http://www.mediafire.com/?vx2uj6x8imp8670*updated to include LordOminous' contribution, hosted by ShaolinLambKiller

Participant - Song Name (genre assigned):
Grimmig, Killedbyaforklift, +1 - Sword's Tale (folk/viking metal)
iamntbatman - Compactor - Thrashtruck (thrash metal/crossover)
Menschenfeindlic - Ahmad -Theoria (black metal)
Rocka_Rollas - Frostbitten Basement (black metal)
ShaolinLambKiller - 54RtestKp3 (grindcore)
SoulsInferno - Helios and Serene [Instruments] (goth metal)
triggerhappy - Death of the Sun (thrash metal/crossover)
LordOminous - asdfgfa - The Wizard Rides to King's Cross (doom metal)

As you can tell, because people dropped out, there wasn't quite as much diversity in the metal genres as we all originally hoped for (4 of the 8 songs are either black metal or thrash metal).

From ShaolinLambKiller:
Be sure to add your reviews to this thread when you have listened to each! Please add a little more than just two lines, like if you dislike it maybe add a bit of why. It doesn't have to be a book.

Also Feel free to add any notes or things you want people to know about your song or creation process, or problems you encountered.

Here's an example of a way you could review these songs. This is not required by any means, but it might get you to think about how to review these songs in the context of this particular challenge....

Example Review Format:
- Accuracy: how closely did the song stick to the assigned metal genre? (5/5)
- Songwriting: how well was the song written, considering the genre assigned? (5/5)
- Performance: how well was the song performed, was it pristine, sloppy, or somewhere in between? or did the performance contribute to or take away from the overall quality of the song?(5/5)
- Production: how well was the song produced, or alternatively, was the production quality appropriate for the song? (5/5)

Well here is who actually sent in their songs:

PARTICIPANTS (who submitted their songs):
Grimming, Killedbyaforklift, +1
iamntbatman
Menschenfeindlic
Rocka_Rollas
ShaolinLambKiller
SoulsInferno
triggerhappy

Looks like it'll be more of an EP than a 2xLP this time. I wonder if there are going to be many late submissions?

Oh, SLK: Lord Ominous finished his song and said he submitted it back on page 1 of the other thread, so I guess he sent it to GeoCO3?

Good point iamntbatman, it was accidentally overlooked. It will be added to the other songs asap.

it's been added and the new upload is being created. I completely over looked it as well.

Just about done with my reviews. I don't mind having small amount of contributers in this way

ShaolinLambKiller: 54RtestKp3(grindcore)

My song... well i wrote it in about ten minutes and took me probably 30 mins overall to record. I've been playing grindcore for quite awhile in different bands so when I got this genere I figured I'd do something that i'd use in my main grind band in the future, cause i've could've gone more traditional and old school like terrorizer or napalm death but i figured why not just put it to more good use. I normally don't do the vocals for the band that I'm going to use it for but if you like this and interested in more the band's name is 54R. the rest of the title just applies to what release it's going for. a split with Kamikaze Pilots, and it's the 3rd song written for the split.


Grimming, Killedbyaforklift, +1: Sword's Tale (folk/viking metal)

Damn this has some balls to it. more than i expected cause I normally don't really listen to this genere but sparingly and most of my exposure had been more of the flowerly stuff. This is really tasteful, a bit sloppy in parts but I'd listen to it again easily. I would've liked it if the guitars had a better tone right now they kinda sound almost like they were routed through a keyboard into a practice amp. I do like that I really can hear the bass. Are these real drums? they sound pretty good though parts really come to the front and then kinda fall back to the background again. But very fitting and live if they aren't an actual drummer.


iamntbatman: Compactör - Thrashtruck (thrash metal/crossover)

Well you def nailed what genere you were given. I dig the riffs and actually the tone of the guitar isn't that bad for this style. It kinda fits for some of the more underground stuff I had heard when they didn't quite know how to record stuff like this before. I think the vocals are actually the perfect pitch and tone, but the delivery is actually a bit too fast. Like if it was slowed down a bit more it would fit more during the verses. Of course this would've been better with some real drums but they don't ruin the song. ha. I didn't like the solo at the begining at all. It would've worked for some angular weird death metal since it was so chaotic. I'd listen to an ep of this or album if it really rips ass.

Menschenfeindlic: Ahmad- Theoria (black metal)

Vocals are a bit higher than the rest of the mix which is ashame cause i'm digging the atmosphere and the overall song while listening to it. If the music was louder it would really drive home the feel for me. As of right now it's kinda like a machine rolling forth with the goblin king on top shouting orders.I'm liking how it dives down into a more sorrowful march at the 2 min mark. I feel that i'm zoning out but in a good way, sorta getting lost in a trance to the music. And you thankfully used the keys and effects in a tasteful manner and didn't let them overpower everything. whoa unexpected weirdo spaceshits. usually i would hate this but you seamed in very nicely.

Rocka_Rollas: Frostbitten Basement (black metal)

Thus far sounds really cool, even the programmed drums work for it overall. I like that i can hear the bass. The vocals are really too far up in the mix for my taste. There is a really good flow overall to the song I'm glad that it's not just one sided blasting though I enjoy that style as well. I just read the lyrics. lol. very lol, i'm glad I can't actually make it out while listening cause it could've gone really badly. But it's some good black metal I wouldn't have known you were singing about anything other than satan if I didn't read.




SoulsInferno: Helios and Serene [Instruments] (goth metal)

Like whoa, out with a bang from the start. Really digging how it's structured overall and how all the instruments interact. I like the real gritty tone to the guitars, it really works in how they are placed here, usually it's more clean and chunky from the few goth metal songs/bands I've heard. This more symphonic in a grandiose way. But I really like it, hell it not having vocals doesn't even bother me in the least. It probably allows me more to appreciate the music. Loved the clean break and how it comes back in.

triggerhappy: Death of the Sun (thrash metal/crossover)

First off I have to say is ouch.... the guitar's tone is horrible and trebly. And kinda sounds out of tune. What did you use to record this cause it sounds like one of those 10 watt amps that was cutting out while you were hitting some stuff. The drums really sound good. They sound actually good aside from the cymbals really lacking and volume or presence. maybe a second guitar track might have helped thicken it up but I'm not sure though with that tone. The solo sounds pretty good in theory but with the tone I wanted to gouge my eardrums out because it just wrecks my ears. It was actually a bit more blackened than normal thrash but I dug on it overall. And I'd would like to hear it with an actual amp.

LordOminous: asdfgfa - The Wizard Rides to King's Cross (doom metal)

Really liking the tone of the guitar and bass even if the guitar is a bit twangy sounding. The programmed drums sound really good in here and sound human as well. Much more traditional doom than i figured someone would take but it's a nice surprise. The vocals are pretty good i kinda would like them more without the distortion on them or whatever effect it is. it works for the dirtier sounding vocals but on the cleans it sounds more hardrock sounding. Really not fond of the samples at all. Like how it kinda turns more black metal at the 6 min mark.

if i didn't participate, would it still be alright if i dowloaded the files just to keep up with the challenges? i might add a review, but probably just a simple one stating whether i liked it or not, nothing fancy.

Why not? I thought it was meant to be public bro.

Also I will review as much as I can tonight, but I won't post till tomorrow probably. Thanks for the review, SLK.

I'll probably post my reviews tomorrow too. And yeah, thanks for the review, the drums are real by the way. We did a 1 day rush job on mixing and crap, and the guy doing it knows nothing about metal, hence the terrible guitar tone. The guitars were DI'd though so I'll probably get my hands on the tracks later and do it myself.

idk but the vocals on thrashtruck really remind me of quorthon..... only better haha.

Here are my reviews:

triggerhappy - Alright, here we go. I'm a little terrified/excited by the terrible production and sloppy playing. I can picture this going either way. Hey, some really cool, fast thrash riffs in this one! The drumming was good, too (is that programmed? the bass drums sound programmed to me but the production is pretty darn live-sounding). Unfortunately, the production really hurts it. Double tracked guitars would've done a lot to help smooth over your mistakes. I would've liked to hear this with vocals, too. Did you do this all in one take? It sounds like you're getting progressively sloppier as the song goes on. The solo was pretty interesting, but way too high in the mix. In short, the song has a lot of potential if it had a better recording/production and vocals to finish it off.

SoulsInferno - Big cavernous production on this one. I like it mostly, but it does sort of hide the programmed drums pretty deep. Maybe not a bad thing, really, as you can tell they're programmed which works sometimes but doesn't really work in your favor here. When the synths really swell the guitar gets a little glossed over as well. The synths all sound real nice and you have some nice guitar tone that sort of reminds me of a more polished version of "Dunkelheit." The real echoey acoustic guitars sound great too. I missed the vocals in this one, too, though maybe we'll get some at a later date. It works fine as an instrumental, though. I'm not really huge on gothic metal and am not very well-versed in the genre, so I really have no idea if this is on par with genre standards for style or quality, but it sounds pretty good to me anyway. Nice melodies and arrangement and some simple but effective riffs. I like it.

Grimmig & Killedbyaforklift - Really digging the Amon Amarthish riffing in this one and it's a treat to hear those hoarse black metal rasps over this sort of melodic death metal. The production could stand to be a bit meatier, especially with the guitar tone during the parts that are higher up the neck. Another heavier rhythm guitar track during those parts might help, too. The playing on those parts was a little sloppy, but again meatier production and doubled leads would've done a lot to alleviate that. Some nice solos and nice drumming throughout. The vocals sound spot on though; I wouldn't touch those. I'd listen to a whole release in this style recorded as-is and it'd be pretty great with heavier production.

Menschenfeindlic - Whoaaa there. I was looking forward to this one based on past songwriting challenges and already the opening riff does not disappoint. A bit thin in the production but it doesn't matter so much with this style. Really great vocal performance, high in the mix but it's hard to complain as the performance/production is so top-notch. Man, this whole thing has this sort of off-kilter rhythm where it sounds like it's lagging behind the beat or maybe anticipating the beat a little bit, but it has this sort of unsettling effect that works really well with the melodies and general vibe of the music. I like the synths in this one, which sound to me like you've taken the archetypal black metal wind samples and really fucked with them to create a really nicely fitting element. The chugging riffs remind me a bit of the third Darkspace album. Nice use of piano, too. Oh fuck, a Moog Taurus! I've been waiting to hear one of those used well in black metal forever, now (I made a thread in the rec forum some time ago and never really got any good replies). Very cool synth break there. I've gotta say this is my favorite song of the challenge and I wouldn't do much, if anything, to change it. Do you have any releases out yet?

LordOminous - The guitar is nice and clear, but maybe just a bit trebly for the style. The fat bass presence largely makes up for it, though. Nice drumming throughout this one. Is that programmed? If so, it's expertly done. The vocals remind me a bit of the cleans in newer era Darkthrone. The (I assume) purposeful bad mic/clipping on them in the style of Electric Wizard's Dopethrone is a nice touch as they aren't the most technically proficient thing I've ever heard, but the performance is powerful and convincing nonetheless. I wish there were a bit more variety in the riff department, but generally the vocal performance and drums are entertaining enough throughout to hold my attention even when the riffs fail to. I dig the ultra-simple lead guitar melodies that are pretty much just following the riff. Simple but effective. I liked the sample that kicked the track off but I'm not sure how I feel about the sample section in the second half. It dragged a bit and sort of felt out of place. Pretty good overall, but better guitar tone and more and better riffs would've really gone a long way with this one.

ShaolinLambKiller - Feeeeeeeedback. this sort of sounds like GridLink recorded in a sewer somewhere. Super chaotic. Honestly, I do sort of dig this flavor of grind from time to time, but this could've benefitted from slightly clearer production. In a grind song of this length, even stuff this chaotic, I think I would've liked to hear a more straightforward death metal/thrash/hardcore riff pop up in there. A bit of groove as a calming eye in the middle of the storm, so to say. The vocals were also a bit fuzzy, especially for the highs, which is a shame as they were pretty nutso. I could definitely picture recommending this to GridLink or Insect Warfare fans looking for more stuff in that style.

Rocka_Rollas - Some nice rockin' black metal here. Nice and creepy waltz riffs provide a good atmosphere, but could use a little more variety. The drums were a bit on the clicky side but not obnoxiously so. The production for this one is pretty much spot on. I like the nice fluid bass crawling along under those icy guitars. Real solid vocal performance as well. It sounded especially good during the slower part; during the faster parts the heavy-handed reverb/delay was maybe a little bit of overkill. The song also felt like it ended early and could have easily been fleshed out into another minute or two without outstaying its welcome. Pretty solid track, though. Ff you put out a whole album of this I'd cross my fingers and hope that other tracks were a little longer and had slightly more riff variety than this one.


A little info about the Compactör - Thrashtruck track I submitted:

This was the first complete thrash song I ever wrote and the first I've recorded. I had a bunch more cool riffs I wanted to put in there but as I'm pretty crap at guitar I couldn't really nail them to my already low standards for the challenge so I'll just have to put them in another song later. The solos are my patent-pending "I can't play lead guitar literally at all so here's some noisy bullshit" approach, which shockingly turned out halfway listenable. I also really wanted to do gang shouts during the chorus "THRASHTRUCK" parts, but alas not having a gang to do the shouting makes that a bit difficult. I might try to add them back to the song later. If I do I'll post a new version for people to listen to.

Equipment was an ESP LTD EC-401 tuned to D through a Line 6 UX1 using Pod Farm 2. Bass was a Dean Edge 4 also tuned to D through the same Line 6 USB interface and also using Pod Farm. Mic was a Shure SM58...again into the UX1. Drums were a combination of default EZdrummer samples, Drumkit from Hell and Superior Drummer. They sounded much better before getting mixed into the track so I've gotta work on my mixing to get them to sound less terrible with the rest of the song in there.

Lyrical theme/chorus lyrics courtesy of failsafeman. Band name courtesy of The_Internet.

The Wizard Rides to King's Cross

I liked the overall production on this one. Good sound to the guitars and drums.
You should have stuck with your normal Alestorm vocals on it, the vocal distortion
was over-used. It would have been cool to have it on maybe about half the vocals instead.
I actually think the samples added to the track. I don't listen to a whole lot of doom metal
but if I was going to listen to more I'd like it to be akin to this. Not much more to say about
this one other than very well done.

Death of the Sun

I think SLK thoughts mirror mine perfectly for this one, it needs far more bass in the guitar
tone and the cymbals need to be brought up in the mix. I think the playing was well done though.
Very fast and thrashy, and I liked the solo as well but this one definitely needed a second guitar,
and some bass in it.

Frostbitten Basement

TRVE KVLT VOCALS. I like the riffing on this one, drums are solid as well.
I found the humor in the lyrics to be incredibly fitting too, although
I would have liked to hear something a little more intelligible for vocals
but hey I guess that's black metal for you. Tone and production were both well done
and the playing was top notch.

Helios and Serene

I feel like I should be playing Castlevania listening to this.
Admittedly goth metal is something I'm not very into but this was a good track.
I would have liked the kick brought up a little more in the mix, as well as the bells.
The break was very cool and my favorite part. The synth here is mixed very well with the guitar.
I think some death growls or a powerful clean male voice over the track would work excellently.
Overall a very solid song.

Theoria

A more serious take on black metal than Frostbitten Basement
This track is very atmospheric, but I feel like it drags on at some points.
The keyboards were really well done in combination with the guitar
and the drums sounded like solid, standard black metal drums. The cymbals could have been brought up
a little more maybe. I really dig the tremolo riff right around 5:00 and the spacey
sounds around 6:00. A cool track but I think it could have had about 2 minutes cut off and
had an even larger impact on the listener.

54RtestKp3

Grindcore is one genre of metal that I really can't stand but I sat through and gave this a listen
and can't hate on it just because it's not my style. The drumming was very frenzied and chaotic, like
you had a madman behind them and I like that. They actually stick out the most for me in this track.
I also dig that there isn't any shitty pig squeals. The guitars and bass sound alright and the production
for the whole track seemed to fit well.

Thrashtruck

I like the tone of the guitar here but the drum programming takes away from it, especially on the cymbals.
The vocals could have been brought up in the mix more and I think they would have sounded better.
I actually think the vocals are well done though, a huge improvement from the last time I heard you sing.
I like the lyrics and delivery, as well as the riffing. With a real drummer this could make for a nice
crossover project for sure, lots of potential.

Sword's Tale

As Grimmig said this one was a real rush job. We tracked the drums about a week before the song was due, the guitar
two days before and the bass and vocals one day before. The mix/master job was done overnight and by a friend
who doesn't usually deal with metal. The drums are real though, and done by a 15 year old. The guitars and bass
were all just DI-ed into a computer and pretty much everything about the song could be made better with more time
spent in production or someone more skilled in it. The lyrics were also written on the spot. We actually had a guitarist
lined up to record the song but he couldn't learn it so I took over on the guitar and recorded everything last minute
while horribly hung over.

Gear used on it was an ESP Viper 404 bass and ESP SV guitar both in E standard into a presonus interface.
Drums were largely a pearl kit with paiste cymbals. The mic used for vocals was a Blue Baby Bottle condenser.

Will submit mine between thursday and friday. Sorry for the massive delay.

Downloading now!

I'll admit, I don't actually have any decent recording mics or anything so I just used my phone recorder lol. I used a shitty Zoom G2 pedal. And it was my first recorded song so I guess I wasn't really used to the rigors of recording. ...And I had a bad blister on my left middle finger which really fucked up my playing. Not trying to give myself excuses but I'm sure I'd have done a better job if I had more time (I had to study for exams soon after).

Anyway I'm glad you guys somewhat enjoyed my track. Will download tomorrow and hopefully review during the weekend.

Well, I'll admit that that was pretty impressive given the circumstances of recording. Were the drums live or programmed?

If you got yourself a halfway decent USB interface and did a little more research on recording, I think you could've submitted a much better rendition of the song. Of course, practicing would help, too, but my playing was sloppy as shit. Double tracking guitars really does wonders for the overall sound, plus even with just two guitar tracks, little mistakes that would just sound sloppy with a single guitar track simply add a bit of texture and weight to the recording. Your song was pretty cool so I'd like to hear it done justice!

Thanks thus far for the compliments on my grind. This song is actually just a small sampling of what i do in 54R. There are other songs that do carry the whole catchy hook or more simple lines. Since most of the songs are rather short I try to just do a varity of different things in different songs. And I do my best to be a madman behind the kit. This was first band that I really free to play drums however I wanted with no restriction due to genre or whatever. And later as I kept writing songs I started taking the same approach with guitar instead of seasawing power chords back and forth like my earlier stuff.

oh one note though.. that's odd that my vocals are fuzzy the only effect I used on them was a slight echo. other than that they are dry.

what I used to record:

same ol same ol:
Ampeg SS150
Krank Krankenstien cab
Jackson Kelly tuned to D standard
Ampeg SVT 4 Pro
Ampeg 8x10
Big Muff
Dean X tuned to D standard
Tama 6 piece drumkit with a bunch of cymbals
Shure 57
Shure drum mics.


And I'll like to point out that Rocka Roller actually played drums on his song and it wasn't programming. my bad!

Grimmig, Killedbyaforklift, +1 - Sword's Tale (folk/viking metal)

First Impression: Sure does bite a lot. Everything is very sharp, its like what I imagine getting impaled with a
sword feels like. First thing I notice is the tuning on the leads is slightly off, but that always seems to
happen. I like this song.

Accuracy: Does sound like a viking song. Not much to add except maybe it would have been more interesting in that
respect if some kind of pipe/flute synth was used somehow.

Performance: Very well on everything I thought, timing might be slightly off but that didn't bother me.

Production: Drums is all I guess, the drums sounded like shit in the intro to me... the rest of the song it
sounded fine although it seemed mono. The guitars sounded good except the lead guitar didn't sound tuned well
enough.

Songwriting: Very good! The intro and outro weren't very impressing, didn't like the weird choice on the ending,
but the whole song was written well.

Rating (15/20)

iamntbatman - Compactor - Thrashtruck (thrash metal/crossover)

First Impression: I'm not sure what I think of it exactly, thrash isn't my kind of metal so I don't want to be
too harsh. I didn't find it interesting, although it isn't bad.

Accuracy: As far as I can tell, it sounds thrash.

Performance: Good enough, guitars were in time... interesting solo hah.

Production: Vocals could have been brought up a bit. I like the way the solo was mixed in.

Songwriting: Well it's good, riffs weren't too interesting though.

Rating (13/20)

Menschenfeindlic - Ahmad -Theoria (black metal)

First Impression: Synthesized intro and breaks were interesting but didn't prepare me for the rest of the
composition. The transition around 2:10 was odd, but it turned into some interestingly weird doom metal. This is
way better than the song you were part of in the previous challenge. It builds up and changes enough to keep me
interested even though my first run through all these songs I've had a headache.

Accuracy: Easy... hah definitely black metal with some doom.

Performance: Sounds good to me, not really difficult stuff here.

Production: Definitely has an atmosphere, could be a bit louder though. I like that the synth was background for
the most part, I don't like when it's upfront. The guitar tone was fuzzy as fuck.

Songwriting: The changes were interesting, layers were really cool, I liked this one a lot. Could be broken up

into 2 songs though...

Rating (17/20)

Rocka_Rollas - Frostbitten Basement (black metal)

First Impression: Oh well this is good from the start. Fast and cheesy haha, I like this.

Accuracy: Higher quality BM than I was expecting.

Performance: The guitar parts are kind of technical, very well done in my opinion.

Production: I can't really elaborate on anything here, it sounds pro to me except for maybe the vocals. They kind
of pop in and out.

Songwriting: I love the riffs, really want to learn them.

Rating (18/20)

ShaolinLambKiller - 54RtestKp3 (grindcore)

First Impression: Fucking fast as fucking fuck. I can imagine this being in a fantastic venue wrecking live show.

Accuracy: As far as I'm concerned, SLK is the local grindcore king.

Performance: Technically Chaotic.

Production: Brutally Chaotic

Songwriting: CHAOTIC

Rating (17/20)

triggerhappy - Death of the Sun (thrash metal/crossover)

First Impression: Son, I am disappoint. Not even going to really review this one... I would say the songwriting

sounds like it has a lot of potential.

Rating (6/20) For the effort.

LordOminous - asdfgfa - The Wizard Rides to King's Cross (doom metal)

First Impression: This is the shit. Deep, inspiring, brutal, and I can't really tell if there's anything lacking
in this.

Accuracy: DOOOOOOM. Midtempo, but that's fine.

Performance: Just like the last challenge, this is my favorite song because LordOminous knows how to form songs
and play them really well.

Production: Me Gusta. Nothing interferes with anything else. You obviously know what you're doing.

Songwriting: Everything is intersting, riffs are sweet. Samples fit in well, heh. Not sure what they had to do
with anything but whatever.

Rating (20/20)



So does anyone have an idea for the next challenge? If no else will host it, I'd be happy to do it.
Sounds good kingnuuur, I'll be looking forward to hearing that.

Also I will be uploading to youtube again, but this time I have just a request that if you want a specific picture to go with it, send me the link or the pic itself. Also I'll just post the lyrics in the description instead this time. So send me lyrics if they weren't in the zip file too.

My drums were programmed, with some help from Menschenfeindlic (thanks again). I'll see what I can do about the USB interface; I'll post an updated version of my song in the future if I can get my shit working.

Yay! Thanks dude. I guess the samples mean nothing to americans, which is fair enough. For a bit of background, this song is about a satanic wizard who brews an evil potion then gets on a train from Hull to London, with the intent of unleashing the unholy satanic doomy wrath of his potion when he gets there, and destroy the whole city. Get on a train in the UK and you'll hear something like that "customer service announcement"... and you'll want to destroy the world too.

Hah oh man that sounds very stoner doom actually...

Yeah that dialogue seemed to go on and on, I've been on public transportation in Europe before but I don't remember hearing anything like that before.

Pardon me if I seem to hypocritical when reviewing production. Just trying to be objective.

Thrashtruck:

Accuracy: Nice, crunchy and thrashy. Fit the genre pretty well I'd say. 4/5
Songwriting: Good pummeling riffs that strongly reminded me of Ministry. Solos were pretty lame though, I thought you could have just done a simple pentatonic kind of thing and it would have still fit well. Also the song kinda lacked structure but that's just me. 3/5
Performance: Not as sloppy as you said it would be. Pretty clean actually (especially compared to mine ). 4/5
Production: Decent overall, but the cymbals were very overbearing. And way too much bass drum. Sounded like Henker lol. 3/5

14/20

Swords Tale:

Accuracy: Fit the genre to a T. 5/5
Songwriting: Really catchy and melodic. Good drumming that really carried the music forward. 4/5
Performance: Not a huge fan of the leads as they were kinda strange sounding and 'fragmented', for lack of a better word. Simple but effective solo. 5/5
Production: A bit too trebly for viking I'd say. Still, everything is listenable so I can't really fault much. 4/5

18/20

54RKptest3:

Accuracy: Humanity Falls anyone? Perfect dissonant tech/grind. 5/5
Songwriting: Really great stuff. Short but sweet. The strange part in the middle totally reminded me of Gorguts. I agree with the guy who said there should've been a slow break in the middle though. That's the only thing stopping me from giving a 5. 4/5
Performance: Guitars and drums were brilliantly played. Didn't really like the blabbering vocals though; not a great fit with the music being played. 4/5
Production: Guitar tone was a bit too muddy for my tastes. I'd liked to have heard the guitars a bit more clearly. Drum sound was good enough though. 4/5

17/20

The Wizard Rides to King's Cross:

Accuracy: Again, a perfect fit for the genre given. Sounded like some sort of Reverend Bizarre kind of thing. 5/5
Songwriting: Amazing old school doooooom. Plodding (in a good way) drums, with some black-ish chords. Buildup was flawless and natural. Mood shift from evil and menacing into melancholic was done really well with the lead parts. Didn't really like the samples, but I'm glad there was some good buildup underneath it. Just really fucking epic (in the serious sense) overall. 5/5
Performance: Nothing I can fault. The operatic vocals were what really hooked me. 5/5
Production: The guitar needed a bit more low end I'd say. This is doom after all. It seemed like the bass almost overpowered the guitars in the middle. Everything else was perfect though. 4/5

19/20

Theoria:

Accuracy: Some sort of symphonic and chuggy BM, kinda like Darkspace. 5/5
Songwriting: Haunting stuff. Nice use of choir/whatever it was in the beginning. I liked the rhythm/lead interplay. The transition at around 2mins felt rather odd. The piano section was fucking incredible, and so was the blastbeat/tremolo part after that. Enough good stuff in its length, with a natural flow, to keep me interested all the way. 4/5
Performance: You handled every instrument very well. Props to that. 5/5
Production: Very heavy. Reminded me of Darkspace's production. High end lead parts felt a bit soft. 4/5

18/20

Helios and Serene:

Accuracy: Sounded more like neoclassical Opethine prog with a hint of Gris to me, but I can see how one could label it as goth. 4/5
Songwriting: Complex, beautiful harmonies. The acoustic section was really captivating and jaw-dropping. Mad props. 5/5
Performance: Nothing bad I can say here. 5/5
Production: Personally I thought the guitar tone should have been a bit less fuzzy to add more punch. Cymbals were also a tad annoying. 3/5

17/20

Frostbitten Basement:

Accuracy: Fucking blasphemous, thrashy and Polish-sounding BM. 5/5
Songwriting: I thought it was going to be shit at first, but the sinister intro really surprised me. Then there was the barrage of insanely catchy riffs. I was hooked. Everything just fit so well together. Loved it. 5/5
Performance: Flawless. Loved the tremolo bits, the arpeggios, everything basically. 5/5
Production: Bass drum was too damn clicky! Felt like tech death. Everything else is fine though. Loved the guitar tone, fit the EVIIIL music perfectly. 4/5

19/20

Relooking at my track, now I realise just how shitty the production is, compared to the others. And how sloppy. Very very sloppy. I'll try giving it an objective and non-biased review (with some info about my thought process when making it), though I guess it'll pretty hard since I know what the riffs are, so I can look past the production. Anyway here goes.

Death of the Sun:

Accuracy: Very thrashy and punky (the d-beat parts), with some unintentional black-ish chords in the harmonic minor chord solo backing. 4/5
Songwriting: I had originally intended the arpeggio intro to be something like what Annihilator would do, complete with minor third harmonies and all, but I kept fucking up so I got fed up and scrapped it. Some pretty catchy riffs to be found in here, and the solo would sound pretty good if the sweeps weren't fucked up. 4/5
Performance: Terrible. Kinda sad how my ideas were botched by my playing, especially since they sounded so cool in Guitar Pro. My guitar was really out of tune too; very apparent in the solo. 1/5
Production: Way too fucking trebly. I seriously need to find a better amp setting. Great drum sound however. 2/5

11/20

Thanks for the feedback on my song people. And I'm very impressed with all the others'. LordOminous and RR's are definitely my fave tracks.

...On a side note, would anyone be interested if I put up a Guitar Pro tab of my song? If you want to hear how the riffs actually sound or something. Just curious.

Sure man, post the gp tab.

I will start listening to everyones contributions as fast as I can... Maybe tomorrow

Funny how many good responses I got on my song, because I really didn't put any effort on it at all. Hahaha

You must be some sort of genius of BM then. You really should make more stuff; your track was awesome.

Anyway, here's a tab of my song, for the curious/bored. http://www.mediafire.com/?bfn5o70vemmppsc

I'm not into black metal at all, with a few exceptions...
But I do occasional session drums for a guy I know who have about a hundred black metal projects...

Woooooo about time for me to do this. I was actually pretty impressed with just about every song which is cool.


asdfgfa - The Wizard Rides to King's Cross:

Sounds pretty good overall. I do agree with whoever said the guitars have a bit too much treble on them, though, but that's really my only production gripe. I think the distortion on the vocals works pretty well. Loved the rather simple leads, the samples, and just about everything else. I do wish there were a few more riffs-per-second so to speak, though. I'm into doom and if there were just a few more riffs I think I'd listen to this a lot. It gets real awesome about 6 minutes in, in any case.

triggerhappy - Death of the Sun:

I guess I'm one of the lucky few to review this after having looked at the tab, so I can safely say the song was really well written. Definitely something I'd listen to with proper production and playing. But I guess everything that needs to be said about the production has already been said! As-is though, some lo-fi vocals woulda been cool, haha.

Rocka_Rollas - Frostbitten Basement:

I think I end up liking most things you do, even some of the silly stuff like this. Lyrics are pretty much the epitome of awesome, I wouldn't mind if they were actually distinguishable anyways. Vocals vary from very good to a tad bit off, but it's nothing I'd worry about. Riffs and drumming are perfect in my eyes, I wouldn't change a thing. In fact I'd say you should write more if this and make an EP or something, this was probably my favorite track.

SoulsInferno - Helios and Serene:

I saw you mention something about someone else doing vocals, it's a shame that didn't come through, but this is still pretty cool regardless. As someone who isn't much of a fan of goth metal, I think I can enjoy it a lot more as an instrumental anyways. Really beautiful leads in this one, and you absolutely nailed the atmosphere as far as I can tell.

Ahmad - Theoria:

Just curious, do you have an actual project or something? The two black metal songs I've heard from you were really, really good. Around 5 minutes in is just awesome, I love the guitar tone, provides for a great atmosphere. Only thing I'd work on a little is the drums, but aside from that this is perfect as is. The synth work is really cool as well, provides a good break, awesome stuff.

ShaolinLambKiller - 54RtestKp3:

Chaotic, insane, wow. You definitely nailed grindcore. I was kinda hoping the last riff you're playing would lead into some kinda thrash break, but it's great nonetheless. I like the vocals and drumming the most in this one. I think I usually find your vocals in the higher register to be your best. They're great in this track in particular though.

Compactör - Thrashtruck:

I dunno, I thought the noisy bullshit leads were pretty cool. As far as production, the cymbals are a bit overbearing, and I think the vocals could really be turned up a bit. The vocals are definitely a huge improvement over the last time I heard them, sounds thrash-appropriate. I love the whole Engrish theme, to boot. It would've been nice if you had had more time to practice because I'd really like to hear those riffs you were unable to use.

I just downloaded the entries, and will post my reviews tomorrow night. However, I couldn't open the Frostbitten Basement file. If someone could upload it as an mp3 instead of a rar file I would greatly appreciate it.

@triggerhappy I really like the song you made, it would be awesome to hear it done with better equipment.

I look forward to reveiwing these later today, with a couple of beer or perhaps some rum or whiskey. Or meth, you know, just whatever I get to first.

Thanks! I'll post a new, probably longer version up... one day.

Here are most of my reviews, I still have a couple more songs I need to write about, I'll post those later tonight or tomorrow.

Grimmig, Killedbyaforklift, +1 - Sword's Tale

I really like the riffs, they have a nice epic feel, but not in a cheesy way. The audible bass is nice, and overall the mix sounds good. The vocal performance was great. Overall, I like this, however, I think that the instrumentation is a little bit bare-bones for this kind of song. I feel like something is missing, maybe another guitar track or some keyboards would help fill out the sound.

iamntbatman - Compactor - Thrashtruck

Nice fun thrash, I like. Definitely a good song, the riffs are fast and fun and the drums pound along giving a good backbeat. However, there were one or two things I didn’t care for too much. Firstly, the vocals, I don’t know what exactly I don’t like, but I guess that might just be personal taste. Secondly, the solo, I thought it was a little too squealy and dissonant. This song was cool, but there are a few things I didn’t quite like.

ShaolinLambKiller - 54RtestKp3

I’ve never really listened to grindcore, so I’m not really familiar with the genre, but this song is intense. It’s fast, noisy, and pretty insane. All the instruments come together and create a really crazy atmosphere. I’m not sure what else to say other than that I definitely enjoyed this song.

SoulsInferno - Helios and Serene

This recording has great production. It sounds professionally recorded, so great job! I’ve never listened to any goth metal, but I liked this song quite a lot. The guitar riffs were cool, and the keys added nice overtones and had a good presence while not being overpowering. The acoustic section the middle was great.

triggerhappy - Death of the Sun

I like the lo-fi, crusty guitar tone you have, but I do think that it would benefit from better equipment. I don’t mean perfect squeaky clean tone, but something in between. Personally I really liked the riffs and melodies in this song. The playing seemed to get a little sloppy in the solo, but otherwise it was good. I’d like to hear this re-recorded (with bass if possible).

Thanks for the kind words. I've heard mixed reviews of the vocals but I'm definitely not a professional and those were the first thrash vocals I've recorded. They turned out better than I expected but I'm still not 100% pleased with them. Oh well. Also, as I said about the guitar solos, I can't really play lead guitar very well (read: at all) so those were just sort of placeholders. If I had a tremolo bar I would've just done some Kerry King type solos instead. I thought they actually came out pretty decently considering, though, but I agree that their dissonance isn't really the best fit for the song they're in. I might try to adapt that style into some death metal I've been working on and maybe the results there will be a little better.

Just a friendly suggestion: learn the pentatonic scales (they're the simplest) and mess around with them. You can come up with some simple yet badass solos that way.

For example, if you did something like 1:55 of this in your song, it'd sound much much better. Your song sounds a lot like Ministry anyway, at least to me.

I know the pentatonic scale; I just can't play leads that fast. They'd just come across as slow bluesy leads, which works just fine for stoner and some doom and heavy metal, but would sound dumb in thrash if you ask me.

Oh I see. Anyway it's your stuff, so do what you want.

lol analog winter, thanks for the generous words for my song... it's most certainly not professional, but I appreciate it.

damn, i missed out. i hope i can catch the next challenge in time to prepare myself. but all in all, the submissions were damn good. just wish there were more

I thought of Kirk Hammet at once. And everybody knows his solos... Sorry, I mean his solo he keeps repeating.

Yeah his solos are really primitive on the debut, but they work really well in the context, given the general 'I don't give a fuck' mood of the music.