Memphis May Fire sounds so low

[SafeHouse]

Hey guys,

So its been puzzling me how Memphis May Fire have such a low sounding CD from The Hollow album (and also from there new release out now)

They're typically in a higher tuning (like Dropped C# in The Victim etc), and in some lower tunings for others... but overall they still manage to sound 'heavier' that a lot of bands out there....

Is Cameron Mizell doing something special?
Anything with the bass? Could it be detuned?
Anyone know anything that may have been done...



Anyway, here's there new release..

[YOUTUBE]_YEscK-H1t8#![/YOUTUBE]

 

[Reinot]

I don't quite understand your question, but tuning for this song is G# (drop G# likely)

 

[SafeHouse]

I don't quite understand your question, but tuning for this song is G# (drop G# likely)

I mean, even in higher tuned songs of theirs- they still manage to sound a heap heavier than other bands in the same tuning... to me.

Im wondering if there is anything special done...

 

[bassguy]

Tuning ≠ Heaviness

 

[colonel kurtz]

^i wish more kids would realize this. this ever spiraling downward trend down the frequency spectrum that's been happening ever since korn blew up is getting pretty ridiculous, and people need to realize that true "heaviness" in metal comes from good songwriting and inspired performances

lamb of god - as the palaces burn is in drop d, and will forever be heavier than pretty much anything that's ever played on an 8 string guitar...even with its shitty guitar tone and crappy snare

 

[mva801]

^^ True. It's ALL in the fingers/ writing. Whenever douchebags tune to drop Q and proceed to play syncopated diminished fifth palm muted drudgery I have to just shake my head. That shit doesn't make you heavy. Being a good player and writing heavy songs makes you heavy.

IMO the heaviest bands ever rarely ever tune below drop C. High on my list are Gojira, Neurosis, Lamb of God.

Anywho to the OP's question, no they aren't doing anything magical. That song you posted is def. tuned WAY low. They don't sound any heavier to me than all the other rise records formulaic pop/deathcore stuff. Actually my favorite part was the melodic chorus. The rest of it has been done a million times over.

 

[SentencedToBurn]

drop C. heavier then shit on an 8 string.

 

[GearMan2point0]

As long as it sounds good to somebody you are doing something right. Everything else is opinon.

Edit: My band plays in Drop A, but only because our clean vocalist sounds at his best in the key of A minor. That is his place to sing. And many people look down on this, "They tune lower now because the singer's range sucks," maybe that is true, but who said that you have to sing incredibly high to be good. As long as you carry energy with your voice and it mixes well in the song, your solid. Also, we write like we are in D, but we happen to be in A

 

[kernelxsanders]

^i wish more kids would realize this. this ever spiraling downward trend down the frequency spectrum that's been happening ever since korn blew up is getting pretty ridiculous, and people need to realize that true "heaviness" in metal comes from good songwriting and inspired performances

You can actually thank Tony Iommi for introducing lower tuned guitars but yes, i agree. i find it sicking when i hear kids say things like "how can our music be any heavier? i know, lets go from C to Ab!" because they do cannot comprehend that low does not equal heavy, heavy equals heavy.

 

[SafeHouse]

Tuning ≠ Heaviness

I could agree more, i have seen the conversion of so many (local) bands progressively get lower and lower in the search for a heavier sound. So Dumb!
I don't mind the occasional low tuned song on a CD, but its pretty over done now.

Whenever douchebags tune to drop Q and proceed to play syncopated diminished fifth palm muted drudgery I have to just shake my head.

Just too many LOL's in this sentence hahaha!

low does not equal heavy, heavy equals heavy.

I wish all the easily impressionable bands would comprehend this!
Not only to mention when they keep getting lower, they only seem to miss out on a section of the freq spectrum witch makes it feel so empty...

 

[mva801]

As long as it sounds good to somebody you are doing something right. Everything else is opinon.

Edit: My band plays in Drop A, but only because our clean vocalist sounds at his best in the key of A minor. That is his place to sing. And many people look down on this, "They tune lower now because the singer's range sucks," maybe that is true, but who said that you have to sing incredibly high to be good. As long as you carry energy with your voice and it mixes well in the song, your solid. Also, we write like we are in D, but we happen to be in A

Hey there's nothing wrong with low tunings, all we're saying is they don't make you HEAVIER. My band plays in drop B. But that's mostly because I tuned it down to learn some Isis songs and just loved the tonality of it. B minor is a very sad sounding key, so I decided to leave it there. But what I strive NOT to do is sit there chugging my open B with some cheap deathcore rip off riffs...

drop C. heavier then shit on an 8 string.

LOVE that record!

 

[solphilcox]

lots of silly finger waving here, nobody asked anybody to assess and rate the cred of this band and their tuning. can't we agree that this sturgis mix sounds absolutely HUGE?? definitely right though it does just sound a little bit ballsy-er in the lows than even joey's best previous work.

talk shit about rise records/this particular sound..... sturgis is the MAN when it comes to making a mix sound as heavy as humanly possible. wish my mixes were anything close to this.

 

[outbreak525]

lots of silly finger waving here, nobody asked anybody to assess and rate the cred of this band and their tuning. can't we agree that this sturgis mix sounds absolutely HUGE?? definitely right though it does just sound a little bit ballsy-er in the lows than even joey's best previous work.

talk shit about rise records/this particular sound..... sturgis is the MAN when it comes to making a mix sound as heavy as humanly possible. wish my mixes were anything close to this.

Pretty sure this is Chango, not Sturgis.

And Memphis in G# always sounded good to me, don't see why they wouldn't come back to the tuning on this album too.

 

[Joshua Camey]

Hey guys,

So its been puzzling me how Memphis May Fire have such a low sounding CD from The Hollow album (and also from there new release out now)

They're typically in a higher tuning (like Dropped C# in The Victim etc), and in some lower tunings for others... but overall they still manage to sound 'heavier' that a lot of bands out there....

Is Cameron Mizell doing something special?
Anything with the bass? Could it be detuned?
Anyone know anything that may have been done...



Anyway, here's there new release..

[YOUTUBE]_YEscK-H1t8#![/YOUTUBE]

Memphis is a great band. Their songs are wrote masterful. Great great songs going back to challenger. This light i hold to me is my personal fave. Matty is one of the best vocalist out their right now. Great barking screams to good lows and a better than most singing voice. Lyricly he is deep talking about real stuff man. He is upon badly by the metal world because he is open with his emotions feelings. Which their is nothing wrong with. i can relate with this new album alot as for tuning they tune to G#

 

[Delitzsch]

sturgis is the MAN when it comes to making a mix sound as heavy as humanly possible.

Yeah, no. First two Black Sabbath records, anyone? And that shit was recorded in 1970. I agree with most people on here. It's the song writing and playing that makes a mix sound heavy. Hopefully, this millennial super-low-hippo-fart guitar tone goes away and dies like all those Y2K nu-metal bands.

 

[nezvers]

For me MMF sound good only because of added production (synths/ effects). I gave a try on one of latest albums when heard that Brian Hood did mixing and it sounded amazing (as mix and production) but boring as songwriting. Just like most "Sturgiscore" bands sounds good only because production and vocals like some pop songs. Totally boring riffs, chord progressions. Rare band in that genre stocked with me is Crown the Empire.