My band The Hudson Horror releases its debut EP

[MarcusGHedwig]

Hey guys, it is with great pleasure that I present to you my new band The Hudson Horror, and our debut album, the Dark Compulsions EP

You can listen to it and download it at at our Bandcamp (donations always welcome ), and please "like" us on Facebook as well - really hope you all dig it, I did all the production and played all the guitar and bass parts and drum programming (we now have a monster of a bassist, still looking for a drummer), and wrote all the music with the vocalist, except for the title track, which also featured riff input from my good buddy Mike Bauder (Randyisgod15)

The logo and artwork was done by our very own Nick Ledesma (NickL) EDIT: and apologies for forgetting to mention the drums in the outro of Trying Times, which were programmed by Fariz Pahlevi (delayshifter); thanks again dudes!

EDIT cont. - Also wanted to mention that this album is dedicated to the memories of Steve Robertson (midget donkeys) and Anthony Frugis, who was a good friend of Dan's (our vocalist) who died tragically and about whom Trying Times is written

Much later...

EDIT: Christian/Crillemannen was kind enough to do a quick mix of Dark Compulsions (the song) for us, and it pretty much melted my face off and shoveled my mixing skills a big fat slice of humble pie - but damn is it tasty pie

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/332050/The%...Haga Mix.mp3

 

[Mago]

Only listened to the first song so far cause my internet is still a bitch and everything takes forever to load.
I like the music, the mix is pretty nice too, altho I think the guitars are undergained, but I'm pretty sure that this was intended.
But man, I can't wrap my head around some of the high vocal parts...toooootally not what I'm into vocalwise.
The mid and deeper more hardcore-ish stuff is nice, but most of the higher stuff, not my cup of tea at all.
The vocalist for apex predator was better imo

Cool work overall tho, it sounds less killswitchy than the AP EP!

 

[LeSedna]

Every time i read "ledesma" i read "Lesedna" and I remind myseld that no I didn't participate in the artwork

Sound really cool dude, I think I prefer it over apex predator overall, sounds more mature than the first one by miles

 

[MarcusGHedwig]

Thanks dudes, and yes, maturity on multiple fronts is something I'd like to think I've improved upon since my Metaltastic days haha - as for Dan (the vocalist) he's really into crust punk, d-beat, and other super raw hardcore-type genres, so that's where the influence on the highs comes from; I really like it personally (what a surprise ) for the fury and ferocity behind it, and hopefully it'll grow on you!

 

[Damian B]

His vocal highs remind me of Fleshwrought - I dig it!

I wish the mix had a little more bass, but overall it sounds good. The drums don't sound too programmed and everything is clear.

Awesome dude!

 

[crillemannen]

I like it man!!! The only complaint is that it sounds a bit stiff due to the drums are programmed. So it sounds like a good sounding demo. You mentioned like hardcore influences. That is an interesting combination if you make the production a bit rawer (read real drums )

Why don't you fly me over and do a Ep/album with you would been awesome!!!

 

[AllanD]

I dig the songs. The only thing I hate is the vocal reverb; it's a bit too obvious and makes the vocals sound unusually black metal haha.

 

[MarcusGHedwig]

Thanks gents - Christian (that's your name, right?), might take a bit to build up a budget for that haha, but I've always really liked your stuff And yeah, definitely want real drums too, just gotta find a drummer!

Re: vocal verb, I was kinda going for the whole "horror" vibe, so I guess black metal is as close as any Didn't think it was quite that bad, but hey, can't please everybody

Also, one thing I'd like to draw attention to if I may is the solos (Trying Times is the only one without any ) And please peep the OP for a couple of important edits

 

[Metal Overload]

Great stuff as expected Marcus, really good songs!

 

[53Crëw]

Congrats, Marcus. Can you provide some details about the production?

Was this using the Krank and Mesa 2x12? OR did you have someone reamp for you? Sounds good.

 

[Habsburgs]

really nice guitar tone! the playing sounds natural, did you do any editing to the guitars?

 

[Terminus]

Some kick ass riffage mang!

 

[JeffTD]

The songs and riffs rule, this is really good music. Production is worlds better than the last one you posted here but definitely agree with Crillemannen's assertion that it's more 'good demo' status than anything else.

 

[Nuno Filipe]

Great work man. I dig the guitar solos.

 

[Keregioz]

Ok, here's some honest criticism:

- I don't really like the guitar tone. As others have said, it's undergained and lacks "balls". Especially for this kind of music/mix where the rhythm guitars play such prominent role.
- I hate the vocals, they really keep me from enjoying the music. I generally don't enjoy screaming/growling vocals but like Mago mentioned they higher screaming make it even worse. It would really help if there was at least some melody in there (similar to soilwork or scar symmetry).
- The solos are really good (and the main reason I listened through all the songs to be honest) and the performances in general are great, really tight riffing.
- One other criticism I have, and I'm pretty sure I said something similar for the apex predator stuff too, is that the production/arrangement of the songs feels kinda empty. I really think they would benefit if they had some more layers (which could be melodies, harmonies, synths, ambient clean guitars etc.) instead of the same old "2 guitars left/right, bass, drums, vocals and the occasional solo" setup. I don't know...it just feels empty, like a rough demo (and I'm not talking about the quality of the mix) that you would add more ideas later in the official recording. I don't know if you get what I'm saying. Maybe a more aggressive guitar tone would help.

Sorry if it came out kinda harsh, just trying to be honest .

 

[Nuno Filipe]

I agree that the duality of clean/agressive vocals would be much more enjoyable. But I like the high screams but I occasionally hear to black metal, so I am used to. I also can agree that besides those badass riffs, there are no much suprises in terms of writting. Follows a strict line of composition wich can be good for the tVue cult fans!lol If you know what I mean.

 

[MarcusGHedwig]

Thanks dudes, some really helpful stuff - rhythm guitars were indeed the Krank through the ghetto Mesa 2x12 in my sig, so it was a bit of an uphill battle (also, perhaps more importantly, because I used the Duncan Alternative VIII, which I've since swapped for a Custom that I used for the leads), but I am pretty certain they're the best I can make 'em, cuz I re-amped like 6 times (EDIT: forgot to mention that I was sparing with the gain to not exacerbate the inherent "scratchiness" in the cab)

Little performance editing on the guitars/bass, though *a lot* of takes; the blessing (and curse ) of DIY'ing is the ability to be a perfectionist! (and I really made an effort to play both not only tightly but also very aggressively, sorta tracking it Lars Ulrich style, maybe 30-40 seconds at a time, to sustain maximum intensity)

Kimon, thanks so much for the really honest feedback For our next release, I really do wanna work with an engineer who can also be something of a producer, who can help with arranging and layering stuff that I'm not as familiar with; that said, we tried to really put something memorable in every song, and sustain interest with the transitions, tempo/meter changes, vocal layering, etc. - but of course I'm about the worst person to objectively assess whether we succeeded Glad you liked the solos!

I guess the final thing I'll say about the vocals is I really got hooked on the style seeing Dan's ridiculous energy in recording them (handheld SM7b in the control room, monitors fucking blasting); in the past few years I've really started recognizing and appreciating performances with real perceptible emotional energy and (once again) ferocity behind them, and that vocal style is pretty much defined by it IMO! Though I admit I'm not a huge fan of many of the actual bands he likes (Converge is another big one) it's more the influence he takes from it that I've grown to dig quite a bit

 

[MarcusGHedwig]

Well, despite swearing to myself that I wouldn't do this again, I revised the mix, though only some <1 dB level/automation changes; made it a bit more even though IMO! (all the streaming audio links in the op/my sig have been updated, and I'll pm those who've already bought it with new d/l links). Thanks again for the great feedback dudes

 

[FIXXXER]

great riffs in there!
the mix is really raw but it fits the style, i like it.

 

[Metal Overload]

Hearing once again... kick ass!