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Pandabear

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Posts posted by Pandabear

  2. Posted

    2rgdn4m.jpg

     

    Slowdive is a dream pop/shoegaze band that formed in 1989 in Reading, England, United Kingdom. Signed to Creation Records in 1990 and initially championed by the British music press, the band scored a UK top forty entry with their debut album Just for a Day. 

     

    The band consists of Rachel Goswell (vocals/guitar), Neil Halstead (vocals/guitar), Nick Chaplin (bass),Christian Savill (guitar), and Simon Scott (drums, 1990-1994, 2014-present); additionally, Ian McCutcheonreplaced Scott from 1994-1995. Goswell and Halstead had known each other since early childhood in Reading, Berkshire. The band reunited in 2014.

     

     

     
    Considering they're my all time favorite shoegaze band and that they just reunited, it seemed appropriate to make a thread for these guys. Needless to say I love their music. Souvlaki is a shoegaze masterpiece. Even if you're not familiar with the genre, but enjoy good alternative rock or indie music you should check it out.

     

    I'm dying to see them live, but they've only announced 2 dates so far. One in Spain and one in London. I think both have sold out. There has also been hints of possible new music. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for U.S concert dates and a new album. 

  5. Posted

    Both are important for me. Can't have an amazing instrumental without equally quality vocals. It works the other way around too. Can't have amazing vocals without a proper instrumental backing it up. It does no good if you have an awesome vocalist when the rest of the music is crap/boring or vice versa. 

     

    I think most bands can get away without having a great vocalist, or maybe even having a crappy one, if the rest of the members are great composers/players, but even if you have  a god like vocalist, it won't be enough to save a horribly performed/written track.

     

    I'm a huge guitar/music nerd so with me, all the components ( great vocals, great instrumental, great composition, great production) have to be there for me.

    Zeus reacted to this

  8. Posted

    I'm just going to jump in and say none of the bands mentioned earlier are post-hardcore. Atreyu is metalcore with vocals heavily influenced by hardcore, early Ax7 was also metalcore before they went alternative metal/hardrock. And devil wears prada is also metalcore, although their ZOMBIE EP had some deathcore influenced vocals. I'm not really familiar their earlier work, but everything from ZOMBIE EP upwards is amazing. Heavy, melodic and creative. There's a lot of interesting riffs, cool synths, brutal vox balanced by melodic cleans and sick drumming.

     


     

    Seeing as TDWP is metalcore and a thousands years of plague is deathcore I feel it's unfair to compare the two.  I liked what I heard from a thousands years, but  I honestly wouldn't call them original or creative by any means. At least not from that one song. There are a lot more creative/brutal bands in the deathcore scene.

     

    I can't say I share the same sentimentality with people who say all the bands in the core scene sound the same or are generic because there are a heap doing really creative and interesting things. There are some fantastic ones too. I feel like most ppl who say the aforementioned statement aren't listening to the right bands or maybe just haven't realized the scene isn't for them. If you go in expecting not to hear chugging, double bass, growls and perhaps melodic cleans, than your simply setting yourself up for a fall. Those are trademarks of the genre. Some people get so caught up in these details they fail to see when a band uses these elements in a new original way or when the band does come with something unique. It's like going to listen to rap and then railing on it because it has beats or rapping ,or complaining about rock music because it contains electric guitars.

     

     And if you want dynamics in your vocals, death metal and deathcore are probably not the genres to be looking at. It might be harder for someone who's new to those scene's to distinguish between each band's vocalists, but there are small and huge differences between vocalists depending on the band. Metalcore would probably be a better place for more dynamic vocals as the growls and screams vary more in style and most of those bands also implement melodic cleans, which has been done to death, but can be amazing with a proper band and singer. 

     

    The good thing about the generic bands that did pop up after the core thing became popular was that it forced other established and up-incoming bands to be more creative in order to set themselves apart. And being generic in of itself isn't a bad thing. There are bands that are not original by any means, but they play damn good music. I enjoy a lot of bands from different genres that could be considered "generic", but they make good music so I don't really care if they're not the most creative or original band in the world.

  10. Posted

     

    When it comes to me, It’s not like the first thing I focus on when listening to a metal band or a band who uses unclean vocals are the growls or screams. I generally take in the music as a whole and different overt elements on how melodic or skilled they may be and some subtle aspects after multiple listens. However if I’m listening to a song and I hear something I don’t like, it automatically draws my attention. It doesn’t matter if it’s the vocals, the guitars or the drumming, a bad enough performance by either of those things can and will ruin a song for me.

     

    Sure you don’t need formal training to growl, in fact a lot of vocalists in the genre started off as self taught, but they practice their butts off to sound good and learn proper technique. Like it or not, technique is a huge part of unclean vocals, regardless of the type you’re doing. It’s protects your voice, maximizes the impact of your growls/screams and allows you to be more versatile if needed. Just like a good self taught guitarist will work to learn how to properly play a guitar and be competent at a basic level, so should anyone doing growls. Otherwise much like a incompetent guitar player, you will sound bad. This is hard to explain when it comes to growling/screaming, but if it sounds wimpy, awkward, is missing prescence, off time, too shrill or sounds shakey, than chances are it's bad. 

     

    I understand the tone and style of unclean vocalist’s vary and will attract certain people and repel others, but the basic foundation for the growls and screams should be there. If it’s not, then in my opinion the performance is bad and it will undoubtedly ruin the music. There’s no way around it, just like you can’t excuse a guitar player for hitting all the wrong notes on the fretboard, or a sloppy out of time drummer and expect to achieve a good level of quality music. Suck at growls? Suck at playing guitar or anything else? Then don’t put out music that sounds bad, has any type of bad performances or practice until at the very minium you sound decent. This is one of the core factors that separates the pro’s/serious musicians from the noobs.

     

    I’ve seen this problem in the underground metal/hardcore scence on the web too. Kids trying to be all metalz by doing unclean vocals that just sound god awful, so this isn’t just limited to VK. Unfortunately VK has become one of the few scenes on the planet where anyone who wants to be metal (or actually play any type of genre), yet don’t quite possess the skills to do so, can get away with bad performances and still get a decent amount of fans/fame. If these bands started off as “normal” non VK bands they would either get laughed off for their terrible music/performances or no one would even pay attention to them. But don typical VK attire, use stage names and quirky nonsensical album/tour/song titles incorporating butchered English and OMG, these guys are so good, their so unique (bad). 

     

    I’ve gone off on an entirely different matter here, but I feel it applies to the reason why there aren’t many good metal bands in the VK scene and why their growlers suck. And as Arithmetica has mentioned they’re trying do the whole core genre which already has a set standard. Even the most unoriginal, blandest boringcore bands out there have better skill and performances than most VK bands. 

     

    To bring things back on topic, here are some Japanese Bands I can think of who use unclean vocals and who's music I dig.

     

    One of my fav metal bands from Japan


     

    Maiko has more balls in her screaming rants than most of her male counterparts.


    Hayato has pretty good screams/growls.


    Who says girls can't do death metal?


    Shoohey is featured in a lot of vocaloid work but he's got the goodz.


     

    Other non vk bands with good/decent unclean vocals IMO.

    Maximum the Hormone

    Backshot Roberts

    Crossfaith

    Pay Money To my Pain

    Artema

    And a lot more that escape me at the moment.

  11. Posted

    Yeah, I'm one of the people who loves unclean vocals. Ever since I got into metal it's something I highly enjoy. I feel like for most people who have never heard it, it might take some time to full appreciate and enjoy the technique. I used to not like unclean vocals at all when I was younger. I think it was my attraction to melodic metalcore bands like Killswitch Engage and All That Remains that made me appreciate the raw power, passion and immense technique involved in being able to pull off growls. I gravitated toward those bands because of the instrumentation and the singers awesome melodic cleans, but overtime grew to like the screams/growls. 

     

    Now I enjoy all types of extreme metal and usually any form of unclean vocals. I think it is highly under rated how much technique and practice is involved in pulling proper screams and growls. There are numerous techniques and many different types of unclean vocals; grunts, death growls, death shrieks, pig squels, the more raw black metal vocals, etc. These may not be everyone's cup of tea, but they require endurance, good technique, presence, timing and in some cases good articulation. 

     

    Strictly speaking for Japan, there are some decent vocalists who use unclean vocals, but they mostly are outside of VK. For some reason Vk houses a lot of terrible unclean vocalists. Unclean vocals are suppose to be powerful, brutal and harsh, but Vk vocalists only hit the harsh quality and it's in the making my ears bleed type of way. I get not all vocalists out there are trying to be have the most BROOtal sounding vox, but there still should be some type of power behind it. With the majority of vk, they just sound half assed, wimpy and plain terrible as a result of bad technique. As mentioned before the only vocalist who actually does it right is the vocalist for Nocturnal Bloodlust. All these other wanna be metal vk vocalists should pay attention and learn a thing or two from him.  

  12. Posted

    Oblivion - Amazing visual effects. Tom cruise does some good acting and the sci-fic story is not too shabby. 7/10

     

    Hansel and Gretel - Action packed film version of the children's tale. I wouldn't really call it action packed....violent..yes. Predictable story and dialogue with some okay acting. I would only watch this film if you're really bored. 4.5/10

     

    The Great and Powerful Oz - 2013 prequel to the great wizard of oz. Visual effects are great and so is this acting. Mila kunis, why you so hot? It is a bit long at 2 hours and a half, but still enjoyable. 7/10

     

    Jack The Giant Slayer - Another movie based on a children's tale. This was actually not as bad as I thought it was going to be. It was a fun watch. 6.5/10

  13. Posted

    Wrapping up the last few days...

     

    Boris - You can never go wrong with Boris

    M-Koda - I loved Drawing Arrow Diagram. It's one of my fav electronic albums of 2013. Glad to see it made it on the list.

    Nocturnal Bloodlust - Grimoire was great, even though I liked their other 2013 releases better. Still, Nocturnal Bloodlust is one of the only Japanese bands that does the core genre any justice. They have the creativity, technicality and brutality so many other wannabe core vk bands lack. 

    Ling Tosite Sigure - Good to see I'mperfect didn't get overlooked either. Fantastic album. This should make an appearance on everyone's list.

     

    Overall I highly enjoyed this 25 days of xmas music review stint. I have yet to check out all the bands but I already have discovered quite a few jems. I know lists can subjective for everyone, but I agree with 98% of the bands that were chosen for this. The staff reviews were also fun to read. So to everyone involved in this I will say good job. :thumbs:

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Original Saku and Champ213 reacted to this

  15. Posted

    Checked out Div and I was highly impressed. Finally a VK band that does the electronic thing right! Not only is the production great but so is the music. I really enjoyed their rock style and the electronic flourishes. The vocalist actually knows how to sing and the guitar riffs and drumming is great. You can tell the effort that went into this release. If only other vk bands could strive and achieve this level of quality. 2nd best vk album of the year behind Jupiter imo.

     

    My 2 other discoveries from this list was Kinoko Teikoku and Tam Tam. Loved eureka by Kinoko Teiku. That release is just amazing and so is this band. I have to go check out there other releases now. Also really enjoyed the eccentric sound of Tam Tam. I'm glad Yōsei Teikoku's PAX VESANIA was included on this list. It's the best album they've done so far.

     

    I need to check out the other releases but there's lots of quality awesome stuff here. 

    CAT5 reacted to this

  18. Posted

    Prometheus - Awesome sci-fi film. The basic premise, trying to prove that the existence of human beings came about as the creation of advanced ancient aliens. Traveling in a space-ship to some unknown alien planet to discover the origins of humanity....you know things will go wrong eventually, but the ride is immensely enjoyable. 8/10

     

    Akira - I'm an anime fan and have seen most of the acclaimed must see anime films, but I had yet to see this one. This film was incredible. Love the dirty cyberpunk feel and the animation. The story and characters were great. It's funny, intelligent and brutally violent at times. 9.5/10

     

    Mr.Brooks - I guess this would be your thriller/psychological movie. Basically about a seemingly normal business/family man who has a secret addiction to murdering people and gets blackmailed into continuing to kill, despite wanting to quit his addiction. It's not perfect, but it keeps the viewer interested and the lead performance is strong. It also made Asking Alexandria's song, Hey There Mr. Brooks more enjoyable now that I've seen the movie. 6.5/10

     

    Sunshine Cleaning - Comedy/drama film about a single mom who takes on the job of cleaning up gruesome crime scenes. An enjoyable indie film with good acting, dialogue and story. 7.5/10

  20. Posted

    Medicine released a new album after 13 years.

     

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbvFSzdBra8

     

    Yuck finally made a new album too. Sad they lost Daniel on vocals.

     

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71Jv6iQrm8o

     

    New MBV was decent too.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBKjhgHGVZs

     

    And there are rumors of a possible slowdive reunion and tour. They may only be rumors but it would be so awesome if it turned out to be true. 

     

    Neil and Rachel performed some slowdive songs together live back at the end of October.

     

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN_MQs3CNrw

  22. Posted

    It's funny because I was disappointed by dir en grey's Unraveling, but yet I still enjoyed it. For me it's missing all the power the originals had and it made no sense to remake songs that were good to begin with. 

     

    Yet the way the band remade their songs, with layers, improved production, and their now matured musicianship, it's a release that's  hard not to applaud. 

    Original Saku reacted to this

  23. Posted

    Sure I'd be happy to help. And it's probably a good idea to do your recording with the best gear you can get your hands on. A bad recorded track can't be fixed by any amount of mixing or production. I can guide you guys through the recording process to get the best takes with what you have if needed too. What type of sound is your project aiming for? Rock, pop, metal?

  24. Posted

    ^ Cool. I'll add you guys to my list of clients.  I PMed you so we can get in touch and discuss further details.

     

    I've got a another band who I'm mixing for so I still have 2 - 3 available slots. I'll stop once those have been filled so if anyone else wants in now's the time.

  25. Posted

     

    As any beginning musicians may have found out, you can’t simply slap together a vocal track, a bass track, some drum and guitar tracks and expect it to sound good, regardless of how amazing those tracks may sound individually. More often than not the result sounds lackluster, especially when compared to a professionally produced song. The vocals may sound muffled, the guitars may not have bite or sheen, the drums may sound flimsy and lack punch and the bass may be buried. These are some of the many aspects that need to be addressed in the mixing stage in order to get a good result, and it’s part of what I’ll take care of to anyone who’s interested.

     

    Up until now I’ve been learning and applying what I’ve learned about mixing and audio production the past couple of years to my own work. However I wanted to expand to other projects and not have to deal with the writing and recording process for once. Hence I’ve decided to focus completely on mixing and the production side of things. Perhaps you don’t have the equipment, the skill or the time to do your own mixing. So why not give a me a shot? I’ll do it for free and there is no risk or constraint involved to anyone interested. 

     

    I should state that I am by no means a professional. However I do have about 3 years worth of knowledge and practice on the subject. Likewise I don’t have thousands of dollars worth of equipment or plugins like the pro studio's do. I manage with what I do have and I am confident enough to say that I can bring a recording to decent standards and make it a listenable quality. 

     

    Other important things to know.

     

    - The genre doesn’t matter. I’m better at mixing rock and metal, but can do other genres too. 

    - I’ll mix a single song, an EP, an album, whatever you want.

    - I will work with you and do the best to realize the vison you may have for your music.

    - I have the plugins necessary to do EQ, compression, reverb, delay, limiting, stereo widening, noise gating, edit tracks and other necessary tools of the trade.

    - If needed I can do pitch correction, vocal glitching, program industrial/electronic passages, do bass drops and all other manner of studio magic.

    - You should preferably send me dry tracks at -6 Db. 24 bit WAV to retain quality. 16 bit is fine too.

    - I’ll output the finished product to your format(s) of choice. 320k mp3, WAV, mp4, VBR, etc

    - In addition you get a copy of the master tracks.

    - Unfortunately I don’t have any samples to show. All of my personal songs I’m working on remain unfinished at this moment and I feel uncomfortable sharing incomplete work. If you want to know what I offer, send me a song or a few seconds of track to mix and I’ll send it back to you. If you like what you hear, we’ll take it from there. 

     

    So to any bands or musicians on MH, if you’re interested or have any questions leave a reply or PM me a message. 

     

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