Post by falsetokaiba on Sept 22, 2019 21:50:21 GMT
Janne Christoffersson (? 1970 -)Years Active: 1999 - present (that we know of)
Associated Acts: Grand Magus (1996-present), Spiritual Beggars (2002-2010)
Vocal Range: B♭1 - C6 (4 Octaves + 2 Semitones)
{Vocal Analysis}Beginning a little more gruff and rough around the edges with Grand Magus' debut in 2001, JB's voice has over time become a somewhat more refined instrument. Throughout his career, JB has possessed a strong belting register, frequently sustaining belted notes up to C5. His signature grit in his upper register seemed a by-product of his singing rather than a conscious choice in his early career, becoming heavier and more distorted at the top end of his belting range. 'Wolf's Return' was the album with Grand Magus on which JB really began to refine his belting technique, dragging chest less and acquiring a more rounded tone as well as retaining the capacity for a grittier sound. JB now possesses an impressive belting register with a comparable fourth octave tone to Jørn Lande, and has shown the ability to sustain strong belted notes up to D5.
There were a few instances early in his career of JB sliding up to some fifth octave notes, although exclusively with very heavy false-cord distortion, even breaking into full-blown screaming at certain points, making it extremely hard to gauge whether or not the notes were connected to his mix or instead some variety of heavily distorted head voice. Generally, JB has used any kind of head register extremely rarely; the sole notable exception was the 2010 track 'I, the Jury', an extremely pleasant surprise in which JB displayed some very impressive Eric Adams-esque wails up to F5, and even a passable (if rather shrill) falsetto C6 which he was able to control into a downwards slide to a lower and more weighty fifth octave pitch. I have never heard JB display this technique live (although there is extremely little good live footage of Grand Magus or his performances in general available online), although he's certainly shown enough quality that I would be very hopeful of him using this again at a later date. Indeed, due to the aforementioned lack of footage, it's difficult to assess JB's consistency or quality as a live vocalist at all- in the few available clips of his more challenging vocal performances, I have observed him dodge some higher notes, although it's worth noting he faces the additional challenge of singing live alongside some pretty demanding guitar work. Grand Magus' most recent album, 2019's Wolf God, was from a vocal perspective a real disappointment from JB, only once getting up to B♭4, and I'd sincerely hope this is just an anomaly or an intentional change in style rather than what would be a real deterioration in his upper register.
Though most of his music has been defined by his higher singing, JB is also well known for his naturally deeper voice, generally being described as a natural baritone with a weighty mid-range timbre. JB's use of his mid-range and lower register has fluctuated across his career, varying alongside his own musical style. Although there was little lead vocal low singing on Grand Magus' early albums, JB showed in backing vocals some comfortable lows down to F2. Generally, JB has conserved his lower register for atmospheric backing vocal passages, non-melodic speech or fleeting moments in songs, but when called upon to exercise it has displayed impressive control with agile, resonant and extremely chesty low singing as low as D2, and even strong and controlled mix-fry down to B♭1 in the backing vocals of 'Holmgång'.
Overall, JB is one of the more interesting and underappreciated heavy metal vocalists of more recent times. His voice is a slightly enigmatic one, with his comfortable grasp of both ends of his range making his tessitura difficult to gauge, and his frequent contentment to stick solely to his belting register which belies the other weapons in his vocal arsenal, but is definitely worth a listen for any fans of slower and more alternative metal.
There were a few instances early in his career of JB sliding up to some fifth octave notes, although exclusively with very heavy false-cord distortion, even breaking into full-blown screaming at certain points, making it extremely hard to gauge whether or not the notes were connected to his mix or instead some variety of heavily distorted head voice. Generally, JB has used any kind of head register extremely rarely; the sole notable exception was the 2010 track 'I, the Jury', an extremely pleasant surprise in which JB displayed some very impressive Eric Adams-esque wails up to F5, and even a passable (if rather shrill) falsetto C6 which he was able to control into a downwards slide to a lower and more weighty fifth octave pitch. I have never heard JB display this technique live (although there is extremely little good live footage of Grand Magus or his performances in general available online), although he's certainly shown enough quality that I would be very hopeful of him using this again at a later date. Indeed, due to the aforementioned lack of footage, it's difficult to assess JB's consistency or quality as a live vocalist at all- in the few available clips of his more challenging vocal performances, I have observed him dodge some higher notes, although it's worth noting he faces the additional challenge of singing live alongside some pretty demanding guitar work. Grand Magus' most recent album, 2019's Wolf God, was from a vocal perspective a real disappointment from JB, only once getting up to B♭4, and I'd sincerely hope this is just an anomaly or an intentional change in style rather than what would be a real deterioration in his upper register.
Though most of his music has been defined by his higher singing, JB is also well known for his naturally deeper voice, generally being described as a natural baritone with a weighty mid-range timbre. JB's use of his mid-range and lower register has fluctuated across his career, varying alongside his own musical style. Although there was little lead vocal low singing on Grand Magus' early albums, JB showed in backing vocals some comfortable lows down to F2. Generally, JB has conserved his lower register for atmospheric backing vocal passages, non-melodic speech or fleeting moments in songs, but when called upon to exercise it has displayed impressive control with agile, resonant and extremely chesty low singing as low as D2, and even strong and controlled mix-fry down to B♭1 in the backing vocals of 'Holmgång'.
Overall, JB is one of the more interesting and underappreciated heavy metal vocalists of more recent times. His voice is a slightly enigmatic one, with his comfortable grasp of both ends of his range making his tessitura difficult to gauge, and his frequent contentment to stick solely to his belting register which belies the other weapons in his vocal arsenal, but is definitely worth a listen for any fans of slower and more alternative metal.
Significant High Notes:
C6 ("I, the Jury")
F5 ("Generator", "I, the Jury")
E♭5 ("Black Hound of Vengeance", "Mountain of Power")
D5 ("At Midnight They'll Get Wise", "Food of the Gods", "Hammer of the North", "Lodbrok", "On Hooves of Gold", "Self Deceiver")
C♯5 ("Blackmoon", "Forged In Iron- Crowned In Steel", "The Hammer Will Bite")
C5 ("Ashes", "At Midnight They'll Get Wise", "Beyond Good & Evil", "Black Feathers", "Black Hole", "Black Sails", "Blood Oath", "Bond of Blood", "Brotherhood of Sleep", "Coat of Arms", "Draksådd", "Dying Every Day", "Fear is the Key", "Freja's Choice", "Gauntlet", "Generator", "Hammer of the North", "The Hammer Will Bite", "The Hunt", "I Am the North", "In For the Kill", "Iron Will", "I, the Jury", "Kingslayer", "Like the Oar Strikes the Water", "Lodbrok", "Mountain of Power", "Never Learned", "Nine", "Northern Star", "On Hooves of Gold", "Ravens Guide Our Way", "Repay In Kind", "Salt In Your Wounds", "Self Deceiver", "The Shadow Knows", "Silver Into Steel", "Steel Versus Steel", "Tale of the Unexpected", "Tall Tales", "Transformation", "Ulvaskall (Vargr)", "Varangian", "Wolf's Return")
B4 ("Black Hound of Vengeance", "Burden of Dreams", "Killing Time", "Nine", "Transformation", "Triumph and Power")
B♭4 ("Ashes", "At Midnight They'll Get Wise", "Baptised in Fire", "Black Sails", "Blood Oath", "Bond of Blood", "Born for Battle (Black Dog of Broceliande)", "Born to Die", "Brotherhood of Sleep", "Dance of the Dragon King", "Draksådd", "Dying Day", "Elusive", "Every Day There's a Battle to Fight" "Fight", "Forged In Iron- Crowned In Steel" "Freja's Choice", "Frost and Fire", "Gauntlet", "He Who Seeks… Shall Find", "The Hunt", "I Am the North", "In My Blood", "Iron Hand", "I, the Jury", "Last One to Fall", "The Lighthouse", "Lodbrok", "The Lord of Lies", "Mountain of Power", "Never Learned", "On Hooves of Gold", "One Man Army", "Ravens Guide Our Way", "Repay In Kind", "Salt In Your Wounds", "Savage Tales", "The Shadow Knows", "Silver Moon", "Starlight Slaughter", "Summer Solstice", "Tale of the Unexpected", "Tall Tales", "Throwing Your Life Away", "Treading Water", "Ulvaskall (Vargr)", "Untamed", "Valhalla Rising", "Varangian", "Wheel of Time", "Young Man, Old Soul")
A4 ("Beyond Good & Evil", "Black Hole", "Blood of the Sun", "Dance of the Dragon King", "Fear is the Key", "Food of the Gods", "Fools Gold", "The Gift", "Killing Time", "Kingslayer", "The Lighthouse", "The Naked and the Dead", "Potential", "Repay In Kind", "Self Deceiver", "Transformation")
G♯4 ("A Reason to Live", "Black Hound of Vengeance", "Born for Battle (Black Dog of Broceliande)", "Born to Die", "Brotherhood of Sleep", "Dawn of Fire", "Dominator", "Forged In Iron- Crowned In Steel", "Generator", "The Hammer Will Bite", "The Hunt", "I Am the North", "Last One to Fall", "Legion", "Light Hater", "The Lord of Lies", "Mountains Be My Throne", "Northern Star", "On Hooves of Gold", "The Shadow Knows", "Silver Into Steel", "Silver Moon", "Spear Thrower", "Starlight Slaughter", "Steel Versus Steel", "Summer Solstice", "Tale of the Unexpected", "Treading Water", "Triumph and Power", "Wolf's Return", "Young Man, Old Soul")
G4 ("Ashes", "At Midnight They'll Get Wise", "Baptised in Fire", "Beneath the Skin", "Beyond Good & Evil", "Black Feathers", "Blackmoon", "Black Sails", "Blood Oath", "Bond of Blood", "Brother of the Storm", "Burden of Dreams", "Chooser of the Slain (Valfadr), "Coat of Arms", "Dance of the Dragon King", "Draksådd", "Dying Every Day", "Elusive", "Fear is the Key", "Fight", "Food of the Gods", "Fools Gold", "Freja's Choice", "Frost and Fire", "Gauntlet", "The Gift", "Glory to the Brave", "A Hall Clad in Gold", "Hammer of the North", "He Sent Them All to Hel", "Holmgång", "In For the Kill", "Iron Hand", "Iron Will", "Kingslayer", "Like the Oar Strikes Water", "The Lunatic Fringe", "Master of the Land", "The Naked and the Dead", "Never Learned", "Nine", "No One Heard", "Potential", "Ravens Guide Our Way", "Salt In Your Wounds", "Savage Tales", "Stormbringer", "Storm King", "Street Fighting Saviours", "Sword of the Ocean", "Tall Tales", "Throwing Your Life Away", "To Live and Die in Solitude", "Ulvaskall (Vargr)", "Untamed", "Valhalla Rising", "Wheel of Time", "Wolf God", "Wolf's Return")
F♯4 ("Born to Die", "Every Day There's a Battle to Fight", "The Hunt", "Killing Time", "The Lighthouse", "Son of the Last Breath")
F4 ("Black Hole", "Brotherhood of Sleep", "Chooser of the Slain (Valfadr)", "Dawn of Fire", "A Hall Clad in Gold", "He Sent Them All to Hel", "Holmgång", "In My Blood", "Legion", "The Lord of Lies", "Mountain of Power", "Northern Star", "Savage Tales", "One Man Army", "Steel Versus Steel", "Spear Thrower", "Stonecircle", "Storm King", "Street Fighting Saviours", "The Teacher's Discovery", "Triumph and Power", "Valhalla Rising", "Wolf God", "Young Man, Old Soul")
Significant Low Notes:
D3 ("Dawn of Fire", "Dying Every Day", "The Hunt", "Light Hater", "The Lighthouse", "Self Deceiver")
C♯3 ("Elusive", "Every Day There's a Battle to Fight", "I Am the North", "The Lord of Lies", "Wolf's Return")
C3 ("At Midnight They'll Get Wise", "Coat of Arms", "Dominator", "Iron Hand", "Iron Will", "Kingslayer", "Legion, "Mountain of Power", "Nine", "No One Heard", "Ravens Guide Our Way", "Sword of the Ocean", "Tall Tales, "Treading Water", "Untamed", "Valhalla Rising")
B2 ("Baptised in Fire", "The Blackboard (Reprise)", "Black Hound of Vengeance", "Storm King", "Wolf's Return")
B♭2 ("Generator", "He Sent Them All to Hel", "He Who Seeks Shall Find, "Silver Moon", "Triumph and Power")
A2 ("Light Hater", "The Lighthouse", "The Naked and the Dead", "Silver Moon")
G♯2 ("Elusive", "Tale of the Unexpected", "Through the Halls")
G2 ("Black Sails", "The Hammer Will Bite", "Nine", "On Hooves of Gold", "Stormbringer", "Valhalla Rising")
F♯2 ("Prologue: The Blackboard", "Son of the Last Breath")
F2 ("Black Sails", "Chooser of the Slain (Valfadr), "The Lord of Lies", "Nine", "On Hooves of Gold", "Son of the Last Breath", "Storm King", "Tale of the Unexpected", "Through the Halls", "Triumph and Power")
E2 ("The Blackboard (Reprise)")
E♭2 ("Son of the Last Breath")
D2 ("The Blackboard (Reprise)")
C♯2 ("Starlight Slaughter")
C2 ("Dominator", "Holmgång", "Storm King")
B♭1 ("Holmgång", "Steel Versus Steel")
Range-iest Song: "Steel Versus Steel" (B♭1-C5, 3 Octaves + 2 Semitones)
{Questionable Notes}
F5 ("The Hunt"[1])
E♭5 ("Brotherhood of Sleep"[1])
E♭2 ("Sword of the Ocean"[3], "Tale of the Unexpected"[4])
C2 ("Baptised in Fire"[3])
B♭1 ("Son of the Last Breath" [1][4])
G1 ("Blood Oath"[3])
.......................................................
[1] marks yelps and short trills in high range or anacrusis and short dips in low range.
[2] marks notes of questionable identity that cannot be confirmed to be the singer in question.
[3] marks non-melodic notes that don't have a significant enough pitch to warrant inclusion.
[4] marks notes that possess uncertain pitch or have been pitch-shifted.
[5] marks notes that do not fit the previous criteria but are not of a substantial enough quality to warrant counting towards the singer's range.
F5 ("The Hunt"[1])
E♭5 ("Brotherhood of Sleep"[1])
E♭2 ("Sword of the Ocean"[3], "Tale of the Unexpected"[4])
C2 ("Baptised in Fire"[3])
B♭1 ("Son of the Last Breath" [1][4])
G1 ("Blood Oath"[3])
.......................................................
[1] marks yelps and short trills in high range or anacrusis and short dips in low range.
[2] marks notes of questionable identity that cannot be confirmed to be the singer in question.
[3] marks non-melodic notes that don't have a significant enough pitch to warrant inclusion.
[4] marks notes that possess uncertain pitch or have been pitch-shifted.
[5] marks notes that do not fit the previous criteria but are not of a substantial enough quality to warrant counting towards the singer's range.
{Notewatched Material/Album Ranges}
With Grand Magus:
Grand Magus (2001) B♭2-E♭5-F5
Monument (2003) F2-D5
Wolf's Return (2005) F2-C5
Iron Will (2008) C3-D5
Hammer of the North (2010) F2-F5-C6
The Hunt (2012) C2-F2-C5
Triumph and Power (2014) B♭1-D5
Sword Songs (2016) - G2-C♯3-C♯5
Wolf God (2019) B♭2-B♭4
With Spiritual Beggars:
On Fire (2002) C3-C5
Demons (2005) - F2-C5
With Ayreon
The Theory of Everything (2013) D2-C5
With Grand Magus:
Grand Magus (2001) B♭2-E♭5-F5
Monument (2003) F2-D5
Wolf's Return (2005) F2-C5
Iron Will (2008) C3-D5
Hammer of the North (2010) F2-F5-C6
The Hunt (2012) C2-F2-C5
Triumph and Power (2014) B♭1-D5
Sword Songs (2016) - G2-C♯3-C♯5
Wolf God (2019) B♭2-B♭4
With Spiritual Beggars:
On Fire (2002) C3-C5
Demons (2005) - F2-C5
With Ayreon
The Theory of Everything (2013) D2-C5
.......................................................
Blue marks clear falsetto notes.
Green marks extremely harsh/distorted notes.
Underlines mark notes that are obscured in the song mix.
Italics mark non-melodic notes.
Boldface marks notes that are considered to be particularly notable examples of this person's vocal capabilities.