Meet Woman That Teaches Metal Bands To Scream, Melissa Cross
Melissa Cross is a trained theater and traditional opera singer, but she's better known as the "Queen of Scream" for teaching rock stars how to scream.
Rock and metal music are both known for incorporating melodic singing with screaming. Whether it be guttural growls, high pitched screams or never ending notes in your favorites songs, chances are the singer is familiar with Melissa Cross. Her client list reads like a who's who of rock, metal, screams and more: A Day To Remember, Arch Enemy, Beartooth, Bring Me The Horizon, Chiodos, The Devil Wears Prada, Disturbed, Every Time I Die, Falling In Reverse, Halestorm, Shinedown, Slayer, Slipknot, Taking Back Sunday, Trivium, Underoath, Volbeat and more.
Like I said a legit who's who of your favorite bands.
Melissa Cross actually started out in theater and opera but when a friend was working in the studio with a hardcore band who had trouble not ruining their voice she was able to help. Vocalists like M. Shadows and Axl Rose have said in the past that screaming was damaging their vocal cords and they had to change the way they sang. What I like about Melissa is she is not only teaching them how to use their voice properly, but the singers are still able to scream.
Vice News was able to catch up with Melissa while she joined the Vans Warped Tour in San Antonio, Texas and had some vocal lessons with some of her students. This self proclaimed hippie is a legend in the rock genre and it's amazing to see how many people she has been able to help. Check out the awesome video above of her working with artists and explaining why she has such a passion for these artists.