Our first studio effort is here!!!

[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.

[Validar]

Bad ass. Great production overall. You have good reason to be proud of this.

[ronws]

I agree with Validar. This is good. Keep doing this.

[Snejk]

Hey thanks! Yeah it wasn't terribly expensive either! $500 for the entire song with the mixing. Took me 4 hours to record it and my voice actually wasn't broken afterwards seeing as I got a naturally very clean voice without any natural grit and here I actually sang with my balls.

Next time we'll record one of the more catchy tunes where the choruses are more hookish. But this song is the more aggressive in the bunch, was really fun.

[Vocalist Dad]

Snejk, good stuff, the band sounds great, the vocals sound great and I really like your note choices for the melody. I think you all are really getting a feel for who Archania is. Congratulations on a great product. Keep working hard, it will pay off someday.

[Snejk]

Thanks mate! We've been together for 8 months now (with the last 2 being a break due to everyones different vacation schedules) and I am really glad that we get closer to our musical core in such a good pace. I can't look 2 months back without feeling that a comparison would be apples and oranges.

I have these boards to thanks for my steady voice development. I don't comment much on other people's work but I listen a lot and try to analyze an understand. Helps greatly with getting control over my own voice The great feedback is invaluable... Mostly it's compliments but if there is something weird or wrong I can trust that the forumites will notice it and point it out before I make something a bad habit or simply what I need to practice on.

[Jugulator]

Great production. Congrats. I'm glad that you started to work with a band.

[Snejk]

Thanks for taking your time to listen Jug :3 The band is great and thanks to finally recording a song we got some very interesting/surprising attention that I did not think we would get this early to be honest o_O

[Enander]

You're proud of this, just like you should! You sound great!

So, to contribute more than just compliments, I'll give you 2 points of critique! :cool:

1. A fast vibrato is all fine and dandy, but sometimes (especially at the end while singin "rise" higher and higher) I feel like you overdo it juuust a bit. I don't know if you realise it (hence why I bring it up), but it sounds more like staccato than a proper vibrato... at least to me!

If it's your style, disregard my point and carry on! It might just boost your attention, since idiosyncrasies is often something that fans will cherish.

2. I'd feel bad if I didn't give you a heads up; the growl at the end is not good! As a death metal connoisseur I sure know my growling, and your song is too good to let such an abomination be part of it! :)

[Snejk]

Thanks for the critique man :3

I have no natural vibrato and never had a vibrato at all until I heard Michael Kiske (early Helloween, Place Vendome, Unisonic) and that's when I decided I wanted one xD He does overdo them a lot (End of Unisonic - Star Rider for example). I like it but I know a lot of people who dislike it because it doesn't sound natural. My biggest concern is that the pitch shifts are identical and that the vibrato is accurate to the rhythm behind.

Of course, I don't produce the vibrato at the highest end the way I do them in low and middle. That's one thing you learn really fast that you can't apply the same technique in every register to get a vibrato. At the high end it is more of a diaphragm thingy which almost makes it more of a tremolo xD So it makes sense definitely. But part is that I actually love very distinguishable vibratos :3

Hah! Yeah I'm not much of a growler but I do want to learn. I believe that it has it's place for effect once in a while. Just as I believe you can't make songs by sheer squeeling high notes, you can't make song by only growling. A high head scream is a good effect here and there, but I think the same goes for growling But yeah, I do the high screams very well (the 'eternity I'm boooound' for example that enters the last chorus is a great and very controlled head scream) , but not growling -.- For the life of me I can't figure it out ;

[MDEW]

Good Stuff Snejk. :D

[Olem]

It sounds really great, Snejk. Considering you have only been together as a band for 8 months it sounds remarkably good. Keep up the good work and congratulations!