15 Most Distinctive Singing Voices In Rock & Metal
1. Ozzy Osbourne
It's only fitting that the band often credited with creating the genre of heavy metal would also feature the most unique and recognisable voice in the entire metal pantheon: the Prince of Darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne.
Even back in the early seventies, when no such guitar techniques and evil-sounding music had ever been heard before, listeners' ears must still have been drawn to Osbourne's impossible-to-imitate singing. Against the other popular rock singers at the time, the likes of Mick Jagger and Robert Plant, the nasal and in-your-face qualities of Ozzy's performance stood out by a clear mile - and still do to this day.
Be it in Black Sabbath or his own self-titled solo band, Osbourne's method of very unambiguous, straightforward singing is hard to explain. Almost never does he rely on fancy melismas or put on a specific 'act' in his music; it's just his voice, plain and simple (all the more satisfying when you see this honesty play out in his wacky everyday life).
Truly, this is a singing voice that must be heard to fully understand. And once you've heard it, there isn't another soul on Earth you could ever mistake it for.