My attempt at Karma by Kamelot

[OldPainless]

This is a pretty famous power metal song...

Please tell me what you think, the good and the bad!

[Guest]

I thought you sounded great. :)

[OldPainless]

Thank you!

[OldPainless]

Decided to give this a bump as there was so little response. Should have added more info in the OP. So, I want to know if people think my voice fits this style of music in general. I know that the "the fire in my soul rejects my wisdom parts at 2:00 and 3:00 don't sound quite right and will be working on improving that once my exams are over.

I think the chorus after the solo actually turned out the best. Was kind of skeptical of that high note before recording, but to me it sounds better than the first 2 supposedly easier choruses.

P.S, The singing starts at c.a 1:24 if someone doesn't want to listen to that awesome intro :P

[MDEW]

:) I think your voice fits great with this song. Fortunately I have never heard this song before so I am not biased by comparing you to original singer. To me everything sounded just as it should.

This is a personal taste thing for I am not a teacher. But good is good.

[Keith]

I have sang this one before. It's in here somehwhere lol. Can you sing it? Absolutely . Does it sound good? Yes, it sure does. But, if you are looking to sound just like Roy or Tommy, then you have a long road ahead of you brother. Stick to being you . Look into getting just a touch more depth in your voice IMO .

[OldPainless]

Thanks, but I actually had to record the trouble parts I mentioned seperately. I tried and tried but couldn't get them to sound somewhat decent without taking a deep breath and singing them one by one. Since then I've actually studied the singer's live performance and next time I'm going to try and change (for example) the "o" vowel in "soul" to a "u" sound, which is actually what I did in the last chorus and is often easier . Hopefully this will cost less energy and help me get through the chorus in a single take.

Edit: I'm not trying to sound like the Roy, but studying his tricks can help

Edit 2: About that depth. This is actually something I've been trying to work on and is an ongoing process. Maybe it's related to the "add more emotion" tip I received not too long ago.

[Keith]

Most Kamelot songs are very difficult in the chorus, and quasi easy in the verses and bridges.

[OldPainless]

Most Kamelot songs are very difficult in the chorus, and quasi easy in the verses and bridges.

I agree, but that's part of what makes them great. That step from easy to hard where you're just thinking "damn..".

The last chorus was relatively comfortable to sing (compared to the others), as it doesn't have a bridge or verse tied to it.

[Teodur]

I second what Keith said about getting "depth". You should absolutely try to emulate how he sings, the guy is a beast, I'd take his ability to sing any day. The slower part at around 3 min is the best place to start. Roy's resonance is huge there. I can tell you lack proper support there, because of how "wobbly" your vibrato is and a lack of resonance.

The chorus is no cake, I listened to some live clips, even he isn't consistent and strains from time to time. This song is a monster to tackle for your current ability IMO. Find the resonance in your chest voice first!

Oh god, I hope someone agrees with me, I'm not a qualified singing coach! :P

[OldPainless]

Thanks for the reply Teodur, nice and honest:) I'm always looking to improve and I chose this song because it's one of my all time favorites and I thought It would be a great challenge (which it was). Maybe I'll redo it when I think I've gotten better :)

[ronws]

I liked it.

I know, I know, we're supposed to be blunt and honest, and really, I am. I liked it. I think you did find. But, like MDEW, I don't know the band and have not heard their music except as covered by Keith, or by my real brother and fellow member, Slstone. So, I have nothing to compare to.

But, to echo Keith. Make sure you do the song in your voice. I learn that one over and over, again. Not that you didn't do that, here. But if you are beating yourself because you don't sound like the original, just remember, some of us, such as myself, value your own unique sound, equivalent in artistic importance to that of the original singer.

As for re-doing the song, by all means, have at it. But I would suggest, first, that you absorb all the comments, give it a week. Sleep on it. You'll find what fits.

Again, I didn't hear any technical problems and I think you had the right "emotion" for this song.

Then, again, I'm not a voice teacher. Just a singer who is also a member of the music buying public.

[OldPainless]

Good to know you liked it ron I'm definitely not trying to sound like the original, this is pretty much how I sound when not adding any "fake effect" on my voice and I accept that. What I'm most glad about is the fact that most people seem to think it fits the song. I'm not even sure I'll redo the song (in the near future at least), as I like it so much and wouldn't want to get bored of it due to excessive recording over and over again. Maybe another Kamelot song, or something completely different!

[ronws]

Good to know you liked it ron I'm definitely not trying to sound like the original, this is pretty much how I sound when not adding any "fake effect" on my voice and I accept that. What I'm most glad about is the fact that most people seem to think it fits the song. I'm not even sure I'll redo the song (in the near future at least), as I like it so much and wouldn't want to get bored of it due to excessive recording over and over again. Maybe another Kamelot song, or something completely different!

Likewise, once I have done a song, I am done with it. Even if I have learned to sing it better. Or have a better mic. I don't want to create an infinite glut of the same cover, over and over.

The downside of link againing a cover I have already done is that recording will contain a problem of mine from whatever day that was, up to 2 years old, on some recordings, that I do not have today.

note to self, don't re-link any of the old recordings.

[Marcus]

I love Kamelot, with both Khan and Karevik on vocals.

This sounds great. Your voice sits well with this type of singing, nice vocal timbre. The word "widsdom" on the chorus have a tendency to get a little splatty, so I'd watch that. Otherwise it sounds pretty perfect to my ears. Good job!

Maybe some more mixing and editing to get the vocals to sit better with the music could be done.

[OldPainless]

Thanks for replying, agree with the word "wisdom" About the mix quality, I felt this was the best I could do lol :)

[Guest]

I think the "wisdom" thing is just a matter of accent. I'm not sure what part of the world you are from but I thought it was accent. In English even though the letter is "s" in wisdom we pronounce it with a bit more of a 'z' sound. Half s and half z. Pretty much like wizdom.

[OldPainless]

I think he was referring to the "o" in wisdom. I'm from Iceland by the way ;)

[Marcus]

I think it's really hard to mix in vocals on a produced backing track, so can't really tell you what you should do to make it sit better with the mix (I'm not an engineer though, and it's just my own opinion here). Right now it sort of sits a little bit on top of the music. I'd try adding some delay or more reverb (not too much though) to the vocals and try if a compressor on the whole thing will smooth it out.

And it was the vowel I was thinking about in "wisdom", not the s (didn't even notice anything about the s, I'm from Sweden myself). I don't know if I have a better way of describing it than getting "splatty", but you sing everything else so damn good. That was the only thing sounding a little strained, to my ears.

[OldPainless]

Thanks for your kind remarks Marcus, legend has it that's how the vikings pronounced "wisdom"...

I actually think I added as much reverb as I could before it started to sound a little too over-processed. I'm not even sure my Pro Tools SE editions allows for delay lol. Will have to check that out.

[Olem]

Hello, Oldpainless! This was awesome, you have a very nice "crying" sound, a great mix of chest and head . I also agree about the word "wisdom", it sounded a little strained and pushy and your "goaty" vibrato was a little disturbing. I hope to hear more from you in the future.