Freddie Mercury vs Axl Rose

[Bruno P.]

Only here Axl can manage to win a poll against Freddie. Even in other GnR forums I've seen Freddie win comfortably

[Rovim]

Only here Axl can manage to win a poll against Freddie. Even in other GnR forums I've seen Freddie win comfortably

Axl was better at singing hard rock stuff imo. He also had many singing voices, and could play piano at basically the same level that Freddie played.

Freddie also lost range cause he had issues with his vocal chords if I'm not mistaken. Axl never lost range. His voice changed dramatically over the years, but it was in a better state if you compare them at the same age in their career.

Freddie was more consistent but his brand of rock had a bunch of different influences when you compare his style (or styles) to what Axl did. (like opera for example)

It wasn't clear if this thread's question was who was technically better or just who I personally prefer.

Freddie was technically better, but there are things Axl can do that Freddie could never pull off imo. Especially the extra rasp and natural effects filled vocals.

Edited December 27, 2013 by Rovim

[Iron MikeyJ]

Or the screams like in wttj or in lald, Freddie has nothing on those.

[J Dog]

Axl

Freddy. Best ever.

Someone said it best, Freddy might technically be a better singer, but Axl did so much with his voice I prefer him. His voice, especially on AFD, just sounded like rock n roll to me.

[Bruno P.]

There's nothing that Axl did that Freddie couldn't. The other way around, however...

Rasp or not, powerful or not, rough or not, high or not... his vocals are on another level compared to Axl's.

[Dazey]

Freddie is one of the best of all time. Pity that Queen are fucking awful.

[Rovim]

There's nothing that Axl did that Freddie couldn't. The other way around, however...

Rasp or not, powerful or not, rough or not, high or not... his vocals are on another level compared to Axl's.

This is just not the case imo. That Live And Let Die scream from one of the 2002 shows, the end of There Was A Time, That vaccum effect that Axl uses in the start of WTTJ, the complete performance of YCBM and how there are very few spaces to rest vocally between lyrics, KOHD live, and there are many more examples of things Freddie could never pull off.

These were just off the top of my head.

Edited December 29, 2013 by Rovim

[Bruno P.]

Why do you think Freddie couldn't sing those if, as a matter of fact, could sing as high as that?

[WhazUp]

Love both, however even Axl would agree that Freddie is the man

[Rovim]

Why do you think Freddie couldn't sing those if, as a matter of fact, could sing as high as that?

It's not just about range. Axl misused his voice for years, but he injected so much power and rasp into the songs, sometimes writing in a way that left very little room to recover between vocal lines. (like YCBM, RNDTH, and There Was A Time)

It was a harder brand of rock, so it presented different challenges.

Could Freddie pull off a performance like YCBM in Paris 92? I doubt it.

Edited December 29, 2013 by Rovim

[Estranged Reality]

Axl. Never understood the obsession with Freddie.

he was definitely a trailblazer in terms of stage performance and he had a very good voice.

but personally i'm just a bigger fan of axl so i'd vote for axl. if you asked me to name who the more influential and important artist was? i'd say freddie, but he never connected with me as much as axl did.

[Bruno P.]

Why do you think Freddie couldn't sing those if, as a matter of fact, could sing as high as that?

It's not just about range. Axl misused his voice for years, but he injected so much power and rasp into the songs, sometimes writing in a way that left very little room to recover between vocal lines. (like YCBM, RNDTH, and There Was A Time)

It was a harder brand of rock, so it presented different challenges.

Could Freddie pull off a performance like YCBM in Paris 92? I doubt it.

Keep in mind that Axl himself couldnt sing those live properly.

I get what you are saying. The way Axl sings, the rasp, the grit. In order to replicate vocal performances you have to sing in the same key and hit the same notes. You dont have to use the same technique, that's personal. It's all about singing style. Many of the greatest rock/metal vocalists dont put as much rasp as Axl because it can damage vocal chords, limits vocal range (as far as I know) and sounds bad when not used properly. Not to mention that some simply do not like that singing style. Yes, Axl managed to sing like that but at a cost. He couldnt sing in key at times, was constantly out of breathe, sounded laughably awful at times, couldnt reach some notes and couldnt control those notes. He became good at that but didnt have proper control over his voice.

You'd say that Bruce Dickinson or Freddie couldnt sing YCBM like Axl, but truth is - they never wanted to. Especially Freddie, who used to do poweful rasp vocals and insane screams but wouldnt rely only on that.

Someone once asked "when can I hear Axl actually sing rather than do his thing?". The answer? "Patience". And he could never pull off that one properly live.

[Rovim]

When I talk about singing like Axl, that means pulling it off like he did on a good day. With power and rasp for the duration of the entire show. I don't believe Freddie could have pulled that off with songs like YCBM or even WTTJ. Even if he wanted to.

I agree with your other points, and yeah singing like that is not what you'll call a good idea. It WILL damage the vocal chords if a singer does that for years.

[aArief178]

Axl. I like him more.

Actually i hate other than Guns N' Roses

[Iron MikeyJ]

Ya if Freddie sang wttj or ycbm it would sound too pretty, too clean. He doesn't have the grime in his voice that Axl does. I'm sorry but wttj with freddie would be awful.

[Bruno P.]

You guys have to keep in mind that those are Axl trademark songs. Nobody sounded as good, ever. That being said, I think he'd do justice to the song, even if it meant not as much rasp.

Keep in mind that others not too good technically singers developed full rasp like Brian Johnson, so I dont think if lets say Freddie or Bruce truly wanted to sing like that they couldnt pull it off.

Only here Axl can manage to win a poll against Freddie. Even in other GnR forums I've seen Freddie win comfortably

I was kidding (trolling) when I said that it's a personal opinion thing, not "who sold more" or "who influenced more" thing

[Iron MikeyJ]

Nah, I don't buy it. The only guys that could pull off gnr songs well would be Bon Scott, Robert Plant, Steven Tyler, and Chris Cornell. Maybe a few others. But not Freddie, Bruce, or any of those guys known for their "range". I don't think their voice would capture the spirit of the song correctly. But Axl did do damn well when he did Queen songs, so it sorta makes you wonder. I could hear Axl doing Killer Queen or Somebody to Love a lot easier than Freddie doing WTTJ or YCBM. To be fair, Freddie would probably do a great NR or TIL.

[Bruno P.]

Rasp is not something incredibly hard to pull and I dont know what makes you guys think so. Proof is that those guys can sing with so much power and rasp when they want to. However, I doubt Axl would have enough control to pull Somebody to Love properly...

[Nosaj Thing]

Rasp is not something incredibly hard to pull

That's true but let's say that with Axl it was a damn particular and sort of unique rasp. For me, Axl's scream was perfect, the combination of his natural voice and the changes between deep and raspy vocals were awesome. As a frontman, Axl's performance was incredible, the way he presented himself on stage during the 2.5 hours back when real Guns was together, was immense. I could really go on and on but I don't think it's necessary, at the end of the day, we're in a Guns N' Rose forum.

With that being said, Freddie was definitely something else. In a scale of 1 to 10, Axl was a 10 but Freddie? In my opinion, he was a 20.

[Bruno P.]

Absolutely. Axl's rasp and mainly his ability to keep singing like that for 2.5 to 3 hours - sometimes even more! - was - and still is - unmatched.

I do think that his rasp is special because of his truly beautiful timbre he sounds much better than anyone that ever used that technique in my books, including Plant, Bach, Bon, etc.

[ShadowOfTheWave]

As for music, it's hard for me to tell because I'm not sure which of Queen's songs were written by Freddie or not, whereas most of GNR's were written by Axl. I could look it up and make a determination, but I'd rather not. As for the voice, it's Freddie all the way. I don't care about range, but he slightly tops Axl in emotion.

Edited February 5, 2014 by ShadowOfTheWave

[luciusfunk]

Only here Axl can manage to win a poll against Freddie. Even in other GnR forums I've seen Freddie win comfortably

Axl was better at singing hard rock stuff imo. He also had many singing voices, and could play piano at basically the same level that Freddie played.

Freddie also lost range cause he had issues with his vocal chords if I'm not mistaken. Axl never lost range. His voice changed dramatically over the years, but it was in a better state if you compare them at the same age in their career.

Freddie was more consistent but his brand of rock had a bunch of different influences when you compare his style (or styles) to what Axl did. (like opera for example)

It wasn't clear if this thread's question was who was technically better or just who I personally prefer.

Freddie was technically better, but there are things Axl can do that Freddie could never pull off imo. Especially the extra rasp and natural effects filled vocals.

Nah, I don't buy it. The only guys that could pull off gnr songs well would be Bon Scott, Robert Plant, Steven Tyler, and Chris Cornell. Maybe a few others. But not Freddie, Bruce, or any of those guys known for their "range". I don't think their voice would capture the spirit of the song correctly. But Axl did do damn well when he did Queen songs, so it sorta makes you wonder. I could hear Axl doing Killer Queen or Somebody to Love a lot easier than Freddie doing WTTJ or YCBM. To be fair, Freddie would probably do a great NR or TIL.

What Queen songs has Axl sung? The last bit of Bohemian Rhapsody with Elton John? We Will Rock You? Sail Away Sweet Sister? Apart from Bohemian Rhapsody, those are Brian may songs.

[Iron MikeyJ]

What's your point? I don't care who wrote the song, the bottom line is Freddie sang them, and when Axl sang those songs he did them damn well. I don't understand what your point is?

But beyond the Axl vs Freddie debates, I now have the difinitive answer to the question "Who was better than Freddie?" the answer is Prince. He can do EVERYTHING Freddie could do, and a ton of shit Freddie couldn't. Prince > Freddie

[Guest Len B'stard]

That little Sailaway Sweet Sister thing Axl does in Tokyo is a Queen song then? I never knew that.

[Sixes]

That little Sailaway Sweet Sister thing Axl does in Tokyo is a Queen song then? I never knew that.

it's on The Game and is sung by Brian May...