howard clean

[EtherForBreakfast]

random youtube led me to

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Wdz9zdYRwKY

i thought at first that the vox were a bit hot, then i realized its "clean" only

 

[Wolfeman]

Yeah that's the version off of the 'Resident Evil 2' soundtrack. I think that version sounds like shit.

 

[sparkyness]

Saw the new video for "my curse" last night and was coincidently going to post here saying the same thing. They've done an awful video mix for it virtually removal all of the screamed vocals from it taking all the dynamics and "edge" out of a fantastic song that was pretty much close to perfect as it was and easily the best song on the new album.

I don't even see the point of releasing the screamed version on the actual album if you're going to butcher it this badly for the video. They even truncated the clean bridge sung by Adam. The record company has obviously bent them over again.....

 

[joeymusicguy]

im sure their pockets don't mind

i record bands/songs/parts that i dont necessarily like

i bet bands do things they dont really like because at the end of the day, its a business

yep, this version sucks compared to the album
good to see killswitch making some well diserved dough

 

[Kazrog]

I have a theory about this actually. I've been thinking about it a while...

Clear Channel. They won't play anything with growling. Ever. So if KSE wants to get on the radio, they have to record melodic-only versions of their songs. Perhaps Roadrunner has encouraged KSE to do this. I have no clue and I could be totally off the mark, but it's the most likely reason I can think of.

As Andy said recently, "growling is the new swearing."

I don't think any less of the guys for it, Howard's such a great singer that I don't mind hearing him sing more! At the end of the day they're still a badass band with a lot of integrity.

 

[Jackal_Strain]

What the hell is clear channel?

 

[the_drip]

a radio broadcasting company when you hear a radio station's advertisement or plug...they will say "a clear-channel station" at the end of it.

 

[J the TyranT]

I think "Media Juggernaut" is more serving... they run billboards, they run venues, they run fucking everything. So, its like this:

You wont get to play some massive venue, nor will it be promoted on the billboards, nor will your music be on their radio stations, etc etc, cuz its one company that runs incredibly too much, and they're shit for it.

Google or wiki it, I'd suggest

 

[sparkyness]

Clear Channel....another reason why I'm glad I live in Europe these days.

 

[George]

At the end of the day they're still a badass band with a lot of integrity.

How can you have integrity when you're sacrificing your art for money?

 

[Aaron Smith]

Yeah that's the version off of the 'Resident Evil 2' soundtrack. I think that version sounds like shit.

Abosolutely agreed. I don't like the clean vocal version that much, but more than anything, it's the mix that I hate. When you listen to the soundtrack version, and then switch to the Sneap mix of the song, it's incredible how amazingly bad the soundtrack version sounds. All of the clarity in the drums, vocals, guitars, everything...is gone. uke: The guy who mixed the sountrack version should be embarassed.

Saw the new video for "my curse" last night and was coincidently going to post here saying the same thing. They've done an awful video mix for it virtually removal all of the screamed vocals from it taking all the dynamics and "edge" out of a fantastic song that was pretty much close to perfect as it was and easily the best song on the new album.

I don't even see the point of releasing the screamed version on the actual album if you're going to butcher it this badly for the video. They even truncated the clean bridge sung by Adam. The record company has obviously bent them over again.....

I saw the video last night too and thought the exact same thing. That part where Howard normally screams "This...is...my...curse" sounds especially bad with that clean vocal part they made up. I also don't think any less of the guys for these "clean-only" versions though, because if that's going to make the difference in bringing them a greater degree of success, it's a pretty small price to pay.
I also have a theory about the whole Adam D. wanting to mix the record himself... I've been thinking that it might have something to do with the grammys. They didn't win for "The End of Heartache", but a lot of times the second time is the charm at the grammys (Slipknot, for example), so if they were to come back with a really strong effort (clean vocal version of "My Curse"), I would expect there to be a high chance of getting a grammy nomination again, and possibly then a higher chance of winning too...and if Adam D. is aware of this, then...? I may be totally wrong with this idea, but...if I'm right at all, then I would almost feel that Andy Sneap would deserve that grammy just as much as Adam, even though Andy didn't touch the new record, because Andy was responsible for creating and developing the type of mix for KsE that Adam D. has obviously been influenced by for the new record. Thoughts?

 

[Kazrog]

How can you have integrity when you're sacrificing your art for money?

This isn't a debate I wanted to start, but I would say that replacing growling with melody for a single or two, and still having the song sound cool in the end is integrity enough. You have to keep in mind that they may have a contractual obligation to do such things, too. Who knows. Would I do something like this myself? Maybe, if it still sounded cool, if it put another spin on the song in a good way and didn't feel like a letdown.

I still think the radio edit versions of their songs are pretty cool in their own way.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Clear chanell is the bigest fucking enterprise in god damned america and I hate it because aparently they have all the say in what I hear (bullshit garbage), they own fucking everything. Fuck clear chanell.

 

[Wolfeman]

Clear Channel hasn't fucked with XM or Sirrus yet have they?

 

[Nebulous]

they have all the say in what I hear

Put a CD on and give them the finger.....

 

[Jackal_Strain]

Wow, I'm glad I live in Norway.

 

[J the TyranT]

Clear Channel actually has an investment in XM, which is part of what swayed me to the side of Sirius... that, and the fact their metal DJ's seem to actually dig the shit, and know the product... so, I recommend it rather highly.

 

[stringy_]

I've never even heard of Clear Channel, lol!

I'm not too keen on changing music in an attempt to get a bigger following. When Opeth cut down The Grand Conjuration for radio/TV play it kinda made me a bit upset too. I'm sure Road Runner was pushing them on that...

I mean, that's half the appeal of Opeth...the long, intricate song structure, why cut THAT out just to please brain-dead metalheads?

Oh well.

 

[Kazrog]

I've never even heard of Clear Channel, lol!

I'm not too keen on changing music in an attempt to get a bigger following. When Opeth cut down The Grand Conjuration for radio/TV play it kinda made me a bit upset too. I'm sure Road Runner was pushing them on that...

I mean, that's half the appeal of Opeth...the long, intricate song structure, why cut THAT out just to please brain-dead metalheads?

Oh well.

It has to do with the state of the broadcast industry. It's a vicious cycle. Stations are prohibitively expensive to own and operate in America, largely because of the FCC (whether it's FM, Cable TV, etc.) This means only big, evil corporations like Clear Channel and Viacom have a chance at running the stations. On stations like these, most of the programming is commercials.

When it comes to the broadcast industry, music (and content in general) is what happens between commercials. Thus editing down and Opeth song for length is something done out of a certain necessity to fit in the programming schedule. It sucks, and in that example, it is the utter ruination of a great song. However, I don't think that the motivation is to "appeal" to a "brain-dead" demographic with such edits - it's simply to fit the song between commercials.

This kind of commercialism is why I largely ignore TV and radio and stick to the Internet.

 

[stringy_]

It has to do with the state of the broadcast industry. It's a vicious cycle. Stations are prohibitively expensive to own and operate in America, largely because of the FCC (whether it's FM, Cable TV, etc.) This means only big, evil corporations like Clear Channel and Viacom have a chance at running the stations. On stations like these, most of the programming is commercials.

When it comes to the broadcast industry, music (and content in general) is what happens between commercials. Thus editing down and Opeth song for length is something done out of a certain necessity to fit in the programming schedule. It sucks, and in that example, it is the utter ruination of a great song. However, I don't think that the motivation is to "appeal" to a "brain-dead" demographic with such edits - it's simply to fit the song between commercials.

This kind of commercialism is why I largely ignore TV and radio and stick to the Internet.

Yeah, I'm a master control operator at my local FOX affiliate, meaning I'm in charge of all programming, satellite feeds, run-times, etc. etc. I know all about that sorta stuff.

Yeah, the Opeth thing makes sense...cutting down a 9 minute song so it's more 3:30-radio friendly. They do that with syndicated Simpson episodes. The network will air the new/debut episodes in their entirety, then a year later they'll show up in our syndicated library...but missing a few scenes, lol! Each half-hour show is actually 28:30 long, and they need to stuff as many paid spots into that 28:30 as possible. Our station will even cut 5 second program bumpers just to slide more spots in the show.

However, I will point out that I do regularly hear 7-8 minute Tool songs all day long on my local hard rock radio stations. The classic rock stations are also quite fond of the super-long Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Doors, stuff too.

So who told Opeth that they need to shorten up a song so they can have a radio single? Roadrunner? Broadcasters? They're both evil, so they can both take the blame.

I love my little low-market affiliate job though, so am I part of the evil media-corporation machine? Lol!



Anywho, back on topic...the KSE thing doesn't quite fall into that reasoning though. But alas, there's no use to fret about it and make a big stink about it. It's just kinda odd to me, and it made me think of Opeth when I saw them on MTV2, and how I was bummed out that they completely screwed up the pace of one of my favorite songs.