A nice metal song about the zombie apocalypse

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monkeymanx

New member
Here is a tune brought to you by Straight Jacket Sunday. This is a project I started with a couple friends. I'm still working on the mixes. Let me know if you like and what you think.

Just to note, "taking lives and eating brains" is what I'm saying at one point in case you wonder and start laughing.

Hell On Earth
 
This is a 'home' recording? This sounds pretty good! Nice spread and depth on guitars. Drums and bass sounded good too; good eq and balance. Vocals seems to sit on top just a bit, but I wouldn't know how to fix it - perhaps a little too dry? Vocals seems to be recorded in a way which faithfully represent the genre - I'm not sure how it's done but it's got that Godsmack vocal vibe done well. This is probably one of the better representations of this genre I've heard in this forum. So it makes me suspicious how much 'home' is really in this. :D
 
Man, I read "zombie apocalypse" and got all excited thinking it was gonna be some goregrind stuff.

Actually this isn't bad. There's a lot of metalcore influence here but it's not cookie cutter shit. I hear a faint resemblance to Acid Bath on the clean parts. As for the mix, sounds great on my headphones. Sounds even better on my monitors. I think the vocals sit well in the mix but I would have added a little delay on the clean parts to add depth. An unusual and interesting mix of genres. You guys may be onto something. Gore Metalcore maybe?
 
It is definitely done in my home. The vocals are meant to be more up front during the heavier parts. I could just dial up the reverb a bit more to set them back a bit, I just don't want to loose the aggression.

It's just metal. I'm not really sure which sub category it would fall into. Yea, I just have reverb going on the real clean vocals, I just didn't want to over crowd it with delay.

Thanks for the feedback.
 
I think it's pretty good. It's close to sounding "pro", but it has a midrange boxiness across the whole mix that holds it back from being truly rip your face off big. The highs aren't shiny and airy, and the lows don't exactly thump. The kicks don't hit me at all. They sound empty. The bass is there, but it doesn't have that clean low end that makes you poop your pants. Know what I'm saying? The levels are good though. Everything is there and present and nothing is romping all over anything else. Just get better space and clarity in the mix.

And kudos for the reasonable song length. I hate long drawn out metal songs. This was the perfect length. It ended before I was ready, which to me, is a good thing.
 
Greg, you hit it spot on. As far as the lows, I have the problem of mixing with 5" monitors, so I don't really get a good feel for bass until I do a mix down and run through my PC speakers with the sub. I'm not sure what is giving it the mid range boost, maybe the distorted guitars. I have to revisit this. This is my first recording with my new SM7B and I'm liking it for my voice. I'm a loud singer most of the time so my AT4040 didn't seem to being doing the job after all these years, so I finally decided it was time for a new microphone.
 
Fuck, an AT4040 is supposed to be pretty good.

I'm listening on 8" monitors in a well treated room, so yeah, the bass aint all there. They're not thumping.

Put up a better quality clip. I think soundclick is only 128 kb/s.
 
Yea, the 128 kbps might have something to do with it. I should just go get the newer Rokit 8's to replace my older version 5's. The AT4040 is actually really good and works great on many sources much like the AT4041 which I used to use for overheads before switching over to Vdrums. I'm going to revisit the mix tomorrow with some fresh ears. We are still waiting on our website to go up, then I can put up better quality MP3 files.
 
monkeymanx said:
Yea, the 128 kbps might have something to do with it. I should just go get the newer Rokit 8's to replace my older version 5's. The AT4040 is actually really good and works great on many sources much like the AT4041 which I used to use for overheads before switching over to Vdrums. I'm going to revisit the mix tomorrow with some fresh ears. We are still waiting on our website to go up, then I can put up better quality MP3 files.
Click to expand...

There's a jillion free MP3 hosting sites that will host big MP3's or even wavs so you can post em in here.

I've recently started using dropbox. Pretty cool little...whatever it is. You just drag files from your computer into a little box on your desktop and it gives you a link for public consumption.
 
Hey monkey - I'm always trying to learn what I can in here. I'd appreciate a little more info if you have time. Like: How much of this is just you vs. other players? A basic description of how stuff was recorded would be nice and maybe some insight into the mix technique used. Something that's this close to pro sounding and done at home deserves a little more elaboration on the who, what, how's, if you wouldn't mind. :D:D
 
Well, all the guitars are direct into a Presonus Firestudio Mobile. The Drums are Toontrack Superior 2 which are triggered from my Roland TD-9 vdrum kit. I use some free amp sims for my guitar sounds that are pretty damn good. If you google Poulin Le456, that is one of them and also Nick Crowe 7170. I use LeCab to load impulses that I bought from redwirez. Vocals are sung into my new SM7B by me. I play drums, bass, and guitar also. There are 2 other guitarists working with me on this project though and if we go live I plan on just singing and that is all.

I do all my stuff in the box. Right now I'm using the FabFilter plugs for most of my Compression, EQ and Limiting. I usually mix my drums first just to get a good sound and then kind of build off of that. I just love playing drums and love drum sounds, so sometimes my drums may be too loud and what not. I send all my different groups: Drums, Bass, Guitars, Vocals to there own faders and limit though just to tame them a tad. Then have my MB Comp at the end, a bit of EQ, and the limiter for volume.

Actually what I do is real basic I guess. It is all about getting used to what each instrument likes as far as compression and EQ and what sound you are looking for. Once you nail that, your all set. I've been home recording since I was about 16 or so, I'm almost 30 now. I started getting deep into the computer recording and mixing properly about 6 years ago. So, I've had some time to develop. You really have to keep at it though, every time I take a break, I feel like I'm coming back in cold but I end up warming up pretty quick. Hope this helps you out a bit.

O also, I double my vocals a lot. I do it myself, same with harmonies, I do them myself and usually avoid the machine. It always sounds more natural that way.
 
this rocks :) vocals and the verse sound like early Iced Earth - singer in the verse definately sounds liek Matt Barlow!
 
It sounds pretty good, not stuff that I like so much though. It doesn't really make me feel like it has anything to do with a zombie apocalypse. It reminds me of Disturbed or something. It sounds really good though.
 
The yelling vocals probably remind you of Disturbed. I guess it is somewhat similar. I thought it had good zombie apocalypse atmosphere to it. I know it isn't for everyone and one person's vision doesn't translate to everybody which is why we are all individuals, or some shit.

I never really listened to Iced Earth much. I remember just hearing one tune a buddy of mine had me check out a long time ago.

Thanks for the feedback.
 
It seemed to me like it had more of a mall core I'm going to cut myself and a tear drop will fall from my eye type vibe. I think it wasn't spooky sounding enough. Then again it may be a nice resident evil style zombie feel. Doesn't really have that creepy crawly end of the world vibe in my opinion. I'm not knocking it at all. It's good work.
 
Holy Hell,this is good, man!
All it needs to sound pro is a little polish and shine. Ever thought of having it mastered by an ME? Hope you post more of your stuff! :)
 
I guess it has more of a commercial vibe to it. It's semi high energy so it's definitely no whiny NIN or Marylin Manson stuff. I guess something like RE would be suitable, big fan of the games and movies especially since I have fond memories of getting suspended from school for a week as a high school freshman and somehow conned my grandparents into getting me it for the playstation LOL!

I'm broke so I can't really send it off to anybody. Also, I like doing everything myself. I have always been like that, it's just good to learn this stuff I guess. If I had a better sense of bass(i.e. bigger monitors or a sub) and a good room I could probably do a better job.

Thanks for the feedback guys.
 
Very cool. I highly recomend getting some good mons or decent cans; with a good bass drum and bass guitar, this would smoke. Thanks. :cool:
 
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