10 Greatest Metal Singers Of All Time

For as much as they contributed to the genre, it's a bit unfortunate that the members of Led Zeppelin don't often associate themselves with the heavy metal genre. However, the grunge movement yielded a welcome alternative in Soundgarden's Chris Cornell.

Out of the Big 4 of Grunge, many people look at Alice in Chains as the most metal of them all, but Cornell's raspy voice stands out as the harsher sonic assault than Layne Staley's. While there would be some low-key Soundgarden songs, the gems of every record came when Cornell would reach into his higher register and deliver incredible performances on songs like "Spoonman" and "Loud Love." Even after Soundgarden's split, Cornell's work with Audioslave also presented vocal masterclasses from songs like "Cochise" and "Like a Stone."

Over time, Cornell's vocal delivery was the closest the human voice could sound to a Marshall stack, with just the right amount of grit in between each vocal wail. From ballads to hard rock ragers, Chris Cornell was a modern marvel whose unique vocal tone will never truly be equaled. After losing him in 2017, the rock world was left without one of its true vocal juggernauts.