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Opinion on The Use of Guest Musicians?



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16.09.2008 - 07:27
LeChron James
Helvetesfossen
i haven't seen a topic regarding the use of guest musicians in metal, so i'm making one. what is the collective opinion on the use of guest musicians in albums? good? bad? morbidly obese/ugly? discuss.

hahaha i forgot i had to have my opinion in here...im of the opinion that as long as the guest fits the genre of music that is being played and is similar to the band playing that music, guest musicians are fine. other combos dont work out that well.
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16.09.2008 - 09:09
totaliteraliter

Usually it's a bad thing if it's of the "Featuring X from band Y!!!" sticker-on-the-album-cover type thing, and I've yet to hear a Probot-type all-star album that did anything for me. I'm sure there are some examples where it has worked but nothing comes to mind, everything I think of is either detrimental or just doesn't add anything (s/a Glen Benton on Death Shall Rise... why bother?).
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16.09.2008 - 16:01
Nightmare^

It depends on what the guest does i think. I like guest vocals on some songs, especially if they really make some difference, for example, female vocals on a death metal song...if it sounds good why not? Or a guest guitar solo by a guitarist whose sound and technique is different of the band's.

However, guest appearances can be a fuck-up. For example, i think it's really stupid inviting a dozen of musicians for guest apperances on just one album. Wtf, is it your band's or the european elite's album? And it gets more annoying if a band does this on every album.
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16.09.2008 - 19:40
VPeter

It depends, often guest musicians are just on the album so label's can market it with "contains (....) as guest!"
I think Guest vocals are often the one's who add the most to the music.
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16.09.2008 - 20:44
Charly546

Depends on the contribution.
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17.09.2008 - 02:03
Fhuesc

If the guest gives something new, i think his/her appearance has value, but if the guest doesn't gives anything new, i think it's just pointless. What i mean with this, is that there's no point of adding a guitar, drum, bass, keys (the ones that have keys) guests since all those elements are always present, and no matter how skilled the guest is, it won't contribute in anything new. But if you guest a keyboard player in a band that doesn't have keys, that gives something new, or if you add a violin, flute, etc. In the specific case of voice, i think all guest appearances are worthy, since there aren't two identical voices.

EX. the new Amon Amarth album
Roope Latvala = Pointless
Apocalyptica or L.G. Petrov = Worthy
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Hasta la victoria, siempre!
Until victory, always!
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17.09.2008 - 02:11
necrovamp

hm if it works its good, like what the meads of asphodel do, i prefer it when at a festival and ne beand gets someone from another band to play, like at bloodstock last year, fintroll got sabbats vocalist (martin i think though im not too sure) to sing trollhammeran wiht them, that was cool.
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'I'd rather die than go to heaven' - Murderface
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17.09.2008 - 02:22
Hrothdane

Written by Fhuesc on 17.09.2008 at 02:03

If the guest gives something new, i think his/her appearance has value, but if the guest doesn't gives anything new, i think it's just pointless. What i mean with this, is that there's no point of adding a guitar, drum, bass, keys (the ones that have keys) guests since all those elements are always present, and no matter how skilled the guess is, it won't contribute in anything new. But if you guest a keyboard player in a band that doesn't have keys, that gives something new, or if you add a violin, flute, etc. In the specific case of voice, i think all guest appearances are worthy, since there aren't two identical voices.


I definately agree with this. Kai Hansen did a guest guitar solo on one of Blind Guardian's earlier albums and I would have never known the difference. Conversely, Hansi and Kai Hansen's appearances on Angra's Temple of Shadows album as vocalists really added a lot to the album.
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Despair is death, and I'm not interested in dying.

Member of the True Crusade against True Crusades
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17.09.2008 - 02:38
Doc G.
Full Grown Hoser
I like it a lot, I kind of have fantasies like "I wonder what it would sound like if Slash and Fast Eddie Clarke made music together?" and thanks to guest appearances a lot of those "fantasies" can come true, some times the combos don't work out so well (Like Doro and Lemmy, I love both Doro and Motorhead, but that combo just doesn't sound that good), but at the same time its interesting to see how those combos work out kind of like "Mixing X with Y would result in _____"
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- George Carlin
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17.09.2008 - 08:45
Nightmare^

Written by Fhuesc on 17.09.2008 at 02:03

If the guest gives something new, i think his/her appearance has value, but if the guest doesn't gives anything new, i think it's just pointless. What i mean with this, is that there's no point of adding a guitar, drum, bass, keys (the ones that have keys) guests since all those elements are always present, and no matter how skilled the guest is, it won't contribute in anything new. But if you guest a keyboard player in a band that doesn't have keys, that gives something new, or if you add a violin, flute, etc. In the specific case of voice, i think all guest appearances are worthy, since there aren't two identical voices.

EX. the new Amon Amarth album
Roope Latvala = Pointless
Apocalyptica or L.G. Petrov = Worthy


agreed 100%
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18.09.2008 - 01:04
Number Juan

It all depends on the style of music, the band and the way they employ said guest. In general, I have no problem with guest musicians as long as it serves a purpose or, at the very least, doesn't detriment the overall value of the music.
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A stupid man's report of what a clever man says can never be accurate, because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand. - Bertrand Russell
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18.09.2008 - 02:05
Kap'N Korrupt
Account deleted
Hell yes, guess musicians...for example, on Threshold's Dead Reckoning...Slipstream and Elusive...the death metal guest metal vocals worked very well...all of the guest musicians that Arjen uses in Ayreon always work well...in any other case, I've never really seen a guest musician not work well...
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18.09.2008 - 02:07
Dangerboner
Lactation Cnslt
Guest musicians generally make me excited, especially guest vocalists. Take Cephalic Carnage for example
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18.09.2008 - 02:19
Richard

As others have said, it depends...

I liked Dan Swano's contribution to Threshold - Dead Reckoning album - really brief, just a few lines of growls, but it added an edge to the 2 songs he appeared in, and there wasn't a big fuss made about it for promotional reasons. It just seemed like artists who admire each other's music collaborating on something.

(EDIT: ah, Kap'N Korrupt also mentioned that whilst I was typing!)

A not-so-good example would be the British Death Metal band Obsidian - they only had one release, an EP called 'On the Path of Others We Feed', in 2000 - and it featured Dani from Cradle of Filth on the last track. Dani was doing his trademark high pitched screeching, which didn't really suit Obsidian's Death Metal style. I guess the typical CoF fan wouldn't be interested in that style of Death Metal, and the typical Death Metal fan wouldn't be interested in hearing Dani doing guest vocals for an underground band, so if they were hoping it'd make them more well known then it backfired.
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19.09.2008 - 02:12
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
I dont know what to think, I think if its one song yes why not, cant say examples now, but opening song from last Opeth album, good female vocals why not, same sentenced song ''nephyte'' where was female becking vocalist, but I dont see reason why band use guest mussicans for untsruments, for example guitars, bass, drums, ok those weird like fluthe, bagpipes, other folk yes, but I dont understand why good guality band aks Tommy Iomi play bass like guest if band bassist can do it?
Alos in each song some guest mussican , thinks like Probot album, ye sits good but imagiene Slayer in each album use guets mussiacn who plays guitar and sometimes sings

also Richard example was werry good one vocals cant be replaced, but instruments in studio can
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Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
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17.11.2014 - 07:26
Darth Satanious
Post Destroyer
Also, it is a bad idea if for said guest participation the band ends up excluding that song from a setlist live.
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Christless
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19.11.2014 - 11:18
Angry Chair

I think the acoustic interludes on agallochs new album, the serpent and the sphere where good and fitted nicely with the album. They where done by one of the guys from the band musk ox i believe.
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19.11.2014 - 12:23
CobiWan1993
Secundum Filium
Personally I find the idea of employing guest musicians to be a rather distracting novelty. Even if done with good intentions, it just says to me "Hey look, the new Symphony X single features a guest solo from John Petrucci!" or "Check out Rob Halford doing guest vocals for the latest 5 Finger Death Punch single!". Sometimes it can work, but more often than not, unless it's a full-blown collaboration for an entire album, I'm usually distracted a good deal by the guest popping up out of nowhere and never coming back again, no matter how good or bad that appearance is. It's just random.
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Ordinary men hate solitude. But the Master makes use of it, embracing his aloneness, realizing he is one with the whole universe (Lao Tzu).
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19.11.2014 - 16:57
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Written by CobiWan1993 on 19.11.2014 at 12:23

Personally I find the idea of employing guest musicians to being a rather distracting novelty. Even if done with good intentions, it just says to me "Hey look, the new Symphony X single features a guest solo from John Petrucci!" or "Check out Rob Halford doing guest vocals for the latest 5 Finger Death Punch single!". Sometimes it can work, but more often than not, unless it's a full-blown collaboration for an entire album, I'm usually distracted a good deal by the guest popping up out of nowhere and never coming back again, no matter how good or bad that appearance is. It's just random.


It can be media trick, but as Tobbias Stammet says, he paid each guest musician in Avantasia ... same time I don't se purpose of gust instrumentalist, unless its Jewish harp, Scottish bagpipes, some inkas whistle what non of ordinary musicians can play, but vocals is bets, different vocal and female vocals male in female fronted band works just fine
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Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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27.11.2014 - 03:26
JayMo4

So long as it's a positive contribution to what is an otherwise good artistic vision to begin with, then I like it.
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27.11.2014 - 06:24
Ganondox

I like it as long as it legitimately adds something to the track rather than just being a marketing ploy.
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29.11.2014 - 08:40
Jtbmetal123

I honestly love the idea depending on who the guest is.
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28.01.2015 - 06:12
Amy

It is alright as long as it is just an additional bonus. Bands should not have depend on guest musicians and should be good enough on their own.
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29.01.2015 - 06:24
Raistlin

Never use guest musicians in your band.....unless it's Christian Alvestam in which case, always go with Christian Alvestam lol
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19.02.2015 - 20:59
ADIresiduos

I usually like it when a band has a guest musician who is unique and recognizable to the majority of the potential listeners. I.e.: guest guitarrist: Joe Satriani... his style and sound are unique; any fan would instantly recognize his playing even before knowing the name of the guest musician. the opposite: the AX7 guitarrists... although they are very good guitar players I bet hardly anybody would recognize them just by hearing their playing in someone else's song.
Singers? Rob Halford: instant recognition....... opposite: the Sylosis vocalist: good but average grouler / vocalist.

When you hear a guest musician who's recognizable , it most certainly will be a good addition to the song. A more average one will make...... a song with more musicians....... it may be a good song, but it all will be credieted solely to the band.
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28.03.2015 - 09:03
Amy

Guest artists are fine but not for every song on every album. In moderation it's good but the band needs to be able to stand alone as their own act too.
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28.03.2015 - 11:49
Warman
Erotic Stains
As most of you say: depends on the contribution. Honestly I don't care for a guest solo or whatever. For me it's guest vocals that matters and sometimes it's great, sometimes it's meh.
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28.03.2015 - 20:04
Azarath
Free as a.. Fish
I'm against it.
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