Metal fans, get over here and critique my mix!

[demonofthefall]

Finally, we're close to the end!!
Here's a test version of one of the songs that will be on our upcoming EP (our first release, we hope it will sound good enough so that we don't have to call it a demo!). This one is classical heavy metal and our other songs have more prog elements to them. Anyway, I'm looking for honest comments on the mix and guitar tone:
http://snd.sc/wkGsd0

By the way, tracking and mixing is more amateurish than pro and was done at a friend's home studio. For the mastering we got help from a more experienced guy ... and now both are waiting for comments!

 

[squank]

Overall, a very nice job. Congrats.

First, the vocals need to come down. They overpower everything else. Now, I'm not saying the guitar should be as loud as the vocals. Vocals should definitely be louder than everything else - but just barely. You should still be able to make out what the guitar is playing while the singer is wailing. It's the essence of a good mix, and sadly it's often screwed up, even on major label releases.

The drums sound like an entry level electronic kit. If they are in fact electronic, I guess there's not much you can do about it, short of adding a touch of reverb to them and EQ'ing them a little darker.

Guitar tone is good, except for the standalone breaks (like at 1:10, 1:20, 2:19, etc). On those sections, it sounds kind of thin and loose.

Good luck with this project!

 

[demonofthefall]

Many thanks for your feedback!

The drums sound like an entry level electronic kit. If they are in fact electronic, I guess there's not much you can do about it, short of adding a touch of reverb to them and EQ'ing them a little darker."

I can assure you it's very far from that ... what makes you say that?

Guitar tone is good, except for the standalone breaks (like at 1:10, 1:20, 2:19, etc). On those sections, it sounds kind of thin and loose.

We had noticed that too. Can it be fixed through EQing or other tricks ?
We won't record additional layers of guitar at this point ...

 

[squank]

Many thanks for your feedback!

The drums sound like an entry level electronic kit. If they are in fact electronic, I guess there's not much you can do about it, short of adding a touch of reverb to them and EQ'ing them a little darker."

I can assure you it's very far from that ... what makes you say that?

The sharp attack and release with no depth to the tone is what makes them sound artificial. This is what most electronic drum sets can't avoid. I know that some folks like the drum tones very truncated on speed metal stuff where it's constant double kick, but this song doesn't need that, imo. There is room for more depth and drum tone.

Guitar tone is good, except for the standalone breaks (like at 1:10, 1:20, 2:19, etc). On those sections, it sounds kind of thin and loose.

We had noticed that too. Can it be fixed through EQing or other tricks ?
We won't record additional layers of guitar at this point ...

You could always EQ some more low end on those parts. Another trick is to double it and apply a chorus to thicken it up.

 

[demonofthefall]

You could always EQ some more low end on those parts. Another trick is to double it and apply a chorus to thicken it up.

We may give that a try, thanks for the tip.

Anyone else wanna chime in ?!

 

[xkalibur38]

Cool s/n bro! I'd have to agree the vocals are just slightly too loud. Lead tones are pretty nice. The rhythm tracks seem a bit ""fizzy", were they tracked with a recto? Maybe you could pull the low pass filter frequencies back a little more to smooth it out?

 

[demonofthefall]

Cool s/n bro! I'd have to agree the vocals are just slightly too loud. Lead tones are pretty nice. The rhythm tracks seem a bit ""fizzy", were they tracked with a recto? Maybe you could pull the low pass filter frequencies back a little more to smooth it out?

Thanks!
I agree the rhythm guitar tracks are still a little fizzy and we'll try to fix that ... but don't blame the rectos cause we didn't use any !!

 

[JCDenton6]

So far so good, vocals were a tad loud but not a deal breaker

 

[fluff191]

The main guitars are a little fizzy for my taste. Vocals can come down a bit too. Other than that not too shabby!