Melodic Death Metal - Need Mix feedback

[King83]

hey guys,

I'm new to this home recording/mixing stuff and looking for some feedback. These songs are currently instrument only at the moment - waiting on my vocalist to see what develops because he lives many states away

I think the drums are a little loud maybe, but it's hard to say. That's why I'm asking here!

The style is more Melodic Death Metal but it's leaning a bit more Death Metal.

Also any opinions on the song structure, flow, solos leads etc would be appreciated. These are both original songs I wrote from scratch.

Song01_4 (mix version 4) is more Amon Amarth style
Song02_2 (mix 2) is a bit more.. hmm i dunno hybrid
EDIT: There is a new version of Song01 a little further down, listen to that one instead!

thanks!

[Slanty]

hi mate, not a bad effort!
in my opinion the drum vloume is good for this style of music, i would actually go louder on the kick drum as its getting drowned out by the rest of the kit, but overall drum sound i like.
the guitars are ok though i am struggling to pick out the separate guitars... did you use the same settings/amps for both guitars? i like to hear two distinct guitar sounds, but of course this is my personal taste
i'm stuggling to hear any bass guitar (if there is any:P)
just so you know, i like the first track better than the second simply because i like melodic metal, and also it seems to have a bit more going on riff wise.
i appreciate its hard to judge a song without vocals, music can sound a bit plain and repetitive until you get a good vocalist on them, so hurry up with the screaming!
look forward to hearing them finished mate!

[King83]

Originally Posted by Slanty

the guitars are ok though i am struggling to pick out the separate guitars... did you use the same settings/amps for both guitars? i like to hear two distinct guitar sounds, but of course this is my personal taste
i'm stuggling to hear any bass guitar (if there is any:P)

just so you know, i like the first track better than the second simply because i like melodic metal, and also it seems to have a bit more going on riff wise.
i appreciate its hard to judge a song without vocals, music can sound a bit plain and repetitive until you get a good vocalist on them, so hurry up with the screaming!
look forward to hearing them finished mate!

Touche, one of the things I didn't think about. I'm plugging straight in through a Pod 2.0 for guitar and I should probably make the effort to find an alternate amp/cab mix to change up the guitar tones enough you can pick them both out. They are definitely split R/L and with that perspective now I can totally understand how it would be hard to pick them out.

There is a Bass on both tracks, I think it's more prominent in the second one though and no loud enough on the first. I'll fudge with it a bit and try to pick up the Kick a bit.

Thanks for the input - I also like the first song a little bit more once the bridge/solo stuff kicks in, my friends tell me it has a really "epic" feel to it I can't help but agree with.

Without vocals it can be pretty hard to judge yes, but it also makes all the more stagnant repition stand out a bit more. If I used say double bass through the whole song you'd be able to tell pretty quick, that kind of thing.

Thanks for the feedback! I'll cattle prod my vocalist to get a move on hah

[PeterSimonRussell]

Song 1
I listenned to this earlier but didn't comment 'cos my ears wern't working right. I know that might sound strange but I think it happens when the atmospheric pressure changes - anyone who's been in a plane probably has a similar experience - all of sudden your hearing comes back to "normal" - so I played some guitar and that was shit too - well that might be just my playing!

Anyway this is a fine piece. I agree with what Slanty says about the kick, bass and guitars. I had to put the phones on to pick out the bass. There's some good tight playing but sadly lacking vocals.

Song 2

Like this too. Both could be pretty "epic" with some work.

If perhaps you put a much thought into your production as you did into thinking up the riffs and solos.....

Overall both mixes sound a little muddy and a bit bass end heavy - try to a/b these tracks with a track by a bad you like in this genre then go for another mix down.

[King83]

I've played with very little other than compression - would some EQ work help round out the sound you think for the "mud" quality? Part o fmy problem could very well be my playback setup, as I have pretty standard fair phones etc. Perhaps I should pick up something a bit more studio quality for the mixing and whatnot to make sure it gets the love.

You've srt of pegged me on the production stuff, my unfamiliarity is hindering my ability to make a real difference. Most of it is pretty raw I think. Thank you for the feedback though, glad you guys are liking the arrangement and playing.

[King83]

Took the first song and messed with it last night.

Here's what I did:

Re recorded the second guitar through a different amp settings, I then went back and EQed all the instruments that needed it to split out the frequencies so they aren't fighting each other in the mud.

You should hear a better kick, the bass behind the guitars, two distinct guitars, and what I think is a cleaner solo section with the frequencies split out a bit more. The overall mix is a tad quieter in prep for vocals and pseudo mastering in the mix.

Having listened to it for so long I'm pretty sure it's made an improvement on the clarity of the instruments - they mesh well and if you try and find an instrument you can definitely find it.

Am I heading in the right direction with how I'm mixing or have I done something inadvertently wrong from the feedback and information I've read on the web about mixing?

Thanks for the feedback, I think it's made a difference.

[lunaticpro]

Heard song 1 - very good guitar work- levels are alittle low. Drums sound super electronic...fake.

Ok-if thats the sound you are going for. Good song- great riffs.
Maybe a limiter or something to bring up the levels once you record the vocals. All in all- good work....

[dante]

Originally Posted by King83

Took the first song and messed with it last night.

Here's what I did:

Re recorded the second guitar through a different amp settings, I then went back and EQed all the instruments that needed it to split out the frequencies so they aren't fighting each other in the mud.

You should hear a better kick, the bass behind the guitars, two distinct guitars, and what I think is a cleaner solo section with the frequencies split out a bit more. The overall mix is a tad quieter in prep for vocals and pseudo mastering in the mix.

Having listened to it for so long I'm pretty sure it's made an improvement on the clarity of the instruments - they mesh well and if you try and find an instrument you can definitely find it.

Am I heading in the right direction with how I'm mixing or have I done something inadvertently wrong from the feedback and information I've read on the web about mixing?

Thanks for the feedback, I think it's made a difference.

i agree, it's a slightly bettter one than the first one. are you using compression on the POD settings? have you tried reducing it or removing it for a while? i miss a bit of attack, but that's just my taste.

[King83]

Originally Posted by lunaticpro

Heard song 1 - very good guitar work- levels are alittle low. Drums sound super electronic...fake.

Ok-if thats the sound you are going for. Good song- great riffs.
Maybe a limiter or something to bring up the levels once you record the vocals. All in all- good work....

Yeah I'm only recording at home and not professionally so I use EZ-Drummer. They're faked but not everyone picks up on that hehe. Don't think I can undo fake drums if they're... fake drums. It's much more convenient and practical nowadays since I don't have the space or time to deal with a real band .

In terms of the limiter is it an idea to set a limiter on the master channel, set it to say +6db and put a soft clip on it? or does that muffle to much of the audio?

As for the POD settings there is no "compression" setting, but I wouldn't doubt it's a part of the emulation of the amp set up I'm emulating on it. I don't think they are adjustable on this version of pod that I'm using, if on any POD. Think I'm stuck with the sound I'm getting out of it - I'm using a POD 2.0.

Thanks for the writing feedback, as well as the production

[Vanan]

Real nice riffs! Enjoyed them both. Sorry, I wasn't paying much attention to the audio quality. Was enjoyin the tunes and imagining vocals over top. Really dig the main/verse riff in song 2. Simple but heavy. Hard panned solos?! Nice touch.