Melodic Death Metal - please help

[Psych05]

Hi there,

here is a song from the project I'm currently working on. I did editing all day and the release party is set for Friday, so there's not that much time left and I need at least another 2 days of editing for the other songs. So I guess I'll have to mix on the fly somehow. And I hate that, normally I don't listen to a project for a few days before mixing, so that I have a clear view and fresh ears.
So although this is work-in-progress, you could really help me out with pointing out potential problems which I probably don't notice anymore after hearing it way too often. As always, any comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks guys!

http://www.chiabola.com/d97f6/oncemore_beta.mp3

 

[Black neon bob]

The mix is clear, nothing muddy going on here, big plus!

that being said, i think the bass guitar is too low in the mix.. besides that..

Good job man...

 

[Psych05]

Oh, that's because there is no Bass Guitar yet! Sorry, I completly forgot to mention that.

 

[Jackal_Strain]

The guitars are a bit dull on my monitors. The drums sound okay. The separation is good!
I don't like the vocals, but thats just my taste. They sound a bit "safe".

 

[Black neon bob]

Oh, that's because there is no Bass Guitar yet! Sorry, I completly forgot to mention that.

Haha... i was looking for that low end in the song, it's there, but not in the form of a bass guitar, it makes sense now...

Then it's cool man.. nice mix, and im sure once the bass comes in, it'll sound more complete and done.

 

[Psych05]

Jackal_Strain, I think you are right with the Guitars, I just boosted some more mids to correct that. Thanks! I don't really like the Vocals either, but I tried my best. The singer had a cold during recording (I know, they _always_ do, but he really spent the next few days in bed). And you could hear that, espessially on the higher pitched stuff. I tried using EQ to fix that nasality (does that word exist in english...?!), which worked to some extent, but I'm still not satisified, I must admit.

The Bass Guitar... Well, the bassist quit during the recording. So I now have two options, use the bass midi-track from the preprodution or simply no bass at all. Great stuff! I love these professional bands!
I have absolutely no experience with programming bass, and so far I haven't been able to get the midi bass to sound anything less than complete and utter bullshit using the vb-1 virtual instrument included in Cubase. Can somebody recommend a quick & easy way to make it sound a little more natural?

 

[Familia><Publica]

Take out that sample of whatever yank that is at the intro, especially the fact that its southern and lets face it, what the fuck do they know about melodic death metal? Again, take it out, apart from that, needs synth for melodic death metal, its not melodic death metal without it. Like what you've got so far, guitars need more definition, snare needs more crack.

 

[Black neon bob]

Wow... the bass player quit?

I would browse around and see if someone is willing to lay down a bass track or two for this project... i mean, i have tried that cubase bass VSTi, and it's crap... there are a few bass plugins you could look at, but i would go for a real bass track first, or try to find one..

without it, the mix is incomplete

 

[JeffTD]

It sounds like there's no verb at all on the drums... it's really needing some on the snare/toms - it sounds way too dead as is.

Otherwise, sounds awesome! Killer separation and clarity!


And pfffft you do NOT need synths for melodeath.

 

[Psych05]

Wow... the bass player quit?

I would browse around and see if someone is willing to lay down a bass track or two for this project... i mean, i have tried that cubase bass VSTi, and it's crap... there are a few bass plugins you could look at, but i would go for a real bass track first, or try to find one..

without it, the mix is incomplete

Yeah, that bitch left right during the recording, halfway into the third song...
Absolutely, I'm right there with you. If there was more time I would have probably tapped our bass player to do it. I already asked him, by the way. But the other tracks are a bit more technical & faster, and they want me to deliver the mix tomorrow evening. I don't know that much bass players that could pull this off without knowing the songs in advance. So I guess I'll have to live with that. Maybe we can re-record when they found their new Bass Player, I don't know.

DSS_3 & Familia><Publica:
I will try out putting some more verb on the drums, but there already is, of course. But it's a very short one, small room, just to give a little ambience. Maybe it's too little, I already thought about that too. And regarding the Intro and the synths, I guess I'll have to leave these decisions to the band!
But the Snare, I love the Snare! It's the first time I used Andy's sample and I honestly think it works perfectly here. Thanks Andy!
And thanks for your comments!

 

[RootBoundApollo]

Take out that sample of whatever yank that is at the intro, especially the fact that its southern and lets face it, what the fuck do they know about melodic death metal? Again, take it out, apart from that, needs synth for melodic death metal, its not melodic death metal without it. Like what you've got so far, guitars need more definition, snare needs more crack.

Johnny Cash dude I agree completely though, I absolutely hate sound clips from other songs within songs

I think the drums could use some compression but overall it sounds really really nice

 

[Jackal_Strain]

Besides... if you are going to release that song, you'd better make shure you have all the copyrights bullshit sorted out.

 

[RootBoundApollo]

Besides... if you are going to release that song, you'd better make shure you have all the copyrights bullshit sorted out.

yeah, selling an unauthorized recording of Cash is a legal sodomy waiting to happen

 

[Psych05]

I already told them that this might spell trouble but the Band says that they sorted out the legal situation and that they can use it. I think I did my part with telling them. In the end, they are responsible because they are releasing it. And they made it very clear that they want it on there, so I'm doing my job.
Anyway, the drums do have a littlebit of dynamics left, more than usual in this genre, that's true. About the first thing the band said to me before the recording was that they don't want the drums to sound more natural than on sneap-productions. So that's the reason. Funny that I used Andy's samples, but they are happy with it.
Thanks for your comments!