is on show again with that post. Amazing breath control.

AFAIK Bruce never had any vocal training. The closest thing to that was him reading books about singing and breath control from a girlfriend in college, who was a trained singer.

IIRC he said after cancer that he would take a vocal lesson if needed after chemo and radiotherapy if needed (he said that it would be something new for him), but AFAIK in the end he didn't.

 

[Ruflux]

AFAIK Bruce never had any vocal training. The closest thing to that was him reading books about singing and breath control from a girlfriend in college, who was a trained singer.

IIRC he said after cancer that he would take a vocal lesson if needed after chemo and radiotherapy if needed (he said that it would be something new for him), but AFAIK in the end he didn't.

I would take whatever he's said on the subject with a grain of salt, since mysteriously he seemed to have learned to actually sing rather than just shouting in key sometime during the 90s, judging by how different his approach was in the early 90s and on, and how he suddenly permanently regained a lot of his range in that era after spending the latter half of the 80s mostly croaking his way through his higher register.

 

[Mosh]

I would take whatever he's said on the subject with a grain of salt, since mysteriously he seemed to have learned to actually sing rather than just shouting in key sometime during the 90s, judging by how different his approach was in the early 90s and on, and how he suddenly permanently regained a lot of his range in that era after spending the latter half of the 80s mostly croaking his way through his higher register.

I have wondered about this too. He abused his voice throughout the 80s and early 90s. That kind of turnaround that we saw in the late 90s doesn't just happen on a dime.

 

[Perun]

Turned these replies into a thread of its own as per consensus. I'd really be interested in seeing where this goes.

 

[Kalata]

Maybe his solo tour helped in some way for his amazing vocal form now.?

As for the big difference (especially on Hallowed, Trooper) between his vocals in the mid-to-late 80's and early-to-late 90's - I think it's because he was experimenting with a different type of singing (BTP era too), he probably learned to control his voice better (range, power), a more mature voice, took better care of it and he simply became a better singer. Possible. Also, the long tours. We just need to compare the early Reunion era performances with the golden years. I think he mentioned in a recent interview that in the 80's it was all about high vocals and he knew he couldn't go on like that or something similar. His best 80's tours are the first 2 plus LAD live album (while '88 had some moments). Then, early 90's is better (including some '92 performances) and from 1994 is again better. Also, a year off in 1989 and different material with his solo albums. I think Rob also went through something similar in the 70's and then in the 80's. This is not so common in metal though, I feel only the two of them are such examples.

 

[PhantomOfTheOpera]

I think this is one of the things that have actually interested me for long time.
I would be curious to know more, how did Bruce start to heal and treat his voice as it has been powerful.
Of course, some tours have been better LOTB first leg was amazing, atleast the 2 early shows I saw.
The overlong tours in the 80's, being sick and tired affected his voice which had become more of raspy with The Tattooed Millionaire and No Prayer For The dying.
If I ever have a possibility to meet him (in private situation) and talk about different stuff, I would surely ask about his voice and how he has taken care of it.

I almost wish there could be some deeper interview where he would talk about these things.

 

[CA Bryers]

Last year too. He was good in 2022 too, but had some very uninspired years before that.

I like to pretend 2019 didn't happen as far as his singing goes...unfortunately it's immortalized in Nights of the Dead.

It's weird, considering his age, I kind of thought that downward slide was just the beginning. Amazingly, he pulled out of it with the last leg of Legacy, great performances on Leg 1 of Mandrake, and both legs of Future Past. I'd say he's better on this leg than last year's, but they've still got a month+ to go on it.

 

[matic22]

Maybe his solo tour helped in some way for his amazing vocal form now.?

The thing is that Maiden might be much more difficult to sing diction-wise, but stuff like Darkside Of Aquarius is probably among the hardest pieces in his discography overall.

So, I'd say it helped.

 

[matic22]

I like to pretend 2019 didn't happen as far as his singing goes...unfortunately it's immortalized in Nights of the Dead.

The fact that they didn't pick a 2018 concert should be considered a criminal offense.

 

[GhostofCain]

I would take whatever he's said on the subject with a grain of salt, since mysteriously he seemed to have learned to actually sing rather than just shouting in key sometime during the 90s, judging by how different his approach was in the early 90s and on, and how he suddenly permanently regained a lot of his range in that era after spending the latter half of the 80s mostly croaking his way through his higher register.

Maybe one day, he’ll be an honest man…

His transition from shouter to fantastically consistent singer during the 90s makes me want to read whichever books about singing he might have been reading back then.

 

[Abiathar]

I thought Bruce sounded phenomenal in Brisbane. I was really impressed. The whole band sounded amazing.

 

[Diesel 11]

I like to pretend 2019 didn't happen as far as his singing goes...unfortunately it's immortalized in Nights of the Dead.

[...] Amazingly, he pulled out of it with the last leg of Legacy,

Interestingly enough, I thought he sounded pretty strong when I saw him in 2019 and sounded a little wearier in 2022. Still really good both times though, I'm really looking forward to seeing them live come Friday.

 

[Kalata]

I like to pretend 2019 didn't happen as far as his singing goes...unfortunately it's immortalized in Nights of the Dead.

I don't think his performances in 2019 were not good consistently like in NOTD (he was sick!?), but the 2022 ones were mostly better. That whole live album release was rushed. Plus Bruce had recorded an album before that, just like in 2022. Maybe that plays a role as well.

Amazingly, he pulled out of it with the last leg of Legacy, great performances on Leg 1 of Mandrake, and both legs of Future Past. I'd say he's better on this leg than last year's...

Yep. And the 2018 ones were awesome.

 

[GhostofCain]

Going back to the singing technique discussion, I was a member of an online forum some years ago where one of the members was a classically trained singer (the guy earned his crust singing opera but was also a metal fan who sang in a band). He was asked about Bruce's technique and used recordings of Children of the Damned from 1986 and 2009 to highlight how Bruce had learnt to sing and use different techniques correctly (no prices given for guessing which recording showed the improvement). He suggested that he probably had some lessons to get to his 2009 singing level.

 

[Vaenyr]

Going back to the singing technique discussion, I was a member of an online forum some years ago where one of the members was a classically trained singer (the guy earned his crust singing opera but was also a metal fan who sang in a band). He was asked about Bruce's technique and used recordings of Children of the Damned from 1986 and 2009 to highlight how Bruce had learnt to sing and use different techniques correctly (no prices given for guessing which recording showed the improvement). He suggested that he probably had some lessons to get to his 2009 singing level.

His technique changed a ton throughout the years. People love early 80s Bruce, but he was pretty much a diamond in the rough. He had an insane range, but could barely control it. Both in the studio and especially live he often overshot the pitch he was actually going for. Given the grueling touring schedules it was only a matter of time until he hurt his voice. He noticeably changed his approach throughout the 90s and seemed to learn proper technique, which led to his golden years (imo).