15 Most Distinctive Singing Voices In Rock & Metal

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.