Shredding Bats Can Master the Growls of Death Metal

Scientists discovered Death Metal Growlers and throat singers use the same unique vocal range as the beloved nocturnal bat. 

It happened several years ago in a study at the University of South Denmark. In November of 2022, the research was published in a subsidiary of the PLOS Biology Journal, a scientific journal reviewed by peers and established in 2003. According to the analysis, bats can extend the lower spectrum of their vocal range to hit seven octaves, and that lower range is where the sound sits in a comparable range to the technique used by throat singers and death metal vocalists. 

The general range of octave capability for humans, if they can hit it, is four. Maria Carey is an example. There are actually extraordinary cases where singers have hit six. More often these are men, due to their use of vocal fry and falsetto techniques. Mike Patton of Faith No More can comfortably hit a full six octaves, no problem. 

In humans, the ability to reach a low range substantial for throat singing is due to ventricular folds that can make contact with the vocal fold and build up the mass of vibrating structures covering the larynx. Vocal membranes and ventricle folds generate distinctly different tones. Bats, however, do not seem to use the two separate sections of the larynx together in order to make the sound. They can simply create social calls in the lower section of their larynx without separate membranes or folds touching each other. In other words, they use the inner larynx. The covering membranes, both vocal and ventricle, do not play a part in composing the sound. 

Why do bats even use different octave ranges at all?

The higher frequencies are used to aid them in their navigation through echolocation and find prey, while they use their lower frequency range to communicate with each other. Lower frequencies just don’t work well during hunting because echoes coming from insect sized targets are too weak.

Lower frequencies travel further, so they can communicate longer distances at night. They’re also stronger. Throat singers and some Death Metal vocalists are actually producing two tones at once, due to the touching of two different spaces of membrane surrounding the larynx. This creates the rumbling drone we all recognize. It’s an art.