Holy Shit, I Think I figured it out!

My band and i will record a 2 songs demo real soon.
Click to expand...
This is exciting! Do you get to show off all your music ideas and stuff completely in your band? or are you limited by them?
 
My band is recording soon as well. We have like 8 new songs and I must say that for anyone who's ever heard us, they will definitely either totally love them or totally despise them! hah there will definitely not be a middle ground. Some of my friends have refered to us as a "Black Metal Iron Maiden".. I like to think that we're more like an Iron Megadeth myself... We're gonna be recording in an all digital studio so it should be interesting.
For anyone interested in listening- here's a link to our MP3 page-
www.mp3.com/noctuary
criticisms are welcome...
 
BWP actually has a LOT of little details in it that I'm still noticing. Just little notes that were hidden under the noise, things like that. There are actually a number of mistakes on the album, he says.

If I had to say I didn't like something about it, it would be the song concepts. Most of them are basically about nothing in particular, just some vague semi stories. But the imagery created makes me not care about that. And being vague kind of keeps it interesting, which is a nice thing about all their songs.

Still Life was a bit more raw though. I think it has more "mystery noises" than any other album. Like the coughs people think they hear, the mixing errors on The Moor, and that funny poing in Face of Melinda.
 
I feel the only thing really separating BWP from all of their other albums is the general sound. The guitars, the riffs, the singing... it's all different to the albums before it... it feels more droning, and the album stands out different than all the others. I think it marked the birth of new Opeth.
 
In my very humble opinion (yeah, right) BWP is the best Opeth album. There are light years of distance between BWP and other Opeth albums. It's higher level of music. Just like Anathema AFDTE. But what ordinary metal-heads know about that???
 
Ahh yes, extensive desolation starts ranting again, self-proclaimed god and mr know-it-all of opeth's archives of music. I'm sure the 'ordinary metal-head' would know alot more than yourself, taking what you posted on the Swano vs Akerfeldt thread.
 
Originally posted by Moonlapse
I'm sure the 'ordinary metal-head' would know alot more than yourself, taking what you posted on the Swano vs Akerfeldt thread.
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I've posted the truth.
Listen to Swano's death metal albums and compare it to other melodic death metal bands from Sweden. You'll see that his music is only average. Of course he has some good moments (like first 20 minutes of Crimson) but every pop-star has some good monments.
 
Originally posted by YaYoGakk
This is exciting! Do you get to show off all your music ideas and stuff completely in your band? or are you limited by them?
Click to expand...

Depends on wich songs we record. The only songs that currently display all of my ideas are Subnormal ( starts with an acoustic gothish riff, brakes into a typical 4 chords circle jazz part where i improvise depending on the situation ( as little as 1 minute as long as 30 minutes, depends on the time and on my mood ) then brakes into a fullspeed melo-death part with female vocals doing seconds, then brakes into a weird semidisonant riff were i improvise a somehow short typical solo ( usually sounds a lot like schuldiner stuff, im just a big fan )

The other song is Unlife wich is a bit different, starts with an acoustic thing then brakes into a 9th driven tense riff, then a bridge ( made out of 3rds ) wich i use along the song, and then your typical distorcion gothish riff with female vocals, only catch is that i play major and minor 7ths over all making it sound odd, then a pretty heavy chorus and stuff and then again a full speed melodeath riff with a hard-to-play ( my hand always hurts like hell ) 9th thing going on in the middle. THen it turns weird, we go into atypical jazz tempo with female vocals along, then we go into a more weird and uptempo jazz riff were Maria did some creative and odd but nice arragement of the lyrics, and a part wich still presents trouble to the drummer cause is just weird. Then it returns to the bridge and then it brakes down to a veeery slow and dense riff were i play a little melody on the lead wich i love.

This last song is the only one that somehow catches all the ideas we have, and still sounds coherent. It will definitely be 1 of the 2 songs. The newer ones well...Water its a short goth/melodic death song with a gardenian inspired passage were i play my only planned solo to date ( i like it so much than i keep playing it in the exact same way, well almost cause i do some fast shred to lead out of the solo and i never keep that the same ) But it does has a bridge wich uses chords i dont have names for hehe ( root (Bb )tritone and major 6th, then a root ( in A ) 4th and minor 6th what are they called i cant figure the names out, It must be something like Asus4add13 or something ). Embraced by agony is also similar to water but it has a couple of riffs that kinda remind me of carcass a bit, very heavy and stuff. But this song does have improviced solos, 3 of them actually, one mine, one of the other guitar player and a fast madness shredding outro. But somehow the song didnt use any jazzy parts at all and it doesnt feels like it needs them so i leaved it like that.

The newer song we have ( i havent worked on the lyrics so no name yet ) has yet another approach, it breaks with an acoustic riff that doesnt sounds sad ( something odd cause almost all of my riffs sound sad somehow ) then we go into a fast melodeath riff when the 2 guitars play completly unrelated parts that still make a nice harmony, then i made one of the most brutal riffs for Koldun ever wich is a fast riffs with the drums blasting, then we go into an odd rif wich involves a 5th and minor 6th and a 9th, then it brakes into a very Opeth like ( yea i know the other guitar player doesnt even likes opeth and yet most of his riffs sound a lot like opeth hehehe ) riff were i do another sad melody on the lead and i will probably trow in female voice there too. Then i go into an acoustic riff involving a lot of 7ths wich do sound a bit jazzy and then we play the same riffs with distorsion and i play a similar thing only with 8ths and then kicks back into the opethish riff, then goes back to the beginning and ends on the blasting part.


So as you see im on a bit of a dilema, cause i gotta pick 1 of those 3 songs to record but i really dont know wich one to choose, can anyone comment on wich one sounds more interesting? would be greatly appreciated.
 
The last one!

I'm wondering what they all sound like to be honest but the words "...then i made one of the most brutal riffs for Koldun ever which is a fast riffs with the drums blasting..." got me curious. Now, looking back at your post, "This last song is the only one that somehow catches all the ideas we have" sounds promising also.

YaYo, I think I understand what you're saying about BWP. Funny though. It's like total perfection was what Mikael was shooting for and achieved in recording, but sometimes all we want is the real thing. Slip ups and all.
 
I don't feel that way at all. I think it is one of there most atmospheric albums. It is impossible for me to pick their worst album I like all of them equally. Steve Wilson I think did a great job producing this album to have atmosphere, examples like the ending of Dirge for November the back round reverb effect and the beginning of The Drapery Falls and after the clean solo in Bleak when the distored guitars come back in.

And for those of you who like Joe Pass and Pat Metheny should check out Al Di Meola and Allan Holdsworth those are other great Jazz guitarist.
 
Originally posted by Misanthrope
Depends on wich songs we record. The only songs that currently display all of my ideas are Subnormal ( starts with an acoustic gothish riff, brakes into a typical 4 chords circle jazz part where i improvise depending on the situation ( as little as 1 minute as long as 30 minutes, depends on the time and on my mood ) then brakes into a fullspeed melo-death part with female vocals doing seconds, then brakes into a weird semidisonant riff were i improvise a somehow short typical solo ( usually sounds a lot like schuldiner stuff, im just a big fan )

The other song is Unlife wich is a bit different, starts with an acoustic thing then brakes into a 9th driven tense riff, then a bridge ( made out of 3rds ) wich i use along the song, and then your typical distorcion gothish riff with female vocals, only catch is that i play major and minor 7ths over all making it sound odd, then a pretty heavy chorus and stuff and then again a full speed melodeath riff with a hard-to-play ( my hand always hurts like hell ) 9th thing going on in the middle. THen it turns weird, we go into atypical jazz tempo with female vocals along, then we go into a more weird and uptempo jazz riff were Maria did some creative and odd but nice arragement of the lyrics, and a part wich still presents trouble to the drummer cause is just weird. Then it returns to the bridge and then it brakes down to a veeery slow and dense riff were i play a little melody on the lead wich i love.

This last song is the only one that somehow catches all the ideas we have, and still sounds coherent. It will definitely be 1 of the 2 songs. The newer ones well...Water its a short goth/melodic death song with a gardenian inspired passage were i play my only planned solo to date ( i like it so much than i keep playing it in the exact same way, well almost cause i do some fast shred to lead out of the solo and i never keep that the same ) But it does has a bridge wich uses chords i dont have names for hehe ( root (Bb )tritone and major 6th, then a root ( in A ) 4th and minor 6th what are they called i cant figure the names out, It must be something like Asus4add13 or something ). Embraced by agony is also similar to water but it has a couple of riffs that kinda remind me of carcass a bit, very heavy and stuff. But this song does have improviced solos, 3 of them actually, one mine, one of the other guitar player and a fast madness shredding outro. But somehow the song didnt use any jazzy parts at all and it doesnt feels like it needs them so i leaved it like that.

The newer song we have ( i havent worked on the lyrics so no name yet ) has yet another approach, it breaks with an acoustic riff that doesnt sounds sad ( something odd cause almost all of my riffs sound sad somehow ) then we go into a fast melodeath riff when the 2 guitars play completly unrelated parts that still make a nice harmony, then i made one of the most brutal riffs for Koldun ever wich is a fast riffs with the drums blasting, then we go into an odd rif wich involves a 5th and minor 6th and a 9th, then it brakes into a very Opeth like ( yea i know the other guitar player doesnt even likes opeth and yet most of his riffs sound a lot like opeth hehehe ) riff were i do another sad melody on the lead and i will probably trow in female voice there too. Then i go into an acoustic riff involving a lot of 7ths wich do sound a bit jazzy and then we play the same riffs with distorsion and i play a similar thing only with 8ths and then kicks back into the opethish riff, then goes back to the beginning and ends on the blasting part.


So as you see im on a bit of a dilema, cause i gotta pick 1 of those 3 songs to record but i really dont know wich one to choose, can anyone comment on wich one sounds more interesting? would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Sounds interesting.. each song seems like it would have its own appeal.. The last song you mention definitely sounds interesting.. i love twin guitar riffs that seem to have nothing to do with each other. And mixing your 'most brutal' stuff with opeth like stuff could sound realyl good.

And yeh, as for naming chords, i know nothing. your better at me than that stuff. I actualyl dont like to know names of harmonies or chords, because i find it actually limits me. instead of thinking out each note and harmonising each appropriately i start doing things like "playing this riff in 3rds" or something. I want to learn all the words and names eventually, but i feel doing it now wouldnt be useful. I mean i know the stuff, i just never think about it so i cant automatically figure it out.. it just doesnt enter my thought pattern.
 
Originally posted by Misanthrope
Hehehe, i was classically trained for a month or 2 so some stuff is still left in me :p.
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When i was younger i had a guitar teacher who couldve taught me classical stuff, but all i wanted to learn was metal (by metal i mean medageth/metallica/etc). Ive got a few books for classical training, and i really want to learn it properly, my technique is actually fairly right on a classical, im just not good at certain things. But the bassist in my band was classically trained for a bit, and knows heaps more terminology than me.... its always things i know how to do but i just dont know what he's talking about when he uses the proper names.

I just act like i know stuff... nod my head and look pretty and hope they dont ask me stuff :)
 
Originally posted by Till Fjalls
Why I don't like Blackwater Park As Much as the other albums! It's taken a while, but I've come to the conclusion they have gotten too tight as a band, and it makes them lose the feel they had before. The others were tight, but not as perfect, and the production on BWP just takes away from that atmosphere as well. Any one else think so?

Same with Cynic-their songs are great ,but I am never compelled to listen to their album because their sound/feel doesn't seem to suit the music.
Click to expand...

Yeah I came to this conclusion as well. And now I now its for a fact.

Like in MAYH an still life the drumming has this kind of loose/honest sound to it, it doesn't sound like it has been too processed; in other words it sounds natural. same with the guitar, for some reason it makes it more interesting. I believe if those two albums were super tight meaning all the instruments it would not be the same. I guess this is why these two albums have SO MUCH replay value to them.

Orchid and morningrise are good, but I don't know, I just don't find myself going back to these albums much, at first I did but it wore off after a while, and I just don't listen to those all that much anymore. But with Mayh and Still life I have heard this so many fucking times its unbelievable and I'm still not bored of them. I could go back to them anyday and be totally content hearing them.
 
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