Byron Davis is a menacing beast of a vocalist. While there are other black men in God Forbid who deliver powerful metal, it’s Davis’ vocals that engage you. Formed in 1996, in New Jersey, God Forbid has five studio albums under its belt, with a sixth on the way in 2012. The band has also participated in a number of festivals, including Ozzfest and Mayhem. Listen and see; this is truly an underrated metal act.
No.8 Alexis Brown – Straight Line Stitch
Welcome to our only black female on the list. Formed in 2000, Alexis Brown joined in 2003, and has been with the band and its rising success since. Combining vocals that range from clean to guttural metalcore growls, Alexis Brown has a phenomenal voice in both respects. But where does the power in her vocals come from? She’s so small!
With the growing prevalence of women in metal it’s refreshing to see a black woman fronting a band.
No.7 Derrick Green – Sepultura
Derrick Green had no easy shoes to fill when he joined Sepultura in 1998. First, it’s tough to replace the founding and legendary vocalist, Max Cavelera. Second, Derrick is from Ohio, not Brazil. And the critics weren’t easy on him; it took years for him to find his footing in the band and for the world to accept him as the new frontman of Sepultura. Lost, however, was some of the earlier themes of revolution and oppression, recently replaced by inspiration from Dante’s The Divine Comedy and A Clockwork Orange.
Prior to joining Sepultura, Derrick Green meandered about in a couple different bands, most notably, Outface.
We hope you don’t get into a rage about what’s coming up…
Too glammy, flashy, or whatever you want to call it… for our purposes. This doesn’t mean that we don’t love it. Of course, when I wrote that I had just one Living Colour era in mind. No offense, man. Despite saying that you weren’t going to continue, i hope that you did and that you enjoyed the list.
Drekt
great list…but, I wholeheartedly agree with Brentlopez100…Vernon Reid should be on this list…absolutely genius guitar player, plus the BLACK ROCK COALITION…really…Slash (Saul Hudson) is mulatto anyway…plus, there should be more musicians on here in addition to vocalists…
BOBBYMARLEY
What about Tommy Morello and Skin (Deborah Dyer) lead vocalist for Skunk Anansie? I also agree with Brentlopez100 about Vernon Reid and Slash being on the list too.
http://twitter.com/YellMagazine Yell!
I was warned that I was gonna take heat for not including Reid. But what I find shocking is that no one, absolutely NO ONE, is complaining that I put Hendrix at #11.
http://www.tonybaldwin.me/ tony baldwin
Living Colour! Those dudes kick arse!
http://twitter.com/zeruch zeruch
I’m not sure how you can call LC too glammy given that while their first album certainly had some material that used glam/hair metal elements(and I assume thats what you focused on), they were (and are) all over the damn map. Thrash (Times Up), punk (their cover of Bad Brain’s “Sailin On” is a faithful but better rendered version), industrial (Auslander) and just genre bending (Wall, TV News). I’m not faulting you on your list (its your list after all) but I think that just puts a bad view on a band whose members are more critical to some of the very sounds covered in the rest of the list than they get credit for.
Kevinmcclennon
where’s phil lynott from thin lizzy ?
misspunki24
Ya know who you guys forgot? The chick from The Noisettes. Her name is unpronounceable and impossible to spell, but she rocks! And to “Drekt” up there, really? The “one drop” theory….it’s a stupid theory, but it makes Slash eligible for his position on this list.
Metaln8
Mike Smith from Suffocation is one of the greatest blast beat masters. Suffocation is also some of the most technical brutal death metal ever created.
Pinko95014
EUGENE S. ROBINSON FROM OXBOW!!!!!!!?!?!!? Morons….
MissingLegendsFromBetterBands
AAAHH!! Terrance Hobb, the guitarist of Suffocation. Sick guitar player. Technical Death Metal godfather.
It also doesn’t hurt that Suffo is ACTUALLY a good metal band; though there may be some confusion here over what “good metal” means (repping King’s X and Sevendust…?)
And ya’ll f*$%in up by leaving out Eugene Robinson from Oxbow. Right on @Pinko95014 and @ Metaln8
Emj_777
THIS IS SOME FUCKING BULLSHIT. Tom Morello and Pat Smear huh? THEY’RE NOT EVEN CLOSE TO BLACK! How about fucking Howard Jones, Josh Travis from Tony Danza, PHIL LYNOTT one of the most influential cats ever…
As a black man playing metal myself, y’all should be ASHAMED. Not only for their inclusion, but as number 2!?!? What you could find actual negroes and just went with some olive skin dude? SERIOUSLY?
http://twitter.com/YellMagazine Yell!
Wow, agro much? I guess you want “pure black” on the list? Pffft Sound like you’re trying to be reverse Aryan or something. How about you SERIOUSLY get over yourself. BTW, thanks for reading.
Are you kidding me? Well, I guess I’m not black either. Get out with that. Rock is rock. I don’t need the pedigree of the player to enjoy it.
Dean
Thank goodness Derrick Green from Sepultura is on the list, he did a pretty good job in filling in the shoes of Max Cavalera. Great list regardless of the complaints
http://twitter.com/YellMagazine Yell!
Perhaps we’ll do a Part 2 to this list with your suggestions
Wow. Hendrix is to blues, soul, rock, hard rock & heavy metal what Jaco Pastorius is to bass… EVERYTHING! James Marshall was fuckin’ Christ like as far as the “before” Hendrix & “after” Hendrix thang is concerned! His style, original flava’, technique, use of effects & recording techniques, etc. was unparalleled & WAY ahead of its time. The fact that he’s the last person on that list says that whoever wrote & “researched” the information for the article is as high as I am on the daily! Lastly, You left off Jimi Hazel from 24-7 Spyz & a plethora of other Black hard rock & heavy metal dudes!
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