How To Sing Like Tom Araya (Here is How)
Tom Araya yells when it comes to singing, and after a while, his natural voice takes over.
His voice has a way of suiting his music perfectly, and it is so interesting that no one has his voice.
Tom Araya is a true metal vocalist; he is pretty awesome when it comes to singing; he has his style; he can sing very fast and scream so high that you might think your ears want to fall off.
To sing like Tom Araya, you will have to sing very fast and know how to scream when singing.
Steps Needed To Sing Like Tom Araya.

Having the ability to scream and remain in control takes talent and a lot of practice.
Without practising, you will end up ruining your vocal chord.
Some steps needed to sing like Tom Araya include:
- At the end of every song section, try out different vocal flairs like vocal fry or a little growling.
- Engage in healthy supported shouting and whispers.
- Make good use of your vibrato, do not be afraid of your vibrato.
- Do warm-up exercises for 10 to 30 minutes to be more confident and relaxed.
- Do cardio exercise to increase your lung capacity and your core strengthening to give you more support when you yell.
- Take a lot of warm water as cold water tend to constrict a singer’s voice. Always stay hydrated, as it tends to help your vocals.
- Eat a balanced diet and try to get more sleep.
What Voice Type Is Tom Araya?
Tom Araya voice type is Tenor with vocal range E2-C6.
What Makes Tom Araya’s Voice So Unique?
What makes his voice so unique is that his voice fits the type of music he creates.
Considering how very long he started using his voice for over 30 something years, his voice has held up pretty well.
Can Tom Araya Sing?
Yes. Tom Araya can hold his own down when it comes to singing. He is the lead singer of the slayer, and he made the band famous.
He is one of the forerunners of metal’s most iconic figures.
He has helped Slayer raise the bars high with a series of classic Albums like South of Heaven, Reign in blood, and Hell awaits.
Apart from singing, Tom Araya is also a Bass player; he plays Bass and sings simultaneously, and to me, that is no easy feat.
How Did Tom Araya Start Singing?
Tom Araya was inspired to pick up the Bass guitar at the age of eight; he was inspired by his older brother Cisco who was also a guitar player.
Araya and his older brother Cisco played songs by Rolling stones and the Beatles; these songs later significantly influenced Tom Araya’s music.
Araya’s older sister asked him to become a certified respiratory therapist, which the father insisted he did or find a job.
Araya had to enroll in the program for two years to become a respiratory therapist, learning about the ratio of air mixtures, how to draw blood, and to intubate.
This job as a respiratory therapist was what he later used to fund the bands 1983 debut album “Show No Mercy”.
In 1981, King Perry of Slayer approached Araya to join his b, and Slayer which Araya accepted.
He was denied permission when he requested one from his working place to go on the band’s first European tour in 1984, and he complained about how he was always called sporadically to come into work; he was threatened about terminating his job after he was always missing work and going into work when he pleases, and he replied them that he guessed he had been fired.
King perry and Araya was the two original members to remain in Slayer for the band’s entire career from 1981 to 2019.
The band was meant to launch the unholy alliance tour set to launch on the 6th of June. Still, it was later postponed to June 13, 2006, due to Araya’s gall bladder surgery and that he could not finish the vocals for the final six, a song included in the slayer album for 2006. ” Christ Illusion”.
In 2010, Araya had to undergo another surgery; this time, it was back surgery, so the band Slayer had to cancel another planned tour which was later rescheduled.
As a result of the surgery, Araya had to tamper with his aggressive headbanging and stage movement.
From 2018 to November 2019, The slayer embarked on a world tour that they termed “Final World your” after that, they dissolved the band Slayer.
Most of his inspirations for his lyrics stemmed from his interest in serial killers. He also wrote the lyrics of the song “Eyes of the insane” from the bands 2006 album “Christ illusions.” which won the Grammy award.
Here is an article I wrote on how to sing like Chad Kroeger
What Is Tom Araya Vocal Range?
Tom Araya’s vocal range is E2 to C6.
But towards the ending of the 80s, he started singing in the upper fourth/lower fifth octaves, staying away from the middle/upper fifth octaves.
Some songs in his high noted include:
- Aggressive perfector, post mortem, The final command with voice range(B2)
- Angel of death, Aggressive perfector, Angel of death etc. With voice range(Bb5)
- The Anti Christ, Black Magic, Cryonics, Chemical warfare etc. With voice range(A5).
- Fight till death, Tormentor with voice range(G5)
- Live undead with voice range(G#5)
- Haunting the chapel, The Anti Christ with voice range(F#5)
- Psychopathy red, chasing death with voice range(Eb5)
- Black magic with voice range (F#5)
- Angel of death, beauty through order, perversion of pain, playing with dolls, World painted blood etc. with voice range (C#5)
- C5
- B4
- Bb4
- A4
- G#4
- G4
On the low range tones, we have:
- Eb3 on (Cleanse the soul, deviance, exile, live undead, screaming from the sky, etc.)
- D3( perversion of pain)
- C#3(bitter peace, desire, when the stillness comes etc.)
- C3(Threshold, Gemini)
- B2(American, Desire)
- Bb2(Unit 731, Mandatory suicide etc.)
- A2(Skeleton of society, etc.)
- G#2( in the name of god)
- G2( Death head, dead skin mask)
- F#2( Human strain)
- E2( Seven faces)
What Is The Highest Note Araya Can Sing?
The highest note Araya sang was on Angel of death, with the note(C6).
Also check out this article I wrote on how to sing like Charlie Puth
What Are Some Classic Tom Araya Songs?
Some classic Tom Araya songs you can practice with include:
- Bloodline:
Bloodline was released in the year 2000, and it was composed by Tom Araya, Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King.
The song was taken from the Album Soundtrack to the Apocalypse.
The link to the song bloodline is below:
- Repentless:
Repentless is the final studio album by the American Thrash metal slayer.
The song is the only one recorded with their guitarist Jeff Hanneman; this was due to his death in 2013.
It was dated at no four on billboard 200, it also topped the charts in Germany, and it has received generally positive reviews even from critics.
The link to relentless is below:
- Angel of Death:
Angel of death was gotten from Slayer’s 1986 Album “Reign in blood”. The song was used as their opening track.
Jeff Hanneman wrote the song.
Angel of death talks about the Nazi physicians human experiments on Auschwitz concentration camp during the second world war.
The song was released on the 7th of October 1986 with thrash metal as the genre.
Angel of death has been highly influential in thrash metal development. The song caused an outrage amongst the survivors of the Holocaust, their family and also the general public.
The song has led to the band being accused of being Nazi sympathisers and also drew accusations of the band being racist, which the band vigorously denied.
The song has remained as one of the live favourites and has been sung live on all of their live albums.
The link to the song Angel of death is below:
Conclusion:
Tom Araya of the Slayer, with his unique voice and his ability to vividly depict images and sing about topics that people find controversial, has helped in making the band what it is today.
Tom Araya was not only a vocalist in the band but also a bassist of the metal band.
With Tom Araya’s Influence in the Slayer band, the band is considered thrash metal.
Araya said the band makes use of satanic imagery to scare people;
He can write songs relating to real-life scenarios people usually try to brush under the carpet.
Additionally, the song eyes of the insane that won a Grammys award was written by Tom Araya, and he said he was inspired by casualties of war and how soldiers were coping with both the physical and the psychological trauma.