Well, it's not always about making stuff that's more difficult to play. Variation can come in very simple forms, like changing legato lines to palm mutes, switching dist for another fx, playing the same melody in another time signature, and a myriad of other possibilities that require less virtuosistic displays of chops.

I feel your pain about drums, that's why I decided to go digital a long time ago. When the situation calls (and justifies spending the money) for it I'll write the parts down and get a sessionist.

Please people i really need a critical feedback because i don‘t know if i like my work or not, i used to like it since all friends of mine told me that it sounds great, but since a youtube channel of promotion rejected to upload it i think it sucks and think that maybe my mates just said so because i am their mate.

https://thaxhus.bandcamp.com/album/unleashed-antichrist

Being rejected or ignored by promotion channels/reviewers/zines happens to everyone, don't fret so much about it.

The first thing that struck me from your music is how awful the mix and general tone of the instruments is. I'm sorry but I've got no softer adjectives to describe it. There are good ways to approach a raw and noisy production, but what you did doesn't strike me as the right one.

The music itself is harder to critique because from what I hear I believe you're going for a bestial/war bm style, which I'm not super knowledgeable about so there's some stuff that might get lost in translation to my ears, but here's my two cents:

There are some nice if somewhat generic riffs in here, but they're getting lost due to the aforementioned issues with the sound.
I don't know whether there's a bass buried in here or if it's an octaved guitar duplicating everything. I would try to make it stand out more by dialing a different tone and giving its lines more interest.
Drums. There's variation in the beats across the songs, that's good; but at the same time they're super stale! Give them some life, copypasting each pattern as many times as needed to fill a section is lazy and the result is boring.
I have an issue with the voice. It sounds grim and aggressive, but monotonous. It's always the same colour, range, and inflections. Either show more variation or dial back its use to keep it from losing impact. Ideally I'd go for both, work on the expression and make its presence feel more deliberate.

As a side note, that quote about the price on the bc page... I don't think anyone cares about that kind of info. You put your album at the price you think is worth and the buyers will decide whether that's right or not, but the thought process behind the decision is irrelevant.

My band just released our first two singles from our new album on bandcamp and I am interested to hear honest feedback for both the songwriting, performances, production, and lyrics.

https://gallowshymn.bandcamp.com/album/the-age-of-decadence

Kaathe - Illusory Euphoria

About the band KAATHE:
Slovenian Melodic Death metal with Progressive tendecies. Solo metal project by Gedo.
So far the only release is an EP album by the title: "Remnants of A Flame".
As hinted with the name, some songs include Dark Souls themed lyrics, but not all songs.




Usually, i make longer progressive tracks, but I tried to make a simpler, shorter, more straight-forward Melodic Death Metal song this time.
Please leave feedback, anything is appriciated and it always helps for the future!

The Bandcamp link to the song:
https://kaathe-metal.bandcamp.com/track/illusory-euphoria

Hey! This was purely a project for fun. It's been a while since i wrote anything metal related (usually singer-songwriter stuff) but recently got back into it. I'd like some feedback on the songwriting, and how I can improve this time around. I'm well aware that the mix sux

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xnw67oCTyXc

Nice stuff mate! Took me a while to actually find your bandcamp. Really love the variety in guitars. Vocals are nice on some tracks, but not all. You seem to go into "bright" or "speech" vocals instead of the "dry" vocals. I can see your lyrical spacing got better as well, comparing your last few songs (like "Illusory Euphoria") to your EP "The Ecstasy Of Death".

I liked it, but imho the piano and acoustic guitar were too much in the front, while vocals were too much in the back. Overall sounded like a really positive major song, which is not bad!

enjoyed it overall for songwriting, good driving, and pacing. might have liked the very last section extended out slightly for another 30 seconds maybe but it's good.

mix wise only thing I would say is with the metal guitars adding more volume to give it more weight so it's not just all the other i guess you can say non metal elements. those are important but I always like the driving guitars forefront or at least a bit more so they aren't mixed like an afterthought. But good work.

Thanks for the feedback guys! Have to agree with the metal elements being pushed back in the mix aswell as extending the last section. Will have this in mind for upcoming songs! Cheers!

cheers and you are welcome.

looked at the locked thread listened, (https://viscousfluiddeath.bandcamp.com/album/indulgence here it is) it's a bit repeatitive for what I'm used to but it's fitting for the style but even then it doesn't evolve that much over the corse of the song. the first song cathedral on that release the begining is some pure glorious vaporware/slushwave that I actually would love to hear more of just that extended. Overall mix is great and fitting, it just doesn't hold my attention as much since I have to be in a particular mood to listen to this.

also have to say the name does not connect to me for what this was. i did expect some more vicious death metal but this is nice. just odd name and logo for the project.

Just released a new grindcore song. While my band isn't listen on MA, I personally consider it death metal enough to at least be posted here.

https://swaermm.bandcamp.com/track/brood-ix

Thoughts?

Song writing: I absolutely do enjoy it. there are some a couple of solid death metal riffs and a couple black metal ones. I love the non metal ones with the more chaoticore nature of early 2000's stuff that was so inventive as long as you can remember it it's a 'riff' which I love. it covers a ton of ground in the 2 mins. I would happily listen to a full album of this sort of material. which by this standards i would say anything reaching over 10mins is a full length honestly cause these songs always feel longer than they are in the best way.

production, a cunt hair more guitar. the low gutturals are almost lost at the end. if there is bass it is the Justice for All treatment meaning it isn't there. so I assume it's just guitar drum machine and vocals.

with that. it needs some more low end for more impact. and I assume this is a render down from the mix with no master to boost it a bit more. cause it feels like it could be naturally louder if everything was set at zero in the tracking. but still it's balanced how it is. I would just have to adjust my ears or stereo to enjoy it more. and I don't like polish at all. just seems it could be louder with no clipping.


totally not asked but the name. I like that it's interesting but it's going to be like "oh so you like the japanese band SWWARM band so much you are trying to be them?" so i honestly would change it if it was me. cause at first upon name I wanted to skip and not listen just to that. Aesthetics i do like the old robodog look to what you are doing.

so that's my nickle.

^
Thanks for taking the time, really appreciated!

Song writing - this is obviously the biggest compliment, and I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. The song is by far the blastiest I have to date. You might wanna check out our previous EP as well, though it's much more on the chaoticore side, as it were. It's 13:48 long, a real long player!

Production - you're probably right. I'm a complete noob at setting sound levels, but I'll work on it more for our next release.

The name - haha, the name is absolutely an hommage to Swarrrm. The ironic thing is I've never even really listened to them, I just like the name. And I really couldn't think of anything, I just sort of went with it. I absolutely see your point though, but I'm not super keen on the idea of changing names. We'll see if I think of something better.

Again, thanks for your input and for taking the time!

Anyone know what sub genre this would fall under?
https://open.spotify.com/album/5r40cWSl ... O71Aa7Jbmg

Tell me what you think of my music

[https://vestige66.bandcamp.com/track/the-initiated]

It sounds Groove metal or even Industrial to me. It reminds me of Fear Factory, Machine head and that kind of bands (even Ministry), so...

Drum play-through I made of "A través del inframundo-Anubis" from Porfiria 666, my band. (Black Metal)
https://fb.watch/2L005VdnNV/

The Initiated: It's not bad, there are some solid melodies in there, and it's competently played. I really like the addition of the piano and choir in the intro.

The song has a thick 90's vibe to it, which isn't bad but it's not exactly my cup of tea. It's been done over and over, but I think you executed it well. It's dynamic enough to stay interesting. The solo sounds a bit goofy at times, maybe the scales don't quite fit the chords? Someone more experienced in guitar would have to comment here.

Shadows of the infernal flame:

I like the dissonance you've got going on here. The first guitar melody that seems to go in and out of "tune" with the chord progression. Makes it sound deranged, like a more melodic version of Thorns. The drums sound a bit weird in this song though. Take the part at 5:00 for instance. Is that supposed to be blast beats or just the snare drum on its own? It's a bit hard to tell what's what.

What did you use to record? There's software out there to make those digital drums sound much better. The bass too. A demo with good sound is always better than a demo with bad sound.

Also please fix your bandcamp page!

I appreciate you taking the time to listen and your feedback. Yeah I'm very much a fan of old school death metal/black metal so I was definitely going for that 90's vibe. Yeah, the drums definitely sound amateurish, I programmed all other instruments besides guitar on my Anrdoid with an app called bandlab, so it's not the best quality. But I dont have any legit recording programs so it just had to do for now.

https://dancingshadowstamiel.bandcamp.c ... azure-demo
This is the first full metal song I have written and would like some feedback specifically on the structure and flow since I already know the playing and production is sloppy since it was all in audacity.

Apart from the acoustic sections and the bass solo, I thought it was well written. Good melodic development and riff variations, heavy as hell, and a dark atmosphere. Good material to work with for future releases.

Thank you for the feedback and taking the time to listen.

https://nulspiritus.bandcamp.com/track/ ... om-the-sky
Initial release for a prospective project.

thought it sounded good. got the cd in one of those everlasting spew grabbag things. i was glad cause i already knew VoidRot.

It's not a recent release, but I thought it would be interesting to read about what you guys think about this demo my band put out some years ago to have another perspective on it. It's short so it won't take a lot of time if anyone is willing.

https://youtu.be/WLm2FukPPH0

We've kinda evolved a little from this since then (or so I believe) but it's cool to look back at the starting point, specially now we are thinking about recording again and maybe re-record some of these tracks with better sound quality (and musicianship, I must say). Anyway, thanks.

I wrote this doom metal-styled song based on my struggles of 8th grade, being the weird kid.

Dreams of acceptence, inside.
Longing for normalcy, i am.
Tired of suffering these thoughts.
Trying to figure out.
What I can do.
Is there anything I can change?

Trying to fit in with my peers.
Struggling.
Help me, I am too shy.

Searching through this maze in my head.

Fleeting glimpses of hope.
Shattered by rumors untrue.

In the end, I am thankful for my friends.
The ones who were kind.
The ones who never teased.
The ones who never joined in the rumor.

I’m sorry, i’m not social.
I wish that was different.

Please give advice, criticism, and feedback. It is appreciated.

I can't tell if youtube is compressing it or if that's how it's mixed, but there's some serious compression issues.

That aside, I don't think it sounded terrible. It sounds like you guys are well practiced, because I didn't really hear very many performance mistakes, and I definitely dig the style. My only other criticism besides the youtube compression is that your microphone isn't doing you many favors.

Oh, yes, the production is faaar from being great. Se were young and broke, got a cheap rushed recording session, hence a cheap sounding demo. That's why we're interested in recording again some of these tracks. Thanks for listening, I appreciate it.

I'm thinking of getting someone to re-record vocals for this. What do you guys think of the vocals I recorded (first time recording vocals for a death metal song, with no skill whatsoever)? Should I keep these kind of vocals?

https://caverndeathmetal.bandcamp.com/releases

I don't know if you're looking for some technical opinion, which I can't provide, but I think the vocals fit the style and atmosphere of the songs quite well. I like them, actually.

Why do you want to re-record them?

Would appreciate some advice/constructive criticism about a new bunch of songs.
I'm less than happy about the playing/recording/mixing/everything, but at some point I just have to let go when I get too fed up.

https://prigioneeterna.bandcamp.com/album/residues

Mostly thrash metal with some noise, some hardcore, a little prog. Sludgy and doomy at times, almost psychedelic at others.
The intention was to do something close in spirit to Celtic Frost's Into the Pandemonium or Black Sabbath's later albums with Ozzy; mostly hard and heavy but a few exotic things thrown in.
Thanks!

My Death metal ep. Hope ya'll like it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i5Oo8u5z4A&t=792s

https://gallowshymn.bandcamp.com/track/marriage-to-the-sea-single

My band just released this brand new single today, I am interested in some honest feedback on both the writing, performances, and production etc. We've already made 2 full albums but this is our first time both working with new vocalists (operatic clean vocalists as opposed to purely harsh vocals) and the first time my other guitarists has fully mixed and mastered one of our songs.

I'm no expert and this stuff isn't really for me, so please take this with a pinch of salt, but I gave it a shot.
My impression, I've heard worse, but: too much compression/limiting on the master bus, it smears everything, especially rhythm guitars; guitars and vocals are fighting for room, both in terms of eq and of stereo image, and everything sounds very centered except the drums, almost mono; the singers are excellent but the volume isn't always even (though this is a minor thing, honestly).
The performances are excellent. However, in terms of arrangement, there seems to be a "hole" in the middle of the song, where not much is going on, whereas when there is singing there is almost too much of it.
All in all, the weakest part I think is the mixing by far; you can tell that the performances are good and have been recorded well.
Hope this was useful!

Hey, nice stuff you've got there Those "exotic" touches are cool, like that percussion, the record-skipping glitch beats, jazzy harmonies, well done!
Not sure "thrash metal" is the right way to describe the result, though... your riff phrasing is more emotional than I'd associate with thrash.
In terms of concrit, I'd say that sometimes, like in Crossing Over, the transitions between parts driven by different instruments or guitar tones are a bit too abrupt - as contrasted to In Bent to Final Doom, where parts sort of bleed into each other momentarily, which makes the song flow in a more cohesive way.





Agree with everything mentioned in PE's post.

I'd also like to add that when you're mixing classically-styled vocals, you have to know how to use reverb to mimic natural ambience of a typical "acoustically live room" that classical vocals are usually performed in. Think opera houses, churches etc. The point is that a classical singer would consider the concert hall with its acoustics an extension of their voice; we aren't talking "dead room" mic-friendly technique here. Without that ambience, classical vocals often lose a good part of their intended impact.
It's indeed a challenge as to how to "marry" this sound to a heavily compressed mix that is generally associated with pop, rock and metal. And yet it still merits consideration even at the learning stage (supposing your other guitarist is serious about doing mixing/mastering in the future).

Then there's a question of overall frequency balance. I haven't run your track through a spectrum analyzer, but I suspect it would show a too-flat response... which is one of the reasons everything sounds as cramped as it does.
I know that oldschool pro sound engineers always tell everyone to "mix with your ears, not your eyes", but as long as we are not mixing in an expensive studio with meticulously crafted acoustics, we will have to use our eyes as well as our ears, and plugins that let us actually see the "soundscape" will remain extremely helpful.

I know, right? That stuff's pretty cool, I think. Everything else is probably way off but when that stuff works I think it's fair to say it's possibly some of the best music ever recorded by anyone, ever.
Thanks a lot, most of these are kind of long-winded compositions so I understand it's a little tricky, but this kind of insight is very nice to have, especially after weeks or months of doing everything by yourself, you hardly even hear the music anymore.
You're right, I probably should have said "extreme metal" or something, it's not really thrash.



I kinda felt guilty right then as my own last songs also have some "everything louder than everything else" moments, but yes, it's not a good approach although it sounds good in principle.

Hehe )
Incidentally this Swiss-knife kinda tool is free-with-any-purchase on Plugin Boutique this month - https://www.pluginboutique.com/articles/1711
I don't have it, but it doesn't look half bad for quick checks.

Thanks for the tips guys! Again this is our first time using operatic vocals in our music but I think we'll do a better job mixing it next time. Also on my end I won't cram so many lyrics close together CoF style, they actually enjoyed it but I don't think its a good idea to have a wordstorm for every song.

I have released a couple new tracks since the last time I posted and I would appreciate some feedback
https://dancingshadowstamiel.bandcamp.c ... ough-draft
https://dancingshadowstamiel.bandcamp.c ... ough-draft
https://dancingshadowstamiel.bandcamp.c ... ough-draft
I think I have channeled more and more Molested(Norway) influence