Music Forum / As the Sky Awaits

hey guys.
i just figured i'd start a topic for my band, rather than clutter up any existing topics about music.

though this isnt really the style of music that many of you listen to, i'd really appreciate it if you gave it a listen and share any thoughts you might have about it.


http://www.myspace.com/astheskyawaits


we actually just uploaded our first demo as a band with our new vocalist/bassist, so we're really stoked about it.

its definitely a lot softer and more 'epic' than our other songs, but this is the only one our vocalist had lyrics to at the time of recording, so oh well.
its pretty catchy i guess:]

i especially love the soft part in it, and the big epic ending lol.


if any of you remember any of my previous recordings, you may recall that they were all self recorded by me on my laptop.
this one is no exception.

i'm actually quite proud of the recording quality that i've been able to achieve lately, so if anything, comments on the production of this song will be greatly appreciated.


oh, and a minor note.
our profile is blank at the moment, but it wont be for long.
we're in the process of getting our layout designed, as well as going in for a promo shoot monday:]


-josh

You know my thoughts on this

^ you know the thoughts that people of this community have against people who already know other people's thoughts on certain things.



but thanks:]


i was kindof hoping for some more feedback on the production aspect of it from some members though.

i am honestly really proud of the quality that i have achieved, and this is a first!

^ you know the thoughts that people of this community have against people who already know other people's thoughts on certain things.

lol

TBH I have a hard time with this kind of music. Considering that though, this was pretty good! Some quite original stuff in there, I especially liked the riff starting at 1:07, really heavy! The production is quite solid, I don't know how good recording equipment you have, but it definately sounded more professional than the average self-produced song on myspace. I wouldn't mind if I could get that quality in my recordings! Only thing that bugged me with the song was the clean singing, no offense but the voice was way too nasal, and there just was somehting to it that made it hard to take it seriously (though I really can't take the growl part seriously either). But as I said, this is really not my style of music so consider this as major praise!

haha thanks man:]
that really means a lot.

we've had all good feedback on this so far, so i'm really stoked about it!
:]

The recording quality is pretty good. I'm sure it would sound a lot better if you actually got into a recording studio.

Honestly, I'm not really into this kind of music, so I can't say I enjoyed it. However, if you sped it up a bit and toned down on the screaming, I'd totally listen to it. I think you've got a really good vocalist and great musicians, and you guys have a lot of potential.

And does anyone see the irony of a band like Josh's performing at a church? Maybe it's just me...

well, this is probably our slowest/softest song.
definitely not our typical sound.

it just happened to be the only song that we had the music already recorded, and that our vocalist had the lyrics to at the time lol.

we're in the process of recording another one at the moment:]

and we'll be hitting up a studio soon.
hopefully in may/june.

we'll most likely be going here, God willing
http://www.myspace.com/thewadestudio


but yeah man, i see no irony of us playing in a church.
church's i know host shows like this all the time dude.

just shows that not all churches are so close minded.
they see that the youth are having good clean fun, and coming to a good environment.
focusing on the music, rather than drugs or whatever.

oh, and as for the potential part, we've been flooded with tons of opportunities lately.
we're already on the radar of several labels.
not to mention we just got invited to play Cornerstone Festival up in Illinois this summer:]

depending on how these next few months go, and if we get our album done and its recieved well, we could be looking at some type of label contract:]

First Unitarian Church in Philly has had some historic shows.

and the song sounds great, man. glad to see you getting all these opportunities, you deserve them.

thanks mike.
that really means a lot to hear that from you.

i know how particular you are about your music taste, and that you dont really like this type of music all too much.
to get your approval means a lot.

wow, josh, that was amazing.
*****

is that sarcasm sammy? lol

yeah it was bollocks.


nah, i was being honest. i loved it.

aw:]]

No offense but it sounded exactly what i expected it to sound like just from the band name.Whether thats a good or bad thing i guess thats for you to decide but since id already made my mind up just from the band name i cant really have an opinion

I like it significantly more than I expected to... While the recording quality seems decent something about the production seems quite thin. I'm trying to put my finger on it, because it's not obvious what's causing it.

After a second listening I think the vocals and guitars are mixed fine but the drums and bass are both begging for more compression, and the drums more volume and panning. So yeah, compress and/or bass boost the bass. The drums just hit with a REALLY strong compression (it'll make the attack HUGE, see John Bonham, or Dave Grohl for examples of this sound: yes it's tuning and how hard they hit too, but the production is COMPRESSION), mash them into the ceiling mix-wise, and push the hats n' ride to the opposite sides of the mix. Careful with the kick drum though; that double-kick section could get OBNOXIOUS if you mix up too far.

But overall it sounds really good... It just seems like there's a lot going on without a lot of life to it, which confuses me. And it's not the vocal style (which I'm not a fan of, but it's being done quite well here: melodic and aggressive. I can appreciate it) that's annoying me, or the double kick (which i usually hate, honestly). I think the whole tune is just longing for more low end.

But yeah, good tune. Really like the lead guitar lines, the keyboards/atmospherics, the breakdown and the build back. Really solid, even though it's not my cup of tea.

Ride6

ah thanks man!
its nice to get a comment like that from you.

you have to understand that this was basically my first time mixing an entire song on my new protools setup.
while i know that i still have a LOT of room for improvement, overall, i'm pretty happy with what i achieved.

nice tips for the drums and bass.
i'll tell my drummer to do that next time.

see, we dont record live drums at all.
my drummer plays the parts on his electric kit, and then gets it recorded as a midi file.
then he just adjusts what needs to be adjusted.
so its not like they're real drum sounds.

he just sends me his drum track as an mp3, and i do all the rest.

you also have to remember that these are just demos, and are only being recorded just to give people an idea of what we sound like.

we're hitting up the studio soon:]
[possibly for a full length. screw all those weak 4 song EPs. we're going for the real deal]

I was impressed with the song and production. It shows great potential other than a lot of these "up and comers" that write and produce the lamest stuff. Imo, the vocals need work and some kinks in the production as well, perhaps what Ride6 mentioned would really help. What really impressed me was the composure of the song. While a bit confusing, still pretty advanced and complex. I think what I really see is a ton of potential for a band that could really make it. Also, doing it for the glory of God is what it's all about. That's substance right there. Be hardcore for the Lord. Don't waste your time...

Thumbs up, Josh.

^ thanks so much man.

we've just recently made some good contacts with guys from Rise Records, and Solid State Records who are looking at us.

its so crazy man.

we'll be releasing a few more demos, but we're planning on hitting up the studio soon once we raise a lotttt of money.

we'll get it though:]


ah some bad news, somebody hacked our myspace and deleted our song.
we had almost 2k plays on it:/

so i just changed the password and re-upped it.

big things are coming!

we just got our logo from the designer.

personally, i'm very happy with how it turned out.
its very hand drawn and intense, yet still legible and clean looking.



the guy that designed it, is an absolutely amazing designer.
i highly recommend him for any album art/band logo designs that any of you might be interested in.

http://www.blog.midwestlove.com/

hey guys, i'm sorry for the triple post because i know that many of you arent interested in this.

but for those in a nice mood, i have a HUGE favor to ask of you.

along with our summer tour, we are trying to play this years Vans Warped Tour down here in West Palm Beach.

basically, the top 4 bands with the most votes get to play on the Ernie Ball stage.

if any of you guys would please help me out in doing this, i would freaking love you to death.

this is so important for us, especially because we already have some labels looking at us.
if we play this, it would make us stand out from the local bands even more.


all you have to do is click the link, go to the site, make a fan account, and vote for us.
it really doesnt take long at all.

its a daily vote sort of thing, so if any of you do this, PLEASE continue to vote for us every day if you remember.


i'm really sorry to ask for so much, but i'm really just trying to consider all my options lol.

thanks so much!

-josh


http://www.battleoft.../astheskyawaits

Edited by In:Cities, 02 March 2010 - 06:14 PM.