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Geek Culture / Just finished my album!

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wattywatts
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Posted: 19th Jun 2013 04:00
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For all those who dig alternative/hard rock, let me know what you think!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCTBnmhDvpw

http://mattsmith.carbonmade.com/
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Phaelax
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Posted: 19th Jun 2013 06:14
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It's got more a 90s metal/grunge sound than alternative I think. Didn't care much for the screaming vocals and the guitar felt... I don't want to say dull, but I just didn't really hear any climax in the songs. Overall though I think the quality was pretty good for something in your bedroom.

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Pincho Paxton
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Posted: 19th Jun 2013 14:52
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I'm not a fan of screamo. I prefer heavy to be like Ozzy Osbourne.

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swissolo
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Posted: 19th Jun 2013 23:57
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I didn't get to listen to much but it sounds quite good Not a screamo fan either haha but the rest seems decent. I'll give it another shot when I have time.

swis
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Interstellar
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wattywatts
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Posted: 20th Jun 2013 01:58
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I don't understand the screamo reference, I hate that genre also. I think screamo is typified by singing out of tune and then screaming while starting every syllable with a "wh" sound.

http://mattsmith.carbonmade.com/
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Quik
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Posted: 20th Jun 2013 02:02
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either way, the screaming.. i'm torn on it - at any rate, it's good otherwise - regular singing is great, music is quite nice too.



Whose eyes are those eyes?
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swissolo
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Posted: 20th Jun 2013 03:11
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Quote: "I don't understand the screamo reference, I hate that genre also. I think screamo is typified by singing out of tune and then screaming while starting every syllable with a "wh" sound."

Oh I usually just consider screaming to be screamo haha it's fine as a peak or climax to me but too much of it and it drowns out the music for me.

swis
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Pincho Paxton
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Posted: 20th Jun 2013 12:48 Edited at: 20th Jun 2013 12:49
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Quote: "I don't understand the screamo reference, I hate that genre also. I think screamo is typified by singing out of tune and then screaming while starting every syllable with a "wh" sound."


I can't tell the difference between your screaming, and the examples of screamo on Wikipedia. Especially the second sound example, it sounds like your style.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screamo

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budokaiman
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Posted: 20th Jun 2013 14:22
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It sounds good, kind of like a cross between Chevelle and Nirvana. I actually don't really mind the screaming as much as everyone else, I can still understand all the lyrics. My biggest complaint (and it's not a very significant one, since this was a bedroom project) is the mixing. Everything is in one place, it's not truly a stereo recording because it sounds the same regardless of which speaker you're hearing it from. The instruments also seem to all have the same volume, across each instrument. This isn't a bad thing, it would just be more interesting with some better mixing. So my advice for anything you record in the future is to just play around with the mixing a bit more.


"Giraffe is soft, Gorilla is hard." - Phaelax
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Doomster
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Posted: 20th Jun 2013 20:00 Edited at: 20th Jun 2013 20:02
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Quote: "the examples of screamo on Wikipedi"

Wikipedia isn't any good source for researching music genres. Most bands listed on the link you provided aren't even what "screamo" originally stood for, not that it was even a genre anyway - some douche made it up at one point and most bands of that era fought against the term, just like with all this "emo" crap.

Nowadays, it's merely a term to catch the attention of all these teens, caught in their teen angst, which probably explains why all these "screamo" bands look so ridiculous and sound terryfyingly bad.

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Pincho Paxton
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Posted: 20th Jun 2013 21:31
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Quote: "Wikipedia isn't any good source for researching music genres. Most bands listed on the link you provided aren't even what "screamo" originally stood for, not that it was even a genre anyway - some douche made it up at one point and most bands of that era fought against the term, just like with all this "emo" crap."


Everything is made up. Jazz, rock, Disco, it's all made up. Screamo is made up, but it makes no difference that it exists.

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Doomster
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Posted: 20th Jun 2013 21:42 Edited at: 20th Jun 2013 21:43
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It sure is, and it's stupid to classify music in genres anyway, since there's more or less just two categories - good and bad, which however is completely subjective... with some exceptions.

What I meant, is that all the stuff nowadays that is categorized as "Screamo", has nothing in common with the characteristica that originally brought the term to life, except for some random screaming here and then, but that's not what it's about.

That would be like saying, a metal band with a violin is classical music, or something like that.

But I do have to agree with the other half of your post, Black Sabbath is a beast.

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The Wilderbeast
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Posted: 20th Jun 2013 21:55 Edited at: 20th Jun 2013 22:05
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Really not bad at all for a bedroom production. I've been away from the metal / alternative scene for a while so my genre detectors aren't working very well Sounds like an interesting mix of post-hardcore, grunge and alternative, with a small smattering of melodeath thrown in for good measure.

The vocals sit a bit far back in the mix and the soundstage is a bit flat, but otherwise you've done a decent job. Personally I prefer vocals to be a bit more guttural, but each to their own. Some of the vocal sections in Path to Nowhere sound like they would pack more punch if they were clean (well, not exactly clean, I mean a la Machine Head). It reminds me a bit of the mixtapes / demos from the 90s (in a good way!) - it's very refreshing from the ultra-sterile processed crap we get these days. The vocal processing in Crash and double-tracked vocals on Down are probably the best on the album - reminds me very much of a band but I can't recall which one!

The feeling put into the piano at the end is really nice, although some of the notes feel a bit awkward. My only other complaint is that the endings feel rushed! You have this beautifully simple piece drifting along and gradually developing, and then you stop so abruptly!

Solid album though - great work.

Do you guys have a Bandcamp or something?

You get 500MB extra space on Dropbox... I get 500MB extra space on Dropbox

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Quik
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Posted: 20th Jun 2013 22:17
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Quote: "It sure is, and it's stupid to classify music in genres anyway, since there's more or less just two categories - good and bad, which however is completely subjective... with some exceptions."


While yes, it's completly subjective - i do not agree that it's stupid, as it's a good way of describing music to people

"Listen to this new rock song"

sounds a lot better than

"listen to this new guitarr....drum.... music... song... thing"



Whose eyes are those eyes?
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Benjamin
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Posted: 20th Jun 2013 22:22
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I think it's safe to class music in such genres as 'rock' or 'jazz' since they are both so broad.

Just listened to that video and the tracks sound pretty good. You guys have a good feel.

"Sideboobs are awesome. Getting punched in the face is not." - Jerico2Day on violence and nudity
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Doomster
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Posted: 20th Jun 2013 22:31 Edited at: 20th Jun 2013 22:32
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If you keep the terms broad, then yes, it's alright, but once you throw in subgenres and what not things get messy and, too often, completely bonkers.

I mean, how many different types of Metal music are there for example, and how often is it even necessary to differentiate between them?

I always find it rather amusing when people discuss the music genre in the comment sections, happens all the time over at YouTube. "This is Black Metal!" "No, Satanic Death Metal" "What? It's clearly Violent Progressive Doom Metal"... you know, that kind of genre-thinking is what throws me off. When people invent new stuff for everything, or just fixate on one genre, dismissing everything else and care more for the "genre", than the music.

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Quik
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Posted: 20th Jun 2013 22:32
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meh, i just think of blackmetal, deathmetal, etc as the same

heavy metal, metal = same

aand then progressive/powermetal = the same


for me anyway x)



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swissolo
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Posted: 20th Jun 2013 22:33
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As far as the mixing goes, don't forget this is on youtube so it is very stripped down I wouldn't nail him for that

swis
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The Wilderbeast
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Posted: 20th Jun 2013 22:56
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There are some things such as stereo field etc. which YouTube's downsampling doesn't have an effect on. If I remember correctly, YouTube downsamples it to 196kbps, which is still very respectable.

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Pincho Paxton
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Posted: 20th Jun 2013 23:04 Edited at: 20th Jun 2013 23:05
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Quote: "I mean, how many different types of Metal music are there for example, and how often is it even necessary to differentiate between them?"


The problem is that if anyone asks me what music I like I would say "Heavy Metal". But I don't like screaming, so I need to identify the difference, and it is easiest to say "...but I don't like screamo." There was no screaming in the 80's when I was into Heavy Metal. Compare it to Led Zeppelin, and you are into the Blues, so there is too much difference.

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swissolo
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Posted: 20th Jun 2013 23:56
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Quote: "There are some things such as stereo field etc. which YouTube's downsampling doesn't have an effect on. If I remember correctly, YouTube downsamples it to 196kbps, which is still very respectable."

But that's all. Under 200 kbps and only stereo sound It's not awful but certainly not remarkable

swis
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The Wilderbeast
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Posted: 21st Jun 2013 00:00 Edited at: 21st Jun 2013 00:03
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All music is in stereo, with the exception of quadraphonic music which is exceedingly rare. 192kbps is also really not so bad it should make a huge difference, though I agree, it could certainly be better (CD quality is ~700kbps)

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wattywatts
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Posted: 21st Jun 2013 00:10
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Quote: "The vocal processing in Crash and double-tracked vocals on Down are probably the best on the album - reminds me very much of a band but I can't recall which one!"

For those songs I tried to copy the effect chain used by Chino Moreno of Deftones, then eq'd them a bit to try to get them to sit better in the mix.
My monitors don't handle bass response very well so it wouldn't surprise me if things are mixed a bit weird.

I forgot to mention that I played everything on the album.
Thanks for the praise and constructive criticism though, everyone!

http://mattsmith.carbonmade.com/
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The Wilderbeast
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Posted: 21st Jun 2013 00:42
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You get 500MB extra space on Dropbox... I get 500MB extra space on Dropbox

Everyone's happy!
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budokaiman
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Posted: 21st Jun 2013 00:42
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Quote: "(CD quality is ~700kbps)"

Regular CD's are 1411kbps.


"Giraffe is soft, Gorilla is hard." - Phaelax
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The Wilderbeast
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Posted: 21st Jun 2013 01:05
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Yep you're right, silly me forgot to account for stereo.

You get 500MB extra space on Dropbox... I get 500MB extra space on Dropbox

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Seppuku Arts
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Posted: 21st Jun 2013 01:41 Edited at: 21st Jun 2013 09:50
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I thought it was good. I don't think I've heard the combination of grungy vocals and screaming, but I think it works, some people might not like the sudden change, but it's kinda schizophrenic and it works for other bands out there, but not all of the manage to pull it off. As said there's a Nirvana vibe, I could hear that come through but without it sounding like a Nirvana tribute act. I agree with Budo on some of his points on production, but that costs money. Out of the unsigned bands I've heard I would say you're one of the better ones.


With the discussion on the classification of music, whilst it can be hard to tie music down and of course we wouldn't want to restrict people's artistic freedom, it does help us describe music. Metal is guilty of abusing their right to create subgenres, but if you're familiar with the terms you can give somebody who has never heard an album an idea what it's like. Certainly helps people understand music reviews. We could just call it metal but Saxon is VERY different to In Flames (warning: language). So you say one is heavy metal and the other death metal. You can go another depth of classification if you wanted to describe the sound more, I mean In Flames is more melodic than Behemoth as Behemoth's style is blackened.

Of course, you could just call it metal, because that's what it is. How you use language is up to you so long as it communicates what you're trying to say. Of course I think it's easier to describe music by having more terms, but then I listen to a lot of metal, so I am familiar with a lot of the differences and how the terms sound. If I were to say progressive melodic death metal (Opeth) to somebody who listened to hip hop I'd just draw a blank. Likewise I know bugger all about any hip hop terms and I would be clueless if somebody started describing it to me.

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wattywatts
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Posted: 21st Jun 2013 02:58
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Quote: "Out of the unsigned bands I've heard I would say you're one of the better ones. "

Hey, thanks a lot man!

http://mattsmith.carbonmade.com/
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Phaelax
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Posted: 21st Jun 2013 04:25
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Quote: "As said there's a Nirvana vibe, "

I got that feeling a little bit, but then leaned more towards silverchair. At least in the sound of vocals when he wasn't screaming.

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wattywatts
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Posted: 21st Jun 2013 06:10
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Quote: "I got that feeling a little bit, but then leaned more towards silverchair."

Hopefully old Silverchair in that case.

http://mattsmith.carbonmade.com/
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PixelEater
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Posted: 21st Jun 2013 06:24
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Perfect!


PixelEater Games
www.pixeleater.org
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Kezzla
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Posted: 21st Jun 2013 07:31
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I really like it, mix is generally pretty good, vox need to come forward in the mix a little, kick drum is lost in the mix, try a gate on the base triggered by the kick.a slight boost around the 10k mark will bring forward the snap of the beater and may help it sit forward, just play with the range on your eq till you find the spot it jumps out. It may pay to actually boost the volume of the kick more.

For the whole mix I personally would pull the <100hz down just a pinch, low end boost does add body, but can effect clarity.

It is a really good job for doing it by yourself at home.
is that a midi triggered kit?

I would suggest using this as a study and gathering competent musicians to record live takes. Live takes will have much better dynamics and always win over multi-tracking.

you have an interesting sense of melody, you like the melodically heavy changes and i like that. not one hundred percent sold on the vocal melody lines, but that is just personal preference and irrelevant.

Overall good job.

I'm not a complete idiot -- Some parts are just missing.
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wattywatts
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Posted: 21st Jun 2013 08:08
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Thanks Kezzla, some good advice there. I'm using some fostex pm0.4n's because they were cheap, but the bass response is crap so it's difficult to eq low frequency.
Not midi but close, it's a handy little sequencer called drumsite.

http://mattsmith.carbonmade.com/
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Quik
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Posted: 21st Jun 2013 10:13
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just hoping wattywatts understands that nobody is bashing his music - and that we are ALL saying that it's good! Some are merely saying it's not to their tastes, but it's definitly good.

(just making sure the criticism isnt taken the wrong way)



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wattywatts
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Posted: 21st Jun 2013 21:45
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Quote: "just hoping wattywatts understands that nobody is bashing his music"

Yeah no worries, I appreciate constructive criticism.

http://mattsmith.carbonmade.com/
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