I've recently started acquiring gear necessary to produce something worthwhile (a decent guitar, a MIDI keyboard, Cubase etc.) Unfortunately I have never been taught how to play any instruments, so I know my ability to play on a higher level is limited, as I have only practiced on my own for around two-three years on both keyboards and guitar and as I am sure many other amateur musicians have experienced, learning is much harder without a mentor. However, I do believe that I have at least some potential as a songwriter. Here's a demo song I recorded using converted MIDI, Audacity and GRig:



The story behind the song is, that it is the third song from a concept album. It tells the story of a young boy discovering the world around him. During the course of the album, his life takes quite a few darker twists, but I won't spoil it here .

As for the songwriting, I am fairly pleased with how this demo turned out, even though I hate the fact that my writing almost never takes me to darker sounds and heavier riffs, it's always so happy, slightly symphonic and proggy, which would be fine, except I really prefer to listen to darker, more extreme metal myself. Anyway, all feedback is extremely welcome, enjoy the demo, if you can and if you can't, then bash away!

Hey guys,I'm a one man band from Greece playing melodic death metal.Check out my channel if you are interested,like and sub if you enjoy my music










Horns up

Written by DeadlyRiffs on 14.09.2015 at 00:10

Hey guys,I'm a one man band from Greece playing melodic death metal.Check out my channel if you are interested,like and sub if you enjoy my music

Pretty good stuff!

Perhaps I am the wrong person to reply to this, since I am anything but a melodic death fan, but I like to encourage masterminds of one man projects.

How long have you been at it?

Here's my attempt to do something atmospheric/blackish. Truth be told, I am still very much an amateur, searching for my style and sound, heck, I can't even play guitar properly, but I can still dream... I guess.



If anyone listens to this, I only ask that you be brutally honest, is there potential in this at all? Honestly, I myself simply don't know if I have what it takes.

Also, here're the lyrics:


"The Fall Of Atlantis"

Gaia bleeds under a darkened sky
White castles crumble to the ground
Our world is falling away

Our precious existence is drawing to a close
Behold! The beginning of the end
Our civilization's final day

I am waiting
I am fading
Here without you in this place

Slowly dying
Hear me crying
Out your name... your name

Death
Silence
Tremble in fear
Beautifully violent
Drowning in tears

The sea claims its throne
The sea claims our home

^ About that song in particular
I like the style. The drums plus guitar combination is catchy and somewhat upbeat, and that makes it quite unique. Not sure if upbeat is the adjective you were looking for, but it is a compliment, since such feeling is hard to find when it comes to atmo-black.

It needs some improvement though... The vocals mostly. I don't like your cleans, they're somewhat bored, monotone, makes the listener tired to hear them... The harsh ones suit the music, by the other hand. You should either stick to the latter or improve the former...
The vocals are very loud if compared to the mix. You should consider lowering the vocal volume.
I also didn't like the transition/breakdown at 1:20 or so, isn't there a more connected way to put the two riffs together?

Also don't worry if you cannot play anything complex, your guitar skills are more than enough for black metal, I think. It's not about the technicallity, but about what makes the listener feel. (Or else there would be no drone metal, right? =p)

Written by Karlabos on 14.09.2015 at 02:13

^ About that song in particular
I like the style. The drums plus guitar combination is catchy and somewhat upbeat, and that makes it quite unique. Not sure if upbeat is the adjective you were looking for, but it is a compliment, since such feeling is hard to find when it comes to atmo-black.

It needs some improvement though... The vocals mostly. I don't like your cleans, they're somewhat bored, monotone, makes the listener tired to hear them... The harsh ones suit the music, by the other hand. You should either stick to the latter or improve the former...
The vocals are very loud if compared to the mix. You should consider lowering the vocal volume.
I also didn't like the transition/breakdown at 1:20 or so, isn't there a more connected way to put the two riffs together?

Also don't worry if you cannot play anything complex, your guitar skills are more than enough for black metal, I think. It's not about the technicallity, but about what makes the listener feel. (Or else there would be no drone metal, right? =p)

First of all, thanks for taking the time to check it out, it means a lot to someone like me, who dreams of a career in music, it really does.

Catchy? I will take that as a compliment, I have nothing against catchy, so thanks for that as well.

As for your criticisms, I accept them all gratefully and I will take them into account the next time I am creating something. I myself was actually afraid that my growls sucked so bad that I should only stick to clean vocals, boy was I mistaken. As for mixing and vocals being too loud, I am a total amateur when it comes to that too. I literally bought my first decent mic and my first decent sound-card (Roland quad-capture) 3 days ago and I certainly have a lot to learn.

The transition? Yeah... now that you mention it, if it wasn't for the fact that the whole song is in the same tuning, one might think two songs have accidentally been cut and pasted together.

Once again, thanks for taking the time

P.S. I can't agree with my skills being enough for BM, because then I would stop trying to improve

Written by Metren on 14.09.2015 at 01:02


Pretty good stuff!

Perhaps I am the wrong person to reply to this, since I am anything but a melodeath fan, but I like to encourage masterminds of one man projects.

How long have you been at it?

Thanks for your kind words friend.

I've been pretty much composing stuff for years now,but it's been only a year and a half that i've acquired the gear for homerecording.Due to studies i don't have the time to record as much as i'd like to

I am the 1MA behind Lachrymalice, recently released my first track Komtpol:

Youtube link to song: https://www.youtube.com/embed/AjGx7H4aSf0
Bandcamp link to song: https://connorortlinning.bandcamp.com/album/lachrymalice

---------------------------------------

Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/ORTmusic
Bandcamp: https://connorortlinning.bandcamp.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/connorortlinning
Twitter: https://twitter.com/connorort
Tumblr: http://connorort.tumblr.com/
Website: http://www.connorlinning.com/
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/connor-ort-linning

I feel like this is an AA meeting. Hello, I am a one man musician that started a project called Klamath, and I make black metal. I only have my music on soundcloud. The link is ->> soundcloud.com/klamath-2 Hope someone checks it out. Thanks. lml

So, I decided to give atmospheric black another go and "formed" the one-man-project "The Black Metal Band" (thanks J.O.O.E! for the name suggestion ). This time I had better programs and a better amp, so perhaps the results are decent. Let me know, what you Metalstormers think!

The Black Metal Song No. 1:

^ Why didn't you continue under the name of the other band you posted (and deleted) here?
If you permit me to compare with the track you deleted, the cleans are far better here. I guess it's because of diphonics. It was a good call.
Also solo on black metal is a plus.
I wouldn't say it's very original, but solid stuff.

I just thought the drums are a bit too buried. Perhaps it's your choice, but I think it'd be more interesting to hear them more on the song.

Written by Karlabos on 18.01.2016 at 22:27

^ Why didn't you continue under the name of the other band you posted (and deleted) here?
If you permit me to compare with the track you deleted, the cleans are far better here. I guess it's because of diphonics. It was a good call.
Also solo on black metal is a plus.
I wouldn't say it's very original, but solid stuff.

I just thought the drums are a bit too buried. Perhaps it's your choice, but I think it'd be more interesting to hear them more on the song.

I started to dislike the name and the song I previously posted for some reason. I am weird like that. I completed "The Black Metal Song No. 1" from scratch in literally three hours, just because I wanted to see if anyone would find that style decent enough. I will definitely improve the mix and the vocals and the everything (the solo is improvised, I didn't practice that at all) when I complete the song (it should be a lot longer and more... well, epic) and as always, I will take all criticism into account.

Also, "solid stuff" is a high compliment for an amateur like me. Thank You. I needed that. Now, off to work on that solo

My new song (it's another attempt at atmospheric black metal):

Wow, I really dig that one.

It starts pretty much like standard atmo/post black.
Then that riff at 1:18 comes and that's where it gets really good. 1:18-2:50 is the best part of the song, imo. It reminds me of Fen =p
I really think you should concentrate on those sudden change of fast to slow/slow to fast passages in your songs. It sounds fresh when it comes to atmo-black.

I didn't like the 2:50 transition very much. Maybe because it's too Agalloch-ish (and i don't like agalloch very much), I dunno...

The solo again fits well to the atmosphere of the music.

And you changed the name again =D

Written by Karlabos on 21.01.2016 at 22:05

Wow, I really dig that one.

...

You have no idea, how much that means to me

Yeah, I changed the name, but "The Black Metal Band" was only a temporary name anyway Arcanewind is what I will stick with, no doubt. Your thoughts are extremely valuable to me, as I am like most artists, torn between narcissism and crippling self-doubt and I never know what to think of my own songs.

Thanks again for listening and for your advice.

Hey guys.

I started a funeral/gothic/doom/crust/black metal project earlier last year, so I'm going to post one of the songs here. This song is mostly in the doom vein. I have no idea how to imbed videos/players so I'll just post the soundcloud link. I hope you guys enjoy.

https://soundcloud.com/sigil-5/the-coldest-winter

This is my best song. I just completed it today and I know I will make improvements in the future, but here it is anyway for your enjoyment (and for the purposes of getting useful feeback).

This song is weird. It is at times catchy, it is too short, but I am happy with it anyway. I hope You can enjoy it too. Inspired by Ciri from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.




Lyrics:

"White Frost (Song For Ciri)"


There once was a white-haired girl at Kaer Morhen

There once was a white-haired girl
in the fortress of Kaer Morhen
We became her guardians
For to protect her we had sworn

Here she grew, the white haired child
Here she trained and played and was wild

Oh, my child, if you only knew
One day The Hunt would come for you

She has returned
The dark ones are giving chase
I need to find her first
For I love her more than my own soul

Elder blood!

You've grown to be so beautiful
My ashen-haired daughter
We are not alone
Let us make our final stand
Here, in our home

There's no escape from the snowstorms of death
This world will soon draw its very last breath

I can't let you go
I can't watch you fall
I'd rather see The White Frost take us all!!!

Ciri! CIRI!!!

There once was a white-haired girl at Kaer Morhen

Written by Metren on 24.01.2016 at 21:46

This is my best song. I just completed it today and I know I will make improvements in the future, but here it is anyway for your enjoyment (and for the purposes of getting useful feeback).

This song is weird. It is at times catchy, it is too short, but I am happy with it anyway. I hope You can enjoy it too. Inspired by Ciri from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

"White Frost (Song For Ciri)"

You're right, this is your best song so far. This really isn't my type of music, but with some improvements here and there I can see myself enjoying this. My main problems are mostly related to the mix. The guitar for instance sounds pretty thin; I don't know if that's intentional or not, but it's not my cup of tea. The harsh vocals seem to be mixed in better than on some of your previous stuff though (I think I've listened to most of the stuff you've posted here on MS.)

Anyways, there's potential here for sure, just needs some refinement I'd say.

Written by Zap on 24.01.2016 at 22:02


You're right, this is your best song so far. This really isn't my type of music, but with some improvements here and there I can see myself enjoying this. My main problems are mostly related to the mix. The guitar for instance sounds pretty thin; I don't know if that's intentional or not, but it's not my cup of tea. The harsh vocals seem to be mixed in better than on some of your previous stuff though (I think I've listened to most of the stuff you've posted here on MS.)

Anyways, there's potential here for sure, just needs some refinement I'd say.

Thank You for listening, as always .

When it comes to mixing, I truly am an amateur, so indeed, I have a lot to learn and I need to improve in that area.

Every time someon takes the time to listen to my music and comment on it, it truly does inspire me to try and do better and to continue to pursue a real career in music, so thanks again. I can't tell you exactly how much feedback means to me, but trust me, it means a lot

I'm going to say about Arcanewind since the songs by other authors posted above are not exactly in my area of listening expertise =p

I see where are you going when you say this is your best composion so far. I would say it is the most elaborated, yes.
I'm not liking the non-layered cleans. I think Fearmeister said the same on the SB =p. When you layer they get a lot better.
I would say it has too much neoclassical bits if compared to the black metal content. Sudden transitions from metal to classical like ~2:35 or ~4:55 can be a bit underwhelming for the listener. I mean, if you are listening to atmo-black you expect to listen to riff development, not sudden cuts. The opposite often works though: sudden from neoclassical to black metal is often good.

If you are going to thrown in some neoclassical/acoustic in bm I think you should either merge them, or if you want to do separated parts, let them all on the end or all on the beginning of the track. I think it works better. It's my opiion. There may be people who like those classical-metal transitions. (lots of people enjoyed Aquilus for instance)

I also think the black metal bit is pretty short. You should develop more your good riffs. For example, pick 3:55-4:10. That was nice and catchy, however when you repeated it for the second time right after you switched the base guitar to solo, it felt kinda off... I would let the riff be played a little more times before progressing with them, if that makes sense.

Anyway, yeah. Your songs have good ideas. You still need to sit one day and work on the production and they will be enjoyable. I would enjoy a lot more with more catchy parts though =p

Thanks for listening again, Karlabos

I agree to pretty much everything you've said about my songs, especially this last one. Indeed I need to improve clean vocals (I do however think the "oh my child, if you only knew, one day the hunt would come for you" sounds good. The rest of the cleans, not so much.

I thought about playing that catchy riff more than just once, with the "the dark ones are giving chase" lyric, but I am a bit paranoid about tiring out the listner, so in a way I alway end up overcrowding my songs with ideas as opposed to having 3-4 ideas and developing them. Thanks to you, I know I am wrong about that.

Thank You! For your advice, I can use and learn from it (and I will).

Just finished a new song. Objectively speaking, it is probably my best one yet, though I still prefer Ciri's song for emotional reasons. Should You take the time to listen to it, know that I value feedback and criticism more than anything. Please, do let me know what you guys think



Lyrics:

"Trial Of Sombermist Woods"


The wood of trials awaits
The young ones of our kin
The hour's growing late
Their journey must begin

Into the dark
Into the sacred woods
Into the wild
Into the wakening night

Follow the ancient path
In the footsteps of time
Face the beasts of wrath
Take the sacred climb

No returning
For those, who don't catch their prey
Young ones learning
The one true warrior's way

Staring wild eyes in the night
Battle echoes from the mist
The only choice - to stand and fight
To survive and to resist

??Some will not return" they say
These woods are unforgiving
I may loose a friend today
But I must go on living
For my fallen brethren
For the ones, whom I hold dear
I shall release the beast within
I shall conquer my fears"

Out of the dark
Out of the sacred woods
Out from the wilds
A warrior is born

They have survived
These young ones of our kin
And they shall thrive
It's their time to win

I think this one is your most consistent song. The transitions were smooth and not abrupt like sometimes they were in your other songs.
I pretty much liked all of it.

I think you know I'm going to say that but I'll say it anyway: 3:00-4:20 (the catchy bit) was the best part for me.
Nice work on the development too. You didn't erase the potential of the riff this time =D

It still has some production problems, like the vocals seemed a bit far from the rest of the song (if that makes any sense) but I'm assuming you are going to work on those later, like... when you have a nice amount of songs and all...

I still think if you concentrated on the cheerier pieces it would stay more original. As it is now is a decent listen, but not very fresh when compared to the whole atmo-black scene. But those parts I highlighted on your songs are what could make the project unique, imo.
Of course, I know concentrating on those would mean totally change the mood of the whole thing, perhaps it's not what you want. But I'm just saying what I like on it here =p

Thanks again for listening and for Your feedback. It seems (based on my own feelings and based on listener feedback) that I am slowly progressing, which is good to know. Rather than becoming lazy, I shall take all of the positive comments as a sign that I need to continue progressing.

The vocals are still a problem, I know. I haven't quite worked out how to solve that yet, but I will not give up.

Also, I recently learned from a friend, that buying studio time is not quite as expensive as I had feared. Once I have close to 10 songs composed and recorded at home, I might enter the studio and record them all in quality acceptable for a CD release. I know it is a big dream, to actually create music on a professional level, but darn it, I am going for that dream, Shia Labeouf be my witness*

Also, every single person, who has commented on my songs (good or bad, all criticism is necessary) is getting a signed copy for free. And some bacon to along with it.

* - I don't actually want anything to do with Shia.

My one man project/band? That'll be this one

The name is Hjel and I'm from Germany, full-length is set for release soon and this is the first Single from it. You can download it for free on bandcamp (link and lyrics in video description).

Written by Windrider on 29.01.2016 at 17:10

My one man project/band? That'll be this one

I started my morning on this day with a double espresso and this track. I like it more every time I listen to it. This is quality stuff, I can't appreciate it enough, especially since it is coming from a single dude. Massive props to you and the best of luck in the future.

Written by Metren on 30.01.2016 at 14:51

I started my morning on this day with a double espresso and this track. I like it more every time I listen to it. This is quality stuff, I can't appreciate it enough, especially since it is coming from a single dude. Massive props to you and the best of luck in the future.

Wow, thanks a lot seriously, glad you like it so much Btw since yesterday you can also add it to your Updates list here: Hjel. So you will know when there's news on the album with the other tracks.

Written by Windrider on 30.01.2016 at 16:23

Wow, thanks a lot seriously, glad you like it so much Btw since yesterday you can also add it to your Updates list here: Hjel. So you will know when there's news on the album with the other tracks.

Already done

I also subscribed to your YT channel yesterday. I do my best to support promising one-man projects even when their output isn't the greatest, but based on your first track, I am actually seriously excited to hear more. Also, you inspire me to strive to improve my own sound and songwriting, so I am the one who should say thanks

Written by Metren on 30.01.2016 at 16:26

Also, you inspire me to strive to improve my own sound and songwriting, so I am the one who should say thanks

That's great, I'm also gonna check out your stuff when I finally have more time again