What's your theory

[Dangom1]

For Axls sudden vocal change from 2010 to 2011? 

[rocknroll41]

1 minute ago, Dangom1 said:

For Axls sudden vocal change from 2010 to 2011? 

He hadn’t sang from December 2010 to October 2011. That’s 10 months, which is a long fuckin time to not sing! At that first 2011 show at Rock in Rio you can actually hear Tommy tell him “That wasn’t so bad, considering that you haven’t sang in like a year.” He didn’t even rehearse for that gig, cause when they did Estranged that night he said “I haven’t sang that in 18 years, but these guys here on stage with me have already played it twice before just this week.”

When you don’t use your talent, you lose it. Simple as that. Axl could get away without rehearsing when he was young, but he ain’t young anymore, and he certainly wasn’t young by 2011. Hell, even by 2001 he was already noticeably older, and the fact that he hadn’t sang in 8 fuckin years by that point certainly showed.

The good thing to come out of all this is that, ever since NITL started, he seems to rehearse with the band a bit more now. We’ve already heard him soundcheck-ing with the others on multiple occasions from 2016-2020. Hopefully he does that again once covid is over.

[Mendez]

Axl died, and his doppleganger, who couldn't sing, took his place

Edited March 18, 2021 by Mendez

[lame ass security]

Axl's voice has always been a point of interest and conjecture.  It's amazing how many things can adversely effect a person's voice. Axl pushed his voice hard when he was younger and undoubtedly did some damage. Your vocal folds lose elasticity as you get older and it takes longer to recover. Axl never sang correctly,  I know because neither do I and I'm feeling it.

[axlvai]

Like A.Iverson says.... PRACTICE!

[Dean]

I think the disappointment from the outcome of the lawsuits that he had on the go around that time along with consideration for the longevity of his voice may have been factors in the drastic change. What is interesting is that he goes on about his vocal technique in the interview with Trunk, he obviously takes a lot of pride in being able to go and perform 3 hour sets night after night, fair fucks to him for it, but I feel the setlist should be altered to accommodate whatever vocal approach Axl wants to use, as, in my own opinion, the middle section of the setlist they do is pretty hard on the ears vocally.

[dontdamnmeuyi2015]

As you get older your voice changes for some singers not all because Klaus and Rob Halford can still sing as high as before.

I guess shit happens to some singers, but Axl is still one of the best frontmen of all time. I still love hearing him sing live even if he sounds different.

[Amaya]

Age. It happens. Even on NITL tour with vocal coaches and other professionals, age happens. Some people age differently.  After 2021, who knows what he will sound like or if they will tour NITL part 2. 

[maxxximiliano]

after seeing him with acdc I came to the conclusion that he sings like this because he wants to take care of his throat. with acdc it was amazing. . but at this point it is unsustainable to maintain that level, it must even be painful.

Edited March 18, 2021 by maxxximiliano

[rocknroll41]

5 hours ago, axlvai said:

Like A.Iverson says.... PRACTICE!

Who’s A.lverson?

5 hours ago, Dean said:

I think the disappointment from the outcome of the lawsuits that he had on the go around that time along with consideration for the longevity of his voice may have been factors in the drastic change. What is interesting is that he goes on about his vocal technique in the interview with Trunk, he obviously takes a lot of pride in being able to go and perform 3 hour sets night after night, fair fucks to him for it, but I feel the setlist should be altered to accommodate whatever vocal approach Axl wants to use, as, in my own opinion, the middle section of the setlist they do is pretty hard on the ears vocally.

Yeah at the show I went to the middle section was clearly the weak link.

Good point about the lawsuits btw! He lost to both Azoff and Activision that year, correct? Also, wasn’t Azoff gonna write a book about Axl? Whatever happened to that?

[Smokin' Cigarettes]

Age.  Time is undefeated.  Axl painted himself into a corner in his youth singing the way he did.

[lame ass security]

6 hours ago, axlvai said:

Like A.Iverson says.... PRACTICE!

Practice? He talkin' about practice, I'm talkin about the game. He talkin' about practice.   Classic shit, gotta love AI.

[The Dissident]

7 hours ago, dontdamnmeuyi2015 said:

As you get older your voice changes for some singers not all because Klaus and Rob Halford can still sing as high as before.

I guess shit happens to some singers, but Axl is still one of the best frontmen of all time. I still love hearing him sing live even if he sounds different.

First and foremost I greatly appreciate your mention of Klaus, he doesn't get the praise he deserves in his performances. I think Klaus' longevity is partially him taking care of his voice and the other part that Scorpions have built in breaks into their setlist, on their latest tour Klaus only has to sing about 3 songs before he gets a break, but by doing so he is able to give an entertaining performance and a strong vocal on basically all songs. They have built in a guitar solo, an instrumental and a drum solo into their shows plus the encore break, giving about 15 non-instrumental songs which while it isn't exactly what the fans would want, it is a way to make them able to continue to tour even as the band members age. I loved the 2017 lengthy shows, but I'd also be willing to see a more compact 20 song show if it meant Axl was in top form throughout. 

[jamillos]

We’ve been here before, but anyway: the age thing is obviously nonsense. Not that it doesn’t play any role whatsoever, but you don’t grow old within half a year. The way he sang in 2011 was similar to 2002 (not the same). So I have a question for all you ageists: how is it possible that he sang the way he did in 2001/02, and yet then he came back in 2006 (and 2010) where he sounded almost like the good ole raspy god from the 90s? 
The same would apply to 2016 as compared with Up Close And Personal or whatever the shit before. This case would suggest the vocal coach’s work, which he stated himself. But that still doesn’t explain the 2010/2011 difference. 
So I say, it was a vocal cords surgery. There used to be a post about it on some forum, but it disappeared quite quickly. 
Also, there is an “Axl’s voice” thread, don’t remember the exact name. 

[SAU3R]

3 hours ago, Smokin' Cigarettes said:

Age.  Time is undefeated.  Axl painted himself into a corner in his youth singing the way he did.

Agree to a certain extent. Also the way he used his voice on the UYI tour has made it worse for sure. He stated several times, that he could barely hear himself on stage and had to scream over the rest of the band. On some shows from 91 or 92 his voice sounds really unhealthy, he clearly wasn’t using the right technic.

Theres no way he’s ever gonna sound like 93, or 06, 2010 again. Even like 2016 is quite unlikely I fear 

Edited March 18, 2021 by SAU3R

[Tom2112]

It can't be blamed on age when he came out 5yrs later and ripped through a tour of AC/DC songs. It's lack of rehearsal, it's his weight it's not being motivated by the material... and I'd guess the lawsuits didn't help with motivation... maybe he was depressed?. It could also be that he had some sort of illness? but I find it hard to believe he'd be out touring if he was ill enough to sound that bad. Who knows? what we do know is the band members would still say "axl sounded great!" so that's good enough for me! Even Slash and duff say that line now, when Axl definitely does not sound great.

Edited March 18, 2021 by Tom2112

[F*ck Fear]

It could be anything, really.

I feel it's a combination of losing the ability to do it, and phoning it in for the payday.

[Rovim]

singing in that style is like going to the gym. If you stop for a long period of time it's going to be more difficult to achieve great results vocally. That, and Axl is not 25 anymore.

doesn't sound like he had surgery or damaged his vocal chords, but it's just a guess of course.

[Dean]

5 hours ago, rocknroll41 said:

Who’s A.lverson?

Yeah at the show I went to the middle section was clearly the weak link.

Good point about the lawsuits btw! He lost to both Azoff and Activision that year, correct? Also, wasn’t Azoff gonna write a book about Axl? Whatever happened to that?

Yeah, I think he was pinning his hopes on winning them both to potentially right all the wrongs involved with promotion for Chinese on a potential new release, but instead was forced to tour in order to recoup some of the money he parted with on fees etc. I also have it in my head that Azoff was responsible for him touring the States in 2011 due to something contractual, as Guns hadn’t played in the US, minus Rose Bar, in 5 years. I could be wrong on that though!

[Underhardy]

Not saying it’s true, but a popular theory in the past was the label rejecting CDII, apparently going to be self titled and a 2010 release. That is what could’ve killed his motivation and set him into autopilot 

[rocknroll41]

4 hours ago, Dean said:

Yeah, I think he was pinning his hopes on winning them both to potentially right all the wrongs involved with promotion for Chinese on a potential new release, but instead was forced to tour in order to recoup some of the money he parted with on fees etc. I also have it in my head that Azoff was responsible for him touring the States in 2011 due to something contractual, as Guns hadn’t played in the US, minus Rose Bar, in 5 years. I could be wrong on that though!

Axl actually confirmed in the interview he did with LA Times in late 2011 that the US tour was just because of the Azoff lawsuit, so you’re right on the money there!

[19AT5]

45 minutes ago, Underhardy said:

Not saying it’s true, but a popular theory in the past was the label rejecting CDII, apparently going to be self titled and a 2010 release. That is what could’ve killed his motivation and set him into autopilot 

Aaaaaaah I had never heard that before. But it would make sense. 

[Sydney Fan]

7 hours ago, jamillos said:

We’ve been here before, but anyway: the age thing is obviously nonsense. Not that it doesn’t play any role whatsoever, but you don’t grow old within half a year. The way he sang in 2011 was similar to 2002 (not the same). So I have a question for all you ageists: how is it possible that he sang the way he did in 2001/02, and yet then he came back in 2006 (and 2010) where he sounded almost like the good ole raspy god from the 90s? 
The same would apply to 2016 as compared with Up Close And Personal or whatever the shit before. This case would suggest the vocal coach’s work, which he stated himself. But that still doesn’t explain the 2010/2011 difference. 
So I say, it was a vocal cords surgery. There used to be a post about it on some forum, but it disappeared quite quickly. 
Also, there is an “Axl’s voice” thread, don’t remember the exact name. 

Easy , in 06 he was  thinner and fitter looking than 01. In 2010  he was back in shape, but not 06 thin.  The weight really must effect his singing. I think 2012 is when he went into autopilot mode due the lawsuits impacting on him.

Edited March 18, 2021 by Sydney Fan

[jamillos]

2 minutes ago, Sydney Fan said:

Easy , in 06 he was  thinner and fitter looking than 01. In 2010  he was back in shape, but not 06 thin.  The weight really must effect his singing. I think 2012 is when he went into autopilot mode due the lawsuits impacting on him.

I agree the autopilot mode must have had in impact, but the difference between 01 and 06 was so negligible there's no way this explanation (a few kilos here or there) could satisfy reason. It's still a mystery. Maybe he realized/admitted he's destroying his throat like this and it's not sustainable any longer... 

[Sydney Fan]

10 minutes ago, jamillos said:

I agree the autopilot mode must have had in impact, but the difference between 01 and 06 was so negligible there's no way this explanation (a few kilos here or there) could satisfy reason. It's still a mystery. Maybe he realized/admitted he's destroying his throat like this and it's not sustainable any longer... 

He was thinner in 06, i can see the weight loss in 06 compared to the early 00s show especially RIR. But 06 he sounded good, he was confident of CD being released that year and was  sounding and looking like he had a point to prove.