So my band finished an E.P...

[Lich]

As the title says, my band just finished its E.P. and we're in the process of getting copies all done up by a local CD packaging and replication company.

We've got a CD release show coming up on 12/19, so as a teaser we decided to put one of the finished songs out there on our web site as a free download.

I don't get a lot of opinions on our music that isn't from musicians. So I'd like to get some feedback on what you guys think of our stuff. I ask you guys because since I got back into Doom again, I think of this kind of music as the kind you might kill imps to.

Rather than throw you over to the web site, I'll just direct link you dudes:
http://www.thechained.com/dls/The_Chained_-_The_Whip.mp3

[r_rr]

Not bad at all =) Some pretty kick ass drumming.

I cranked it up and played E3M6 xDD

[[name_withheld]]

Sounds good to me. :D

[Coopersville]

Meh. I definitely wouldn't play Doom to this, but maybe I'd rock out to you guys if you played at a bar and I was already drunk.

[Butts]

im a guitar player. the riffs are simple and catchy, which is something i tend to like a lot. i mostly listen to metal though, and a specific "genre" (not a true genre yet) that i like is slam. anyways, i probably would have chosen a different riff (probably made a new one) for the solo, although that one works pretty well. is iron maiden by any chance one of your influences? not a very heavy influence is my guess, but i picked up some some sound from that band.

pretty good song by the way.

[40oz]

Not bad, but I'm not a fan of the vocals. But I'm a powerviolence and hardcore punk fan, the only vocals I like is when people stretch the hell out of their voicebox and they have phlegm in their throat, screaming until their tongue falls out.

I was kinda dissapointed once the song started to get slower, the beginning is pretty nice though.

[kristus]

I think the mixing is rather rough. I would have gone for this a lot more about 5+ years ago. But it's pretty good.

[Butts]

i didnt think that the mixing was rough at all... maybe im just used to really raw sounding songs. vocals are fine, i dont have a problem. they arent annoying and they fit the music. im normally used to gurgles and such because i like brutal death metal a lot. i like the rawness, makes it sound more "underground", and i like music produced by "underground" bands.

[Jodwin]

I like: Transitions, wide variety of moods, both the most calm and the more aggressive vocals in the end, guitars during the calm parts.

I want: Solos where both guitarists, well, solo

I don't like that much: The underground sound, but that's more a personal thing.

[Lich]

Man, thanks a ton for all the feedback. For some reason I thought the thread might get helled.

I play rhythm guitar in the band, so my parts are a little less distinct and outright than the lead's. I'm actually not capable like he is, so solos are a distant thing for me.

As far as there being a lot of changes, those are things different types of people tend to either really like or dislike. It depends on the person. Most people who are into death metal seem to be less into the varying moods. I myself think it's because death metal is a "constant assault" kind of genre (as it ought to be) and transitions are not necessarily rare, but they tend to be less contrasting from other parts of the music. We consider ourselves to be more hard rock than anything else, so take that for whatever it's worth. :P

I believe that the mixing is rough, but our producer likes to capture bands as they sound live. That said, we did all sit down and separately record. Some people like the raw sound, some people like the larger, more polished sound. I tend to be of the latter persuasion, so I tend to agree that this album is a very roughly mixed one.

For those of you who either didn't like it or weren't too crazy about it, what kind of suggestions would you give? Obviously we're on a path and we don't seek to change too much of the dynamic of songs that are already done, but we don't get a lot of "bad reviews" as it were. Mostly because people show up to shows all drunk and would like anything, or it's mostly musicians who, for whatever reason, either hold back in their assessment or are listening to it as musicians rather than just listening to it.

Again, I really appreciate all the feedback, both positive and negative. We'll be selling the tracks on iTunes for hella cheap (probably $3 or $4 for the full five track album after we have our CD release show). I love this community because you guys are generally well written, reasoned and always provide useful feedback

-j

[40oz]

I would totally redirect your band to a genre no one listens to except me and about 50 other people in the world. So don't ask me what should be changed. I suggest you produce whatever sound gets you off.

[Lich]

Butts said:

im a guitar player. the riffs are simple and catchy, which is something i tend to like a lot. i mostly listen to metal though, and a specific "genre" (not a true genre yet) that i like is slam. anyways, i probably would have chosen a different riff (probably made a new one) for the solo, although that one works pretty well. is iron maiden by any chance one of your influences? not a very heavy influence is my guess, but i picked up some some sound from that band.

pretty good song by the way.

I meant to address this before.

We all have our respective influences, but oddly enough, Iron Maiden isn't one of them. Now that you mention it, I hear a resemblance.

[Remilia Scarlet]

Lich said:

I meant to address this before.

We all have our respective influences, but oddly enough, Iron Maiden isn't one of them. Now that you mention it, I hear a resemblance.

I was actually going to ask of System of a Down was an influence. That was the first band I thought of when I listened to it.

[MikeyScoots]

Wow dude! This song blew my mind completely. Good news is I'm also a guitarist(rhythm and lead) so I can definitly give some feedback on a more musician like level. First on my list is that it has catchy yet simple riffs, which is exactly what I normally create. The solo really wasnt a solo but still had emotion for the song. The vocals fit very much, but theres some parts in the song that the singer could stop trying to growl. The song does have great transitions, and as a rhythm guitarist I can say it seems very fun to play. I'd love to jam out with or collaborate some things over the net.

[Lich]

DJ_Haruko said:

I was actually going to ask of System of a Down was an influence. That was the first band I thought of when I listened to it.

Our singer is System of a Down and Tool influenced.

[Christoph]

I can totally hear the System influence especially in the softer parts. Personally, I don't really like that style, although I will say it is fairly well done in an objective sense, and I do like the drumming. Incidentally, I do play guitar myself, so maybe that's why I think the guitar parts should be different, and that the solo sounded kinda slow and weak, but I don't wanna be too harsh (sorry, I've been listening to Dragonforce the past few days).

As for music to play Doom to, I would suggest something with a fundamentally different style of metal/rock, (more raw/agressive)like with a different, (less classical) scale(s), or tempo, or vocal style or something (closer to traditional doom music), but if that style is what you and the band truly want to do, then you shouldn't care about the opinions of people like myself.

Overall though, the band seems to have a good feel for what's musically appropriate, which is invaluable in any situation, and whatever technical skills are involved come second to that.

[AveryMaurice]

The System kicks ass. (SOAD)

Sorry, I dont really have feedback. Im just bored.

[Lich]

avery1555 said:

The System kicks ass. (SOAD)

Sorry, I dont really have feedback. Im just bored.

S'alright. We've got our CD release show this Friday (12/19) and I'm sure we'll get more feedback than we asked for. Except probably from really drunk people who think anything rocks after four shots of Whiskey.