EVI Student Profile: Nick Gallop (Ice Giant)

(Photo: Phantom Forge/Yelena Kamenetskaya)

Can you give a brief summary of your vocal history -- how you started, who/what inspired you, and where you are now? I’ve always loved singing. When I first discovered rock and metal around 2005 (12-years-old), I would try my best to imitate my idols so as to be like them. I formed my first band at 14, for which I was a background vocalist and got to semi-regularly use my voice. I remember specifically around when I was 20 I discovered my knack for extreme vocals (after trying to imitate Amon Amarth for days on end and not entirely sucking at it). I started my current band, Ice Giant, in 2015 and have been a vocalist in a major capacity for them the entire time. Who would you consider to be your vocal idols now? My biggest influences are Johan Hegg (Amon Amarth), John Kevil (Warbringer), Daniel Heiman (Lost Horizon), and Ronnie James Dio. Aside from those, I would say I’m most impressed by my father [not literally], David Benites, not only for his talent but particularly for his range, which soars high into that delicious power metal range that I love so much. Other extreme vocalists that I’m keen on right now include Svencho (Aborted) and Vitriol (Anaal Nathrakh). Also a special shout-out to Daniel Wilson of Vivisepulture, another student of EVI and my good friend.

How long have you been a student at Extreme Vocal Institute? About half a year now, which is plenty of time to pick up some good knowledge.

Since working with David at Extreme Vocal Institute, how have you seen yourself grow as a vocalist and a performer? I love being able to perform extreme vocals, and EVI has shown me how to sustainably do so without hurting my self. I’m still learning more techniques on this, but what I’ve acquired so far has been hugely beneficial. Everything from proper breathing and stance, to how to control your throat muscles and shape your face so that you produce exactly the sound you want.

Also, I will take this time to tell everyone reading this to, if you want to be a performer in any regard but especially a vocalist, to go to the f&*^%$g gym. It will help your endurance so much and just make you feel good too. Can you describe something that you’ve been working on at EVI? My favorite thing we do is making my face resonate in all areas. My teeth, my jaw, my cheeks, my nose, and more. It’s beneficial to do this because, the more resonance = more volume, and therefore the less you have to push air through your throat. This makes singing easier without losing any volume and letting you perform for longer. You’re the vocalist for melodic death metal band Ice Giant, can you talk a little bit about what you’ve been up to and what your plans are with the project? So happy you asked. We are in the early planning stages for entering the studio for our 2nd full-length album. We have some wonderful ideas as to who to go to, but because these are not set in stone yet, I’ll talk about them at a later date. This album will be a bit of a departure from our first, which had a bit more of a U.S. Power Metal sound to it. This release will be for fans of Nevermore, Opeth, In Flames, and Revocation. Loaded with riffs, more mature composition, and fresh line-up to boot. I’ll take a second to point out that our new members are Zak King (formerly of Epicenter) on drums, and Beth McPherson, who is a student at Berklee College of Music, on bass.

We will also be playing some out-of-town shows soon; returning to places like NH, VT, and ME. Larger-scale plans may be in effect as well, but shhhh. We’ll have new merch to come with this new record too.

Be on the lookout for Ice Giant, we come with riffs in hand.

#WorldUnderIce #Hm2Gang

Do you have any advice to give to aspiring vocalists? Anything that you wish someone had said to you when you were starting? Yes, again, go to the gym. Also, drink so much water. Soda is terrible, stop that. Honestly, I would just recommend, too, that folks get lessons as early as possible. Don’t learn bad habits, because it’s just as big a pain to unlearn those as it is to then learn the correct techniques.

Make sure you love what you do. I’ve seen performers that aren’t “into it” before and it’s so disappointing. I want to see you confidently owning the crowd and stage. Make me worship you.

FOLLOW NICK GALLOP ON INSTAGRAM @nickgallop_music | LIKE ICE GIANT ON FACEBOOK

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Interview conducted by Rilee Dubilo

EVI Student Profile: Daniel Wilson (Vivisepulture)

(Photo: Nuraj Shrestha)

Can you give a brief summary of your vocal history; how you started, who/what inspired you, and where you are now? I started doing metal vocals entirely by accident. I was at a music summer camp around 9th grade with some friends and I was just awful at what was my primary then, guitar. I wanted to start a band with my best friend at the time so they suggested I try doing vocals, clearly, it stuck. A couple of years after that, when I was 18, I was picked up by Vivisepulture as their vocalist. As a vocalist, I felt like I hadn’t really improved too much until recently when I started recording [Vivisepulture's full-length record] "Omen" in 2017. That summer, I started taking lessons with David and there are clear differences from my before and after takes while in the studio. He showed me how to warm up, how to get into a proper mindset, and how to keep my voice healthy. Now, we are beginning to work on expanding my range of techniques and working on creating sound in a way that I would have learned if I had studied vocal performance in school. Who would you consider to be your vocal idols now? I never really had “vocal idols”, more voices that can drag you into their music and their world, and just blow your mind. Some of those most seductive voices come from Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth), Rody Walker (Protest the Hero), Seth Siro Anton (Septicflesh), and Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad, Devin Townsend Project). I’ve always really enjoyed Mark Jansen’s intelligible growls in Epica, despite him not being the lead. Recently, some newer vocalists I’ve been getting into are Cammie Gilbert from Oceans of Slumber, Xenyor from Ne Obliviscaris (he gave me a short vocal talk when [Vivisepulture] opened for them in October), and Jake Dieffenbach’s most recent performance with Rivers of Nihil.

How long have you been a student at Extreme Vocal Institute? I took some lessons in the summer of 2017 when I first found out David was teaching. Once I finished school and started working, I immediately started taking lessons again in the fall of 2018. Those initial bout of lesson helped with the recording of "Omen".

Since working with David at Extreme Vocal Institute, how have you seen yourself grow as a vocalist and a performer? Since I never had any former vocal training before now, I feel many improvements have been made. I know how to keep my voice healthier, I don’t feel like a one-trick pony as an extreme vocalist, and now have more confidence in all of the sounds I make. Can you describe something that you’ve been working on at EVI? Right now, we are working on improving the directionality of my voice, making sure I am aware of where the sound is going so that I can project and control it better before it leaves my head.

The anniversary of Vivespulture’s record “Omen” is coming up, how has the band evolved in the last year? What are your plans moving forward? Putting out "Omen" was a great first step for us. We’ve already written some exciting new music since then. What we are focusing on is having conceptual contrasts between our most brutal bits against our most evil bits. Vocally, I want to have two distinct styles that can connect these sounds, but also are just as strong on their own.

Do you have any advice to give to aspiring vocalists? Anything that you wish someone had said to you when you were starting? As I started vocals on a rather unexpected note, I hadn’t taken it seriously in the beginning. So my tips are:

• Don’t eat junk before shows and rehearsal; your body is your voice

• Own your own microphone

• Water is the only beverage that will make you “sound better”

• Be confident in your voice; it shows

You can follow Dan on Instagram @dan.wilson.vox - - - Interview conducted by Rilee Dubilo

EVI Student Profile: Meet Lee Mintz (Mithya, Greylotus)

(Photo: Eduardo Ruiz @mylegsgavein)

Can you give a brief summary of your vocal history; how you started, who/what inspired you, and where you are now? I've been singing and screaming for my entire life. My parents can attest to the nastiness of the shrieks I was punishing everyone with as a tiny person. When I was about 11 or 12, I found a love for Linkin Park, Slipknot, and System of a Down. Nu Metal was a huge gateway into extreme music styles and vocals for me. I remember spending hours in my bedroom or my car singing and screaming along to stuff back in high school and I guess that hasn’t stopped.

I was a member of my school's concert choir, show choir and continued to work on vocal performance through choir when I went to college. When I first joined a band in high school I was playing guitar and then when I started a deathcore band in my freshman year of college I only had backing vocal duties. I then started Mithya in 2013 with my buddy Michael FritzKapps and got to be on vocal duty for the first time.

I was inspired a lot by guys like Rody Walker (Protest the Hero), Spencer Sotelo (Periphery), and Devin Townsend. They are all dudes who seemed to be able to effortlessly switch up their vocal approach, grows and shrieks, pure cleans and everything in between. I owe a lot of my vocal chops to their material. Through Mithya I've had the chance to play with many of the bands I looked up to in high school, got to go on my first tour, released an EP, and made a lot of awesome friends and connections in the industry, including my bandmate in Greylotus, Drewsif. Drew took me on tour with him as Drewsif Stalin's Musical Endeavors' vocalist in 2017 and 2018 and that experience really solidified my love for touring so I'm excited to see what the road still has in store for us.

Who would you consider to be your vocal idols now? Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad, Devin Townsend Project), and Anthony Green (Saosin, Circa Survive, The Sound of Animals Fighting) have been my vocal idols for a long long time, not sure if I’d have been inspired to become a vocalist without them. I’d also like to mention Elliot Coleman (Good Tiger), Phil Bozeman (Whitechapel), Trevor Strnad (The Black Dahlia Murder), Sam Carter (Architects), Laure Le Prunenec (Igorrr), and Travis Ryan (Cattle Decapitation) as well. There’s a lot of amazingly talented people in the game right now.

How long have you been a student at Extreme Vocal Institute?

I’ve only officially been a student for about a month, but I’ve known David for a year or two now and we’ve exchanged ideas and discussed techniques casually as acquaintances over that time so I came into this already knowing that David is THE dude.

Since working with David at Extreme Vocal Institute, how have you seen yourself grow as a vocalist and a performer? Dave has helped me better understand the physical mechanisms I use to make the sounds I make and he's given me advice on what to physically change in my approach to more easily create the tones I’m after in my vocals. I’ve heard and felt my growls become lower and fuller in only a month’s time and those are results you can't argue with.

Can you describe something that you’ve been working on at EVI? Greylotus has a tour coming up in April and Dave and I have been working on increasing vocal stamina, improving technique to protect my vocal health, and widening my range of screams I can produce comfortably. And he’s been teaching me more about my vocal anatomy to better understand what I’m feeling when I’m singing and how to use my breath and energy more effectively. From jaw, tongue, and neck placement, to performance posture, and air control. Dave's got tips for everything.

Can you talk a little bit about joining Greylotus this year? What excites you about the project? Well firstly, I’m beyond excited to get to be a part of a musical project with some of the nicest and hardest working dudes I’ve ever met. Drew[sif] Reynolds (bass), Ben Towles (guitar), Sanjay Kumar (guitar), and Matt Tillet (drums) are all insane at what they do and it’s a privilege to have the opportunity to perform with them. Come see us on tour this spring with Abiotic, Cognitive, and God of Nothing and you'll see what I mean. Secondly, I'm happy to be a part of a project that allows me to focus more on the more technical aspects of extreme vocal technique. The songs are full of quick vocal style changes and rapid-fire lyrics and that's kept my practice material really challenging and fun.

Do you have any advice to give to aspiring vocalists? Anything that you wish someone had said to you when you were starting? If being a vocalist is what you want to do, stop telling yourself that you can’t. Don’t be afraid to fail and let nothing stop you. Remember that there’s always more to learn, that nobody is perfect, and to be kind to yourself along the way.

I guess I’ll pass on one of the most inspiring things ever said to me: Any greatness you see in me or in any other musician, is a reflection of the potential within yourself. If you want this, you can do it.

Catch Lee on tour with Greylotus this spring! You can also follow him on Instagram @leevitalized - - - Interview conducted by Rilee Dubilo