Stephen Fredrick

Stephen Fredrick — American vocalist — works in the progressive and melodic metal circuit of the United States. American progressive metal has characteristics distinct from the European. It was born on the west coast and in the northeast of the United States, with Queensrÿche, Fates Warning and Dream Theater, and developed a vocabulary of its own: long structures, irregular metres and vocals favouring range and control over raw power. Singing in that format requires competences that are not those of European power metal. The material has fewer open choruses and more melodic lines running across irregular bars — which means the singer has to count internally structures that do not resolve where the ear expects. It is a genre demanding preparation and rarely reaching a mass audience. American bands in the style keep long careers on a loyal, specialist listener base, and the circuit's singers work in several projects over time, following wherever there is material to record.