metal in progress

[Wireneck]

I tossed this together this week just screwing around after work. This is the first song that ive done completely by myself (without input from other band members and stuff) in quite a few years. This is just a rough skeleton to hold my ideas together untill i can find a real drummer to work on this with.
Im not specifically looking for mix comments or anything but i guess if you have any ideas on the song or anything toss them my way. Its pretty open at this point.
BTW.. It probably sounds like I overplayed guitar-wise but thats usually how i work in the beginning stages. I fill up everything and once i get some vocals and other stuff in the mix i go in and weed out whats too overpowering.
Anyhow , i was having a hard time getting into the canned drums and ive been pretty down since my band broke up. I felt like this was the first step torwards something new for me, so i decided i would post what ive got so far. Ok enough talking

"Burying your dead"
http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/...d=3299&alid=-1

[Qwerty]

Hi there,

Bummer about your band. Don't worry with chops like yours - you shouldn't have trouble finding some talented folk to hook up with. Rock on.

I like big walls of sound This is good to my ears.

- That triplet change @ 0:19 and the section 1:06-1:18 is superb rhythmically.
- Change at 0:30 is good, maybe bring the lead up a tad
- I would mix your lead a little meatier, maybe a short, short, short delay to float it over the music a bit more?
- The clean bit was a little too clean for me, just seemed to appear from nowhere a little too strangely for me. I think it was an acoustic ouch as opposed to a musical one.

Overall I guess your mix isn't polished to a final degree of perfection, but it does sound better if you roll in some more air in the highs - I understand that this is a work in progress though.

Good job.

Q.

[Wireneck]

thanks for the listen. Im glad that you didn't find it too boring rhythmically. I programmed the drums in fruity loops so i had to stay within one time signature (im still using an older version). That was probably the most limiting part about working with the programmed drums.
The clean part is very abrubt because i chopped the drums out of that section. I originally had it where the drums were already going during that part, if you listen you can barely hear them in the background. Im sure when i redo this with a real drummer there will be a little more of a "lead in" into that section and im sure the guitars will hold over a little so its not so abrubt. I just did all this on 8 tracks and didn't feel like getting too picky for a krappy demo with canned drums lol. Thanks again for listening

[Toki987]

very intense ideas. I like the development. The guitars sound really nice and can be fattened when you take it fruition. I appreciate your touch.

[Wireneck]

i was hoping someone would comment on the guitars. I usually use a blend of micing my amp and then a DI track using the pod for clarity. This is the first recording that I didn't do any DI tracks. Thanks for the listen

[cellardweller]

You've inspired me to go home and practice guitar.

I like your style, liked the song a lot. Very kewl.

I may have to give fruity loops a try, it sounds better than my drum machine... do they have a trial version and if so how limited is it? Any idea how much the newest fruity costs?

Don't be bummed, you should have no trouble hooking up with other musicians (for how long though, noone can tell).

[skids]

Good stuff. I think this could work into a great song. The guitars are very cool. You did a good job with the drums. I liked the patterns.

Things could use a little more high end and maybe some low/mid cuts. Just thoughts. Very nice work! Good luck finding a new band.

[FattMusiek]

This was arranged VERY well, Wireneck. I'm eagerly awaiting the version with tracked drums . The guitars sound great, also.

Sorry for the lame reply, about to go out...

[Wireneck]

cellardweller-
"You've inspired me to go home and practice guitar" Thanks man, i do what i can. I have a friend who makes me look like total krap when it comes to guitar, it keeps me in check. Im not really out to be a shredder or anything, i just have an agressive style i guess playing wise.
Im sure fruity loops has a trial version but ive never used it. I got the version im using off a friend who no longer needed it. The newest version which im planning on picking up once i get some extra cash runs from about $99-150 depending on what features you get.
Finding musicians wouldnt be that big of a deal but my location sucks at this point. I know only 3 people who have even heard of the bands i listen to. Its mainly jam type band stuff around here (phish, wide spread panic, stuff like that, YIKES! lol)

Skids- thanks for the listen.

FattMusiek- hopefully you wont have to wait too long for a real version of this song. I have a friend who is an incredible drummer. Im going to send him this demo plus some others once they are ready and see about getting him to do some work on this stuff. Thanks for the listen

[TexRoadkill]

Sounds cool. Aren't you a little young to be playing 80's shred metal?

[Outlaws]

Its good. I don't listen to much metal anymore but I would listen to that. The vocals will be the make or break for me.

The one thing I noticed is that even though I love abrupt changes in styles during the song, I think you neeed to clean that one up. And when the distortion kicks back in it sounds like something from an old Ozzy record. I can't quite place it, but it sounds like 9/10ths of a riff with your own ending.

Good job on the recording sound too. Anyone who is into the underground should appreciate the sound quality...but I've been out of the scene too long to know how far indie musics recording quality has come.

[Outlaws]

Well now that I read all the posts......

I didn't even notice it was a drum machine......I guess its loops so its not really a machine since it was more of a sample....but it was fine for me, I honestly didn't even notice.

I don't think I would say you were "shredding". Sounded more like you were trying to be musical that just throwing in all the notes that you could fit.

[Wireneck]

Tex- i listen to alot of stuff that i guess has elements of 80s shred (In Flames, Emperor, Borknagar, Soilwork, Opeth) take your pick. I never could get into the "i play bass on a guitar thats tuned to Low B" phase that everyone in my age group seemed to flock to. Don't get me wrong i love alot of the early 90s rock that was hardly technical (nirvana, stone temple pilots, alice in chains) but im just more into the agressive/more technical stuff when it comes to playing. Ok so i play a few guitar leads, SHOOT ME haha.
Outlaws- what exactly do you mean by abrubt changes in styles? It all seemed pretty coherent to me lol. Can you be more specific? If you can figure out which ozzy song let me know, i have alot of the old randy rhoads albums but it doesn't sound like anything that i remember.

"I don't think I would say you were "shredding". Sounded more like you were trying to be musical that just throwing in all the notes that you could fit."
Yeah i don't think im quite capable of full out shred just yet. I try and make it as musical as possible. Once i get some vocals ill know what areas not to crowd with guitar and what not. Thanks for the listen.

[M.Brane]

Wish I could just "toss something together", and have it come out this good.

Your playing is top-shelf, and I dig your arrangements too.

The drums are OK for canned, though a bit lacking on the bottom end.

I like your guitar sounds better without the POD.

[Wireneck]

i just noticed the lack of low end on the ride to work this morning. There wasn't much kick coming through my subwoofer. Oh well for a demo it should suffice.
I think i like my guitars better without the POD as well. Most of my recording is done late at night so its a little hard to crank a marshall stack. (No neighbors but my older brother who i live with wouldn't like it too much). I guess im going to have to go with the "live guitar" a little more in the future.

"Wish I could just "toss something together", and have it come out this good."

I wish i could find a drummer so I wouldn't have to try and figure out how to make these songs make sense lol. Ive got loads of riffs but alot of them are in odd time signatures (which i can't even count, i can't count any time signatures now that i think about it lol ) so i have no clue what to do on the drum end. Ive got to get out of this town. Sorry for the rant haha.

[Outlaws]

Wireneck,

Its when the distortion stops and the clean comes in......just didn't seem that "smooth"....thats just me though.


I honestly can't think of the album or song...I don't even know that it is Ozzy...it just sound familiar. Noone else has said anything thought I wouldn't wrooy too much.

[Bulls Hit]

Haven't read the other posts yet.
Hard to get into the intro, now the other guitar comes in and it's great. Really rocks,good tone, transition into and out of the quiet part a bit sudden, 2nd listen, nice work on the toms, like the lead melody over the rythym, tight guitar, definately has that metal sound, great playing on the twin guitars - it is 2 guitars right?
It would be good with vocals

[Sonixx]

cool... i like it...

maybe consider:

bring up the guitar solo that's starts at 1:25

the bass solo is cool but honky...

not enough kick for me... but my taste

[Wireneck]

outlaws- i know what you mean about the clean part. I created that section after i already had the drums programmed. I basically just cut them out during that section. It is very abrubt, i intend to work out a smoother transition when i get some real drums going.
Bullshit-see above post concerning the quiet part.

"it is 2 guitars right?" which part are you thinking about? For the most part its just rhythm left and right and one lead. Thanks for listening

Sonixx- "the bass solo is cool but honky..." Where is the bass solo lol? I had to mix the drums in fruity loops on my computer speakers, once i transferred them to my adat i couldn't adjust them. The kick prob could have used some more volume and low end. Oh well this is just a scratch track. Thanks for the listen man.

[HomeRec]

Originally posted by TexRoadkill
Sounds cool. Aren't you a little young to be playing 80's shred metal?

You're never to young or old to SHRED!!!!!! (Insert whipping riff and generic heavy metal hand gesture here)

Cool song... agree in spades with the commentary on the acoustic drop... kind of like flinging yourself into the Grand Canyon, hitting a cartoon mattress and bouncing up to the other side. Love to hear it when you have the drums fully tracked.

Wish you were in my area... love to have you in the band!

Keep up the good work, and keep on shreddin' like a politician!

[cellardweller]

Originally posted by HomeRec
You're never to young or old to SHRED!!!!!! (Insert whipping riff and generic heavy metal hand gesture here)

Cool song... agree in spades with the commentary on the acoustic drop... kind of like flinging yourself into the Grand Canyon, hitting a cartoon mattress and bouncing up to the other side. Love to hear it when you have the drums fully tracked.

Wish you were in my area... love to have you in the band!

Keep up the good work, and keep on shreddin' like a politician!

DOUBLE GENERIC HEAVY METAL HAND GESTURE

To Emperor, In Flames, and Opeth.



Don't 'dis the horns...

[Sonixx]

Originally posted by Wireneck
...Sonixx- "the bass solo is cool but honky..." Where is the bass solo lol? ...

LOL...
I thought it was a Bass played in higher registers (at ~1:55)... but after another listen it hear the guitar. The highs are really cut, though. your intent I guess...

[Wireneck]

HomeRec- what area are you in ? Don't worry about me keeping up the shred. All i do is play guitar.
CellarDweller-too bad Emperor called it quits before i had a chance to see them live. They were the masters of their genre in my opinion.
Sonixx- i can see how you could mistake that guitar for a bass. Im not really sure what my intent was lol, i was just trying to throw my ideas together so i could get them on tape.

Thanks everyone for listening

[HomeRec]

Originally posted by Wireneck
HomeRec- what area are you in ? Don't worry about me keeping up the shred. All i do is play guitar.

I'm up in the good ol' Northeast. If you want, check out "Apropos" either here or here. It isn't as heavy as your stuff, but the solo in the middle contains a classic shredder-style riff.

Thanks everyone for listening

Thanks for posting!

P.S. - "Mistress Carrie Theme Song" is also a shredding song... no solo, though. It's on both the above sites as well.

P.P.S. - If you want a couple of cool, obscure speed metal bands, check out Mordred and Forced Entry. Both are long out of print, though, so they may be tough to find except on EBay.

[lost studios]

You shred some brutal fuckin metal man!!! Nice guitar chops!