Darker Days.

[RAMI]

Re-mixing older tunes from a resurrected hard drive. Some of them are just re-mixes. Others, I re-tracked some things. This one has re-tracked/re-written vocals.

Tell me how it sounds, mofos:

DARKER DAYS

Darker Days (words and music by RAMI)

Some days it's anything but easy
To keep my fist out of everyone's nose
One day I'm going to shoot the TV
Sit back and watch it explode
Stand back leave me lying where you found me
Passed out french kissing the floor

Chorus
I feel the clock running down
I keep falling on darker days

I realize this is utterly ridiculous
Some nights I dream of waking up in a sack
Got to find some way to get rid of this
Help me get this monkey off my back

Chorus
I feel the clock running down
I keep falling on darker days

So hard when you're living with the enemy
Live and die a little more each day
Feels like I'm always up against ten of me
These mother fuckers are all insane

Chorus
I feel the clock running down
I keep falling on darker days
I feel the clock running down
I keep falling on darker days

 

[rayc]

Classic RAMI tones.
Absolutely no nits from me. Vox/harmonies sound great.
Lyrics are cynical and world weary - cool.
Bass has definition and BOTTOM end.
Drums - snare suits the track, kick kicks ...
Tight and powerful.

 

[RAMI]

Thanx a lot Ray.

In the bass break, I added this:

Massey Plugins Inc.

I'm not usually one for "tape emulators", "analog blah blah" plug-ins. But I found this just gave the bass the right amount of grit. I only applied it in the bass break in the middle, not throughout the whole song.

 

[FoulPhil]

It's pretty cool dawg. Real tight bro

 

[Schwarzenyaeger]

Tighter than a nun's count.

I can definitely hear how our collab took you out of your usual style when I listen to this. This is where you really shine. I'm not knocking you, just sayin'

I'm not a huge fan of widely panned cymbals myself. The hat on the right could come in a bit more. I personally would have made the guitars a lot fatter in the chorus. Give them a heavy chug.

 

[RAMI]

It's pretty cool dawg. Real tight bro

Thanx alot, man. You don't really HAVE to say that, you know?

Tighter than a nun's count.

...on the c**t of 4.

I can definitely hear how our collab took you out of your usual style when I listen to this. This is where you really shine. I'm not knocking you, just sayin'

I know exactly what you're saying. The Ozzy tune is just not something I ever would have thought of doing on my own. Hey, I'm glad I got my boundaries pushed a little.

I'm not a huge fan of widely panned cymbals myself. The hat on the right could come in a bit more. I personally would have made the guitars a lot fatter in the chorus. Give them a heavy chug.

Thanx, I'll listen with all that in mind next time I listen to this. You may be right, I may be crazy.

 

[Schwarzenyaeger]

Our next thing will be more along these lines, you'll see

 

[StuGort]

Ya...tight!

The guitars are leading because of the dry-ish tone and the volume. If that's a tone you need then putting them back would set them better imo. You could also add a tiny bit of slapback to them.

Is the last note of the theme guitar lick edited to end that way...or was it played that way and then edited to eliminate the noise floor? My ears wanted that note to trail off.

This is nicely edited. I looped it about ten times now. Very clean.

 

[RAMI]

Ya...tight!

The guitars are leading because of the dry tone and volume. If that's a tone you need then putting them back would set them better imo. You could also add a tiny bit of slapback to them.

Is the last note of the theme guitar lick edited to end that way...or was it played that way and then edited to eliminate the noise floor? My ears wanted that note to trail off.

This is nicely edited.

Thanx a lot. I'm not sure what you mean by your last question. Do you mean the last note of the song, or the last note of that riff every time it happens? Either way, I didn't really do much creative editing as far as I can remember. This is pretty much how I played everything. I can't remember every detail though, so there is a possibility that I edited something to get rid of a trailing buzz or something, but I really couldn't tell you at this point.

 

[DM60]

I don't have any mix comments other than, really nice.

On a production note, I think this type of song the vocals could have used some effects and you gotten away with. When you come out of fallen on darker days, you could have put some kind of spoken voice, to repeat that line right before going into the verse. Because of the theme, and to spruce it up, you have a lot of room to really play with the song. Like a voice talking to himself in frustration, in the background coming out in between singing vocals.

Just throwing ideas out. Good stuff.

 

[RAMI]

I don't have any mix comments other than, really nice.

On a production note, I think this type of song the vocals could have used some effects and you gotten away with. When you come out of fallen on darker days, you could have put some kind of spoken voice, to repeat that line right before going into the verse. Because of the theme, and to spruce it up, you have a lot of room to really play with the song. Like a voice talking to himself in frustration, in the background coming out in between singing vocals.

Just throwing ideas out. Good stuff.

Thanx a lot DM. I love ideas like that. I'll definitely not disregard that. Sometimes you get so immersed in a song that it becomes a whole "forest and trees" thing. I never would have thought of something like that. I'll keep it in mind for sure. Thanx dude.

 

[Btyre2013]

sounds really good rami! I'm liking how clean it sounds, very tight in the bass

 

[StuGort]

Thanx a lot. I'm not sure what you mean by your last question. Do you mean the last note of the song, or the last note of that riff every time it happens? Either way, I didn't really do much creative editing as far as I can remember. This is pretty much how I played everything.

That riff...each time it happens. My ear wants something to sustain through that gap. The bass or a cymbal could do it too but it sounds edited when everything goes silent instantly. It certainly is an accurate performance.

I really like the vocal on this. The harmony on that vocal is powerful and drives the feel in that section. I want it louder with tad less somewhere around 2500hz.

 

[RAMI]

That riff...each time it happens. My ear wants something to sustain through that gap. The bass or a cymbal could do it too but it sounds edited when everything goes silent instantly. It certainly is an accurate performance.

Ah, I see. Yeah, no I just played that like that. I want it to be a pretty abrupt stop. Gives it some tension or something.

I really like the vocal on this. The harmony on that vocal is powerful and drives the feel in that section. I want it louder with tad less somewhere around 2500hz.

Thanx a lot Stu. I'll try bringing them up next time I re-mix this.

 

[RAMI]

sounds really good rami! I'm liking how clean it sounds, very tight in the bass

Thanx a lot, B.

 

[Armistice]

That riff...each time it happens. My ear wants something to sustain through that gap. The bass or a cymbal could do it too but it sounds edited when everything goes silent instantly. It certainly is an accurate performance.

I had that thought the first time I heard the riff, then after that it was clearly an intentional thing... for tension or something... and I was expecting it, so it worked as intended, I thought.

Nice mix, nice tune, as always RAMI... ya godamn consistent bastid!!!

Thought the BVs really worked well, and overall, tight as, and dry as... as expected in a RAMI tune. Double thumbs up from me...

 

[RAMI]

I had that thought the first time I heard the riff, then after that it was clearly an intentional thing... for tension or something... and I was expecting it, so it worked as intended, I thought.

Nice mix, nice tune, as always RAMI... ya godamn consistent bastid!!!

Thought the BVs really worked well, and overall, tight as, and dry as... as expected in a RAMI tune. Double thumbs up from me...

Thanx a lot, Armi.

 

[TripleM]

Really well played and things sound great. Everything is real clear - nothing stepping on anything else. Tracks are well balanced. Harmonies, like always, sound awesome.

I'd nudge the lead vocal just a wee bit.

Bass breakdown in the middle sounds cool. I can hear a volume push at 2:12. Like an amp or something gets turned up.

 

[dobro]

Sweet tuneage.

That bass that comes in at 1.58 sounds so good, but it starts getting lost as soon as the guitars come in. Any way to get it heard just a wee bit better? Turn it up a decibel? It's delicious.

TripleM talked about bringing the vocal up a taste. Sure. Go crazy. Half a dB. lol

The drum panning: a taste too wide maybe, yeah. Play with it.

Of the three ideas, it's the first one I think is the best one. Your call - it's all taste calls in this one.

This is one of your tightest to date.

Nice one. Enjoyed three listens.

 

[RAMI]

Really well played and things sound great. Everything is real clear - nothing stepping on anything else. Tracks are well balanced. Harmonies, like always, sound awesome.

I'd nudge the lead vocal just a wee bit.

Bass breakdown in the middle sounds cool. I can hear a volume push at 2:12. Like an amp or something gets turned up.

Sweet tuneage.

That bass that comes in at 1.58 sounds so good, but it starts getting lost as soon as the guitars come in. Any way to get it heard just a wee bit better? Turn it up a decibel? It's delicious.

TripleM talked about bringing the vocal up a taste. Sure. Go crazy. Half a dB. lol

The drum panning: a taste too wide maybe, yeah. Play with it.

Of the three ideas, it's the first one I think is the best one. Your call - it's all taste calls in this one.

This is one of your tightest to date.

Nice one. Enjoyed three listens.

Thanx a lot guys. I'll definitely look into those ideas. The bass break and subsequent guitar will get some attention. I know the vocals have room to come up a touch, but there's something I like about them just sitting in that pocket, slightly lower than it seems they should be.

Thanx a lot guys.