Size Matters: Koala-tative Measures of Sound-Source Cues from Marsupials to Extreme Metal Vocalists

Description

Dr. Eric Smialek presents results from ongoing, collaborations involving the University of Huddersfield (UK), the University of Utah’s Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, the University of Vienna’s Space for Interdisciplinary Experiments in Sound, and The Charismatic Voice YouTube channel. Beginning with a brief demonstration of metal vocals, Smialek shows how predatory snarls and animal threat-sounds transfer to the acoustics of death metal vocals. He further shows how degrees of inharmonicity and vowel archetypes distinguish different metal subgenres, facilitating multiple new explorations of this music. One new avenue involves compositional and rehearsal strategies for choirs of metal vocals such as those used by the Montreal-based Growlers Choir. By inductively synthesizing findings from multiple, cross-disciplinary fields, he reveals what zoological research on koalas and red deer bellows can teach us about the acoustics and cultural appeal of vocals in extreme metal music.

Period	22 Sept 2025
Held at	University of Utah, United States, Utah
Degree of Recognition	International