[nathanm]

Not that anyone would be familiar with this band, but I just wanted to share it, because it's so utterly SCREWED UP sounding!  I mean, it's BAD.  I'm not talking like the kind of subjective sound a person might object to, this is more like someone made a flat out mistake.  A patch cable was plugged into the wrong jack, some gear was punched in that ought not to have been…what the heck happened here?  The drums sound like they are triggering a compressor over the whole mix or something.  It's just weird.  Never heard anything else this cocked up on a record.  It hurts your ears in a different way than the usual 2x4 crush.  Any clues what happened?

Band is called Blessed Realm, song is called "Bleeder". This is from a compilation CD called At The Mountains Of Madness.

http://nathanmarciniak.com/Bleeder.mp3

Kind of reminds me of the pumping you hear on some TV shows when the crowd applauds and the compressor is going WOOSH WOOSH WOOSH.  Ooh I HATE that sound!

[Russell Dawkins]

Yep, pretty lame!
It sounds like they might have been going for a massive sound and were trying to get it by using tons of bottom on the kick drum, but then compressing the **** out of the kick (and snare - I can't remember a more anaemic sounding snare).

Specifically, I think the attack time was way too fast on the snare and maybe kick, because there is almost no sense of beater or stick hitting skin.
Strangely, though, the vocals are not buried. In my experience buried vocals are part of this sound.

It really does take some serious skill to do this stuff right and although I almost never mix this sort of music I can appreciate when it is done well, and it often is.

[Daygloworange]

No, it's not the mastering job. It was very poorly recorded.

I have heard these kinds of multitrack tapes before, and had people ask me to try and work with them and mix them.

It sounds like the band tried to record the drums in a rehearsal space, with multiple mics, and printed it to only two tracks. In which case, you're screwed. There isn't one part of the drum kit that is Eq'd properly. That's the giveaway.

 You can't properly compress a mixed stereo drum track. You can't adjust the attack and release controls properly. The compressor will pump and breathe.

A drum kit isn't an instrument. It's a group of instruments. With very different transient responses, and decays, which require them to be processed (compressed) independently of each other.

Everything is else is very badly recorded as well. The mic position on the guitar amp is very bad, and wrong type of mic used. The bass sounds like it went through a bad DI box straight into the mixer. And the vocal has a very bad echo. It sounds very amateurish to be honest.

It also sounds like there is aliasing on the highs of the drum parts, which could mean they recorded the drums on an analog multitrack that was in need of TLC. There is a compressed sound to the drums that reminds me of analog tape compression as well.

I'm listening to it on crappy little Sony computer speakers. I'd have to listen on my main playback system and with headphones to give you more details.

But again, no, this is not the fault of the guy who mastered the recording. It's just been engineered (recorded) poorly.

Oh, and the drummer sucks....

Cheers

[jon_010101]

Dayglow did a great analysis.  Having done some crappy basement recordings, I'd have to say it sounds like a basement lo-fi recording where they still dared to process the snot out of it while mixing.  Probably would be much less objectionable in raw form with just basic level mixing and gentle compression and EQ.  Would sound lo-fi, but wouldn't make you feel like your brain is being squeezed through your ears while listening to it.   

[Russell Dawkins]

I suppose the day might come where completely unprocessed raw sound, with all its warts, will be sufficiently refreshing compared to uber-produced sound that it will become a draw in itself, akin to the vinyl noise added to the beginning of some recordings, or the "film" scratches and jitter added to video for effect.
When that happens I can imagine mixers falling over themselves to do less and less to the sound in a kind of sonic neo-minimalism.

[nathanm]

That is my hope too, that somehow minimalism will become cool.  Although that notion works against the appeal of the fancy studio with the giant Star Trek console and six racks of outboard gear.

Speaking of basement recordings the Swedish band Witchcraft's first record was allegedly recorded in one and it's by far my absolute favorite modern rock recording.  To hear that little overdrive on the guitars was a real refreshing sound for me, you just never hear that low of gain in the metal world.  Their later records had a little more of a processed sound, but still good.  The first one isn't exactly purist, the vocals have that cool mic pre overload thing going on (I think, not sure how that sound is achieved) but it sounds lively and realistic.

http://www.myspace.com/witchcraftswe
Unfortunately nothing from the first record on their myspace page.

If I were emperor of the world "No Angel Or Demon" would be a rock radio staple.  The fact that I can't switch on the FM tuner in my car and hear that inbetween AC\DC and Led Zeppelin is a grave injustice.

And this interview seems to support my case.  I like it when people actually care.

Hi Magnus. Witchcraft is your first ever album. Can you tell us a few things about it?

Magnus: We started recording our material in January 2003. The "primitive" sound of the album made many people believe that we recorded it in a day or so, but we actually spent three to four months in the studio. We went through a lot of trouble in the studio trying to find that exact sound. There are many technical details that I cannot explain right now. We didn’t record the album in the main studio, but in a room next door where you’re supposed to go to drink a beer and relax. We threw everything out, cushions and furniture, in order to catch the natural reverb of the room. It’s amazing because you can go to the same room the next day and the addition of a pillow in the room can change the way the music sounds. We were also quite stressed during the recordings of the album. I had to go from school straight to the studio and then home to get some rest, in order to be able to do exactly the same next day! I had to do plenty of travelling to the studio every day.

I am really happy that you mentioned the sound, because I am one of those who believe that it’s the most characteristic thing about Witchcraft.

Magnus: Believe me, I have noticed that (laughs). We have been literally trying for years to achieve that sound. The members of the band grew up listening to all the great bands of the 60’s and the 70’s and we love that sound.

[Russell Dawkins]

Judging from the comments about going from school to the studio, I am guessing Witchcraft are pretty young ...
just checked their video "Lady Winter" (on their Myspace page, 2nd down) and see they are.

The mix on the clips puzzles me - the drums are again mixed very low and the highs are rolled off. This makes it easy on the ears, but very undynamic sounding.

Also ... isn't this derivative of Spinal Tap, musically??

[nathanm]

Pshaw!  Derivative of Pentagram if anything.

[nathanm]

http://nathanmarciniak.com/01%20Witchcraft.mp3

That's what I'm talkin' 'bout.  No damned MIDI triggers here.   Dry, warm, hard, roomy, mellow, brown, crankable, doesn't stab your ears with treble…

Some of the lyrics remind me of the movie "The Wicker Man".

Is is pushed up in level no doubt, but there's still SPIKES fer the love of mike!  You could still comb your hair with this waveform, whereas your Death Magnetics and Monotheists are working more like squeegees.

[amadeus916]

Gotta tell you, compression would have been the last thing that I noticed about the song Bleeder that made it unlistenable...Egads!!!!