- Mar 27, 2016
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Hey, I'm Ben. Everything you hear is recorded at home with my trusty Ib(e)nez Prestige 1570 (With an edge pro), an RG8, and amp sims. Feel free to hit play on a song of your choice to have something to listen to while you read.
This is the first time I've tried to put my music out, so I'm hoping for some at least semi decent feedback. If you've got any recommendations for anywhere else I should try and post, it'd be appreciated. I'm sorry if this seems like a long list, but pick what sounds interesting to you and give it a quick skip through. If there's anything I can do for anyone, I'd love to do what I can to help.
Most of these picks are fairly old, but I honestly think they're some of the best stuff I've come out with. I, sadly, feel the more I write, the more I get into habits. Things start to sound similar, and originality wears off. You find a comfort zone, and have to fight to escape it. Writing and recording on your own is just as much a blessing as it is a curse!
I write in trial and error, and so what we have here are a few snippets from over a hundred songs I've worked on over the years.
The Sake Of Sanity - Some Of My Favourite Parts: A collage of best bits I thought were cool from an album I considered "finished" almost two years ago. Full of "final" mixes. Or so I thought.
Inspire: Energetic, major. Not written with vocals in mind. It's samey, but easy to listen to. Simplicity with some more complex fills to spice things up every now and then. The main melody is entirely tapping/sliding, so it's an interesting sound. Nice to play, too.
The Illusion Of Peace: Again energetic, but minor. Much faster bpm with some tougher techniques and playing.
Ambition: Complete guitar wankery. Nothing too clever in here, but it's an interesting sound. I don't think there's enough ideas in here to warrant the length, but at least the chorus is cool.
Atmos: This was intended as the intro to the album. It's ambienty, has interesting note choice, and holds back on anything complex. This has to be one of my all time favourites (probably due to it just being so different to everything else).
Sayonara: An attempt at something closer to my heart that ends up very post rocky. Vocals were intended, but never recorded (Yes that's my way out of how boring it is for the first half). You know songs where the singer kinda has like an emotional breakdown mid song? That was my dream with this, and to this day I imagine it when I'm having a listen in the shower.
Zero: 8 string metal with only half the solo. RIP old harddrive. This is probably what you're expecting from somebody claiming they write metal, posting on "ultimatemetal.com". I struggle to write with the 8 string, because I struggle to keep things interesting when I'm purposely trying to write in a style that isn't my own. The rest of the song (eaten by my harddrive) was entirely solo, and made the track length longer by incorporating my own ideas into something that still sounded "normal" in the genre. In being self taught, I've taken the route of learning many more theory techniques than anything actually directly applicable (such as what you'd learn by practicing covers), and I think that sometimes takes away from the creativity I could have. I'm working on it.
Faith: Something that leaves room for vocals. This has been through many versions over the past few years, but this is the one that most closely resembles a "song". I've focused on writing instrumentally for a long time now because I can't sing and have no friends.
Creative Differences: My most recent mix. This should give you some kind of idea about the sound I'm heading towards. I'm particularly proud of this because the leads sound so full without needing to rely on rhythm guitars. This excites me, because it gives me freedom. It means I can stray from my predetermined "I must layer these cool leads over powerchords" recipe of self destruction.
Riff 1: The first thing I ever uploaded. When I doubt myself, listening to this is great motivation. If I was proud enough of this to upload it, I should be damn happy with what I've got now. It's nice to look back.
I've heard a few artists say how they don't listen to their music after they're done with the recording process. They find it hard to listen to after spending so much time stressed with hearing it in a studio. If that's what you end up with when you're done recording, you're doing the wrong thing. I write music for myself, and consider my library of music something like a diary. If I upload something awful, then I'm sure something was up. If I upload something I'm impressed by, I was inspired.
Thank you for checking this out, I'm looking forward to your replies.
This is the first time I've tried to put my music out, so I'm hoping for some at least semi decent feedback. If you've got any recommendations for anywhere else I should try and post, it'd be appreciated. I'm sorry if this seems like a long list, but pick what sounds interesting to you and give it a quick skip through. If there's anything I can do for anyone, I'd love to do what I can to help.
Most of these picks are fairly old, but I honestly think they're some of the best stuff I've come out with. I, sadly, feel the more I write, the more I get into habits. Things start to sound similar, and originality wears off. You find a comfort zone, and have to fight to escape it. Writing and recording on your own is just as much a blessing as it is a curse!
I write in trial and error, and so what we have here are a few snippets from over a hundred songs I've worked on over the years.
The Sake Of Sanity - Some Of My Favourite Parts: A collage of best bits I thought were cool from an album I considered "finished" almost two years ago. Full of "final" mixes. Or so I thought.
Inspire: Energetic, major. Not written with vocals in mind. It's samey, but easy to listen to. Simplicity with some more complex fills to spice things up every now and then. The main melody is entirely tapping/sliding, so it's an interesting sound. Nice to play, too.
The Illusion Of Peace: Again energetic, but minor. Much faster bpm with some tougher techniques and playing.
Ambition: Complete guitar wankery. Nothing too clever in here, but it's an interesting sound. I don't think there's enough ideas in here to warrant the length, but at least the chorus is cool.
Atmos: This was intended as the intro to the album. It's ambienty, has interesting note choice, and holds back on anything complex. This has to be one of my all time favourites (probably due to it just being so different to everything else).
Sayonara: An attempt at something closer to my heart that ends up very post rocky. Vocals were intended, but never recorded (Yes that's my way out of how boring it is for the first half). You know songs where the singer kinda has like an emotional breakdown mid song? That was my dream with this, and to this day I imagine it when I'm having a listen in the shower.
Zero: 8 string metal with only half the solo. RIP old harddrive. This is probably what you're expecting from somebody claiming they write metal, posting on "ultimatemetal.com". I struggle to write with the 8 string, because I struggle to keep things interesting when I'm purposely trying to write in a style that isn't my own. The rest of the song (eaten by my harddrive) was entirely solo, and made the track length longer by incorporating my own ideas into something that still sounded "normal" in the genre. In being self taught, I've taken the route of learning many more theory techniques than anything actually directly applicable (such as what you'd learn by practicing covers), and I think that sometimes takes away from the creativity I could have. I'm working on it.
Faith: Something that leaves room for vocals. This has been through many versions over the past few years, but this is the one that most closely resembles a "song". I've focused on writing instrumentally for a long time now because I can't sing and have no friends.
Creative Differences: My most recent mix. This should give you some kind of idea about the sound I'm heading towards. I'm particularly proud of this because the leads sound so full without needing to rely on rhythm guitars. This excites me, because it gives me freedom. It means I can stray from my predetermined "I must layer these cool leads over powerchords" recipe of self destruction.
Riff 1: The first thing I ever uploaded. When I doubt myself, listening to this is great motivation. If I was proud enough of this to upload it, I should be damn happy with what I've got now. It's nice to look back.
I've heard a few artists say how they don't listen to their music after they're done with the recording process. They find it hard to listen to after spending so much time stressed with hearing it in a studio. If that's what you end up with when you're done recording, you're doing the wrong thing. I write music for myself, and consider my library of music something like a diary. If I upload something awful, then I'm sure something was up. If I upload something I'm impressed by, I was inspired.
Thank you for checking this out, I'm looking forward to your replies.
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