Yeah, I figured it was a POD and, despite what people say about them, I happen to like them a lot for rock/metal, especially for distorted sounds.
And Dole, could you give me some specifics on the vocals. I'm not a very confident singer, so I know they could use some work, but I don't know if you're thinking do more with melody, add harmonies, shoot for more intensity, etc. Any thoughts are welcome. Thanks again!
You know, I'm actually pretty impressed with your vocals, I guess I should have said "lyrics" instead. I'll see what I can come up with about the vocals though.
I think I would try singing a little less "strained" except where your looking to add emphasis. It sounds very good in the chorus but perhaps there could be a bit more emotional range in the verses. One technique that Trent Reznor is said to use on occasion is to sing kind of quietly and close to the mic and just boost the gain at the preamp (and probably use some transparent compression). I think this technique would work very well at about 2:12-2:17 (I know this is nitpicky) and it would make it more powerful transition when the guitars come back in right at 2:18. This might be too difficult to do properly...but its just an idea. It should work as long as you do a punch-in rather than tracking the transition straight through.
Overall, I would say the vocals sound slightly thin, but they fit in the mix quite well so it might be a good compromise. I know its difficult to have confidence in your voice, but I really think it sounds good, and definitely good enough that I would like to hear it a bit more in the overall mix. I would either boost it a little bit or try to make it a little thicker by double tracking it in places or copying it and delay the copied track slightly, maybe play with panning, etc.
As far as lyrics, I would say the chorus starts to wear on me a little bit around 3:55 and I'm not sure why. I know that's close to the end and I hate to play with the structure of such a good song but another verse or something just to add a little lyrical variation would be nice just after that instrumental part. That's what struck me initially when I first listened to the song and I still think there might be something you could do there, but I don't feel quite as strongly about it as I listen to it again. Here's another idea, you could lead into that instrumental part with something other than the chorus, then it wouldn't be quite as repetitative when you pick it back up at 3:40. Anyway, think about it.
Still, this is a very good song and I'm being extremely picky with these suggestions. BTW, like slack, I think the synths are done quite well. May I ask what mics and what synths you're using?
Keep making this good stuff, man!
