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Post by Thomas Eversole on Mar 14, 2015 8:17:57 GMT -6
Hi guys. I figured I'd use this thread to share about recording this album, my unconventional writing techniques in general, as well as banter about ideas. Feedback is not only welcome, but I can certainly see myself taking suggestions offered here. I had some PTO time I needed to use from work (25 hours I was going to lose if I didn't use) and figured I'd give myself 3 day weekends all March to record. (I recorded Oberour Ar Maro last March with PTO time) Currently, I have 3 drum tracks completed and 1 layer of keys completed. ...that's right. Keys. This album (no title or lyrical content yet) will be more like Wyllt and have symphonic elements. I had to go about it differently for this release though. Wyllt featured sequenced MIDI drums, and sequenced strings/choir ahs with it. Since this album has very REAL drums, I tried for about a half hour to sequence in timing with live drums.... Yeah, not going to happen. I live 15 minutes from the state capital and made a purchase from a music store there that helped me (more than I thought) to accomplish my goals. Its a KORG 61 key MIDI controller. It allows me to record MIDI realtime with the drums - and sequence adjustments. It was surprisingly easy to use - just plug and play. What was very surprising though, was the software/instrumentation that came with it - the entire KORG Legacy Collection. I was planning on using the same-old soundfonts I did for Wyllt... until I listened to a few tests, and decided I was quite tired of it. I felt exploring the instruments that came with my keyboard worthwhile. After several hours, I come up with a sound that I really liked - a little unconventional, but it sounds great to me. Using the M1 KORG VSTs in my Cakewalk Producer Edition, I'm using a preset called "The Chamber". Its actually a multisound instrument with a flute, a clarinet, two woodwinds and a harp. No strings at all, but it had a surprisingly real and dark sound. (something I found more convincing than the available string sounds) Here's a 20 second unmixed sample with drums if you're remotely interested in hearing what the keys sound like: www.ankouawaits.com/2015-drums-keys.mp3By the way, how I write since the days of Akryal - I "write" the drums having NO IDEA what the guitars or other instruments will do. Then improv/write those instruments over other instruments until the track is complete. That being said, I'll figure out the guitars/lyrics in a later session. I tossed around the (lyrical) idea of not using an actual Welsh mythology story, but tell my own story of a warrior on his journey. ...I like the idea of descriptive battles of him destroying (evil) monsters, and aiding those in need... There's no album title yet, and even though I liked "Beauty is in the Scythe of the Beholder" in a cliche kind of way, that wouldn't really be in context of what the lyrics are about. Questions? Thoughts?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2015 8:46:57 GMT -6
I'm hugely into symphonic black metal and part of the reason why I was never hugely into Ankou Awaits in the past was because of the lack of atmosphere. I really like the keyboard sounds that you're using here.
I'm no composer, and I've never been in a metal band, but it seems a little strange to me that you record drums first and improvise guitar over it. The main instrument in metal is the guitars, so to me it would make more sense to do it the other way around: guitars first with drums improvised over it.
I could be completely wrong on all of that; I don't really know much about music production.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2015 10:51:48 GMT -6
I understand your thoughts, CrimsonWarrior, but I think there no such thing like writing songs the right/wrong way. Some people work 'this' way, others do it 'that' way. If it works for you, it's good. Just have to think of Summoning (because we talked about them on this board) at this point: at least back in the 90s they wrote their songs on keyboards and saved all fragments on diskettes, which they used when they entered the studio. Btw: improvising guitars isn't the most common thing of course, but either way recording drums first is always a comfortable grounding for guitarists; way better than playing/recording guitars to a click track.
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Post by Thomas Eversole on Mar 14, 2015 13:04:09 GMT -6
I could see why it would be considered to be unusual to create the drums not knowing what the guitars will do. I can explain why I do this. The drums are the beat yes, but more importantly, they are the tempo. They decide how fast or slow the song is. I honestly have a hard time listening to ANY music that keeps a consistent tempo all the way through the song so... a metronome (or like Kai said, tick track) won't work, for me. ...and no sense in me trying to slow myself down with a metronome so I can play with it. That being said - what kind of guitar riffs can I put with a blast beat? Literally, the possibilities are endless. I can create whatever melody I want - the drums don't restrict that at all. If I decided to do a rhythmic guitar riff, just like the melody, I'd have to play along with the drums of course, but again - I can do whatever pattern I want. My opinion, I disagree that the guitars are the main instrument to black metal. Regardless of genre, all instruments need to work together to form the sound. If you "main" one instrument over another, it handicaps the sound, the quality of the music. A more mainstream example, ACDC. There's very little difference in drum beats between tracks, between albums even. Which is why its so boring - just have a giant metronome on stage making the same sounds instead of a person drumming and I would bet 3/4ths their crowd wouldn't care or know the difference. Can you just focus on the drums for an ACDC release and actually enjoy it? I sure can't. I also disagree that black metal 1) has to be atmospheric and 2) needs keys for atmosphere. A little reverb to give the guitars some mist and shread a groundbreaking/heartbreaking melody - that's all that's needed. EDIT: One more thing, "drums first" is how I write extreme metal. (Akryal, Breviarium, Ankou Awaits, GRIM-Vespers, etc.) When I did Hguols, I had EVERY melody written on an acoustic guitar before I sequenced it and decided the beats/rhythms.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 14, 2015 13:40:56 GMT -6
I don't think that black metal needs atmosphere in order to be considered black metal. It just needs atmosphere in order for me to fully enjoy it.
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Post by Thomas Eversole on Mar 14, 2015 13:49:08 GMT -6
That explains being big on symphonic black metal. Makes perfect sense to me!
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Post by drawnsword on Mar 14, 2015 14:32:14 GMT -6
I like your idea of telling your own story of a warrior on his journey. ... the idea of descriptive battles of him destroying evil monsters, and aiding those in need. I think the on-going fantasy story that Shamgar of Slechtvalk has built over albums is awesome, the way he reflects his own struggles in there is brillant. Also Quest For Serenity with his sojourner pilgrimage reflective of spiritual yearnings.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2015 14:03:35 GMT -6
I'm just glad you are working on the album. Each album seems to be a step forward from the last, cant wait to see what comes next
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Post by Thomas Eversole on Mar 20, 2015 11:00:16 GMT -6
Thanks! I'm hoping that my efforts album to album yield better results. ...so far, the few fans and online reviewers willing to share their opinion seem to think so. The only difference is Lords of Metal, who actually considered Wyllt to be better than Oberour Ar Maro. Speaking of Lords of Metal, they didn't realize I sequenced drums on older albums and played actual drums on last year's release. Something I had to correct them on by contacting them about the Oberour Ar Maro review. (it was cool they made the changes though!) ...but... I'm not sure whether I should be flattered that my sequenced drums passed as the real thing for them... or frightened that they don't know what real drums sound like. ...or both. Anyway, for the new album, I did a "length test", something I do every release to make sure I've got enough material for a full album. I've got 5 drum tracks that, tentatively, have a combined length of a few second short of 30 minutes - solid drumming. (That would make the tracks longer than Oberour Ar Maro, but shorter than Wyllt.) Factoring in song intros/outro's and a couple tracks that won't have drums, I'm thinking the running time will be 40+ or maybe even 50+ minutes in length. (I'm thinking, if I'm using symphonic elements - I might as well use symphonic elements and even have some percussion that's synth based) The plan is 7 tracks. 7 is a good number, right? 5 symphonic black, 1 that has a tribal type beat, synth and vocals... (Carach Angren is rubbing off on me) and an ambient track. The choice to do an ambient track (most likely will still have vocals/lyrics) is based on a preference of mine I have with a few different albums. Marduk's "Rom 5:12" album, while not my favorite album of theirs, has an AWESOME "ambient" type track called 1651. Many MANY times I've "repeat track'ed" that and fell asleep to it at night. I've done the same with the Hguols "Inexorable Interlude" track from the Depiction Under The Obscure Seclusion album - I think the guy that reviewed it for Doomantia did the same thing. Another goal of mine is not to have the tired synth/guitars do the exact same thing throughout most of the album - which, in my opinion, too many symphonic (black metal) bands do. (again, Carach Angren is rubbing off on me) That's why I'm hoping synth first will force me to be innovative on the guitars, at least as a majority. Never done synth before guitar, so we'll see how that works out. Also, I'm ACTUALLY going to put new strings on my guitar. When I bought my electric guitar in 2011, I left the crusty old strings on their because of the nasty sound. Same strings were used for Oberour Ar Maro. I think because of the synth, I'll clean the guitar up just a little. (like Wyllt, which I actually used a different guitar for that album. Actually, prepare to be floored, the guitar used for Wyllt was actually... an acoustic guitar ran through a Digitech death metal petal. My electric guitar was in the shop getting fixed and I was really pleased with the different sound actually... so it stuck. Also, a little trivia - I plan on keeping the same custom guitar tuning as well. If you play guitar, you're well aware of the standard tuning.... E, A, D, G, B, E For GRIM, Akryal, Breviarium, Phelicia's Entrails, I took it down a few pitches. B, E, A, D, F#, B For Ankou Awaits, every release, I've done the custom tuning of: C#, E, A, C#, E, C# ...which will probably make the guitar players here think? "What is that?" or "Why on earth?". Its for serious speed at minor keys.
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Post by Thomas Eversole on Mar 21, 2015 8:36:52 GMT -6
I've got the keys for 3 drum tracks together. I know "sound effects" seem like a hoaky thing to put in black metal, but there's thousands of really good (dark sounding) ones in my new software that I think will really compound the sound of this release. Also, I'm getting my notes together regarding the lyrics / concept. Here's what I have so far. Unlike other Ankou Awaits albums, this is an untold/new story, but still maintaining the Welsh culture. (since the Ankou itself is Welsh rooted) ______________________ The main character Sobrwydd (pronounced sob-rue-ith ~ soft "th" sound, rhyming with "is" not "if" ~ Welsh for "Sobriety") awakens in a forest where he finds his corpse. Next to the headstone is a massive two handed sword and the epitaph names the sword Disgyblaeth (pronounced diz-guh-bly-th ~ Welsh for "discipline") His corpse is still animated and attacking, even after he dismembers it with the sword. (symbolic of "arresting" the old self, ie: discipline through sobriety) I plan on having the corpse slowly reassemble and pursue the hero. The journey aspect is him trying to find his way out of the forest, and encountering other creatures/beings/etc. and "sobriety" will use "discipline" throughout the story. Of course, many of the details I don't have laid out yet, but I'd like to touch on the hero encountering creatures/beings that look vicious and evil, but are really good or need help... and creatures/beings that look the stereotypical "holy", but are in fact vile and destructive. (obviously symbolic of things/aspects/people not being what they seem) I'm going to base the end of the story on something like ~ he finds his way out of the forest, but realizes that's his trek through the forest was his purpose. Sort of the "life is a journey, not a destination" type concept. I'll fit the details together to make it work of course. I may spend some time today on getting the album named and some album artwork together.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2015 12:57:57 GMT -6
Sounds awesome. And an ambient track is always welcome!
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Post by Thomas Eversole on Mar 25, 2015 20:02:42 GMT -6
Ok - I just finished the concept/cover art for the album. Normally, the artwork I do is quite dark and uses a lot of cool colors. This is actually quite colorful... for me, at least its colorful. I put the art in spoiler brakets, for those who'd rather see it later or wouldn't care to see it. Also in the spoiler brackets is the history of what's in the image. Clicking on the image link will take you to the "full size" version, rather than the 500 pixel thumbnail. Oh, the albums title is "Sobrwydd a Disgyblaeth" - welsh for "Sobriety and Discipline". The background was a photo I took on 80 acres of forest that my father has. I thought the clearing looked interesting. The "spectral models" are of course my two handed sword, which has appeared in now 4 Ankou Awaits covers, and myself. ...or at least my torso. LOL Opinions are welcome.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2015 4:15:31 GMT -6
That cover looks awesome.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2015 5:06:59 GMT -6
Haha, yeah, that's really a cool cover!
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Post by Thomas Eversole on Mar 26, 2015 6:30:28 GMT -6
Thanks guys!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2015 20:08:19 GMT -6
Love the cover. Love the title even more.
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Post by Thomas Eversole on Mar 28, 2015 11:29:22 GMT -6
Thanks again guys! After some invested time, I've got a rather intense keys-only track. I don't want to spoil, but here's a 20 second un-mixed taste of the track. www.ankouawaits.com/2015-synthtrack.mp3My short term goal is to have all keys completed this weekend. That means the drums and effects/synth will be done. If I focus, I think I can do it! ...leaving guitars and vocals. (and of course, writing the lyrics for the vocals)
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Post by Thomas Eversole on Mar 28, 2015 16:52:34 GMT -6
I've put together an ambient track. (the outro to the CD) Its very reminiscent of a soundscape, intentionally and pretty much 10 minutes in length. It scared my cats at a reasonable volume - black metal doesn't by the way. Again unmixed, here's a raw sample if anyone is curious... I will most likely put some "soft" vocal parts to it. (soft meaning, not a full black metal voice) www.ankouawaits.com/2015-ambient.mp3
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Post by Thomas Eversole on Apr 2, 2015 3:31:38 GMT -6
The keys and drums are complete. I might add a SFX or sample, but regarding the melodies, the keys are done. Two different tracks, I ended up extending with the keys created - I'm actually pretty confident this album will be 50+ minutes. Next on the agenda is guitars. After 4 AA albums, I put new strings on. I swear I'm not a hoarder, but I couldn't bear to toss my old strings. They're tough as nails and if I want to have an extremely nasty sounding guitar again, I'd like the option to put them back on. ...or if I make it big with my music, someone may want them. Yeah right. LOL Please excuse my phone's blurry camera. Because of my new work schedule, I've got a few days off now... again... as I'm needed on the weekends. After some sleep and prayer, I'll be hitting the guitars hard. As strange as it may sound, I don't pray before recording for all instruments or for all recordings - but for some reason, full albums and guitars, I feel warranted to ask for guidance. I know I said this in a different thread, but my music is a gift to God for my sobriety (sorry guys, its actually not for you ) and I don't want to have sucky guitar, because that will make a sucky album. As of now, my opinion, this will be the best SOUNDING (production wise) album that I've done - that's because of the new laptop and USB line in recording, rather than a stinky mic port. I'd like to think it was the peak of my musicianship as well - as I'm striving to find the blend between innovative and traditional, technical and catchy, slow and fast, light and heavy, etc. Don't have a lick of lyrics yet. I'm not balking - really. I'll probably save that for a work day when I have a few hours to relax and key them into my phone. (yes, I write my song lyrics on my phone - laying on the couch, with YouTube gold or a documentary from Netflix)
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Post by Thomas Eversole on Apr 2, 2015 16:05:01 GMT -6
Guitar for two songs is recorded! 3 to go.
The riffs have been coming to me, but I'm not rushing - I'm pacing myself. I might try to get one more today - but I'll rest my brain for a few hours at least.
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Post by Thomas Eversole on Apr 5, 2015 17:46:50 GMT -6
All guitar tracks are done. All music is done! I've set the track order. Did another length test and it was 47:55 in length. Give or take a few seconds when things are mixed/mastered - it will most likely be 47 minutes and some change.
From what I've "re-listened" to the album, it shouldn't be that difficult to mix. The keys will be trickier than without them, but... not my first rodeo. It will just take some time. Overall, the music is a little more "technical" than previous Ankou Awaits albums. Without spoiling too much, reminds me of a black/death Akryal in some places.
Next on the agenda. Lyrics.
I'm hoping to have them completed by Thursday (my next day off) - and maybe the vocals recorded by Friday. Mixing, mastering and finalizing the weekend after.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2015 19:33:47 GMT -6
Awesome! Looking forward to hearing the finished product!
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Post by Thomas Eversole on Apr 9, 2015 23:21:21 GMT -6
I'm backing up the music right now. Something I've done every release. Even though I've never lost music progress while trying to record them, it would be devastating to lose almost a month's worth of writing and recording. I'd freak out if that happened.
I'm halfway through the 5th track lyrics. I don't have song names yet (since I have a method and madness to that as well) but I've got the themes. The lyrics are pretty descriptive, though there is some character dialog.
The first track is "sobriety" waking up in the forest and finding "discipline" and trying to find a way out The 2nd track is his encounter with his corpse that he has to fight (kind of a death to old self kind of thing) The 3rd track is "sobriety" slaughtering a beast with 6 heads, 6 limbs and 6 tails. (see what I did there) 4th track is "sobriety" encountering a beast that LOOKS demonic/evil, but actually ends up being holy 5th track is "sobriety' encountering a person that LOOKS holy, but actually ends up being demonic/evil 6th track is another encounter with his corpse (old self never goes away - requires maintenance to keep it at bay) (and by maintenance, I mean chopping up a zombie with a giant sword. METAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) 7th track, after spending the whole story killing monsters and trying to leave the forest, he realizes he needs to stay. Kind of a its the journey not the destination kind of thing.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 10, 2015 19:14:30 GMT -6
I've put together an ambient track. (the outro to the CD) Its very reminiscent of a soundscape, intentionally and pretty much 10 minutes in length. It scared my cats at a reasonable volume - black metal doesn't by the way. Again unmixed, here's a raw sample if anyone is curious... I will most likely put some "soft" vocal parts to it. (soft meaning, not a full black metal voice) www.ankouawaits.com/2015-ambient.mp3This sounds really good. I'm excited to hear what this album will sound like.
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Post by Thomas Eversole on Apr 12, 2015 17:56:04 GMT -6
Thanks!
I just finished the lyrics tonight. I'm certain I'll polish them a bit when I actually go to record, but the story is complete. I had a goal to get them done Friday night, which I didn't meet.
Had a bit of a family get together and spent my time running around outside with nephew and niece rather than have my face in my phone, writing more. Besides, I've always said - I would never prioritize my project over family time.
I've got some "cleaning" up to do in a couple tracks. No errors to the extent of needing to be re-recorded, but a few start/stop times need to have the edges trimmed. (again, part of my normal recording process)
A short term goal, depending on my mood and my throat, would be to get the first vocal track done tomorrow. ...to be done recording by Friday evening, and have everything mixed mastered a week later.
I'll get the music done before I even contemplate the "release".
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Post by Thomas Eversole on Apr 16, 2015 6:53:17 GMT -6
I pulled an all night-er. (actually, I took a nap after work, woke up at midnight, coffee, then recorded vocals) The recording process is COMPLETE. Songs are named and I've updated the ankouawaits.com website to reflect those changes.
(I'll let you guys go there if you want to know the song names / read the lyrics) Also, Kerrick inspired me for this - I made the Ankou Awaits logo at the top of every page take you back "home".
This was my first time listening to the album from A to Z. (since me and my bag of 15mg menthol cough drops recorded back to back vocal tracks) ...and it sounds daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn good. I'm very pleased and I feel even stronger that its my best work yet.
If everything goes smoothly with mixing and mastering, I will have a strong chance to finish the album this weekend. (I'm off work Thursdays and Fridays and its only Thursday morning - that's what I mean by this weekend)
I'll take a break now though. Clean house, throw my mower around the yard (almost literally, you guys would laugh to watch me mow), nap and of course get a dose of prayer and meditation to clean my head - before I dive into mixing.
If I finish, I'll do a 15 minute video "previewing" each track of the album, much like I did for the last Hguols release. I really doubt I'll put full songs up until I figure out label stuff. Depending on how that goes, I'll still most likely have the album to stream on my site through bandcamp's fun widget.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 16, 2015 15:29:57 GMT -6
Awesome. I'm very excited for this and really look forward to hearing what you've done. I've always liked the aggression of Ankou Awaits and the atmosphere of Hguols and I'm glad that you've combined the two in this album.
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Post by Thomas Eversole on Apr 17, 2015 14:47:53 GMT -6
After 10 hours of mixing, mixing again, experimenting, experimenting again and over a month and half working on this project, I've concluded this album. Such a good feeling too, to have the master on my PC, my server and the flash drive on my keys. It would have to be an act of God for this album to be lost. I'd like to preface by saying that this isn't the perfect album. It doesn't have perfect production, and the performances aren't perfect either. However, as with anything in life, I strive for excellence - not perfection. In my opinion, Sobrwydd a Disgyblaeth - is excellent. This album exceeded my expectations, and I hope if you choose to listen to it, it exceeds yours. There's some elements of previous releases of course - and you're right CrimsonWarrior, with the synth/keys, its sounds like Ankou Awaits has been listening to a lot of Hguols lately. LOL There's some dissonance/disharmony in some areas of some songs - where the synth/guitars clash in melody. I was actually very pleasantly surprised because this as it reminded me of Bal Sagoth's first and second full lengths. Below is a 15+ video preview of the release which has a consecutive 2 +/- minute running times of each track. For those of you who don't want to stream the preview from YouTube, and/or want to study this from your phone/MP3 player, you can download a 320kbs MP3 of the music at: www.ankouawaits.com/Sobrwydd_a_Disgyblaeth_Preview.mp3Keep in mind, since this is an over 15 minute compilation track that its like 37MB in size. Please tell me what you think of this if you listen to it!!!! _________________________________________________ EDIT: Uploaded a new video because I discovered a change that needed to be made. LOL At least it was an easy fix!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 17, 2015 16:34:31 GMT -6
I'm not sure why you removed it, but I listened to the entire preview and it is very good. I love all of the keyboard elements. The only thing that I'm not a huge fan of is the guitars. I prefer much more melody in general. It's not anything you did wrong, just a matter of personal taste.
EDIT: Never mind, I see that you reuploaded it.
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Post by Thomas Eversole on Apr 17, 2015 17:41:47 GMT -6
LOL - what I noticed is that Track 4 had a little too much volume. It made the 5th track seem a little too quiet, and I wanted song 4 to EXPLODE into song 5.
I didn't use the master template on Track 4 or 7 like I did the heavy tracks, (though I still used my mixing templates on it) so I just had to eyeball the waveforms based on how they looked compared to everything else.
It took just a few minutes to update the preview MP3, my backups and that preview video. ...but you timed it right in between my change! (lucky you)
I totally get and respect your opinion on the guitars. I myself have always had very "grindcorish" style of guitar playing. To me, nothing sounds more powerful than to be assaulted by a wall of indistinguishable and bizzare chunky distortion. Probably why mid-period Devourment is still some of the most "powerful" music on the planet.
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