Witchhunt

[joeym]

This one's actually been ready for months, but the solo's from yesterday by my friend Chris. Don't know....seem to have lost some connection to it after all this time. I don't like my voice on it and might just sing it again. I feel there's something missing in the arrangement, it just sounds too plain.....or maybe I'm just going crazy. I'd like to know what you guys think. The mix definitely needs redoing, it's far from perfect. Lyrics by RayC (one of the few good things about it....).

http://www.box.net/shared/gafv04zje3
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Updated mix: http://www.box.net/shared/4v9vaiaksk

 

[matttheaxe]

I can't say too much about the mix. Laptop speakers.
As far as the construction. I think there is too much space in the intro with the guitars holding notes out too long. I would add a riff or cut it down a bit.
Hint: unless they are a guitarist, most people want to hear the goodies. That is, the singer. Unless there is a killer groove, get to the goods faster.
The vox are well done. On key and on time. Decent melody. Very 80's-ish.

Good luck

 

[joeym]

I can't say too much about the mix. Laptop speakers.
As far as the construction. I think there is too much space in the intro with the guitars holding notes out too long. I would add a riff or cut it down a bit.
Hint: unless they are a guitarist, most people want to hear the goodies. That is, the singer. Unless there is a killer groove, get to the goods faster.
The vox are well done. On key and on time. Decent melody. Very 80's-ish.

Good luck

Thanx man, good point. In fact the intro is what sounds most plain to me, not much happening there except for the main guitar riff. I'll take note.....

 

[kcearl]

lol awesome Joey.....I haven't heard one of yours in a while and its excellent...


got nowt on the mix, the vocals, & backing were excellent...drums sounded in there and the guitars tone and playing were, well, awesome (I am now officially a yank)...


dunno about the intro, seemed OK to me...and I know this is sacrilege but Id really love to hear some eighties style keyboards on this..I dont know why, not cheesy, but they'd make it killer


great job, take the rest of the week off

 

[heatmiser]

Whoa...not too plain at all Joey. Maybe just a little less complicated or busy (especially the drums) compared to some of your other recent offerings. I think that is kind of a cool change myself.

I did not find the intro to be too long or simple or anything. Heck, it was over before I knew it, but maybe the standard for grabbing one's attention is set a bit high these days - "get to the hook already damn you!" . I dunno, seems like an appropriate build up to me.

Your vocals often remind me of Dio and I know you hear that a lot, but this one had a lot more Rob Halford in it to my ears. The whole thing reminded me a little of mid-eighties judas priest.

I thought the mix sounded good. I guess maybe the guitars seemed to overpower the vocals at times so I'd like to hear more volume and/or clarity on the vocal tracks - but then again I am on a less than stellar set up listening so wtf do I know. Excellent work so far dude.

 

[maximusbs]

Joe - this was great! I am a big fan of your vocals and your unapologetic servings of classic heavy metal. No 'drop-c' crap or other attempts to modernize, just good 'ole metal mania!! Where as the last song, "False Paradise", had a Dio flavor, this one has a Priest vibe, and that's ALL good . In fact, since you are so versatile, I've got this finished song that needs vox, so I might hit you up for a collab. later if you have the time.

Now, just one nit. I have to take issue with the guitar sound. I would describe it like a razor with with a rice-crispy edge . When the pick hits the string, it fizzes instead of slices. It gives the impression of a 'demo tape' recording (please don't take offense if you did the guitar parts) It's most noticeable in the opening bar and actually not too bad when everything is together in the mix.

All the elements of this song are great, but imo, the guitar tone holds back the potential. May I suggest a few ideas: Your own song "one o' these nights" has a pretty good crunchy tone in it. Even better, listen to an early Stryper song. They use JCM 800's and some Boogie stuff which have a great sound. Any generic Judas Priest tone would work too. Oh, yea, one more...try getting your hands on Amplitube 3's 5150 model - I think it smokes!

I'm not claiming any superior knowledge here, I'm a noob when it comes to home recording and I'm never really happy with my own guitar tones either. I just like your stuff and think it deserves extra consideration if possible.

Brad

 

[joeym]

lol awesome Joey.....I haven't heard one of yours in a while and its excellent...


got nowt on the mix, the vocals, & backing were excellent...drums sounded in there and the guitars tone and playing were, well, awesome (I am now officially a yank)...


dunno about the intro, seemed OK to me...and I know this is sacrilege but Id really love to hear some eighties style keyboards on this..I dont know why, not cheesy, but they'd make it killer


great job, take the rest of the week off

Hey there, Keith ma'boy!
I like your new awesomeness, you adapt pretty well.....
I usually hate keys in my own stuff but I suppose there's nothing wrong in trying some things out. Thanx for the nice comments, I just gotta keep working at it until I feel happy about it.

 

[joeym]

Whoa...not too plain at all Joey. Maybe just a little less complicated or busy (especially the drums) compared to some of your other recent offerings. I think that is kind of a cool change myself.

I did not find the intro to be too long or simple or anything. Heck, it was over before I knew it, but maybe the standard for grabbing one's attention is set a bit high these days - "get to the hook already damn you!" . I dunno, seems like an appropriate build up to me.

Your vocals often remind me of Dio and I know you hear that a lot, but this one had a lot more Rob Halford in it to my ears. The whole thing reminded me a little of mid-eighties judas priest.

I thought the mix sounded good. I guess maybe the guitars seemed to overpower the vocals at times so I'd like to hear more volume and/or clarity on the vocal tracks - but then again I am on a less than stellar set up listening so wtf do I know. Excellent work so far dude.

Thanx Pete!
Actually I reprogrammed the snare part 'cos I felt it was so busy in the original. I might just reprogramme the kick again. Vocals in the verse do sound a bit lower, maybe I should just pull the guitars back a bit in that part.
Judas Priest, yeah! Rob Halford is a monster....

 

[joeym]

Joe - this was great! I am a big fan of your vocals and your unapologetic servings of classic heavy metal. No 'drop-c' crap or other attempts to modernize, just good 'ole metal mania!! Where as the last song, "False Paradise", had a Dio flavor, this one has a Priest vibe, and that's ALL good . In fact, since you are so versatile, I've got this finished song that needs vox, so I might hit you up for a collab. later if you have the time.

Now, just one nit. I have to take issue with the guitar sound. I would describe it like a razor with with a rice-crispy edge . When the pick hits the string, it fizzes instead of slices. It gives the impression of a 'demo tape' recording (please don't take offense if you did the guitar parts) It's most noticeable in the opening bar and actually not too bad when everything is together in the mix.

All the elements of this song are great, but imo, the guitar tone holds back the potential. May I suggest a few ideas: Your own song "one o' these nights" has a pretty good crunchy tone in it. Even better, listen to an early Stryper song. They use JCM 800's and some Boogie stuff which have a great sound. Any generic Judas Priest tone would work too. Oh, yea, one more...try getting your hands on Amplitube 3's 5150 model - I think it smokes!

I'm not claiming any superior knowledge here, I'm a noob when it comes to home recording and I'm never really happy with my own guitar tones either. I just like your stuff and think it deserves extra consideration if possible.

Brad

Hey Brad,
yeah, you know I just play the musik I like without trying to fit into any time-age.... I've done stuff that sounds more "modern" but it wasn't intentional, it just happened. Sure, send me a PM for the collab.....
The guitars on this one weren't recorded too well, I admit. This was months ago and I was trying out new sounds on my VOX. I had to EQ over and over again in the mix, but they still lack a bit of presence and had too much gain when I recorded them. I'll see what i can do there.
Thanx for the comments!

 

[rayc]

Wow Joey,
I love the way you turned my banal words into a war of the souls.
Oh, & a great scan & edit of the squillion words I sent you too.
You're quite adept as winnowing words mate!
I like the intro - it sets up the song & buries the riff into my skull.
The rest of the arrangement is spot on as far as my ears are concerned.
The beginning of the solo is super old school metal - love it!
Last but not least - WOW! What a voice!
Thanks mate!

 

[joeym]

Wow Joey,
I love the way you turned my banal words into a war of the souls.
Oh, & a great scan & edit of the squillion words I sent you too.
You're quite adept as winnowing words mate!
I like the intro - it sets up the song & buries the riff into my skull.
The rest of the arrangement is spot on as far as my ears are concerned.
The beginning of the solo is super old school metal - love it!
Last but not least - WOW! What a voice!
Thanks mate!

Thanx Ray, you're too kind. I guess everybody hears a song with their own ears, which is a good thing...

 

[singlespeak]

phew. No holds barred there. Solid stuff indeed. Intro's fine imo and the voice is very impressive, I wouldn't worry about those. Overall sound fits the genre like a glove. You said the mix needs redoing so it might not be worth pointing out, but I would take a look at the snare. There's something about the high end of its tone that doesn't sit well with the mid-range reverb sound. I'm thinking maybe the reverb is too wide so the midrange is detached from the initial whack. Might be mind-games though I suppose.

 

[joeym]

phew. No holds barred there. Solid stuff indeed. Intro's fine imo and the voice is very impressive, I wouldn't worry about those. Overall sound fits the genre like a glove. You said the mix needs redoing so it might not be worth pointing out, but I would take a look at the snare. There's something about the high end of its tone that doesn't sit well with the mid-range reverb sound. I'm thinking maybe the reverb is too wide so the midrange is detached from the initial whack. Might be mind-games though I suppose.

Thanx for the nice words, man.
I'm getting to like the Metal and More collection from Steven Slate Drums and for this one, I used the Metallica snare simulating the one on the Black Album. I could dial the reverb a bit back though.

 

[VomitHatSteve]

Nice!

I'm always a big fan of unapologetic homages to classic metal.

My favorite part was the really high vocal at the end. If you think the arrangement is lacking something, maybe try adding more of that kind of thing?

 

[FadeToMuffins]

Nice song. I like the riffs and the music. Something sounds a little off with the drums. The snare rubs me the wrong way for some reason. It sounds very artificial, and I think that's killing the mood for me a little. I definitely agree with the Rob Halford comments, you have an awesome voice my friend.

 

[joeym]

Nice!

I'm always a big fan of unapologetic homages to classic metal.

My favorite part was the really high vocal at the end. If you think the arrangement is lacking something, maybe try adding more of that kind of thing?

Thanx Steve!
Problem is if I scream too much, the neighbours call the cops.....

 

[joeym]

Nice song. I like the riffs and the music. Something sounds a little off with the drums. The snare rubs me the wrong way for some reason. It sounds very artificial, and I think that's killing the mood for me a little. I definitely agree with the Rob Halford comments, you have an awesome voice my friend.

Yeah, that's why I have to programme the kick again, some hits aren't right, now that I've reprogrammed the snare. I'll see what I can do with the snare sound. Like I said, the mix ain't there yet for me...
Thanx for the comments man, appreciate it.

 

[TripleM]

I thought the singing was great. Guitar playing was really good too.

Guitars sound OK. I'd like a little more growl to them, but that's just me. Lot's of verb on them. That kind of dates the song. But perhaps that's what you want. Great lead - kind of 80's-ish.

The drums sound fairly "programmy". But not too bad. I like like the short section starting around :27. The drums seem to "go silent" for a few seconds. You can really hear the drop off.

I think you could probably turn up the backing vox 2-3 dbs at least.

 

[Greg_L]

Not bad, Guiseppe. Pretty balanced mix. The bass is a little rumbly and could maybe use a little more definition, but it's borderline. Guitars and vocals sound great. My only nit is the drums. I like the toned down programming. They don't seem as busy as your other tunes. Personally, I'd like the drums even simpler to give it more chugging powerful feel with more drive and energy, but that's just me. I know you like em busy. But they still sound very canned. They just need to be beefier. Fatter overall. Particularly the snare. It's just too cracky without enough body. Maybe make the kit more cohesive too. Everything seems over-isolated a little bit. It's overall very good though.

 

[joeym]

I thought the singing was great. Guitar playing was really good too.

Guitars sound OK. I'd like a little more growl to them, but that's just me. Lot's of verb on them. That kind of dates the song. But perhaps that's what you want. Great lead - kind of 80's-ish.

The drums sound fairly "programmy". But not too bad. I like like the short section starting around :27. The drums seem to "go silent" for a few seconds. You can really hear the drop off.

I think you could probably turn up the backing vox 2-3 dbs at least.

Thanx man, I'm reviewing some stuff right now. This is just a first mix and I've got to bring some more cohesivenes between the different parts. I'll take note of what you mentioned.