Maelstrom

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Rainmak3r
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Maelstrom

Post by Rainmak3r »

Hi all,

I just uploaded a new track:

https://soundcloud.com/lminiero/maelstrom

I had the ostinato riff in mind for quite some time, and it immediately gave me the idea of a maelstrom, one of those huge whirlpools drawing things in. Since it would be the same thing over and over building up, I felt a more electronic approach could be interesting, and as a result it's the most synth-heavy thing I ever wrote: initially, the plan was to write an Industrial Metal track (heavy guitars with electronic/techno background), but it ended up being something more "space" or progressive metal oriented, as it reminds me a bit of Space Martini by Derek Sherinian (with all the due distinctions, considering that track is played by monsters!). At a certain point, I was afraid that I was actually coming up with a new 2 Unlimited hit :lol: . Anyway, it was quite fun to record!

There's a LOT of Yoshimi tracks here, which I hope will make @folderol happy :mrgreen: The "monster bass" ostinato is basically three different Yoshimi tracks using different effects, as I couldn't find one that gave me the impact I wanted; same thing for one octave higher synths that play along guitars, there's three of them as well, with one slightly louder as it has a nice higher pitch bounce to it; in the interlude, there's two more synths playing the chords along the clean guitars, slightly panned. The synth solo is Yoshimi too, but played using the same Sonuus G2M guitar-to-midi converter I recently used in Time as well.

For drums, I wanted to experiment more too. A friend recently told me my drums tracks are always boring and very predictable, which I gues makes sense considering I make use of Hydrogen and patterns a lot, even though I usually try to write more than one pattern. So this time I decided to still use Hydrogen, but write A TON of additional patterns instead, and sometime mix them up a bit. I probably got carried away too much, but it does feel more "organic" and real than what I usually write. I added some saturation to make them louder, and possibly better fit the vibe of the song.

I initially wanted guitars to sound very heavy (pretty much a must for Industrial), but I couldn't find something heavy enough and that I could still "control" when playing, and so I went up to the same effect I always use, but with more reverb and delay. I think they do fit the bill, even though the overall mix may be a bit too cluttered (also considering the amount of synths in there). For the solo, I used the same exact pipeline I always use: I like the sound, and didn't feel there was a need to change that. I didn't add any real bass guitar here, instead, considering the synths did a good job at giving a foundation already.

Hope you'll enjoy it!
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Re: Maelstrom

Post by Basslint »

Very nice! I think the title fits the sound very well!
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Re: Maelstrom

Post by LAM »

I really enjoyed the track, love the industrial feel,every part plays well, the dirty synth, the guitars, and the drums.
Maybe the only part I would enrich is the breakdown in the middle, like a wider guitar/fx or some other stuff to create more ambiance.
Very good @Rainmak3r. :)

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Re: Maelstrom

Post by psyocean »

Guitarsynth - state of new mind :) Amazing solo! I think, that should not make long riff-parts without solo, it listen as empty, need solo-juice! If riff-parts only for bridge, intro, outro, in general - short :idea: This composition with massive solo parts may be masterpiece :!:
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Re: Maelstrom

Post by jeanette_c »

As ever @Rainmak3r you have delivered a lovely track. I enjoyed this song very much! Having missed my metal appreciation classes for a while now, I wouldn't have come up with Sharanian as such, but Dream Theatre. The metre (nice one that!) and the arrangement fit. You play really tight guitars, which is fantastic, especiallly with even more layering. This is a nice showcase for Yoshimi's variety as much as it is "plain" good music. :)
The drums still sound a little raw, that's where you part company from the Dream Theatre sound, but not so raw as to raise eyebrows. What I mean to say: well mixed!
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Re: Maelstrom

Post by folderol »

Absolutely stunning performance :D
There is absolutely nothing I would want to see changed. Some fantastic aggression in there, without just being loud distortion.

Also, it's great to hear Yoshimi really being made to work.
The Yoshimi guy {apparently now an 'elderly'}
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Re: Maelstrom

Post by Rainmak3r »

Basslint wrote: Sun Jun 27, 2021 11:44 am Very nice! I think the title fits the sound very well!
Thanks!
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Re: Maelstrom

Post by Rainmak3r »

LAM wrote: Sun Jun 27, 2021 11:50 am I really enjoyed the track, love the industrial feel,every part plays well, the dirty synth, the guitars, and the drums.
Maybe the only part I would enrich is the breakdown in the middle, like a wider guitar/fx or some other stuff to create more ambiance.
Very good @Rainmak3r. :)
Thanks, glad you liked it! I did think about those clean guitars, as I also wanted to sound a bit "wider", beside having a more "glassy" sound. None of the Rakarrack clean sounds did it for me this time, so I landed on a Guitarix chorus present: in hindsight, maybe I should have added some additional effect, besides reverb, but I can always get back to it later. Thanks for the feedback!
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Re: Maelstrom

Post by Rainmak3r »

psyocean wrote: Sun Jun 27, 2021 12:58 pm Guitarsynth - state of new mind :) Amazing solo! I think, that should not make long riff-parts without solo, it listen as empty, need solo-juice! If riff-parts only for bridge, intro, outro, in general - short :idea: This composition with massive solo parts may be masterpiece :!:
I'm not creative enough to play interesting solos for 5 minutes straight, I'm afraid... :lol:
Glad you liked it!
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Re: Maelstrom

Post by Rainmak3r »

jeanette_c wrote: Sun Jun 27, 2021 1:27 pm As ever @Rainmak3r you have delivered a lovely track. I enjoyed this song very much! Having missed my metal appreciation classes for a while now, I wouldn't have come up with Sharanian as such, but Dream Theatre. The metre (nice one that!) and the arrangement fit. You play really tight guitars, which is fantastic, especiallly with even more layering. This is a nice showcase for Yoshimi's variety as much as it is "plain" good music. :)
The drums still sound a little raw, that's where you part company from the Dream Theatre sound, but not so raw as to raise eyebrows. What I mean to say: well mixed!
Interestingly, Derek Sherinian did play for Dream Theater on a couple of albums (Falling into Infinity and the Change of Seasons EP) after Kevin Moore left, but that didn't last for some reason, even though he did have a particular taste. But good catch, I did grow up listening to Dream Theater a lot (much less now, but I still go to their older albums quite a bit), and there's definitely hidden influences in everything I write, and many things I've shared (except for the ultra-technical shredding all those guys do :mrgreen: ). I guess the accent in the ostinato riff making it sound like a 7/8 -- 9/8 mix is what makes it feel "proggier" than it actually is. Thanks for the nice words, and glad you liked it!
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Re: Maelstrom

Post by Rainmak3r »

folderol wrote: Sun Jun 27, 2021 2:16 pm Absolutely stunning performance :D
There is absolutely nothing I would want to see changed. Some fantastic aggression in there, without just being loud distortion.

Also, it's great to hear Yoshimi really being made to work.
You're way too kind, I'm happy you liked it so much!
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Re: Maelstrom

Post by milo »

When I heard the title I thought of the FLOSS game which is an Asteroids clone. This track would really liven up that game! I remember playing Maelstrom on Red Hat Linux in the early 2000's. Good times!

Thanks for sharing this track. I've never been a big fan of industrial, because it is just so incredibly heavy, but you always deliver an interesting track and a guitar solo worth listening to.
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Re: Maelstrom

Post by Rainmak3r »

milo wrote: Tue Jul 06, 2021 4:40 pm When I heard the title I thought of the FLOSS game which is an Asteroids clone. This track would really liven up that game! I remember playing Maelstrom on Red Hat Linux in the early 2000's. Good times!
I'm not familiar with the game, but if something I wrote sounds like it could fit as a game OST, I'm sold! :lol:
milo wrote: Tue Jul 06, 2021 4:40 pm Thanks for sharing this track. I've never been a big fan of industrial, because it is just so incredibly heavy, but you always deliver an interesting track and a guitar solo worth listening to.
Thanks, you're always way too kind!
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Re: Maelstrom

Post by milo »

Rainmak3r wrote: Tue Jul 06, 2021 4:46 pmI'm not familiar with the game, but if something I wrote sounds like it could fit as a game OST, I'm sold! :lol:
It's not exactly an awesome game ... https://youtu.be/bWGI-MHSpH8 :)
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Re: Maelstrom

Post by Tenaba »

Rainmak3r wrote: Sun Jun 27, 2021 3:13 pm Interestingly, Derek Sherinian did play for Dream Theater on a couple of albums (Falling into Infinity and the Change of Seasons EP) after Kevin Moore left, but that didn't last for some reason, even though he did have a particular taste. But good catch, I did grow up listening to Dream Theater a lot (much less now, but I still go to their older albums quite a bit), and there's definitely hidden influences in everything I write, and many things I've shared (except for the ultra-technical shredding all those guys do :mrgreen: ). I guess the accent in the ostinato riff making it sound like a 7/8 -- 9/8 mix is what makes it feel "proggier" than it actually is. Thanks for the nice words, and glad you liked it!
I hear some Dream Theater vibes in there too, especially at the part at 3:38. Interesting ostinato riff too, definitely doesn't sound like it's in 4/4, even if it is. Overall, the mix sounds huge, further bolstered by the synths.

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