You’re straining and using the wrong vocal technique. When singers rely on peripheral muscles rather instead of the right parts of their vocal apparatus, they put strain on their entire voice mechanism. This kind of strain can cause long-lasting damage to your voice. Symptoms of strain include coughing, choking, a gravelly voice, or even complete loss of voice.
You don’t want to keep singing and power through it. Proper technique involves learning how to use your core vocal muscles efficiently, minimizing the use of those peripheral muscles that lead to strain. Strain can result from pushing to hit high notes using mixed voice so it is important to strengthen your head voice and your chest voice. This can improve your overall vocal quality and endurance.
This doesn’t happen overnight. You’ve got to work out your voice diligently with the right exercises, and you will see improvement. It is worth it to learn the right way to sing metal so you don’t totally damage and blow out your voice! With training and the right advice, you’ll be screaming, growling, using distortion and vocal fry with the best of them! Check out our free exercises to begin to strengthen your voice. And be sure to order our book, Your Singing Questions Answered: A Handbook for Beginning Singers to learn about proper singing techniques including metal singing.