The world of death metal isn’t all barks and growls. There’s actually plenty of room for beauty within the bloodshed, and we put together our picks for the most beautiful voices in death metal history.

Gutturals can certainly be beautiful, like an ugly baby can be gorgeous in the eyes of a parent, but we narrowed this list down to clean singing. Most of these vocalists are brilliant in both styles, like Opeth frontman Mikael Akerfeldt. If anyone made grace and sophistication cool in death metal, it’s Akerfeldt. For decades, he’s been the vocal embodiment of Lucifer — singing like an angel while unleashing howls from the depths of Hell.

Amorphis experienced their Renaissance when Tomi Joutsen joined in 2005. Having taken a death-doom approach in their early days, Amorphis found their identity when Joutsen’s voice made them one of the best melodeath acts on the planet. That sentiment extends to 2018, with Amorphis’ excellent 13th album, Queen of Time.

Not every voice in this list is beautiful in the realm of pop sensibility. Sotiris Anunnaki V of Greek symphonic death metallers Septicflesh offers a vintage approach to singing. Accenting the medieval and romantic-era orchestrations of the band, Sotiris sings almost like a witch casting a spell, but the whimsy of his technique is hauntingly warm.

Check out our picks for the 10 Most Beautiful Voices in Death Metal in the Loud List above.

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