Alright so this is my first post here haha, I would post something tech related or gaming but im actually waiting on my hardware to come in from newegg to build my newest hackintosh/windows rig. Anyways im going post a link up here that has previews or work in progress versions of my metal songs sans vox (still waiting on the hardware for logic pro x not to freeze up). Its a bunch of different types of metal my latest one being the last in the list and the best in my opinion. well here it is: www.bandmix.com/taintedmetal
please give me opinions here i wanna know how ive done and what to improve on.
First of all, Lyrics. Now. They'll add so much personality to the whole band.
Not going to comment on the styles themself, but more on the balance of the instruments:
Both of the guitars are too quiet, same goes for the bass on most of the tracks. They all just need a little boost, except for the bass, that really needs double the boost the guitars should have.
The drums and the drummar, could do cleaner with the double bass, since thats the only thing very audible. Also single strikes on the bass drum, please play them as single notes, not flams, its very irritating to be honest. The cymbals need half the boost that the guitars need.
Classic and Nu Metal are your most balanced pieces. Post Hardcore lacks everything thats on the lower side. Metalcore #2 has too much bass drum and seemingly no bass guitar. Deathcore sounds a tad awkward, cant quite put my finger on it. Metalcore should have more clarity guitar-wise (rhythmguitar).
To sum it up, it sounds good as music, but needs more balance and clarity, which i hope is to blame on the recording room/technique/equipment, not on the skill of the musicians. 6,8/10 - has room for improvement, but not bad.
Thank you guys. I appreciate it very much. Im actually the only performing musician in those recordings the and vocals are on the list but i really suck at writing lyrics. And yes I definatly need to produce it better. I actually used garageband for all of them except for the last 2 and logic pro x makes a difference especially when ive gotten better at production over time. Also i use a software sampler for drums and im not sure what you mean by flams.
A 'Flam' is a grace note followed by a primary note.....give you a thicker longer sound as both stick are hitting the skin in a short space of time.
And IMHO the drums are way to high in the mix, and you could do with a treble boost on the guitar tracks to cut though the mix a little more......Go oldschool with a germanium powered Rangemaster.
I would say mix the whoel thing to feel more open. It has such a thick sound that its hard to hear individual parts. Also, and this is personal preference, try and get a more bass drum sound than the pop/smack that you have now. I do not understand this modern fascination with smack sounding kick drums.
Still, I always love seeing people making thier own music at home.
Thanks guys ill get to work on it. Although i do disagree a bit on the bassdrum tone, i like that newer smack on cardboard sound haha but thats just me, oh by the way do any of you guys have any skill with music production here?
Alright, so I am going off of the stuff that I saw on http://www.bandmix.com/taintedmetal/
I am guessign that you mixed it yourself? If so, I agree with VincibleAndy in that you should try to make it sound more open. The classical metal one sounds open and whatnot, but the post hardcore one sounds very closed in and tiny. How to combat this? I have no idea. The post hardcore one reminds me of Storm Troopers of Death (definitely worth a listen. The song in particular that it reminds me of is Bigger Than the Devil, check it out).
The main problem that I have with them overall is that they are pretty repetative. That is perfectly fine if they are going to be paired with some vocals, but as instrumentals, they are kind of boring. Check out Animals as Leaders. They are a great instrumental metalish band. They do a great job of being musical and non-repetative without having vocals. They could give you some ideas of how to combat an overall repetative sound. The best way that i can think to do it is to extend the stuff that you do have and add more varying sounding stuff to it. How to go about writing or matching the stuff up, again, I have no idea. All I know is what sounds good. Not how to get it :P
Don't be discouraged by my criticism! If you don't keep making music, I will come to your house and make a bunch of cats scratch up all the paint in and around your house. Nothing will go unscratched by their sharp little claws!!!
No cats needed... and thanks for the input, the production of the post hardcore was done a year ago and definatly needs opening up now that i think of it.