Finished Mix & 10 minute "making of" video

[Glenn Fricker]

Hey all,

I've got a finished tune from the Power Metal group, "Final Stage." This is pure old school, including the mastering (i.e. sane levels), so don't say you weren't warned! As always, comments, questions & critiques are appreciated!

Also in here is a short 10 minute "making of" video, which I had nothing to do with, so it's not my lousy camerawork. But, it's pretty cool, nonetheless. It's a short look around the studio & what the daily grind is like in here, working with the musicians. The 'director' told me there will be a much higher quality version on the printed disc. But, for web use, this will suffice.

Anyway, here's the links:

Final Stage - The Phoenix
VIDEO

Added a clip of a second song here:
Final Stage - In the Night (The sniper song)

Enjoy!
-0z-

 

[~BURNY~]

Cool. Nice sound but sloppy playing.
Now checking the video.

 

[cobhc]

I think the guitarists pick attack looks so weak on the video, but otherwise it's cool man. And the Strongbad thing rocks

edit: I agree with burny the playing sounds pretty sloppy in places, the guitars sound out of time.

 

[Seizure.]

Jezus..... that guys double bass playing... cool vid though! thanks!

 

[~BURNY~]

Loved that video! More!

 

[Glenn Fricker]

I'll see if I can get a clip or something up of half of another one..... A little less double bass, a little tighter.

 

[cobhc]

i like the in4life clip more, sounds brighter and more powerful to my ears.

 

[Glenn Fricker]

i like the in4life clip more, sounds brighter and more powerful to my ears.

That would be because it's mastered louder. We intentionally backed off the peak limiting on this one. If you gain adjust the two, the FS stuff is certainly cleaner & has more punch. Again, we were going "old school" with this one.

But, as always, your observations are very much appreciated!



BTW, I put a second clip up at the top of the page.

 

[cobhc]

not my bag as far as musically i must admit, and the drums still sound out of time, but nice sound overall man

 

[Oguz286]

That was cool!

I liked the "Youre not pluged in... tttttttoday would be nice!"

 

[Glenn Fricker]

not my bag as far as musically i must admit, and the drums still sound out of time, but nice sound overall man

Thanks man, I worked my ass off on that guitar sound.

Musically, yeah, there's definitley a cheese factor.... sort of in the vein of Dream Evil or 3 Inches of Blood (minus the falsetto). But hey, that's what old school metal is!

 

[cobhc]

Thanks man, I worked my ass off on that guitar sound.

Musically, yeah, there's definitley a cheese factor.... sort of in the vein of Dream Evil or 3 Inches of Blood (minus the falsetto). But hey, that's what old school metal is!

and in dream evil's case, minus the shredding hehe, never heard 3 Inches Of Blood

 

[Glenn Fricker]

BTW, a year ago, the drummer was the nastiest cymbal player I've ever heard. I mean, just harsh .. his 'feel' left something to be desired as well. You know, my usual gripes, too hard on the hats, not hard enough on the snare & toms. He's come a long way, but yeah, still has a long way to go.

I've got him on a daily regimen of click tracks right now. He's coming back with another group for a full length in about 4 months, so I'm expecting massive improvements timing wise by then.

-0z-

3 Inches of Blood is a metal band out of Vancouver. Lucky bastards were mixed by Colin Richardson! Go look up "Deadly Sinners." Cheesey falsetto vocals, but they're so cheesey it makes them great. Definitley a unique sound.

 

[cobhc]

nice one oz

 

[Razorjack]

I so thought of Rock Star when I heard the backing vox!! haha!!

 

[KeithRT99]

i laughed when there was the harmony of "in the night!!!!" trogdor esque

 

[cobhc]

i laughed when there was the harmony of "in the night!!!!" trogdor esque

that goes back to strongbad again

 

[Glenn Fricker]

i laughed when there was the harmony of "in the night!!!!" trogdor esque

Dude, we were totally singing that to it as well. TROG-DOOOOOOORRR!

 

[smy1]

Hm. This really is a double-edged sword:

1) I like the overall sound a lot - there's not much I don't dig. Maybe you could have exaggerated the reverb on the snare some more, haha Very good job all in all.

2) I don't think you are doing the band (and yourself) a good service by not correcting the drumming. A demo with abysmal drumming like that screams "AMATEURS" at anyone and no matter how good the sound - it will always fall back on you as the producer (unless you are only credited as the engineer/mule/lackey). In the end the demo will be judged against the competition by fans, A&R people, bookers, journalists and the band itself. If you are the producer I think it is your responsibility to make the recording competitive by any means necessary (retracking with another drummer, programming, playing the kick separately from the rest and punching in, etc.). Maybe it's just me, but I don't like apologizing for a demo that I produced - even if the criticism is on the lack of musicianship.

 

[Glenn Fricker]

Dude, I hear you. I could have spent a great deal of time cleaning up the drums, however, budget constraints really didn't allow for it. Unfortunatley, with indie bands, it's the one overriding factor.

-0z-