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deplo
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 5:36 pm
Posts: 116
Location: Lebanon
PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 12:45 am 
 

Or let's just say black metal, it's a concept song about a raven who has chosen to abandon its traditional role as an animal and instead sought for writing diaries of the modern human being.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59fuwxu-qAg

Any opinion or even a short review is highly appreciated :)

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plagueofangels
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Jul 30, 2011 8:58 pm
Posts: 198
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 7:14 pm 
 

Not bad for a first attempt! You have all the basic elements down together well, and the vocals sound great for the song's mood. Great lyrics too!

A good way to improve the song would be to use more realistic sounding drums. This is a tough area for any solo musician, but a way to start off would be to find a drum machine with 'rock' presets, or a drum program that advertises as such. A popular way to get a more realistic sound is to use a drum VSTi, or Virtual Instrument. There are lots of free VSTi programs you can download and use that will give you a more powerful sounding drum kit.

Don't bother with using a bass guitar or a bass sound at the moment. BM isn't really a style that counts bass as very important. You could use bass guitars or bass sounds later, but you need to improve a little first. For now, stick with just a rhythm guitar part, and maybe a lead guitar part.

Your guitar sounds great! The bit around 0.30 where you are using 'reversed' guitar sounds is very awesome indeed. Really go into this and see what sounds you can make. Black metal tends to use power chords, so learn about power chords and try to play them if you want to write a better song.

Keep your style more simple. You're doing great with your ambient areas, but your fast parts are a little offbeat. Slow it down a little and don't rely on just a quick tempo or fast-sounding drums. Learn about how to program simple drum rhythms so you know more about them. Keep writing!

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deplo
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 5:36 pm
Posts: 116
Location: Lebanon
PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 7:43 pm 
 

Thank you for your review, I highly appreciate it!

Yeah you're right about that drum machine, it's basically used for creating techno beats, I used it anyway because I found that by lowering the kick sound, the blast beat will sound more natural and "metal"

I don't have a physical bass guitar, so I played a fretless bass and a picked one through a computer software, haa it's good for going against the rules sometimes because I really love this instrument and it's extremely audible!

Yeah I've read about the power chords but I am a terrible guitarist, I have to learn more basic stuff before getting into these so...

Thanks again...

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plagueofangels
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Jul 30, 2011 8:58 pm
Posts: 198
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 9:35 pm 
 

No problem, I thought it was a great attempt. Drums in BM tend to be very bass-heavy, and that gets in the way of a bass guitar, so it's best not to focus too heavily on having a bass instrument. If you really wanted to, you could search around for a bass program and then you would have to mix them in a little better by equalizing the two instruments. Or you could compromise by using a synth, a choir sound, or some strings.

Power chords are easy to learn and play. You could probably pick them up and play them quite comfortably after a few weeks, but the best way to learn is to find some easy pop songs and practice. Then look around and choose some easy black metal songs to play. BM is not about difficult chords, but about playing them for a long time and sometimes very fast, so you need to build up strength by practicing regularly. Hope this helps with your next song!

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deplo
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 5:36 pm
Posts: 116
Location: Lebanon
PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 9:37 pm 
 

I see, thanks again, I'll definitely keep that in my mind!

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Christopher_Night
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2011 5:27 am
Posts: 60
PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 8:09 am 
 

Good points:
The lyrics are great.
The ambient section is awesome.

Bad points:
The guitar riff at 0:38 sounds too happy.
The drums are fine, but the synths just sound awful.
When you roar the line "in your twisted mind" the mic distorts, badly.

Neutral points:
The vocals sound like grover, that's a subjective point though, some people like that sound.

Hope that helps, I've listened to the song a few times. Everyone starts somewhere, this is a good start.
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deplo
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 5:36 pm
Posts: 116
Location: Lebanon
PostPosted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 10:15 am 
 

Thanks Christopher for your input, appreciated as always!

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kurtdaniel
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Sat Oct 08, 2011 5:55 am
Posts: 19
PostPosted: Sat Dec 17, 2011 8:04 am 
 

plagueofangels wrote:
Your sounds great when you play a guitar! The bit around 0.30 where you are using 'reversed' guitar sounds is very awesome indeed. Really go into this and see what sounds you can make. Black metal tends to use power chords, so learn about power chords and try to play them if you want to write a better song.
Really a cool song man!! im very impressed.. hope i can do one, my own..

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Duisterling
Metalhead

Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 12:12 pm
Posts: 684
PostPosted: Sun Dec 25, 2011 8:11 am 
 

plagueofangels wrote:
BM isn't really a style that counts bass as very important.

:durr:
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