Between-updates update

[thedarkproject]

Instead of being out at the Halloween party, I'm indoors, partly to get stuff done, partly because I didn't feel like socialising - especially not at a fancy dress event - and also because I've felt a bit ill again. When I got home from seeing jen_whitewave at the pub last night (where I also saw my Dio-listening next-room-neighbour, who didn't recognise me!) I felt really dizzy. At the time it seemed a bit excessive considering I'd only drunk a tiny amount, but I thought I'd sleep it off. How wrong I was when I woke up this morning with the world seeming to lag about 250 milliseconds behind my mind whenever I moved or looked around, and my balance being completely shot. Fun. Still, I dragged myself to work and it seemed to get a bit better as the day drew on.

In musical news, I have been furnished with a large batch of lyrics for The Band. My task is to record a mere 4 or 5 lines of these to see how bad I am at it. Wish me luck. Oh, and does anybody have any hints on recording vocals? (I'm looking at soldatengrab especially, among others.) I seem to have trouble getting them to sound right, even after rolling off the bass, pushing up treble and presence, compressing it so stuff isn't too quiet, adding a bit of reverb, etc.

Mini CD-review time, on stuff I've got since last time, just over 4 months' worth:

5/5
Dawn Of Solace - The Darkness (gothic metal)
Forest Of Shadows - Departure (doom metal)
Funeral - From These Wounds (doom metal)

4/5
Ablaze In Hatred - Deceptive Awareness (doom metal)
Amorphis - Silent Waters (progressive metal)
Fields Of The Nephilim - Mourning Sun (gothic rock/metal)
Keen Of The Crow - Hyborea (doom metal)
Keen Of The Crow - Premonition (doom metal)
Moonsorrow - Viides Luku- Hävitetty (progressive/black/symphonic/folk/metal/whatever)
Shape Of Despair - Angels Of Distress (funeral doom metal)

3/5
Amorphis - Tuonela (progressive metal)
Before The Dawn - 4:17am (melodic death metal/gothic metal)
Canaan - Brand New Babylon (gothic/ambient)
Cemetery - The Beast Divine (industrial/gothic metal)
Charon - Downhearted (gothic metal)
Diabolical Masquerade - Death's Design (black metal/progressive/soundtrack)
Funeral - Tragedies/Tristesse (funeral doom metal)
Keep Of Kalessin - Armada (black metal - or 'hyperspeed death thrash' as one nitpicky person called it on Last.fm)
Lilitu - The Dolores Lesion (though only listened to it once...) (gothic metal)
al)
Lake Of Tears - Greatest Tears Vol. 1 (gothic doom metal to rock)
My Shameful - The Return To Nothing (funeral doom met
Octavia Sperati - Grace Submerged (gothic/doom metal)
Tiamat - Wildhoney (gothic rock/metal)
The Gathering - Nighttime Birds (gothic rock/metal)

2/5
Keep Of Kalessin - Agnen - A Journey Through The Dark (black metal)
The Meads Of Asphodel - The Excommunication of Christ
Mistress Of The Dead - Buried (funeral/drone doom)

1/5
Apocryphal Voice - Still Trapped (no fucking clue, and I don't think the composer knew either)

Comments

[soldatengrab.livejournal.com]

whap me a sample over msn and I'll tell you what I hear. Vocals are the most difficult to get quite right, generally down to the total inability to DI your mouth, and the fact that unlike instruments you don't play, where you have to shut up, everyone is a critic... :P

[thedarkproject]

I'll try and get something ready tomorrow. I think the recording itself is ok - as far as bedroom stuff goes - I just can't seem to make it sit right.

[erishkigal.livejournal.com]

Moonsorrow - Viides Luku- Hävitetty (progressive/black/symphonic/folk/metal/whatever)
Shape Of Despair - Angels Of Distress (funeral doom metal)

Two of my top 5 albums of all time.. get them in the 5/5 category! ;D

[thedarkproject]

The Shape Of Despair one suffers slightly from a slight lack of variety in my opinion. It's obvious that's deliberate though, as part of the attempt to maintain musical themes throughout. As for the Moonsorrow, I think it's great, but I think it just blends together a bit more than I'd like, though that's just probably because I prefer more clearly defined tracks. Minor criticisms however. :)

[erishkigal.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think that the theme throughout works really well with Angels Of Distress (although it does help to be in the right mood to appreciate it fully). I still think its got a fair bit of variety though, Nights Dew for example is relatively uptempo (ha!) in comparison to the others at least, but I'm probably just very biased.. my favourite SoD song is on there too; Quiet These Paintings Are. Though its tough to pick a favourite from that masterpiece :p

[omghellokitty.livejournal.com]

Oooh Lyric recording, excellent! I am sure you will be fine, don't have any advice thougn but I am proper excited to hear the results!

[nostalgiaplatz.livejournal.com]

Exciting! When you've recorded some you should send to me (I mean, technically I should be the proper vocalist, but hmph!). I lost all the other stuff you sent me when I threw my other computer out the window. :(