Metal Sludge Gossip Board

Which of these aging singers sounds the best in live concerts these days ?

Rob Halford
Klaus Meine
Axl Rose
Sammy Hagar
Mick Jagger
Paul McCartney
James Hetfield
Bruce Dickinson
Billy Joel
Elton John

Rob B+ in fun
Scorpions guy A in fun
Axl A in fun
Sammy don’t care
Mick rather be at Jackyl 2 nights coming soon OC and Hollywood!
Paul he always looks stupid
James is almost awful now
Bruce glad he went to salon for last show I saw
Billy seen him enough I’m bored with him
Elton seen him a bunch.. in Vegas SD LA for decades

I’ve only seen McCartney, Halford and Dickinson.
I’d rate them in the order I’ve listed.

Axl Rose
Sammy Hagar
Mick Jagger
Paul McCartney
James Hetfield
Billy Joel
Elton John


I’ve seen each of these fellas perform at least once in the past five-ish years and picked James, but they’re all performing admirably for their ages and ranges.

Sammy sounded great at the Metallica charity gig I saw in December. And 77. Goddamn.

Hetfield -Same range he ever had
Hagar -Almost same range he ever had
Bruce Bruce -Shying away from a couple of the top notes, but still strong

EyeDocOfRock wrote: ↑Tue Feb 11, 2025 7:18 pm Which of these aging singers sounds the best in live concerts these days ?

Paul McCartney

Paul McCratney is not a singer. He's a fuckin bassist.

Voted for Klaus, but Jagger/Hetfield are up there too.

BernieTaupson wrote: ↑Wed Feb 12, 2025 2:04 am

rubysdad wrote: ↑Tue Feb 11, 2025 8:14 pm I’ve only seen McCartney, Halford and Dickinson.
I’d rate them in the order I’ve listed.

You can’t have seen McCartney in the last ten or fifteen years because he sounds like a warbling record that’s been left out in the sun.

It was in 2017, my memory is he sounded great.
Only time I’ve seen him, and have never watched a vid of the show.
I’ve made that mistake before, good way to ruin a memory.

Paul McCartney doesn't sound great, but he's still Paul McCartney, and he get a deserved pass because he's out there doing it with real vocals, on his feet for a nearly 3 hour show at 80+ years old. He would definitely be toward the bottom of this list, but I'll go see him any chance I get.

Mickey Thomas seems as good as ever. He’s 75.Stays in good shape. I’m seeing them late March

Hagar still sounds good

That much love for Hagar? On this forum?

I agree, but just surprised.

Honorable mention for Robin Zander. The past few years have seen his high register tapering off but he still delivers.

Saw Halford with fake Priest 2015-ish. Could sing but sounded like shit. Still sounds good on the records.

Saw Hagar a few month ago - he's lost a couple notes from his range, but otherwise sounds great. Best "older" singer I've ever heard live.

Axl on the Not in this Lifetime tour was better than expected, but still a shadow of what he once was. That ACDC tour was his last hurrah/

Honorable mention - Ozzy. He's been a walking corpse since 2005 or so, but he still sounds good. Saw him on that last Sabbath US tour and his voice was great.