What should no rock or metal vocalist ever do before going onstage?

We asked the vocalists of I Prevail, Killswitch Engage, PeelingFlesh, Armored Saint, Badflower, ERRA, Exodus, Filter, From Ashes to New, Shadow of Intent, The Devil Wears Prada, The Funeral Portrait, and GWAR and discovered their insights!

All of these frontmen were featured in our 2025 season of How I Learned to Sing and How I Learned to Scream (depending on their vocal style), which was filmed at this year’s Sonic Temple festival in Ohio.

In the video compilation below, we’ve focused on our question regarding what a singer should avoid doing before going onstage.

This is one of several questions we posed to each of our guests, with traditional episodes beginning with a memory of the first time they heard harsh/extreme vocals. From there, we navigate through their journey to the present day, discussing their initial attempts at screaming, challenges with high or low screams, how their voice held up on their first tour, dos and don’ts before and after a show, and for the extreme vocalists, their perspective on cupping the mic.

READ MORE: How Peelingflesh’s Damonteal Harris Learned to Scream

We know many of you are in bands too; if you’re a vocalist, you may want to take note of the advice from these professionals.

Some key pieces of advice include avoiding scorching your throat with your old high school dab rig (PeelingFlesh’s Damonteal Harris), no drinking wine (The Devil Wears Prada’s Mike Hranica), and definitely no cocaine (Armored Saint’s John Bush).

Several of these vocalists even shared some tips on what you should do before a show!

Watch the full video below to learn more.

Singers! Don’t Do THIS Before Going Onstage