that'll be impressive if all works out!

This is actually turning out to be more difficult than I thought it would be to come up with ideas. It's difficult to come up with something interesting when you're only really familiar with the commonly known touchpoints of a genre. Since a couple of the given examples involve mixing up Jazz and DM I might try and mix some OSDM with Jazz's grittier cousin, the blues, and see how that goes.

I've written a deathcore song with real death metal parts in it. I would say a lot of deathcore takes from Melodic death metal where I am using more old school death/thrash. It's sounding pretty good. Lots of NYHC breakdowns.

I'm going to try writing a jazzy blues track, only played in a death metal style, so I'm taking a blues chord progression and form, and will try writing some deathy riffs to fit...

I edited the thread title so it includes the month.

I'll start coming up with some riffs today and see what comes out, then work on it from there.

I am thinking of mixing some folk arabic music with death metal (not the common oriental scale you all know, a scale that has quarter quarter intervals) but I don't know it might just not work, so I might participate I don't know count me in but I can't promise that I'll finish a song or anything .

I have a project I am working on that would allow me to do some microtonal stuff like that, so I am very interested. How do you plan on getting intervals like that?

Well, I'll use my old Yamaha PSR-62 keyboard to do that, I also have an arabic music VST that allows me to make the scale oriental (buy shifting notes a quarter note up) so I might use this with my midi controller as well. But I don't think there's a standard midi notation for quarter intervals.
As for guitar, I'll use a standard guitar (the keyboard will make arabic music parts), but I remember my uncle played electric guitar for arabic music style, so he added some extra frets that would make guitar produce quarter intervals to make arabic music, I might borrow that guitar from him, but that would complicate things (as it's really hard to understand how those scales work).
Are you planning on doing Oriental stuff with this ? or you're using it for another style ?

Are you're talking about quatertones? If so, a command to pitch up/down 50 cents would do the trick. You could even do 1/8 tones by triggering the same note and then changing the pitch by 25, 50 or 75 cents.

Then using a vst I should set let's say E and B to be shifter up 25 cents ? that would be awesome.

Yup. Just to be clear, when you say quarter notes you're looking to shift E 1/4 towards F and B 1/4 towards C right?

Cents are an algorithmic way to express differences in pitch. 100 cents = 1 semitone (e.g. C to C# or E to F). So by starting with C, then pitching up 25, 50, or 75 cents, you can create 4 different intervals between C and C#.

I see, but how can I achieve that when playing ? (to hear myself playing those intervals) any specific midi controls vst ? I can record them in normal scale and editing them afterwards, but I need to hear myself playing them so that I can improvise (Arabic music has a lot of that).

My song turned out to be Melodic Death/Thrash combined with Running Wild worship. It sounds so awesome right now.

@Nightwisher: check your MIDI controller, it should have a wheel that allows you to control the pitch of whatever you're playing. Well, most MIDI controllers do have it, if not you could map the pitch controller from the DAW to two buttons or keys you won't be using and use one to go up and another down.

Yeah I can't see a simple way of being able to play the intervals of 25 or 50 cents with a standard MIDI keyboard. It would likely need to be programed. You mentioned using your Yamaha PSR-62- I assume it has settings that will shift the appropriate notes for you? Cause if so, I would bet that if you used that keyboard to send MIDI to your VSTs, the MIDI signal would contain the instructions to pitch the notes.

@garthmargengi- that's a decent work around, but depending on what you were playing it could be quite cumbersome to be pitching up and down all the time just for the odd note.

Only other way I can imagine is to remap or set the keyboard to play every key increasing only a quarter tone instead of a semitone, but that would shorten his octaves by a half at least. I did a quick search on google images and seems like the PSR62 doesn't have the pitch shifting wheel, that would make the work much easier.

If not, another idea, provided he has a USB joystick, he could map the pitch controller to the analog sticks, that would make the shifting flow easier, but it's still not the same.

I need to collab with a vocalist that is willing to write lyrics cuz I can't do death metal vocals or write lyrics for shit.

That's great, looking forward to it.

I still haven't decided on what to do. I don't want to do jazzy stuff like Cynic, or progressive metal stuff like Opeth, and I'm not fond of middle eastern stuff in metal (with a couple of exceptions).


If it's anything like Orphaned Land or Myrath...
About quarter tones: Sibelius lets you program them, but I'm not sure if they translate well in Reaper.

Yeah that old keyboard would do it, but I don't have a midi interface neither a midi cable because my midi controller works on USB.

Since this is a death metal challenge I'm gonna have to bow out. Partially because I really am terrible at writing any form of death metal, but also because the guy who's studio I usually record out of is refusing to let me use it anymore unless I pay him, which I can't afford to do.

Well the song I wrote is just a standard death metal song with just some weird parts. I'm going to keep it stashed away for later use, it doesn't really have a twist unless I did some weird vocals but that's not really a twist.

Didn't like this theme very much.

well that sounds like a personal problem more than anything.

Honestly it is. I have a way of writing music and something like this I really can't do cause its hard for me. I have to write all the music for Leaking Head and a few of my other projects and its "hard" having to come up with ideas. My band mates can write stuff but I just write better stuff. They can also barely play their instruments so when I finally join a band that knows what they are doing its going to be so weird for me.

/endbitchrant.

I remember reading somewhere that Scrambled Defuncts used quarter notes.
http://youtu.be/5eM7ATHWQ94

for me, I'm thinking of making some "ugly" sounding black\death metal, but I guess it will end up being atmospheric like always.

I think I have a good idea.
I want it to sound good too.
Not gonna reveal my idea. I've written the lyrics so far, and will write the music and record it next week.
I'm still livin' in the 80's, so I don't understand all these newfangled recording methods.
I just plug in my guitar and press record.

Well that's good, at least there is some one else who mics up their rig and blasts out.

I'm in. Death metal with a (bunch of) twist(s) is basically what the next Kaos Aeon album is going to be anyway.

7-string through an HM-2 pedal + huge symphonic bombast

Let's see if I can pull this off.

Personally I'm going through the low self esteem phase of songwriting. I feel that the death metal riffs are simplified and lame, and that the twist is poor in taste. I'd scrap the song if it weren't for the contest.

I have finally figured out a good twist. It might not be adhering to the exact specifications in Ilwhyan's instructions (alien elements) but hopefully you good people will figure out what I was going for.

I'm just hoping some people dig this cause I'm enjoying the fuck out of myself with this. Going to be writing and recording more tmwr...hell maybe even today when I get back in town.

been writing a ton of lyrics.

We shall see. You will probably be disqualified on the spot.

No, really, don't worry about that. The philosophy behind this particular style restriction is an attempt to force songwriters to step out of their typical, traditional ways and embrace new methods and influences. The most important thing is that everyone enjoys the time they spend with this contest. I do not wish for our more seasoned songwriters to churn out just another song they might've written at any other time, that only vaguely fits into whatever loosely defined category there is. I want each song to be for this contest solely, if you catch my drift. Use your product however you wish, put it on an album if you like, but design it with only the contest in mind.

Well I'm back in town and I won't be going back out. So I'll be in town for the rest of the month so if someone needs help with their drums or whatever I have the time to devote to it.

I'm going to finish up all I want and my vocals this week.

I'm gonna be getting to a pretty late start here since i'm packing/moving, but I hope to try getting some ideas down by early next week.

Juggling a few concepts in my head, most of them are pretty strange.

recorded my vocals today. I'll do my final mixes this week.

Well, I just finished recording my song for the challenge.
I'm happy with it.
I think is rocks, plus it is death metal with a twist.
So what do I do with it?
Hold it till the challenge deadline is here.
How does the winnder get picked?
I'll go back and re-read the 1st post.

But my song is DONE!

there is no 'winner'

and you should make an mp3 of the song and upload it to soundcloud, or mediafire, or filedropper and PM it to Ilwhyan

Thanks shaolin, I did.

There should be a winner, even if they don't win anything.
Maybe pick the winner by vote.

that's not the point of the challenges to determine a winner. voting is based on taste and no one here shares the same taste. it would be an unfair and biased vote. declaring a winner is pointless and stupid. we all sit and review and post our pros and cons of every song and that should be enough.

Granted, everyone does have their own tastes, and likes.
Should be interesting at least.

Yea I always look forward to the reviews both reviewing and reading everyone's review on all the songs and see if they confirm what I had thought in mine.