The heavy metal transfer market

[Stumpy Pepys]

Changing your singer is often a risky move in pop music; however in metal, it seems to be quite acceptable, particularly with vocalists. Not unlike the football transfer market (a spell with Deep Purple, followed by a move to Van Halen then off to Black Sabbath).

Not being much of a metal fan per se, I was wondering if anyone wanted to advance a hypothesis why this is so?

[Ray de Galles]

Metal is about guitars/guitarists.

The riff is king.

[Patrick Thistle]

Often the vocalist isn't the driving force in the band.

[jwdd27]

As a non-metal fan, I'd add that you can't hear what they're singing anyway, so the person is unimportant.

[Sean of the Shed]

You forgot to mention that it's not even a tune you can hum and eeeh they don't write them like they used to in the old days

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Brian May, of Queen, can strum a single chord from his guitar that then, with the use of various bits of equipment, can reverb for almost half an hour. He's also a bit of a bellend.

[Toby Gymshorts]

You mean sustain, not reverb.

He is a bellend though.

[ad hoc]

He's a complicated bellend though. Long time Tory voter who is also a member of PETA. I don't imagine there are that many people of whom that is true. Very anti fox hunting and supported Corbyn against May (no relation). Also has a PhD in astrophysics

[Toby Gymshorts]

As a non-metal fan, I'd add that you can't hear what they're singing anyway, so the person is unimportant.

I know this is a joke, but...

Nah.

[jameswba]

He's a complicated bellend though. Long time Tory voter who is also a member of PETA. I don't imagine there are that many people of whom that is true. Very anti fox hunting and supported Corbyn against May (no relation). Also has a PhD in astrophysics

Alan Clark was another Tory who was also a passionate advocate of animal rights.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Metal is about guitars/guitarists.

The riff is king.

But the replacements for Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford underwhelmed, didn't they? In both cases, both lead singers returned to the band and normal service was resumed.

[Toby Gymshorts]

Well, that's all subjective. Dio joined Black Sabbath and they made some great records. Was he as good a fit as Ozzy? Maybe not, but Neon Knights is still a banger.

[caja-dglh]

There is an elephant in the room that looks a lot like Sammy Hagar.

[Stumpy Pepys]

If the lead singer really is unimportant, you could save a few quid by bringing in someone like David van Day.

(Until he fucks off and forms David van Day's Deep Purple, that is.)

[Ray de Galles]

But the replacements for Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford underwhelmed, didn't they? In both cases, both lead singers returned to the band and normal service was resumed.

Obviously not every metal singer is replaceable (though clearly Paul Di Anno was) and the two you mentioned were with their bands for decades and became synonymous with the act.

The reason why metal singers are generally more replaceable than in other genres still stands though, it's far more a guitarists' world.

[Ray de Galles]

There is an elephant in the room that looks a lot like Sammy Hagar.

Van Hagar were troublingly successful though, even if Sammy was a complete failure in replacing the greatest frontman in rock history.

[Toby Gymshorts]

Van Hagar were largely shite, even if for some reason I still have a soft spot for Why Can't This Be Love?

[Eggchaser]

That and Dreams were the best thing they managed, until they accidentally hit gold with Humans Being.

I have a big soft spot for Di Anno era Maiden, they had some corking songs. Blaze Bayley? Less so, poor chap. But by then the whole band had run out of creative steam.

[Bored Of Education]

I am not sure it is particular to heavy metal and, even if it is, it isn't particular to vocalists. For instance, Mikkey Dee went from drumming for King Diamond to Motorhead and now is in The Scorpions. I suppose bassists and drummers are less obvious though.

I suppose the criteria is for vocalists who have gone from existing band to existing band as per Dio going from Rainbow to Sabbath (but not counting Dio the band) or Ian Gillan, at a push, going to Sabbath (although he did go from Gillan). Non-metal versions of this are Genesis having drained the stock of in-band vocalists when Gabriel and then Collins left went for that bloke out of Stiltskin. There was the Steve Marriot Small Faces that become the Rod Stewart Faces. However, they really were two different bands, I don't think that the latter version played any of the former's songs although I stand to be corrected. The Stranglers replaced Hugh Cornwell with a couple of different singers before the current vocalist took over over 20 years ago.
Dr Feelgood replaced Lee Brilleaux - to much diminished success - when he died which led to the current line-up having no original members a la Napalm Death. Ultravox got Midge Ure from Slik, Rich Kids, Visage and Thin Lizzy to replace John Foxx. I never realised until doing some digging for this that Denny Laine was the original Moody Blues singer before Justin Hayward (with some success as well). The fairly obvious candidates are Sugababes who make Deep Purple and their offshoots look stable albeit with only six members involved. Having said that, it is slim pickings so, perhaps, metal/rock is the more transfer crazy market. I thought there may be some mileage in some of the 80s acts that have now reformed but there hasn't been any intermingling (aside from the aforementioned Bucks Fizz/Dollar David Van Day malarkey).

By the way, let's not forget - although it's easy and arguably better to - that Extreme's Gary Cherone was also a Van Halen singer for 10 minutes. Also, to add to the metal/rock theory, AC/DC first replaced Bon Scott rather successfully with Brian Johnson and then, rather less successfully, with Axl Rose. Obviously, Deep Purple are a massive revolving door of vocalists with Gillan, Coverdale, Tommy Bolin, Glenn Hughes and Joe Lynn Turner (who was also a Rainbow singer, of course). There was also Rod Evans before Gillan who everyone forgets but who released three albums with them as well as doing a successful version of "Hush". Another Rainbow-related journeyman vocalist was Graham Bonnet who sang for the Michael Schenker Group (who have also had about ten vocalists).