Drumsworks (read; fills) and key plans

As a break from keyboard experiments (which continued really nicely, methinks!) I worked massively on the last three songs' drums. Those three had just basic beats unlike first three songs, so I went through these last three tunes and created fitting fills and little things of interest to make it more lively and flowing.

The result is ... fantastic. I've always loved working with drums programming and this was no exception. The songs certainly grew a lot as a result. And I've got some good vibes for the keyboard experiments. I'm like 99% certains there will be these minimalistic keys expanding the tunes. 

I have a good idea for certain way how the tunes go - slow ones differ from the "less slow ones" (I can't really say fast ones, there are no really fast tunes even that there might be some short furious bits in some song - which comes from the tune's background tale / inspiration directly, more about things like this much later). Slow ones have majestic keys, dark & kind of scifi'ish vibes, not so slow have bit different kind of approach. And it all will work together, it already feels like that even that I've not yet put my plans into reality fully. Next update will quite likely tell more about the keyboard stuff.

But yeah, things are progressing really good. I think "good" feels like an understatement. Things are progressing in a great way. I have awesome vibes for this material. 

Key(board) experiments and stuff

Yesterday I listened few times all the six songs in a row, the current rough mix versions. The flow feels good to me, and even the song order feels like it's already there. Seems that there's no need to throw some song here and some song there. I did expect this as I had the vision for certain songs in certain order, but it felt almost surprising how good the flow is in this current order, according to the original vision.

I already started next stage which is something I'm going for after a very long break indeed. I'm not really a "keyboard guy" but it feels that I will expand the slow tunes with some background keys. Nothing major, nor complex - this is not music that needs complicated keys, certainly not. Instead it's very minimalistic, simple, adding to the power of the guitars. Or that's what I am aiming for, anyway.

I recorded keys for the 6th tune already late yesterday and it feels pretty good and solid. Not 100% sure if the sound is yet the final one for keys in this track, but it's close already. I also have some ideas for possible key/guitar solo things, short sections, but we'll see if those ideas work or not. If they work, you can be sure you won't hear that kind of experiments in these slow, long tunes though. Somewhere else. :)

After I get the keyboard stuff sorted out, I will go into space samples / sounds / dark ambient elements. Part of them might happen with keys, depends in certain things - but part of them will be sample stuff expanding the (event horizon) songs' atmospheres. That's something I haven't planned / visioned yet, so I won't go deeper there at this point. Same goes with vocals / lyrics, even more so. For them I have ideas already for many of the songs, but anyway. One step at time.

Here we go again (doomier than thou)

I bet you can't guess what the subject line above hints ... or then it's too easy to guess!

 Yeah. :)

Not only did I compose the track#6 already, but I also recorded all the guitars and bassguitars for it, too. Drums are still simple base beats, so there's work to be done for them, but all in all a very proper song base, I'd say. And certainly different to that "faster" track#5 ... 

I thought this track#6 would certainly be the last track, and ... well, it quite certainly is. I have a feeling I'd come up with more suitable material, but on the other hand I don't want to make this album too long. The world is filled with too long albums these days, in any case. Thinking the days from 1980s or early 1990s, when your usual metal albums (pretty much whatever genre) went from bit under 30 minutes into around 45 minutes or let's say bit under 50 minutes. Of course there were exceptions, but you know, in general. 

I have a feeling this pack of 6 song will go quite close to something like 45 minutes and it feels like a perfect length to me. And more importantly, it feels very fitting for the theme of this album and the overall flow, I think.

Speed metal doom

Well, guess what? I just finished putting down all the basic stuff for the track number 5. When inspiration strikes, you gotta act upon it. That's what I do. Late yesterday evening just before going to sleep I laid down simple drumtrack rather fast for the idea I had for this song. And now, saturday morning, I jammed the riff a bit and felt like yeah, this certainly is it and it totally fills the theme / tale of exactly this song perfectly.

After breakfast I played some Hades a bit, then went to record the guitars and bass. And that's what happened and it happened fast, too. Recorded two guitar channels, all guitars and one bassguitar channel, some tweaking - and just 50 minutes later the demobase for song#5 was ready. And it sounds really sweet to me, even better than what I imagined beforehand.

So far I don't have as clear idea for the song#6 which will quite like be the closing track of this album, but I have a feeling that the idea is right behind the corner and soon here. Now I'm off to spend some quality time with our kiddo (who was listening all the time as I was laying down guitar and bass tracks). :)

From smooth basslines forwards

I recorded the bassguitars for that 4th monster already yesterday and it went exactly as smoothly as I thought it would. Really good vibes.

I have also clear ideas for next two tunes already and not just that but it looks like this album might have just 6 tunes overall. That might sound like little, but it's more than enough because two of the tunes are long ones. I think the overall length might turn around 40-50 minutes or something like that? I haven't really looked at what kind of length it would be nor do I care - I'm doing this purely on instinct and how it feels overall. There has to be certain kind of flow and currently it's looking good to me.

More as composing progresses.

Recording bass for the 4th new tune

Warping, Indeed!

In previous blog post, I wrote its' topic about "warping" towards next tune ... well, warping literally happened and I am not exaggerating a bit! 

Think about this: Already late yesterday I had not just composed but also recorded guitars over basic drumbeats (which will require lots of tweaking) for the 4th tune demo which is like I predicted a very heavy, long piece. Goes well past two figures in minutes in its' demo form. It is droneish, dragging, very doomy song and it feels exactly like the vision I had for it - describes something very personal indeed (about which I might wrote much later after the album has been finished). 

And the composing vibes are great. I have to record bass for this 4th monster and I look forward to it. I think bass in this tune's case will make it more lively and perhaps twisted in a way or two.

Bass for #3 and warping towards next tune

I recorded the bassguitars for song #3 yesterday only. So much things have been going on in my personal life, that it just wasn't possible earlier. Recording went smoothly though, as I thought. This thing is going on "inside my head" even that I don't work on it - and as a result I know this "song#3" is going to be sort of short passageway into song#4 which I haven't composed yet, but for which I have main riff idea pretty much ready. And it connects thematically to main title track, too. I think this forthcoming tune#4 will be long and heavy one. 

Just this morning I suddenly knew what the song title for song#3 will be, too. Song#2 is still untitled, but song#1 has had name even before recording anything of it. Sometimes it goes like that, sometimes like song#2 case, that the title forms later.