Thrash/powermetal, real drums.

[Glenn Fricker]

Hey gang,

Just finished this one up: Some oldschool thrash. The main theme was "keep it real." Meaning no samples or amp sims. We had a total blast working on this one.

I kind of surprised myself on this one, I actually got to use a real kick drum for the first time in ages. I usually default to "Slate kick 5" but this one held up in the mix, so I'm quite happy about that! Actually, this is the sort of drum sound I've been after for years.... I've never been able to get this sort of snare happening before, so either all the hard work is finally paying off or I got really, really lucky! :Spin:

Here's the link:
http://www.spectresound.ca/recordings.shtml

The song is titled "As the Empire Falls" by Final Stage, (first song on the hi-res player) and will probably get us lynched by the Vatican's hit-squad. Lyrically, it hits pretty hard at the whole 'child rape coverup' scandal that seems to have been the modus operandi for the catholic church over the last two thousand years or so. It's my opinion that this subject be brought to the forefront of society, with a glaring 10-billion candlepower searchlight. Those that claim moral superiority, yet place the church's image before the safety of children deserve to be fucking crucified!


Here's the cover art:

CD release show is tonight at midnight....should be fun!


As always, comments & questions are more than welcome.

 

[zakky]

sounds great man, has old skool vibe to it

 

[jherman]

Very Oldschool indeed, the snare is a little over powering for me, but it sounds amazing in general Great job!

 

[Nuno Filipe]

All natural? Fuck, this is really good. I would like te hear a bit more the bass. But the mix kicks ass.

 

[Mago]

Very cool man, great work again!
Snare is a bit overpowered and it's a bit thin in the bass area, but I guess that's also part of the 80's sound?
Guitars sound really nice, what is it?

 

[Mikaël-ange]

Great 5150 hardware amp sim tone Glenn

 

[Nebulous]

Great production and a very rare original cover art.

 

[Glenn Fricker]

Thanks guys!

We were most definitely going for an 80's vibe with this one... Actually, the snare is pretty reigned in compared to some of the albums we were referencing. Go check out "Operation: Mindcrime" or "Slave to the Grind" or any number of late-80s mixes.

The surprising thing for me was getting the drums to have a great attack despite the very loud master. This is one of the loudest discs I've ever put out & usually my drums get crushed. Not this time!

Bass guitar: The band wanted it quieter. (that's a first!) I had it louder in the mix, but they wanted the guitars to take precedence. No big deal, IMO.

Guitars: We used an LTD H-1000 for the rhythm tone. Normally I work with EMG's but this guitar had a very interesting tone. It was a bitch to keep in tune but the end result was worth the effort.

Amp setup was 5150 into ENGL Pro Cab, 57 on/off axis & some serious post-EQ.
Lead tone was a Jackson Mustaine King V into a the same 5150, into Mesa standard cab with a Granelli 5790. Jeff Klingbeil from Betrayer mad a guest appearance on this solo & I'm extremely happy with how it turned out.
We also used a 1.7mm Brazilian Agate stone guitar pick from http://fragmentsofthepast.com/ on all guitar tracks. A great place to buy stone guitar picks! If you haven't tried one, I highly recommend it!

Here's a very short promo video & you can see a bit of the setup:


Here's a shot of the kit/mic setup. ORTF rules!

 

[Steven Otto]

I dig the song and the production. Fantastic.

 

[Mikaël-ange]

XY is your new go to for OH Glenn (not really common in metal, except with Jacobs Hansen)?

 

[Glenn Fricker]

The overheads are not XY, they are in an ORTF configuration.

Here's a diagram on how to set them up.

 

[Dylan S]

I'm loving this tone!

 

[Glenn Fricker]

Thank you! I didn't even make it past the first round in the reamp contest, but hey, this is where it really counts!

 

[Dylan S]

Most definitely.

I was listening without paying too much attention and was reading through the thread, digging it pretty hard. Then I read that you got the tone with similar stuff to the ol' 'Clayman' way of doing things and I gave it a lot more of my attention. The ENGL cab really lends itself well to this style of tone man.

 

[AllanD]

Wow! I'm mostly amazed at how you got the kick sound to be so punchy, and in the mix at all times. What mic/heads were used? What was the OH bleed like into the kick?

 

[Mikaël-ange]

The overheads are not XY, they are in an ORTF configuration.

Here's a diagram on how to set them up.

Damn
How are ORTF again XY for OH?

 

[Glenn Fricker]

Kick was Remo Powerstroke heads, clear on batter, Ebony on Resonant. We used a Falam Slam pad & plastic beater. Mic was an Audix D6 into a Great River Mp2nv with some gentle compression & slow attack. Carved out the 200hz region to keep things from getting muddy & that's about it. There was a bit of OH bleed, but not much, it just added a bit of ambience on top.

As for XY vs ORTF: I think ORTF is a good mid point between XY and Spaced Pairs. Erkan did a video on ORTF a while back & sparked my interest. XY is pretty mono, and spaced pairs can be pretty wide. ORTF works something like a drummer's ears. The array sits just over his head & picks up what he's hearing.

 

[metalfanat1c]

I absolutely love this. Song, production, everything. The tone could use some girth in the lows/low mids, though, they're sounding a bit nutless.

 

[AllanD]

Gave another listen, I'm still very amazed by the kick, and how it sticks out so well in the mix with all the heavy guitars and bass. Great job! Did you have to boost the hell out of the high end area? This is making me think about selling the 52 and investing in a D6.

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

Keep up the great work, Glenn!