My band Hypermass recorded our first demo a couple of months back, and I thought that this would be a great place to get proper feedback! When you create music, it's really hard (for me anyways) to put yourself in the audience's shoes, so I often get kind of lost in my own mind when writing something. With that being said, the band consists of 5 people all contributing equally much, so it's not a solo project with a backing band! Anyway, I would really appreciate some constructive feedback on this!

As of genre, I'm not really sure, something Metal. Please let me know what genre we play!

This is the first song off our 4-track demo, and it's also the one we're most satisfied with, so here you go

https://soundcloud.com/sundinos-parteybule/01-amidst-the-eclipse

Hi SindreD! Congrats on your first demo! I think that this is a very good first step in you musical career. I listened to the whole piece and having in mind that this is your first material the balance is positive. Here I go with some comments that come to mind:

- I like the groovy sections and the powerful vocals.

- Good guitar work!

- Style? Some kind of Extreme Metal with progressive influences.

- The overall mix could sound better. Have in mind to find maybe a friend who helps with the mix / mastering to give it more life. Drums could sound more real and deeper.

- I have the feeling that some parts are a bit repetitive and that cutting these sections, the track could be shorter, more effective and easier to hear complete.


These are my thoughts, I hope that it helps! Keep on the hard work and enjoying music.

Thanks for the awesome feedback, my friend! I agree that some of our stuff gets repetitive, that seems to be our main problem. The mix isn't really something to write home about, I know. This was just made to get us up and running, getting gigs in our local area and so forth. But the drums do seem a little dull and plastic.

We're well into writing an EP at the moment, which will probably be more consistent and technical than our previous work! We're all going to be spending the next year at a "sound" course at a folk high school, in which we will be spending all of our time jamming, recording and producing so we're really looking forward to it! Thanks again for the response, man!

I really dig the intro on the first song Although, four bars of it would probably be plenty. You can start to lose folks if you run a bit for 16 bars with no vocals. Some other folks will love it of course which is where you have to find the happy medium.

The part with the guitar harmonies about 4:27 sounds like it should be the first chorus section after an intro and bridge. It's a bit buried in the back as is. Your arrangements are your own of course, but I'd say try using that section as a chorus earlier and maybe come back to it a couple times before the solo section and once more as a Coda.

Are the drums programmed or triggered? The kick is what I'd expect it to sound like but the snare doesn't seem to vary in terms of strikes unless the drummer is just amazingly consistent.

The audio quality will work for a demo to be sure my first demo's sounded nowhere near this good to be honest. One thing I ran in to when I first started gigging (assuming your in highschool as you mentioned it your reply) was that since I was only 18 I was not technically allowed in the bars we were playing in. Our manager had to fib about our age as none of the bar owners would hire a band that young. So if you plan on bars maybe fib that you are all 21


P.S. I really liked this one Had better dynamics and range and seemed to sound a bit better?

P.P.S. Are you singing some songs in Norwegian?

https://soundcloud.com/sundinos-parteybule/en-endel-s-ferd

Todd

Yup, I agree that the intro is waaay too long! We will be re-recording it and will definitely make a few changes, although I think the song structure will pretty much be the same, can't say for sure though!



I know what you mean, but because the first part of the track is in D and the second part in F#, it may sound a little, I don't know, out of place if we constantly switch between the two! I will definitely take it into consideration though



No programming or triggering, we were pretty amazed when our drummer started recording! May be more interesting if he does something a little different once in a while though!



Thanks, man! We're all turning 19 this year, and have actually already done a few gigs in bars. Fortunately, we have been very lucky with the bar staff! As long as we stay away from the booze they don't seem to have any problems with it



Thanks man, really appreciate that you took the time to check out some of our other songs as well! That was a track I mostly wrote myself, and I tried to focus more on the songwriting aspect as opposed to the technical aspect of it. Because it's kinda more in the Norwegian Black Metal vein, we figured it'd be cool to write some Norwegian lyrics to it as well. That's currently our only song in Norwegian. We may write more songs in Norwegian though, can't really tell as of yet. I personally love it when bands write songs in the mother tongue!

Thanks again for the constructive feedback!

Hey mate

Congrats on getting things done! It's always amazing to finally find yourself having the songs ready to be shared with people

I agree with Gabi about the mix/master and the fact that the structure can be shrunken in order to become more meaningful. I noticed that this is usually a characteristic that all of us have in the beginning - we tend to make tunes too big in respect of lengthiness and forget about staying true to the essence.

What's the song structure? Have you guys started out from a specific pre-thought structure, such as A B A B C B for instance and then got to the actual form?

That second tune does have a bit of a black metal thing going on It also has other elements that all come together to make a really cool sounding track. The way you blended bits of Melodic/Traditional Death/hints of prog Metal in together works well

The Norwegian lyrics are a great idea. I think it's very cool when bands sing in their mother tongue I'd say add more of that!

Todd

Hey guys, sorry about the late answer as I've been pretty occupied these last few days.



Thanks for the feedback, man! The guy who mixed our album had previously not worked with metal bands, and I would agree that the production lacks the punch the songs deserve unfortunately. Creating song structures beforehand is not our regular way of writing a song, but I wouldn't doubt that it would help the material a lot. As we're still in the early stages of songwriting we tend to experiment a lot and kind of taking our time to find our own style. The songs themselves has potential, but unfortunately sometimes, we get sort of lost in the writing process. What you said about the pre-thought structure thing is actually not a bad idea at all, and we will definitely try it out! Thanks again for the input!



Thanks a lot, dude! Yeah, we draw inspiration from countless bands in all different genres, so I'm very happy to hear you found it consistent enough to listen to! I guess when you write songs in your own language the lyrical content also comes more naturally and easily to you, so I wouldn't rule out writing more Norwegian songs in the future!

The performance is fine. What needs work is the production in terms of the engineering - it needs work right from recording/tracking as you can hear issues with the gainstaging, mix balance and tonal spectrum is poor and the whole thing sounds flat and lacking in dynamics . As it is the demo is compromised by weak engineering. When you re-record you need to have at least one person who has real experience of engineering who can take some responsibility for the overall production and consider using professional, experieinced tracking, mixing and mastering engineers.

Glad to have been of help mate

It's important to picture the story - where it starts, where it ends and what happens in between. The structure does not have to be a standard one, if you don't like the idea, but there has to be an idea of a structure, otherwise, there will be no direction and you will lose the listener.

I am not at all saying that you should be making music following recipes or trying hard to come up with a 'hit' but try to give your music a form - the more defined it is, the better YOU will understand it as well I hope this makes sense...

Your right on all of these point of course, but this is after all, just their first "Demo" right? As such, it's an accomplishment in itself I'd say to have written and recorded and shared it. So kudos there It takes stones to put yourself out there.

As you guys continue to record and think about your first E.P./CD/Digi release etc. Keep what Mr. Miro said in mind, and try to find someone, ( an engineer at a studio etc.) that can guide you through recording/mixing/mastering and have a hand in shaping the sound as you go. Developing these kinds of relationships is very handy. Too often, new bands start doing so much on their own in terms of recording/mixing that the engineer doing the final mix/master doesn't have what he needs to make it sound great. So working with someone from the ground up (Like Toni Miro just as an example) is a great way to move ahead

Todd

To a great extent I agree Todd. The thing is what you do with the demo. If you're doing it for low scale local promotion and to get experience then fine.
If you send it to labels in the hope of getting a recording contract then it needs to be better than the competition, many of which will be professionally produced.
If you put it up on the Net then it may come back to bite you when you're famous.

It's the old cliche of 'you only get one chance to make a first impression'.

Great tip, Tony! Usually, the mentality should be - I want to put out the best I can, as you never know who's going to listen to your recording and needless to say, the outcome is clear - if it sounds good, that listener will have something to think about. If it sounds bad... well, he will jump onto the next one and all your efforts would have far less chances of success.

Well said As our poster mentioned, he's really just trying to put a demo together to start getting some local gigs. As such, this should do fine for getting them started I would strongly suggest that the band select a "Mentor" to help from start to finish as they plan their next recording!!

very nice demo! Really nothing to be ashamed of Straight from the roots of metal \m/ As for the production is an endless story. I remember old mixes for the 90's. When You take a close look at the production most of those had a huge lack of what we call low end these days Most of lows where focused around 100 Hz and there was a lot of treble (see - Megadeth - countdown to extinction). When I listen to modern productions they have much wider spectrum range and now it's a tendency to make warmer mixes - less mid cut's. Here goes another +1 for tonymiro who's an expert at this filed. When I listened to Your demo I had similar feelings like with mentioned Megadeth...but I also know people who have a purpose of doing vintage sounding metal mixes so if this is a matter of choice and preferences I could have right to be that way

Gotta say, great work. And I disagree with everyone cause I think only the drums lack dynamics. I could too easily imagine this with a "modern production", but the modern stuff has no charm to me. This treble, thin, midscooped, sound gives a very funky metal feel. Instead of your run of the mill, ("sounds like the same guy mixed these 7 billion ones...") kind of deal. It reminds me a lot more of Chon's Newborn Sun than the mundanity of a modern metal sound. Anyway, I'm just that one nutter that thinks recorded Jazz sounded better back in the 40s I guess.

Thanks for sharing

got a bit of of a progressive melodeath kinda feel I thought. Sounds really good, I really liked that.
I'd definitely listen to more.

Wow! Overwhelming response, thanks guys!



I totally agree. In the future we will make sure to work with people that are more qualified to do our type of music, and we're all in an early stage of learning how to produce ourselves, so it will get better without a doubt. Hopefully we will have a couple of new demotracks ready by the end of April, so we'll see how that goes! Thanks for the tip man, we will definitely follow it through!



That's actually very well put! On our new songs we have focused more on the "story" aspect of it, and been trying way more to create consistent and well-structured tracks since this demo. On some tracks we tend to kind of drift off, and we've been trying to avoid that lately. "Kill your darlings", as they say. Just the fact that a certain part fits in doesn't necessarily mean it adds more to the song. It's important to be selective and not just add whatever sounds cool for the sake of it being there! Great advice, my friend!



That's not a bad idea at all, we do whatever we can to establish our own networks and further our own interests in any sort of way. I know a few producers, so I guess it would pay off if I got more involved in their part of the job as well. Thanks for the advice!



We never really thought that this was going to be something we would send around to labels. This was just more of a learning experience, really. It's still something, though - and it's good enough to get some gigs and get people to start talking. You have to start somewhere, and we aspire to get way better. The technicality is there, but the songwriting is still in the earlier stages so we will work more towards that. You can tell me what you think of our next songs when they're done!



We will be a little more critical in the studio next time, don't worry! We will take the time we need instead of rushing it like we sort of did last time. As stated earlier, we know a few producers around so we will try to get the help we need for the next couple of songs!



Thanks, man! We're not ashamed of it at all - at least as far as the songs go! We did expect a lot more clear production, but I also really like the raw and stripped down productions of the early 90s tapes. But I guess it turns out to be more "out of place" for people in 2014, and to grab peoples attention I feel like we gotta move a bit more forward instead of going back a few decades. I wouldn´t have anything against being compared to Megadeth, as they are my favorite thrash band of all time. Thanks for the response, man!



Wow, thanks dude! It's great to hear that the production appeals to somebody too! It's kind of a love/hate thing I would imagine, as you get a totally different feel from this type of "raw" production as opposed to the more clean, modern production. Cheers, man!



That really means a lot, man! Yeah, progressive melodeath is probably the most accurate definiton yet. I will keep you posted on our next stuff, which hopefully will be available in the next few months.

Thanks again, everyone! Great to have a place where I could get some proper feedback from as qualified people as yourselves.

Glad you're already walking on the good path, mate Now, trust me I know that feeling that comes in when you think: 'Ah, man, this riff is so good, let's cram it in here somewhere! I'm sure it'll eventually work out!' Most of the times, it won't But, BUT You can write a dozen more songs so, keep it there as it will have its place sooner or later

You know...music that we listen to determines our taste and expectations. You can't fight with who You are at the moment Also...there is no need to fight as long as Your satisfied. Comparing to 90's metal is nothing bad at all and nothing to complain

Darius is right As long as you like what you are doing, that's the most important thing. I also have something to add - be yourself Don't try to sound like x, y and z - try to sound like yourself and chances are, you will transmit a message which is more sincere than anything!

Of course - we're not trying to do anything that's been done before! We take inspiration from all sorts of bands, and hopefully we have found our own style within those influences. I was referring to the production. I just think our music would need more clear, modern sounding productions to make it more "accessible" to the listener, that's all. I love those old, raw, stripped-down productions, but since our music doesn't sound like anything that came out of the 80s-90s I would see it more fitting with a modern production!

Just going back a little to why you need to aware of how importnant your demo is, this is a quote from Mercury Prize winning producer Andy Ross:

Andy states "The day of the demo is over. Unsigned artists and bands serious to get signed have to understand their CD is their CV. They need to compete on the same level as signed acts for the best gigs and airplay in order to get noticed.''

Just now hearing this for the first time - I am VERY impressed!

It's not my style of music, but my son plays drums in a band of your genre - so I will definitely send this to him.

I like it, you guys are really good at what you do, and I'm just listening on laptop speakers but the only thing I can think of to critique would be the production of the recording. You guys have the talent and the demo sounds great, but if you could hook up with a master producer he could take your sound to a whole different level.

My favorite part was the groove that comes in at 3:50 and the awesome change up at 4:40.

The vocals - not my thing, I like the GRRRRRRRRR but in moderation, I personally prefer real voice vocals, with an accent of GRRRRRRRRR. Having said that, your vocalist is great at GRRRRRRRRR!

Your guitars sound tight and clean, the riffs are easy to hear - which is much more than I can say for my own shit.

Nothing but congratulations on this from me - keep it up and get your name out. Really good stuff.

Tony is right about what he stated below and you should have this in mind And about the production, yes indeed, it's cool to have an organic but modern approach to things As experience will grow, you will instinctively know what you want from the sound of your music, if you are really into understanding things. It's very important to be able to tell the producer what you have in mind so that his touch will stay true to your meaning.

Never thought of it this way but those are wise words...

Indeed very first impact of a band makes it stay on the surface or...

Possible to get, low cost Home production quality is currently pretty high and we should try to get best possible results

There is of course a bad side of this as well. I know at least a few bands that doesn't sound live even close to what has been done on CD. Now it's easy to get an amp sim of good amp, use Toontrack drums and helian bass stuff...But when it comes to live performance..it show the real level of a band so...current home studio possibilities have their bad sides as well

Mate, I agree, but as long as the band is conscious of this aspect, that makes them pros and the stage show will be even more awesome than the recording. I know exactly what you are talking about and I have seen it happen myself. Sometimes, the venue sound doesn't help at all - for instance, I have heard a lot of stories about Tesseract sounding nasty in the live context and those guys can really play. I mean, I can't for the love of God imagine that a band that has written that music, cannot play it

It's not exactly my thing with the growling, but it's a well done piece and you will only improve from here on, so it's a very good first step! Well done!

Hate to say that he's got a point there. We've all discussed this matter and we intend to delete that demo as soon as the new tracks are done (with better production value obviously)! We are also going to re-record one or two of those tracks with a bit more consistent structure as well. We're hitting the studio very soon, probably within the next weeks so we'll have to wait and see how it turns out.



Wow! Thanks for putting a HUGE grin on my face I know the growling ain't for everyone, but I personally love the contrast between the melodic aspects and the brutality of it all! Thanks for your kind words, sir! You made my day



That's actually one of my main lessons I've learnt from being in the studio - If you have a vision about your music, you wanna do everything you can to fulfill that vision, no matter what anybody else says! (other than your bandmates, ofc) And this was far from my vision, but that's how it turned out. Thanks for your response!



Yup, we'll take whatever gig we can, be it 500 people or 5. We've been getting very good response after our concerts, but I can't help but think that people will kind of think differently about us when they get home and find that demo, lol! Hopefully not though, as you said, live performances shows the real level of a band! Thanks for the response



Thank you very much, man! That really means a lot Sorry to say we aren't getting rid of the growling any time soon, haha! Hopefully you can listen to it the way I listen to Periphery - focus on the instrumentals!

I'm a bit curious man - how did the process occur? I mean the working process with the producer?