Snejk

Here it is, and how I know you've been waiting *humble mumble* Anywho, I didn't have time to record all the harmonies I would have liked due to time contraints but I have no excuses to give. I sing VERY awesomely here. I have a much heavier voice nowadays. The head screams (as in the last "by eternity I'm bound) still sound really great. My vibrato is much easier to handle now as are quick interval leaps/agility. I do thin out hard when going high but that is partly because, well, it's my voice but also because I like the contrast so I raise my larynx as to make it sharper and brighter. My sister thought there were two people singing xD Anywho, I hope you like it. I know I do and I always strive to become better, but this is perhaps the first time I actually stop to reflect on how my voice actually HAS improved and how it does what I want it to do (mostly). Disclaimer; some 'charmingly' pitchy moments in the first verse. No time to rerecord it either so that was a bit of a bummer :/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKiWKaXijVM Feel free to critique both positive and negative! Keep in mind we've been playing together for 8 months and this is the fourth song we wrote.

Hey Felipe, thanks for the reply! I want to use my entire register and alot of my voice colors and dynamics in our music. I don't want to sound like Fabio Leone - one note and you've heard them all. It's great that I get the opportunity to explore this (since I write the melodies, harmonies and such)... But it's also a big challenge because the voice needs to focus on working in a lot of angles that I'm not one hundred percent comfortable with yet. I hear you on the notes coming too low at times (i.e end of third verse "I'm still ALIIIIIIVE")... I hear that I sing it off-pitch and that actually annoys me way more than if I'd NOT hear it... I am a bit at loss at how to approach this issue because it only appears live and not ever while rehearsing :/ But yeah, I guess the songs are, even though finished, still "projects in the works"... I never sing the melodies the exact same way as the previous gig... I NEED to improvise live simply because that is the most fun and also the most.. confidence building thing in music for me... But it comes at a cost as you pointed out... (also, the few times I search for a wailing note and find myself in a key that's not remotely connected to the song.. Well, that's jazzy ) Thanks again!

I see... Well Ron, I take that back then because it was a very bigoted and arrogant thing of me to say and I sincerely hope that you give your own voice to everything from Black Dog to In The Ghetto...

Nice attempt. It's a tricky song! A heavier upper range would do it more justice.. Keep in mind; Tony Kakko is a baritone, yet he takes (took) notes such as E above tenor C in full chest (not curbing or overdrive mind you (even if he oftentimes overdrives such notes, which many people thinks is impossible)). He could do things that would make even high tenors jealous. Ron; that sounds harsh Not sure how I phrased it but I think the I was more making a poke at the importance of keeping the melody in a song that lives by the sheer strength of it's said melody ;P

What a treat! I was not aware of you possessing that lower range! You also get there without losing too much weight... Damn your range! ._. Only thing I can think of really, timing and phrasing.. But those things work themselves out after playing a song four hundred times! Good job!

Thanks for the feed back guys :3 Ron, the reason I make excuses here (I don't make any excuses after a gig, I act confident with a 'hell yeah' attitude til I get home is because sure, people won't hear most minor (*auto edit*) ups BUT this is a singing forum and I am really proud of my self-reflection and it would feel crap if I didn't mention tye most painful flaws just to have someone else bring them up as if I had not even thought about it. That's a horror scenario for me right there! Oh the coffee shop days <3 I quit that horrendous job a week ago :3 Validar; yeah he did! He has an extra bass to every gig now! Luckily everyone gets the joke when they play Run to the Hills and i say Fear of the Dark hoho! Yeah, girls love confidence and guys 'in the centre'... If he's got alot if girls around him they become increasingly attracted.. It's a very shallow world but... I'm gonna roll with it Thanks f.gimp! I try to use the same technique live as I do rehearsing and soon, recording.. I like my overdrive in context (sounds like a whiny child acapella tho xD). But alot of factors weigh in when you sing live and the already small margin of errors for some notes becomes even smaller! But that's also a challenge that I like!

Our fifth gig! This was our last song performed. I can say this; we had the best reception from the crowd thus far! People came to me with such a tremendous amount of compliments... It almost made my ego levitate. Luckily I have enough self-critique to shoot it down and look at my performance in a more sober and realistic manner. My voice was so-and-so gig-day, BUT, we really LIVED on stage and THAT is way more important. I'm not used to getting female attention "in real life". I usually pick them up online but... I had several girls on me and took the prettiest one home hoho... I LOVE THIS!!! I would love to hear some critique good and bad... Felipe, bring it xD I need to be able to relax more on-stage so I can come at some overdrive notes with precision since they require a more accurate and narrow attack... I never shoot them down during rehearsal or while singing at home but on-stage when I'm nervous, I get all wobbly xD Oh, like us on facebook if it's not too much to ask guys http://www.facebook.com/ArdamenthArchania

Oh! Link works fine for me Try again? =p Ah I like this one a lot because it's a very dynamic... But the chorus that gets stuck on people's mind as of now is the other one ; Oh well.. This is the band's favorite song atm and the one we will record Erp.. I've been listening to this so many times now.. I actually sound like a man at the "Bring me back" part xD huehuehue... Just for funsies.. Lyrics to the whole song; "Vers 1: The saddest songs of all has been sung throughout the times I was the one to fall, in each and every one By the grace of God I was given my own will I followed the trail of blood, just to watch my own get spilled Brygga: That's how it goes No chains to the skies No shackles to the ground OOooh To eternity I'm bound Refräng: Bring me back into the light again and watch my ashes come to life I'm the one who survives past the end Watch me rise, oh watch me rise., oh oh oh, all over Vers 2: ...again the same old story's being told How the strong grows weak and how the young grows old At the end of time when everything's gone dark A universe ignites, rekindled by my spark No chains to the skies No shackles to the ground OOooh By eternity I'm bound Bring me back into the light again and watch my ashes come to life I'm the one who survives past the end Watch me rise, oh watch me rise"

So, the band is going into the studio either in April or in May. And we're going to record this song... Now, I insisted on us trying to record it before hand just to... Practice... So it's all recorded with some iPhone-accessory-thingy except my singing. This is just a part of the song (because a neighbor knocked on my door asking me to stop yelling xD) and I suck at this kind of thing but it's fun though This is just the bridge and half of the chorus... https://soundcloud.com/archdementh/preview-rise Anyway...

Justin; thanks for the feedback! It seems the drummer removed the clip now so I can't see what particular part you were referencing I had to do alot of "compensating" this gig due to my voice being extremely heavy and unrested. I had to take some notes in overdrive that I usually can chest out easily. Now of course my technique needs tons of work but the 'a vista adapting' when my voice is sub par is always different depending on how the voice feels. I take lessons from a regular at my coffeeshop. He works as a soloist at the Royal Opera and he told me that my voice is huge but that I am not in a million years a tenor. I could alter my color and raise my larynx to get a bright and fragile tenor sound but I will just hurt myself in the end doing such things outside the studio. The thing is I want an extremely versatile voice. I believe that the 'heavy and boomy' sound only sounds good in about 15% of my linea due to the nature of the context of the song. Mostly I prefer the less strong but more volatile, emotive singing as in the verses of the last song. Sometimes I enjoy the sound of the unsupported, fragile amd breathy singing that makes up the short and slow beginning of the last song.. There are a lot of pieces to fit together but I would never ever dream of having a voice with no variety... Having heard one Rhapsody of Fire song, I've heard them all.. Fabio has one voice :/ Hansi Kürsch of Blind Guardian.. Despite me not liking his general voice color, is in such command of his voice that he can sing anything. EDIT: the beer is tricky! It loosens me up initially and allows me for easier high notes without the risk of 'cracking' but it does indeed wear the voice out in just a few hours. Luckily our gigs are only 20-30 minutes currently. I only drink before a gig if my voice is sub-par and I refuse to alter down the high notes :p

Aye.. I've started to live out more based on how I feel the music rather than trying to deliver what I expect people would most likely hear... Hahaha... Oh the ladies... I can't really see how you ever had a problem getting a few though Here is a little snippet from how I want my voice to be -always-. (I improvised this on the spot since the melody goes down and not up... I was kind of surprised I could sustain that note without going mix/overdrive http://youtu.be/LRGknafCv9M?t=1m20s (from our second gig)

Hey, thanks for the feedback guys ;D Yeah Ron, glad you noticed that! I know that in order to get a full and confident sound without "glissing" up to a note, I need to attack it in a certain way. I can't do that slouching or, well, you know "trying it out"... My voice not being at it's optimal shape did make it "heavier" so I couldn't carry it with all the agility I usually have but listening to this I try to acknowledge my positives as well as analyzing and not being afraid to realize my shortcomings... Felipe; It really means alot coming from you! We have so much fun together in and outside of music and I think that's a big reason we can wear these outfits and get away with it 3 gigs in... We're very comfortable with eachother. My voice is a bit low, yes. Like I said, the 2 hours of sleep did not do my voice any favors, so it was a challenge to attempt each high note (and even regular notes as I "just would get it spot on") since my voice felt so heavy... But I see this as education; there will be PLENTY more gigs like this and in the end I want to deliver to the best of my ability; be that ability at peak or with limitations Yeah! We will rock out more and I'll be sure to be a nuisance and keep the boards flooded with "look at us! gig #54" etc threads ;D MDEW; Aye the feeling is totally amazing! The stage fright is mostly consisting of me actually "taking myself seriously" and not fooling around too much. I can act like a fool and do that with confidence but.. Actually saying "hey guys, thanks for listening to us!" and thinking that I'm actually good at something.. I wasn't raised like that haha ; It's easier to say something silly in a weird dialect after a song has ended :D

Hey Ron, good to hear from you! :S how are things? Yeah it's live, with a sound technician who didn't know what she was doing (we had her all 3 gigs).. The drummer actually EQ'd up the voice so it's audible. After the gig I was told that 'It would have been nice to have heard you.. Even the guitarists backup mics were louder than yours...' But that don't bother me too much because we're on our way forward with leaps and these experiences, where everything is sub-optimal is invaluable in order to improve and be a flexible musician. MANY things here are morw than just a few cents off one thing that I believe is both a blessing and a curse is that I can't stop myself from improvising... That siren I just tried out on the spot... Same with a lot of wails, growls and alterations to the melodies... I don't know... I think it's important for me to keep the singing alive and not TOO predictable (even if the melodies are awesome (my very humble opinion of course xD)) Yeah, bigger stages - more movement.. But like I said.. I'm so nervous and have such stage fright that I've ALWAYS stood completely still with closed eyes while singing... This was such a huge step for me - it looks like I actually interact with people/the audience xD I'll be sure to tell em!! Thanks for the honest feedback! EDIT: yeah it's. 6-string he plays :3 he's by FAR the most musical and advanced of us.. He is only 22 but works as a bass teacher ._. he can shred on that bad boy faster than the guitarists he is schooled on double bass and plays jazz mainly, knows everything there is about musical theory.. One gets jealous -.-

First gig was a total disaster in every way imaginable culminating in the bass players A string breaking in the middle of the first song without a replacement... I was stiff as the microphone stand and my voice was at around 65% of it's capacity. Second gig was better, we liked what we heard and saw and my voice was at around 80% with some high notes failing... I was still standing still as a lamp post... Third gig.. MILES away from the other gigs.. I actually MOVED and LOOKED at people... Haha! I feel so extremely proud of myself *pats on own back*... I can't stress how much stage fright I've got... It's insane.. Shaking like a leaf.... My voice was at around 75% here... I had slept 2 hours during the night and woke up at 3 AM, going to work long shift at the job then going to the rehearsal studio immediately to get things in order for the gig... No sleep whatsoever inbetween.. During gen-rep I felt how sluggish my voice was and I couldn't get the high notes.. It was at around 60% there... After 2 beers however I got my energy back and the voice started to feel more maneuverable again... I am more than pleased with my performance! My voice is lacking a bit more than usual but my presence is much better than it's ever been! It's a shame that the sound technician gave me not the slightest reverb though :c http://youtu.be/N5dBlVdW-gg?t=7m46s

Let's say yes! xD

Oh, then we're definitely on the same page! xD Yes, the riff works - if timed right so it's not "out there", you're right. Now during rehearsal (we rehearse 4 times a week) this song is way better.. The chorus for example where I do some things 'behind it', is meant for the very last chorus which is raised a major third where the guitarists and the bass player will sing it and I will sing behind it. Gah! I can't wait for our first live performance (Jan 25th) to get a proper recording of the structure and how it sounds.. Anyway, thanks for your honest opinion!

Thanks for the feedback... I must say though, that I don't know how to read your post You once said to a recording of mine (letter to dana) "too much auto tune and comping", where there was indeed comping, but no auto tune at all... I feel like you just never liked me However I hear your critique and I agree with some - this should not have been released. We were just very eager to get something out to keep interest up... Having only the base of a song outlined (the chorus is epic and the new harmonies I've added makes it even more fantastic) Oh well! It's not the end of the world.. Guess I was a bit too excited about my new style of singing xD

You're right on the spot there! I love the second verse.. I had to come up with both the lyrics (which, admittedly are shit in a poetic sense) and the melody on the spot... Now I feel that the first verse is boring as hell compared haha. The guitar sounds is also our main issue when recording like this since it's much thicker in real. We were thinking of dubbing it. But this is just to make a demo for the studio. These flaws are nothing we focus on now, even though I hate to leave the mic knowing I sang pitchy xD EDIT: For those who've heard me earlier, it's a big shift for me from my thin, bright singing..

Would enjoy some more feedback and opinions! (other than the off-pitch parts which pains my ears just thinking about :3)

Yes that will be no problem! It had to be recorded very quickly so I didn't have that much time Some of the harmonies are okay (i.e the first bridge "Here we are"). The second bridge.. Not okay The entire second verse and the hockey-chorus behind it I came up with when actually recording it and it's entirely super duper awesome! My sense for melody is outstanding.. Now to just... Make everything else equally outstanding xD But yeah, studio in January/February and then we will have some time on our hands for retakes =p

Haha hey Ron! Yeah, absolutely :D

So, in October I had the good fortune to be called up by a guitarist who searched for a singer for his new band, starting from scratch. I felt at home from the start and had no problem commiting :3 Anyway, we did a little "teaser" to keep up the interest and to let people hear our sound. It's incredibly rough, recorded in the rehearsal room. It's very off pitch, but I had to come up with the second verse on the spot and the harmonies as well. I must say regardless, I am VERY pleased with the result. I decided to drop the "bright tenor" sound and sing more in my comfortable range with some power instead. I'm glad they accept this kind of singing =) We will enter the studio in January/February and record 6 songs. We have 3 at the moment. Here it is; http://www.myspace.com/597333171 Also, please like our facebook group if you find this to be interesting!! http://www.facebook.com/ArdamenthArchania Cheers /Patrik

Igor, you know I love your voice. It's a force to be reckoned with!! BUT!... You use your beautiful voice in a very "open" way... I can feel that for some heavy metal tunes you need to take some sharp turns, have some BITE in a few notes and create a few twists... I don't know if you agree?

Oh my Goodness Igor, that cover of Steel Tormentor... You give me goosebumps!!

I really like your voice Igor... Your renditions of Soldier of Fortune and Windmill, two very VERY important songs to me - you pulled off really great!! I do hope you make it as a singer soon... =)