The songs I'm putting on here are indefinitely works in progress. I wrote them around 1999-2002. I recorded most of what is here back in 2003 (along with a few more that I haven't really touched since the recordings). I guess I just realized that I prefer writing music over the whole recording/mixing/production thing. So my plan is to dump this material on someone who wants to finish that aspect of it and allow me to work on more material. I've also been busy rehearsing/recording/performing songs in Aruspex. Oh ya, and this project really needs a better name than mine, suggestions for a name (and song names) would be greatly appreciated (and I'll give you credit!)
History:
I recorded an 8 song CD as a project in high school (that's around April-May 2000). Except "The Embarking", those songs aren't on here at the moment (they were on mp3.com years ago). During the process I joined a melodic metal/hardcore style band (Pronounced Dead). We played shows for a few years, never really branching out of the Orlando area. We also never made any professional quality recordings (I really wish we did). After Pronounced Dead disbanded, I was working on these songs for some time. Then, I met Nate at a concert. He had a black metal project and needed members. As a result, Aruspex was born and I really put this material on the back burner.
Future:
Right now, Aruspex is active. I'm probably going to get more critical about my music, aiming at solid, well rounded songs. You can interpret this as "radio-friendly" if you want, but I'm not going to settle on anything I don't personally like. But first, I need to finish the recordings I started years ago. Nate has been busting his ass for Aruspex... I'll probably help him out more than work on my own stuff.
Members:
For the most part, I take a part in everything. I play all the guitar parts and most of the synth parts (some are sequenced, I won't lie). I recruited Russell for drums (formerly of Pronounced Dead, Aruspex, Dark Faith, and Ezra Stone) and Andrew for bass (Aruspex, AAK, ex-Serpent's Son). Russell did an amazing job elaborating the style of drums I had programmed earlier. Andrew was more exploratory since I had very little pre-written bass parts. He did an awesome job working with my critical nature on all of his parts. And both of them are awesome for doing it for free :)
Why no vocals?
I don't have an answer yet. I really wanted to find someone who could sing well, but I'm not really a social person. If you know anyone who can sing very well, let me know. I'm not ruling it out. I'm also afraid vocals won't sound right in most of my songs, since I never expected to record vocals. I have always planned on having some "traditional" metal vocals on this, but I think a lack of lyrics has complicated this aspect for a while.
you should name one of your songs peat, and another repeat, and the last one were on a boat. because then people would look at it and think it was clever you did that and buy a copy. trust me on this, im a marketing genious.
Ylem begins with a futuristic and space-like sound. When the melody is introduced, that theme is maintained and a sense of sadness is evoked.
The drums and guitar riffs join in and they don't deviate from the theme. The melody depicts the same saddness as before with, perhaps, an added sense of uncertainty. A mood is established and a picture is created in my mind: At this point, I picture a one-manned space craft drifting through a field of asteroids. It is then that the initial sense of sadness and uncertainty that was established before is understood - He's alone.
After literally one minute, the mood changes. The asteroids start colliding with one another and the man in the small space craft is thrown aimlessly with the debris. He becomes frantic, holding onto life with what little hope he's managed to keep close. The initial melodic theme soon returns but has undergone a change as the guy in the space craft snaps back into consciousness. He's still frantically moving about, but now with greater speed.
Somehow, he manages to drift upwards and is temporarily out of the maddness. He has a clear view of the asteroid field and still hears the powerful sounds of the colliding asteroids. He begins to slip in and out of consciousness and remembers the way things were when he began his journey through space.
He regains consciousness again and the changed melodic theme that occurred after his encounter with the asteroids returns. Suddenly, he's thrown in with the debris and can do nothing but watch the hundreds of pieces of asteroids flying about him. His head is throbbing and he's dizzy from all of the motion. He's back in the asteroid field and his heart is pounding frantically. He starts picturing his demise and believes he's going insane as his thoughts are warped. Then he returns to his frantic state, his heart pounding the same as it was before.
Until suddenly, it stops. And when he awakes, his heart begins to beat again. He's still in the asteroid field but he made it. He's still alive. As he drifts again, he remembers his journey through space and realizes that his encounter with the asteroids is just another chapter of that journey. He's not as sad as he was in the beginning and has more confidence. He's okay with being alone.
aye, the drums are a pain in the ass to get right. i think the pad and bass are a bit loud. the cymbals have a tendency to dominate when i raise them. i think the kick/snare drums and guitar are matched pretty well though. i'm going to stop mixing for now and continue looking for synth sounds. hopefully i'll have the synths done for another one this weekend. time goes too fast :(
Ok. I will tell you that I like Name Me Please the best, but the bass is too strong. It meshes into mush with the drums. Also, I think the resolution of the audio makes it lose a certain quality. You can really tell in the cymbal and snare sound. Might be able to get a little higher resolution, as the song is not too long... The drums are really low in volume.
I'd like to experiment with the unmastered channels, haha. PS, I think I may have gotten Dimension Pro...
It's hard to hear the difference really without listening to them more than once or twice. My main criticism is that in the mix with the drums the keyboard drowns out a lot of the other instruments in some parts. Also the melodic part at the beginning that you have the piano play on top of its rise feels excessive (like it doesn't really add too much). The drive from the drums is enough to push the song that little bit at the beginning I think. Maybe strip the melody of the piano in the beginning and leave it for the end. Just my opinion though.
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