JDubb: Favorite Hard Rock/Metal Frontmen (1987-present)

JDubb 10.08.19	Honorable mention: Jeff Martin (Lo-Pan), M. Shadows (A7X), Ryan McCombs (Soil), Joel Ekelof (Soen), Vince Neil (Motley Crue), Josh Homme (QOTSA), Anette Olzen and Marco Hietala (Nightwish), Daniel Tompkins (Skyharbor, Tesseract), Peter Steele (Type O Negative), and many many others...
ArsMoriendi 10.08.19	Chris Cornell rules good pick. I've been revisiting Soundgarden a lot lately. Patton and Staley are great picks too. What's your opinion on Les Claypool? I know his vocals aren't impressive technically, but he has a lot of personality and stage presence
SitarHero 10.08.19	No Fred Durst? GTFO!
JDubb 10.08.19	I dig some Primus. Les Claypool is a truly unique vocalist...a good addition to the honorable mention. As for Fred Durst, not on this list!
CaliggyJack 10.08.19	Where in the all mighty fuck is Ronnie Dio? Sammy Hagar? Fucking Lemmy? This list is... I don't even have words.
JDubb 10.08.19	This list is...beyond incredible...thank you CaliggyJack. Glad to make you speechless. Honestly, I dig Dehumanizer and almost put Ronnie James Dio on there for the Heaven and Hell - The Devil You Know album. As for Lemmy...meh. As for Sammy Hagar, seriously? Sammy Hagar-fronted Van Halen (and honestly David Lee Roth-fronted Van Halen as well) was an embarrassment.
DopeFiend 10.08.19	ABBATH
JoeTex 10.08.19	billy ray cypress
CaliggyJack 10.09.19	"Sammy Hagar-fronted Van Halen (and honestly David Lee Roth-fronted Van Halen as well) was an embarrassment." Absolute heresy. He was a far superior vocalist to David Lee Roth
JDubb 10.09.19	Ok...playing hardball CaliggyJack. So I will admit I dug Van Halen's F.U.C.K. at the time (1991). For a brief time. Hey, who didn't like the song Poundcake! And I will whole-heartedly concur that Sammy Hagar smokes DLR. However, I can't stomach it now 28 years later.
JDubb 10.09.19	You know DopeFiend, If I can put Max Cavalera on there than you can put Abbath Doom Occulta. Both probably do not have the ability to truly sing. But Billy Ray Cyrus, hell no JoeTex!
CaliggyJack 10.09.19	The fact you don't consider "Top of the World" one of VH's top songs leaves me empty inside.
JDubb 10.09.19	Oh, these repressed memories from 1991...I think I liked Right Now better than Top of the World. But honestly, did Sammy Hagar even have a song that was about a serious topic (see grunge) and that wasn't about him banging lines of groupies under the stage?
CaliggyJack 10.09.19	Rock is at it's best when it is talking about banging women lol
DopeFiend 10.09.19	"Both probably do not have the ability to truly sing" you are a bonafide idiot, sir.
SitarHero 10.09.19	"He was a far superior vocalist to David Lee Roth" He's a superior singer*. DLR was by far the superior vocalist and frontman.
JDubb 10.09.19	The first Van Halen album I had was 5150. Thus my first introduction to Van Halen was Sammy Hagar era. Now, in the 30+ years since, I have listened to most of the DLR-fronted albums. Eddie's guitar work (and the music itself) was much more to my liking in the DLR days, but I don't feel that DLR was a better vocalist than Sammy. However, I have seen neither live, so it is certainly possible that DLR had better stage presence. To call DLR a showboat...
CaliggyJack 10.09.19	I don't consider vocalist and singer to be mutually exclusive but I get where you're coming from. JDubb Ironically Gary was the best vocalist live from what I hear.
JDubb 10.09.19	DopeFiend, we do share some digs (Kyuss, Baroness, Dvne, Down, Type O, Pelican, etc.). So lets keep it civil.
JDubb 10.09.19	Man, I never bought or listened to Van Halen III. In 1998, I wouldn't have been caught dead listening to Van Halen. Truth be told, I didn't listen to them again for another decade.
SitarHero 10.09.19	The first VH song I ever heard/loved was Right Now and for the longest time I was a Hagar stan, but as an adult I find it nearly impossible to revisit Hagar's work with Van Halen. 5 out of VH's first 6 albums are classics or near-classics and a big reason why is DLR's charisma and personality. With Hagar on board the band turned into a milquetoast AOR band with better than average guitar-work but some of the cheesiest vocals and lyrics of the era. It's not entirely Hagar's fault, but he sure didn't elevate the material the way DLR did.
CaliggyJack 10.09.19	@Sitar I feel like it had less to do with DLR and more with Eddie being more of a virtuoso during DLR's run. @JDubb All of the songs on VHIII suck except "Without You", but Without You is one of Van Halen's best songs ever. It's got great raw energy and good drum work.
SitarHero 10.09.19	Eddie was just as much of a virtuoso in the late '80s and through the '90s. Musically speaking most of the VH's early stuff is actually pretty standard blues rock. Great guitar solos alone aren't going to turn songs like that into classics without great vocal performances which is what DLR provided. DLR may have been limited as a singer, but he had as much mojo as Jagger or Plant or any of the great frontmen. He also had a sense of humour which made VH fun. Hell, the two songs that VH did during the short-lived reunion with DLR in the '90s, especially Can't Get This Stuff No More, smoke most of Hagar's output with the band.
CaliggyJack 10.09.19	Disagreeee but I respect your opinion. DLR grates on me.
wham49 10.11.19	L E M M Y