New Song: "The Long Road"

So I just finished writing, "The Long Road". I hope you guys like it as much as I do. I spent more time than usual on it and I'm fascinated with the results. Enjoy and let me know what you think!



Rock on!

Awesome,

I really enjoyed this tune, especially as it kinda fits the style of music I have been listening to lately. Has a strong experimental rock feel to it. You are a very talented musician, I always look forward to hearing your tracks. My only comment pertaining to the track is that I feel like the song should have ended around 4:13 or whatever time it is where it transitions into the heavier part - the heavier part of the song just didn't seem to gel, kinda felt like it was really a different song.

I noticed in a different thread that you gave advice to not spend too much time playing/writing/recording. I was curious how long it took you to write and record and mix this track. It seems pretty time intensive.

Hey, I'm glad you liked the tune man!

As far as the transition to the heavier part, I definitely get what you are saying. I knew that was an issue, but I was really going for a separation, similar to when one goes from feeling sad to feeling angry - it isn't a slow transition, it's more like, I'm sad and then once of a sudden I feel angry.

I guess I just didn't execute it well, I'll have to keep that in mind for next time; thanks for the critique.

Well, the writing portion took about a four days. I knew what I wanted to do, I was just having trouble finding the right notes to convey how I felt, so that took longer than usual. But once I dove into the recording process and I started to get the flow and vibe of the tune, I really picked up the pace as pieces just started falling into place on their own. The mixing to a while too, I found myself spending far longer on the drum and percussion tracks than I normally do, and I think they are the highlight of the track honestly.

So from start to finished, four or five days to writing the tune, one day smoothing out all he riffs and transitions and about two and a half days to record and mix down. We'll call it one weeks time for this song to be completed.

Again, I'm glad you liked it, I used different techniques and I think they turned out great, and I know this is direction I want to be headed. Especially if you follow from "Hiatus" to "The Zephyr's Crossing", "Negative Nothing" and now "The Long Road", I can really see how I've progressed down this path I'm taking.

After listening to it again, I can see where you were going with it. I think you did an excellent job with it, actually might go and share on FB as well if you don't mind.

I don't mind at all!

That was actually an amazing work it had a side of some heavy metal stuff which doesn't hurt your ear , and i really liked the way you synchronized it , the period between the heavy stuff and when you slowed down did't cut my mood at all it just transfered me from a crazy heavy stuff to a sweet classical rock "Amazing"

Well written m8 and 3:30 -> shows a signs of genius :), are you considering re-mix and re-mastering it? It have plenty of sidenoises, especially from hihats which are bit too loud too.

-Emp

Hey! Thanks for the listen guys!



There are intentional background noises in there during the first four minutes or so. Is that what you are talking about? I have noticed that when I play the song through speakers with lots of treble or little to no bass, those intentional "fuzzy" sounds, sound more like annoying buzzing.

What I did was, I took the intro chugging guitar and drums and laced them through a mod filter to degrade the sound quality and then I laid it under the piano track to add depth.

As far as the high hats, normally I apply a bit of reverb and I equalize the drums in a scoop leaning hard to the low side, which really dials down the hats and cymbals. But I wanted to try something different with this track: let the drums really stand out and drive the song. Percussion has always been my weakest point, and like anything else is constantly a learning experience for me.

My last few songs have been really experimental for me, whether they sound like it or not. I am really trying to find a certain sound, a specific flow to the compositions. I feel like I am close but not quite there.

Yeah man, experimentalism is good and I do much of it myself too... those noises I meant that starting in around 0:50 and especially from 1:25 to background which not worked for me, because they bit draw attention away from beautiful guitar work.

Hihats in start on heavier part works well and volume is balanced for that part, but those piano and guitar combination could be more efficient if background is "clean" and "tight" sounds. Could be preferation as many times it is.

One thing that I thought that was really cool with EZDrummer is the abaility to change the velocity of the hit. I did that with a track I am working on now, where the downbeats are a little more forceful than the offbeats, so it sounds more realistic and natural. I am not sure what drum software you use, or how you go about editing it, since we use different recording software, but I imagine this is something most people could do.

All that being said, it is really just for information for the forums. The drums sounded good to my ears, but I was also focusing more on the piano and guitars in this tune. Learning that via youtube was something that was just really cool to learn, so I am passing it along.

Good job man. Putting the heavier track behind the piano track caught my attention right away. Brilliant.

Hey, thanks for the listen Mosh!



You make a good observation. I think I like the ambient feel for this particular song. Maybe next time I will "clean" it up more.

I've been tossing so many ideas for the next song. I'm having trouble sorting through them. You know, you head is filled...but the second you pick up your guitar and by the time it's plugged in a ready to go, you can't focus on what you were thinking. That's my biggest problem right now hehe.



I do have EZ-Drummer too, I just don't use. I found it to be non-intuitive and difficult. Maybe I'll have another look at it.