The recipe for great sounding metal

Heh, stoning it is then. I just wonder the disingenuous bit. I truly love metal. That's why I'm interested in the subject. I'm not selling anything to anyone, just placing sincere questions and looking deeper in the matter by doing it myself. I joined my first metal band in '86 and have payed my dues writing horrible metal before '90s even started.
I'm not scared of negative feedback. They are usually more valuable than the 'ok, nice' nods. I also want to clear that I don't sing on the track. And I only play some bits of the guitars (the lightly distorted ones). I wrote and produced this and put the whole thing together so the general blame is on me. I try harder next time. I'm no Brian Eno, I understand that.
And I must keep wondering why the 'standard' raises so many eye brows. i don't mean bands sound the same. Of course they don't. I just mean the sound that defines metal. You need distorted guitars. You need unnaturally massive drum sound. You (usually) need aggression on the vocals. You prefer minor chords/keys over major ones. The rest is optional. How is this such a blasphemy?
 
I don't think there's anything disingenuous about your music, no one can know that except you and you clearly put a lot of effort into it. Just realize that this forum is mostly filled with tr00 metalhead types. If you made a three minute blackened Motorhead speed metal song about your love for murder and Satan, you'd get a warmer reception even though it would likely not be any representation of who you are. I didn't think the second song was really an improvement or a step down from the first one; they could have been easily back-to-back on a hypothetical album, and to me, it sounds like you're someone that already knows what he likes in metal.

The reason people here don't like it is probably largely the vocals. I wouldn't call them aggressive even by prog metal standards, and the whispered and half-talked stuff in the second song probably turns most metal people off.
 
Ah, the voice of reason. Your friendly tone is appreciated. I admit I don't drink goats blood for breakfast. And no white lines in the recent past I'm afraid.
A bit ot: I made an observation yesterday: seeing Periphery live and realising their bass playing is all playback, is it ok for metal? It means their whole show is programmed with a click on their ears (with the luxury of automated guitar sound changes). It worked perfecly from where I was standing and seeing the three guitars with very wide necks and a very lively audience, more than fine. But from the discussion point of view, is it 'the reality of the modern days' or are they not welcome in your saloon of 'real metal'?
 
I find it funny when someone asks for criticism, then latches onto the one guy giving semi-positive feedback as the "voice of reason". :lol:

And no, I don't hate the stuff but it sounds very sterile, lifeless, and without energy to me. *shrugs* As if more emphasis was put on the production than on the individual riffs and sections themselves. Just my opinion.

Also playback is lame unless it's just for synths.
 
So in a nutshell. With better vocals, better riffing, more details and better drumming this song could be ok, at least to some of you. Meaning the recipe can be mixed in a bedroom if the right incredients are there. I will have a look before I start putting the next one together...
 
Metal fans are definitely the ones who would accept lower quality production in comparison to other genres
i mean theirs a hole Black metal meme based on that
 
I decided to give this one more attempt. I found a better vocalist, female this time. I tried to improve every aspect of the song writing and production. I didn't really taylor the music for any specific audience, just tried to enjoy the process and forget any expectations. Of course I'm curious what the metal community has to say. But as the topic indicates, I'm trying to inspect and discover at least some of the nuts and bolts, even in small scale, of this genre which covers a huge diversity of approaches.

 
I really dont like the vocals, but the instrumentation is cool. The vocals sound really uninspired and monotone. I dig the atmosphere.

Also, the problem I find with this is, it doesnt really go anywhere? You listed bands like Katatonia and TesseracT, which usually has a bunch of climaxes and transitions. Hell, even with Doom Metal, there is progression (ironic) and explosive dynamics. This....just sounds flat and boring.
 
Fair enough. I see your point.
Actually, I made three songs this time, to cover more ground. Maybe the other two might 'go somewhere'. There's a spotify link in the video's description window, in case someone is interested.
 
In terms of sound the most noticeable thing that the lack of proper drumming and the vocals are very flat.

The composition also lacks some dynamics (good drumming will definitely help) and intention. It goes nowhere, it doesn't carry the listener through it. A vocalist with a style like Alan Averill would fit far better and also some additional heaviness on certain sections will help with dynamics and overall feeling of the song.
 
These are a bit better but still need improvement. The vocals overpower a lot of the instrumentation. Maybe a bit more verb on the vocals will help it blend in.
The second track definitely shows improvement.

As for the lyrics? Not good but not bad. Definitely heard worse. What are some of your inspirations for the lyrics.

Not to act as a means relevancy, but I usually think of music as in terms of colors. And I feel a very flat blue or winter gray when I hear these.
 
1-2 talented guitar players
1 bass player (any type)
1 drummer that knows at least 1 metal drum rhythm
1 person with a voice (singing ability not necessary, throaty growls ok)
A blend of depression and/or rage to taste
Optional: drugs
Mix well and heat to a boil
 
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Terasophe said:
These are a bit better but still need improvement. The vocals overpower a lot of the instrumentation. Maybe a bit more verb on the vocals will help it blend in.
The second track definitely shows improvement.

As for the lyrics? Not good but not bad. Definitely heard worse. What are some of your inspirations for the lyrics.

Not to act as a means relevancy, but I usually think of music as in terms of colors. And I feel a very flat blue or winter gray when I hear these.
Click to expand...

Ok. Improvement is a nice word :)
I posted the tracks in the order I wrote them. So improvement was the intention here.
As far as lyrics, in these three songs, I started from 'you', then moved to 'you and me' and the last one is about just 'I'. I hope the actual content and message doesn't need further explaining.
I like your colour sensing thing. I live in the north (Finland) and a good part of year looks and feels exactly what you said, flat blue and gray. Maybe this has got something to do with the music you hear and the colours you see.

I like the stuff Baroque listed. I wish I had that all. However, I would put songwriting very high up on such ingredients list. I hear too much metal that is just a collection of riffs, and where vocals are obviously added last and don't really meet and match the rest of the stuff.
 
The vocals are ok. Given I like doom metal I figure I like a bit of monotony in vocals. I think the words are too well pronounced though. :lol: Add a bit of chaos, it's not a classical exam.
 
I didn't listen to the tracks because I'm not really in a place to atm. However, I don't understand the rant. Metal to me appears to be one of the most diverse genres of music with very little rules. On one hand flower power, on the other goregrind. Influence spanning from blues, to jazz, to classical, to folk, etc.

As far as production goes, again... variable. Metal can have very shit production (your average bedroom black metal) or very good production and all of it is acceptable if it crafts the desired sound. As for ability to do it on a low budget studio.... My bands first demo was done through a 1/4" to 1/8" converter, direct plugin to a computer with free VST's. Cost $2 and sounded better than 90% of what was being locally produced production wise. And this was back in high school when our producer had very limited experience. Recording real drums is where it got a bit pricier. But still, not that big of a deal. You really don't need much to make good metal other than a knowledge of what you're doing.

Also I only read the first post... so... maybe the discussion has moved on in 2 years lmao
 
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