The life of a heavy metal vocalist can be a rewarding experience, as long as you’re willing to take the bad with the good.
With every packed-out show full of screaming fans comes vocal exhaustion and the need to rest your vocal chords. Tours are full of late nights and early mornings, not to mention the hard work and obligations that come with committing your art to recordings.
It can be a fun ride, and it can be a nightmare. Some choose to step away because life in the spotlight isn’t what they want for their lives. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some heavy metal vocalists who decided that they were no longer interested in a life of fame…
Chris “CJ” McMahon – Thy Art is Murder
While he wasn’t the band’s founding vocalist, Chris “CJ” McMahon joined Thy Art is Murder in 2009 and performed on every major release from the Australian deathcore band during his tenure, which was often wrought with controversy.
In 2015, he left the band to focus on his family — per Ghost Cult magazine — citing the high and growing costs of touring. Just two years later, he rejoined Thy Art just in time to put out some of the best music of their career, Dear Desolation, the band’s fourth full-length studio album.
Then, in 2023, McMahon exited the band a second time, only now he was fired. The band had the vocals rerecorded on their 2023 album, Godlike, without McMahon’s knowledge, and informed him of his dismissal at the same time as the rest of the world.
He has since left heavy metal and works in the tattoo industry now.
Stephen Fredrick – Firewind
Originally formed in Thessaloniki, Greece, in the late 90s, epic metal band Firewind brought on singer Stephjen Fredrick when they began to ramp up their career in 2002. He performed on their first two albums: Between Heaven and Hell (2002) and Burning Earth (2003), but then, he resigned.
The story seems to be that he’d initially indicated he was up for touring, but then, when the time came to head out on the road, he bailed.
Fredrick reunited with the band for a one-off live performance in 2007, but since then, little is known about his work and whereabouts.
Angela Gossow – Arch Enemy
Back in 2000, German metal vocalist Angela Gossow joined Arch Enemy after the exit of Johan Liiva, and she helped the band craft some incredible music. The back-to-back, one-two punch of Anthems of Rebellion (2003) and Doomsday Machine (2005) alone is one of the ages.
It all came to an end in 2014, when Gossow chose to walk away from the stage and work behind the scenes. “Dear Arch Enemy fans, this is not easy to tell you…I have decided to step down from being Arch Enemy’s voice of anger,” she wrote in a goodbye statement, via Metal Purgatory. “After 13 years of pure fucking metal, 6 studio albums and countless tours through five continents, I feel the need to enter a different phase in my life, be with my family and pursue other interests.”
Gowwow then shared, “I will, however, remain business manager for Arch Enemy, and I will continue to develop my artist management roster. I am staying true to my heavy metal roots, just leaving the spotlight, so to speak. I am passing the torch to the super-talented Alissa White-Gluz, whom I’ve known as a dear friend and a superb vocalist for many years. I always thought she deserved a chance to shine – and now she’s getting it. Just like I got that chance back in 2001.”
In the years since, Gossow has indicated that she would like to make a comeback with a new band and provided guest vocals on the Amaranthe song “Do or Die” back in 2020.
Nattramn – Silencer
One of metal’s most elusive frontmen, nobody has avoided fame more than Silencer frontman Nattramn. There’s virtually nothing known about him. Even his rumored name — Mikael Nilsson — and birthday — Sept. 7, 1975 — are unconfirmed.
He’s put out very little, but Silencer’s lone album, Death – Pierce Me (2001), is widely considered to be a landmark project in the subgenre of depressive suicidal black metal, even with some racist and cruelly misanthropic lyrics. (Just because it broke ground, doesn’t mean I have to respect it.)
In the years since, Nattramn has done some solo music and written a book, but he remains as much of an enigma as he ever was.
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