<WIP><Pony><Aggrotech>The Faceless Scourge

[Injustrial]

1,5 hours into this and it's starting to sound like something. The chorus needs to be added and some more layers and effects. Right now, this is just a framework to hang the rest of the song on. Ideas and feedback are deeply appreciated. I'm moving into stranger territories here...

https://soundcloud.com/injustrial/wip-phat-bass-and-arpeggios

[Injustrial]

Forgot to mention: This will probably be my submission for the Shards of Disharmony Album. Because of this, you guys won't hear the full finished version until March 28th, but I'll be sure to post a short teaser when it's done.

Updated: I've laid out the basic structure of the song. Might make it a bit longer, to give it an actual outro.
Added a sample from This Day Aria. Might need a bit more work, though
I'm thinking of replacing that Arpeggio and create a different lead for the chorus instead. It sort of feels out of place...

[Twy]

I'll try and give my thoughts, though I don't think I'm as justified giving criticisms on music like this since this is more unconventional and different than what I'm used to (as well as being a WIP), but I'll give it a shot!

So, at first I was going to point out the hi hats that start at 0:06, saying that they might lack a certain...brief sharpness to them that usually helps keep 'em a bit more subtle and tamed, but after getting further into the track it's apparent that the drums seem to be going for a more classic kind of feel altogether, which makes those sorts of hi hats fit in a lot better. So nevermind I guess!

I like the sections where the track kind of quiets down and gives you a bit to breathe (at 0:45, and 2:00), so to further highlight that effect it might be worth seeing how it sounds to lower the volume of the drums or maybe just simplify the beat, that way when it goes back to the verse synth it feels that much more intense.

The transition of lead synths at 1:15 sounds a bit sudden and jarring. I'm not sure if a different sound or melody would fit better, but you could also try adding elements that lead up to this point to get anticipation going for it, and then add a couple new elements when the new part hits or make certain things louder to make this point really stand out as more of a chorus section sorta thing.

At 1:45, when it dies down after the chorus synth change, one common technique in EDM would be to use crazy reverb to really stretch out the cymbal crash, which can give a nice washing over the track kind of feeling...thing. Again, more of a classic EDM thing, but it could be cool.

I like the This Day Aria sample, but it sounds like it has a a bit of a clicky/hissy end, which I think is actually more an issue with the sample itself, but it was noticeable to me (mostly at the 3:14 point) and might be worth tinkering with to see if it can be smoothed out. I don't know much about how this would be done though, I'm pretty bad at sample editing.


So yeah, cool track though! I look forward to hearing it when it is done. Keep up the good work, Hip, trendy Japanese school girl of the forum!

[TheUncrativePony]

general mixing advice because that's the weakest link IMO:
drums should be loudest aspect (generally) and should hit around -8db.
everything else should be mixed lower accordingly, i usually start at -10db and work my way down/up
this gives you a space to work with for mastering, because you usually are left with around 8 to 4 db to work with when compressing/eqing/maximizing (yeah i know its a compressor)
allows you to have a dynamic range, and clarity throughout your track!
keep on producin!

[Injustrial]

Thanks for the detailed reply!

I'm still missing the main lead for the chorus, so there's going to be an extra bar before the arpeggio, to even out the sudden change. The sample had to be heavily compressed, since it had some insane volume differences, so the clicks your hearing could come from that. I'll fiddle a bit with the knobs to try minimizing the pops.

I have also yet to mix this. I'll hold off on that until I've got most of the elements arranged, especially the vocals. Harsh screams tend to change the sound of the entire thing, so mixing is always best to after they're added.

Thanks for the help, I'll post updates when things are worth mentioning

[Injustrial]

Small update: Fiddled with some samplework and added a line before the main chorus. I'll start the lyrics and vocal process and then start moving stuff. I'm thinking at least one more layer before starting mixing.

https://soundcloud.com/injustrial/wip-phat-bass-and-arpeggios

^Reposted link if you're lazy ;)

[Injustrial]

Final update before I'm finishing this up. Vocals have been added and the bridge has been modded. Outro is in place. I might have to re-record some parts of the vocals.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/a3jwnb6owrkz2rk/Changelings%2030.mp3

[Injustrial]

Aaaand, the teaser is done!

[Twy]

The dropbox link for the latest version seems to be invalid, but if you've already finished the track I suppose it doesn't matter anyway. Sounds like you tweaked a lot of things for the better though, and with the mixing and everything I imagine it all turned out pretty well.

I'll keep an eye out for the full upload.