RANT: Crap Keyboards

[Carcassian]

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHH!!!!

So, I finally succumb, and get a hold of Summoning - Oath Bound. What do I find? The same disease that stalked all manner of British bands in the early 1990's - an obsession with putting cheap, crap keyboard effects in what would otherwise be quite fine metal music. Why? For Gods sake, why? No way is a casio $99 special ever going to replicate the sound of cellos, brass instruments or violins. Metal bands: if you can't afford the correct musicians, please don't bother trying to replicate the aural effect with shite synthesisers. The end effect is rubbish.

 

[Saparmurat_Niyazov]

Exactly. I prefer keyboards that sound like keyboards; even the most high-end and advanced synths lack the character or real strings or brass. Of course, the use of a Hammond B3, a baby grand, mellotron, harpsichord, and a Moog (because of its great spacey feel) is perfectly acceptable and enjoyable. Some people however can't stand keys at all in metal. Take my wife for example, she hates Amorphis because she doesn't feel that keys belong in death metal at all, even though their use of organ, piano, and analog synths add a really rich and epic feel to the music (I'm of course speaking of Elegy and Tales From 1000 Lakes).

 

[WNxScythe]

I totally agree. Most metal albums I cannot stand synthesizers when they're used to fake orchestral instruments... this is a huge detractor from my ever enjoying any of Summoning's work. The only band that I've been able to handle with "fake" orchestral elements are Emperor, and even then, it'd be so much better if they had a real orchestra backing them (if only...).

If you're going to use synth, make it sound like synth (and not cheesy synth at that). Isis employs theirs very well.

 

[Wires & Waves]

I agree with the sentiments expressed by the first two posters.

It's especially bad in Oath Bound which has all these nice choir parts and shit, but they still just used shitty keyboard voices for other instruments.

 

[Neurotic]

Exactly. I prefer keyboards that sound like keyboards; even the most high-end and advanced synths lack the character or real strings or brass. Of course, the use of a Hammond B3, a baby grand, mellotron, harpsichord, and a Moog (because of its great spacey feel) is perfectly acceptable and enjoyable. Some people however can't stand keys at all in metal. Take my wife for example, she hates Amorphis because she doesn't feel that keys belong in death metal at all, even though their use of organ, piano, and analog synths add a really rich and epic feel to the music (I'm of course speaking of Elegy and Tales From 1000 Lakes).

yeah, i'm with you, only Emperor pull it off nicely, still i imagine how those albuns would sound with a real orchestra, that would be something.

although i'm not a dimmu borgir fan, at least they hired an orquestra.

jordan rudess is the king of cheesy keyboards, i like dream theater and all but when he does his solos with those cheesy synth pads uke:

there's nothing like the real deal, a good grand piano sound, a warm string section, etc it's just brings so much to the music.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

It's especially bad in Oath Bound which has all these nice choir parts and shit, but they still just used shitty keyboard voices for other instruments.

Yep that's retarded.

 

[hibernal_dream]

The sad thing is the keyboards on Stronghold and Heroes were quite tasteful

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

Yep, I love Stronghold most of the time, the keys aren't so obviously fake sounding.

 

[Matt]

This is why Bal-Sagoth is so good, they use very good keyboards.

 

[Wires & Waves]

bal-sagoth fucking suck, fuck off

 

[Matt]

In your opinon they do, but you cannot deny their excellent sounding keys.

 

[Wires & Waves]

i deny ur face

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

Bal-Sagoth is uber cheesy, but quite good, I've found. And yes, pretty good orchestration.

 

[Matt]

They are cheesy in their earlier albums, but they've gotten alot better and darker.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

What!? The first CD is UBER DARK pretty-much-death-metal!

 

[Zephyrus]

What's their darkest most-brutal album then?

 

[Matt]

"The Chthonic Chronicles". It is their best and darkest, and they are all faily dark. The production on this one was way better their previous five albums.

 

[skeptik]

I actually thought that the keyboards on Oath Bound were quite tasteful, but obviously overly ambitious as has been the norm for them. You can only do so much in a two man band by yourselves.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

"The Chthonic Chronicles". It is their best and darkest, and they are all faily dark. The production on this one was way better their previous five albums.

No actually their first album is extremely dark death metal, and I think for some reason you're overlooking it or something?

 

[hibernal_dream]

The Power Cosmic, and especially Callisto Rising has fantastic keys but let's face it, they sound fake and cheesy as fuck!