Last week, two members of the lauded Norwegian black metal band Carpathian Forest announced their decision to set aside their duties with the group and focus on a new project called the 3rd Attempt. “We are both the kind of musicians who very much enjoy what we do, both in the studio and on the stage, and we wanted to be more active live than Carpathian Forest,” explained axeman Blood Perversion, echoing the frustrations of metalheads who have been clamoring for new tunes for eight years. (Carpathian Forest's last effort, the pugnaciously-titled Fuck You All!!!! Caput tuum in ano set, came out in 2006.)
But here's where things get interesting: BloodPervertor and Tchort are launching a worldwide search for a new frontman or -woman, and anyone with internet access and an audio recorder can try out. Prospective vocalists have been asked to compose lyrics and melody for two sample songs posted to their Soundcloud; they’re not so much instrumentals as they are obstacle courses in Carpathian Forest's varied styles, which span everything from glacial black metal to burly thrash. Applicants aren't restricted in their lyrical or melodic approaches to the samples, and while the rest of the 3rd Attempt will make the final decision, they’ll be taking cues largely from their fans, who will vote for their favorites among the uploaded auditions. In other words: "The Voice" just got a hell of a lot more brutal.
It's compelling enough that listeners are able to take part in the continuing history of one of black metal's most beloved bands, but I'm more excited by the potential breakthroughs this search could bring. The varied soundscapes displayed in the sample songs provide leeway for a variety of styles to slip in: A capable hardcore-steeped singer could easily navigate the melodic passages of the first demo, and a Gorguts disciple could run amok over the sludge-pools of the second. Of course, a paradigm shift is by no means guaranteed here (and that’s not a bad thing by any means, as long as it sounds awesome). But with the fans taking the reins, there’s no telling just who will make the cut. Will it be the Dillinger Escape Plan’s Greg Puciato, a guy regarded by many as the greatest extreme vocalist alive? Or will it be a corpse-paint wearing teenager from Canada? Think Ariana Grande will give it a go? Place your bets.
Although the mainstream metal community has taken impressive strides to increase the presence of women, minorities, LGBTQ-identifying individuals, and other marginalized groups in both the music and the subculture, there’s still a lot of work to be done in these fields (see: Laina Dawes’ excellent case study/memoir What Are You Doing Here?, or Brandon Stosuy’s recent Show No Mercy column on the Soft Pink Truth). By prioritizing musical ability and then building the voting process around it, the 3rd Attempt have detached themselves—at least temporally—from the aesthetic shackles that so frequently define what “metal” is and isn’t. Ostensibly, with the proper support and promotion, there’s nothing to stop Salome’s Kat Katz, or the Soft Pink Truth’s/Matmos’ Drew Daniel, or, hell, you, from carrying the Carpathian torch.