I need some opinions on this very important mix.

[metalhead28]

Yesterday was the first time I've been able to work on this mix for a while. These are my former bandmates, and the drummer who was a dear friend of mine passed away suddenly a couple weeks ago during a show.

Anyway, all the drums were thankfully finished, and most everything else is finished by now and this is my first fresh attempt at a mix even though it is pretty hard for me to listen to still.

In short, I really want this record to sound as good as I can make it so I'm looking for all the help I can get. I'm even considering sending this record off for a professional mastering as a gift to the band.

So unleash your opinions on this mix. There is still a missing clean guitar intro, so ignore the open space in the beginning.

The guys were digging the guitars on my monitors, but I'm afraid that they may be a little too boxy sounding on other systems. Basically, I'm just really second guessing myself on every aspect of this thing. I need some help.

Thanks in advance.

www.themetallab.com/files/LTR.mp3

[Dogman]

Bum deal man....

Guitars sound great....they might be a bit loud, as they are drowning out the drums somewhat. Maybe drop them down a db or two, and see how they sit. I don't want to say they're boxxy, but they seem to sit atop the drums and bass. Just a bit. Vocals smoke....you might have to adjust them if you adjust the guitars.

That's what I have to offer...hope you get this how you want man....

[zacanger]

Great song. Might want to bring up the snare just a tad, and OHs down just a bit as well.

[P-J]

I'm rather liking this. Right up my street.

Defo right about the overheads though, the drums have a little bit too much air there, and one of the riffs sounds like it's been lifted from 'Unholy Confessions' by Avenged Sevenfold.

All in all though, it's a great listen, great progressions there too. One for my MP3 player if that's ok

Sorry to hear about the drummer, that stuff is part of life but it still sucks :/

[metalhead28]

I appreciate the opinions everyone.

P-J, I've never listened to Avenged Sevenfold, and I'm pretty sure they don't either - but I will certainly make fun of them for it anyway.

Thanks!

[XLR]

Very sorry about the death of your friend. Much respect for approaching this mix with so much care.

The guitar performance and tone are beautiful.

Snare and cymbals sound very good. Perhaps boost kick and low toms a bit relative to the gtrs.

I like the rich ballsy gtr tone. It could maybe have a dB more 5 kHz. Sounds like maybe the rhythm gtr has a bit too much low end, getting in the way of the low end of the drumset.

Vocal could come up a dB.

A break of a couple seconds with a bit of solo drumset somewhere in it would sound great to me, but then, I'm a novice in this style.

Whatever changes are made, it's a good listen as is.

[metalhead28]

Originally Posted by Timothy Lawler

Very sorry about the death of your friend. Much respect for approaching this mix with so much care.

The guitar performance and tone are beautiful.

Snare and cymbals sound very good. Perhaps boost kick and low toms a bit relative to the gtrs.

I like the rich ballsy gtr tone. It could maybe have a dB more 5 kHz. Sounds like maybe the rhythm gtr has a bit too much low end, getting in the way of the low end of the drumset.

Vocal could come up a dB.

A break of a couple seconds with a bit of solo drumset somewhere in it would sound great to me, but then, I'm a novice in this style.

Whatever changes are made, it's a good listen as is.

Thanks alot Tim, and I will heed your advice.
They actually do provide several breaks in their songs for solo drum fills, just not this one. I like that because I really get a chance to help make my friend's performance shine.
I'll probably end up bringing the guitar down a bit compared to this...I don't want it to dominate the drums.

Thanks again.

[Mistral]

Sorry if this is too personal a question, but do you mind mentioning how he died during a show?

Song sounds good to me, as it's been mentioned the guitars are kind of overdominating, especially in the beginning.

He was a good drummer.

I wouldn't mind some more kick, and to me it kind of lacks some of that ballsy low end I like to hear. Makes it seem mid heavy.

[metalhead28]

Originally Posted by Mistral

Sorry if this is too personal a question, but do you mind mentioning how he died during a show?

Song sounds good to me, as it's been mentioned the guitars are kind of overdominating, especially in the beginning.

He was a good drummer.

I wouldn't mind some more kick, and to me it kind of lacks some of that ballsy low end I like to hear. Makes it seem mid heavy.

No problem.
He had a problem with potasium in his body, not exactly a potasium deficiency - something more complicated - and a history of seizures related to that. We thought he had a good handle on it, and he had not had a seizure for a long time. Unfortunately, he had a severe seizure during the set and collapsed on his kit, unconscious. His heart stopped at some point I believe on the way to the hospital. They were never able to revive him.
He had just mentioned feeling a little off before the show, but that he was still ready to go on. We were all blindsided by it. He was only 22.

Anyway, thanks for the listen and the comments.

[Mistral]

That really blows.

Best of luck with the mix, do him proud.

[XLR]

Originally Posted by Mistral

That really blows.

Agreed. I've been very close to musicians I've worked with. It's a strong bond. More like losing a brother or sister.

[metalhead28]

Originally Posted by Timothy Lawler

Agreed. I've been very close to musicians I've worked with. It's a strong bond. More like losing a brother or sister.

Amen to that.

The nice thing is that this past weekend I rejoined the band to help them play a short acoustic set as a memorial show for our friend. They already had the show booked and rather than cancel it they decided to do this instead.

It was their death metal songs (sans vocals of course) along with a single cover tune played on a couple acoustic guitars, a mandolin, an electric bass and a keyboard using some nice string sounds. The song above was one of them, and it translated pretty well. Anyway, it gave us all a good sense of closure I suppose.

[zed32]

i'm sorry to hear about your friend. 22 is way too young.



cool tune dude. i hear what Dogman's saying about the guitars on the intro, but during the vocal part everything sits pretty nice. it could probably use more kick & snare though, IMHO.

well i hate to break it to you, but yeah dude the part right after the intro at 1:09 sounds exactly like the beginning of Unholy Confessions (from the 2003 Avenged Sevenfold album 'Waking The Fallen'). you should really take a listen to that song and check the similarity. PM me if you wanna hear the song in question...

[rayc]

Yeah, the cymbals are pretty loud & fizzy.
The bass could use a little more definition ans a bit of bottom.
The intro, sans clean git, sounds pretty good.
Could be worth getting the mastering done if you want the results be a lasting momento.

[metalhead28]

Thanks for the comments everybody.

And holy crap, that is only about 1% different than that Avenged Sevenfold riff. I had a listen on their myspace page. I'm sure it wasn't a conscious rip-off. I know their guitar player has been writing riffs in that vein for years - it can be hard to not resemble something from someone else - but yeah that is pretty obvious.

I think Avenged Sevenfold probably stole it from a Sweedish death metal band anyway.

By the way, this is an alternate mix with a little EQ on the guitars and some level changes. A little more effect on the guitar solo. I think I like it better.

www.themetallab.com/files/LTR2.mp3

[Microfiction]

Really sorry to hear about your friend...


Mix sounds good... Bass drum is too clicky for my liking though... I'd personally give it some more low end, more power... might bring the snare up a tiny bit as well, along with the bass. I still think guitars in the intro are a bit too loud.

Good work though.

[metalhead28]

Thanks Microfiction, I appreciate the advice.

[ecktronic]

Sounds cool.
Nice guitar work, but they sound pretty boxy to me. They caught my ear straight away as something not quite right.

I think the vocals stick out too much at times which kills the guitar power. Id use volume automation.

Good stuff, nice break down with the clean guitars sounding real nice
Eck

[guitarboi89]

Sorry to hear that, good drummers are hard to come by and good friends much harder. The mix sounds great although i would prefer less click in the bass drum (but its not really my genre). I would say definately get it mastered, its not gonna be a waste.

[Supercreep]

The mix sounds great, man. I can hear all the instruments clearly.



Well - perhaps the lead guitar can come up a little bit.

You're doing your buddy right.

-C

[metalhead28]

Another alternate mix with much different guitars and a couple other changes.

www.themetallab.com/files/LTR3.mp3


Thanks for the feedback everyone.

[zacanger]

Sweet. I didn't keep the other mixes on my computer, but did you do something with the snare?

[zed32]

Originally Posted by metalhead28

Another alternate mix with much different guitars and a couple other changes.

www.themetallab.com/files/LTR3.mp3


Thanks for the feedback everyone.

dude, love the intro guitars on this one. HUGE sound. and the snare pops through much better. i like the clicky snare too. the vox might be a bit too loud? or maybe bring up the guitars a bit, they seem to be slightly drowned out by the vox, but it could just be me and my crappy monitors. excellent work though. i love the breakdown with the harmonized guitar, and the solo has a lot of feeling in it too. this song is really well put together, a fitting tribute for sure. keep up the good work man.

[metalhead28]

Thanks guys.

I believe I turned up the snare just a tad, and the change in the guitars made it sound a little different.

Thanks again for the feedback. I'm waiting for another sit down with the band so I can get their impressions now. And it looks like I will definitely be getting this mastered....I'm thinking of going with our own Massive Mastering...woot!

[ecktronic]

Yeah guitars sound better.
They sound bigger also im sure. Is that just 2 guitars panned full?

Go get it mastered.

Eck