Soundcloud Promotions: How To Get Noticed On Soundcloud

June 1st, 2013 by Luke

Soundcloud Promotions is a new way for those interested in increasing their presence on online to get ahead of the game. If you’re struggling to gain momentum in your online presence through social media, Soundcloud Promotions might be of interest to you.

What is SoundCloud?

If you’re not already familiar with what SoundCloud is, get over there right now and set yourself up an account. It’s an essential part of any current artists promotional kit. SoundCloud is the world’s leading social sound platform where anyone can create sounds and share them everywhere. Recording and uploading sounds to SoundCloud lets people easily share them privately with their friends or publicly to blogs, sites and social networks. Everybody is using it, and for good reason!

Why increase followers on SoundCloud?

On SoundCloud followers can see any song uploaded by the people they follow and listen to it immediately. They receive real time updates about their favourite artists activity and what they are doing on the site, plus receive lots of extra information about the artist and their music. This is important to help a bands music gain momentum on the site, the more activity people see, the more it will help gather traction among the fanbase and create a discussion about the music.

There is also many advantages to having a large fanbase, such as looking impressive to new potential fans. The bigger a bands fanbase the more likely someone might give them the time of day to hear what they’re about. It’s true, we’ve all fallen victim to that one, whether we like to admit it or not, or even noticed it for that matter.

Building an online musical presence by hand can take a lot of time and effort (I know I’ve done it) The complicated process required for successful online promotion can take up excessive amounts of valuable time, in my case more time per week than a full time job, for little payoff. It’s time that could be invested better. Musicians should be focusing creative energy on making more awesome music, not days, weeks and months endlessly spamming friends, family and random strangers added on Facebook, or other Social media platforms in a futile attempt to get them interested in what we’re already so passionate about. Inevitably this method will lose more friends than it will gain, and the fans that are gained, will likely be there begrudgingly, as soon as they think they can disappear without being noticed, they will.

What Is SoundCloud Promotions?

SoundCloud Promotions as the name suggests is a service to help promote music on SoundCloud. It gives artists a helping hand getting their feet off the ground on the social music platform and help them get noticed. They have a simple sign up process, simply choose the package you want and then they will email you with further details after the transaction has been processed. The site is user friendly and pretty to look at. The prices are very reasonable too. Visit soundcloudpromotions.com for more details.

Buying Fans?

I’ve heard many artists frown upon the idea of purchasing new listeners for their music, and feel it’s some sort of cheating. But all businesses advertise, if any artist wishes to make a career out of music, understanding that music is a business like any other is key to success. It’s the nature of the beast. If an artist doesn’t advertise in this day and age, their music is going to fail to reach out to the public eye. Whether the artist does it, or a record company does it on their behalf, advertising is almost always essential one way or another. Sometimes artists get lucky with a viral YouTube video, or a song that captures public imagination enough to be spread by word of mouth. But these events are rare in the grand scheme of things, and smart artists back up these events with regular forms of advertising to help perpetuate the spread anyway. All you have to remember is that spamming friends and random strangers with unsolicited messages is a much more frowned upon form of advertising than anything paid for and it’s far less effective.

About The Author

Jon Hutchinson is a music journalist from the UK, As a 10 year veteran of the music industry he is currently building several up and coming music media sites, and loves to help others find their way in the music industry.

Slayer vs Westboro Baptist Church: ‘Crazy Train’ Parody At Jeff Hanneman’s Funeral

May 5th, 2013 by Luke

Westboro Baptist Church are at it again with the horrific announcement that the bastards plan to picket the funeral of late Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman. Claiming that they will sing their “parody” of Ozzy Osbourne‘s “Crazy Train” “at full voice” during the Slayer guitarist’s funeral.

Jeff Hanneman died at approximately 11:00am on Thursday the 2nd of May near his Southern California home. He was just 49. Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure. Due to a terminal illness called necrotising fasciitis which he is thought to have contracted from a spider bite, 2 years earlier.

Necrotising fasciitis is more commonly known as a flesh eating disease, which is caused by a bacterial infection of the deeper layers of skin and subcutaneous tissues.

“Necrotizing fasciitis is quickly progressing, having greater risk of developing in the immunocompromised due to conditions like diabetes, cancer, etc. It is a severe disease of sudden onset and is usually treated immediately with high doses of intravenous antibiotics.” – Wikipedia

Slayer fans have become outraged by the news, with social media sites like Facebook daring the church to even try to protest at the event, that they might meet their quick demise. The onslaught of Hate for the church has been universal by the metal community.

Westboro Baptist Church — is fringe group of fundamentalist Christians who continues to make headlines around the world for their extreme anti-gay views and outrageous protests at the funerals of U.S. soldiers, regardless of the soldiers actual sexuality. The so called “Church” first used lyrics from the Ozzy song “Crazy Train” at events surrounding a Supreme Court hearing in 2011. Two daughters of the church’s founder used the paraphrased lyrics from the song at the post-Supreme Court hearing press conference in Washington D.C.

Ozzy shows his disgust for the Westboro Bastard Church

Ozzy commented “I am sickened and disgusted by the use of ‘Crazy Train’ to promote messages of hate and evil by a ‘church,'” in response to the news of his song being used by Westboro Baptist Church.

In a June 2010 during an interview on “Rockline”, Ozzy Osbourne slated the Westboro Baptist Church’s protest of Ronnie James Dio’s funeral. “I thought it was in such bad taste that those people had those banners about Ronnie James Dio. That’s disgusting. They say that we’re the anti-christ. Well, what makes them any better?”

Crazy Train Parody on YouTube

The Westboro Baptist Church has even had the audacity to publicise their awful “parody” of “Crazy Train” on YouTube. I have included it for reference, but I really don’t enjoy sharing anything these worthless excuses for human beings have created.

Westboro Baptist Church’s “Crazy Train” “parody” lyrics:

Amazing, that’s how God rolls.
Millions of people, drowning in woe.
Crazy, it’s much too late.
To speak about love, when you brought on is hate.
Crying about your feelings, or your sin, no shame.

You’re going straight to hell, on a crazy train.
You’re going straight to hell, on a crazy train.

Let’s go!

You listen to preachers, your leaders are fools.
You’re raping false prophets, who make their own rules.
The base is ascending, to rule and control.
The media sells it, and you pay the toll.

The station goes deceiving, their torment you in flames.
You’re going straight to hell, on a crazy train.

We’ve told you your destruction is imminent.
You should have listen to our words.

Isn’t God’s fury?, That’s forced onto them,
The ruling rebellion, God is made to numb.
Crazy, the pride as you well.
Your birth will be brutal, he will say what is fair!

God is not been sleeping, he’s gonna bring the pain.
It’s time for your final ride on this crazy train.
Your final stop is hell on this crazy train.

Other disgusting stuff the Westboro Baptist Church has been up to

The Wall Street Journal describes the Westboro Baptist Church as a “tiny Kansas church who preaches that U.S. deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq are punishment for America’s tolerance of homosexuality and abortion.”

‘You’re Going to Hell,’ ‘Thank God for Dead Soldiers,’ and ‘God Hates You’ are some of Westboro’s favourite slogans to use at their gatherings.

What Things Are You Certain To See At A Music Festival?

April 15th, 2013 by Luke

For music lovers, there is nothing better during the summer months than heading to a daylong or weekend festival to see some of the biggest acts in the world.  While each festival is different, there are a number of similarities that they all share, things that you are guaranteed to see at each one that will give you memories for years to come, be they good or bad.

What are they?

Mud

Mud is perhaps more synonymous with festivals than even the music itself. Even if it is baking hot and the sun shines for two or three days, there is still the chance that you will end up covered in mud.

This element of festivals puts many people off going to them. It is also why those who attend such events get labelled as ‘hippies’ and other terms that are seen as derogatory, especially when you add in the urban legends about not washing for days at a time and wearing the same clothes from start to finish.

Fireworks Displays

If you attend a music festival this summer and don’t see a fireworks display, then you should be making sure you ask for your money back.

After all, you have stood on your feet for probably more than 12 hours, haven’t had a drink, and perhaps been thrown from pillar to post in the middle of the crowd, so even if you have seen a band you have been waiting to see for years, a fireworks display should be the least you expect.

Thankfully, most festival organisers want to end their events ‘with a bang,’ and you will often find that a spectacular fireworks demonstration follows the conclusion of a headline set.

Things Being Thrown

We hope that we do not have to expand on what the ‘things’ are, as if you have ever been to a festival you will probably already know what we’re alluding to.

The trouble with this is that you don’t see it coming most of the time, or that the people doing it cannot be ejected as there aren’t security guards standing at every interval in a crowd of tens of thousands.

Unfortunately, if it does happen, you just need to grin and bear it.

Horrible Facilities

Along with the mud, dirty toilet facilities are enough to put most people off, even if their favourite bands are playing at a particular festival.

Whether it is the shared facilities element or the fact that they just aren’t welcoming or well maintained at all, many people simply want to avoid them.

Music to Remember

It’d be unfair to talk about a festival and mention the mud, fireworks, and other elements without actually talking about the music.

Whether it is the band you always wanted to see live or a group you never heard of, you are certain to listen to and see performances that you will remember for a long time to come.

Deciding to Go

If the facilities are putting you off, just book a hotel near to the site, and you’ll have access to everything you need. Don’t let a little mud stop you from discovering the festival experience, as it is one almost unrivalled anywhere else in the world.

About The Author:

Stuart is an online content writer with a huge passion for music and festivals, so much so that after returning from various events he often seeks out fireworks for sale from an online retailer and tries to recreate his favourite festivals in his own garden.

Soul Sanctuary Facebook Giveaway: T-shirt and Signed CD

April 11th, 2013 by Luke

Want some free goodies from Soul Sanctuary?

It’s time to give something away as we haven’t for quite some time. I spent a good 15 minutes trying to think up a witty names for the contest, but “Freebies From The Afterlife” was about the best thing I came up with, so I just settled for something far more straightforward. This time next week one lucky winner will receive a Soul Sanctuary T-shirt of their choice and a signed copy of Afterlife. All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning is follow the 3 simple steps below:

How to enter:

1) Like our Facebook page (If you’re not already a fan)
2) Like & Share this post (Use buttons at the bottom of this page if you haven’t already done so on our Facebook page)
3) Tell us why you should win in the comments below.

Simple!

Entry closes at 11:59pm GTM on the 15th of April, One lucky winner will be picked on the 18th of April 2013 at random from a selection of the best answers. Be creative!

Good Luck 🙂

Stay Awesome Stay Metal!

Is Music Really Dying?

April 11th, 2013 by Luke

The following post is written by Special Guest Author: Mark of Soundista.com

The Death Of Music?

According to CNN Money, music sales between 1999 and 2009 were cut in half. The actual numbers were $14.6 billion in 1999, versus $6.3 billion in 2009. That steep decline is symptomatic of what some see as the end of the music industry as we know it. There is a question as to whether this is really a bad thing for artists, however.

Money and Music

The type of statistics referenced above are not hard to find. Digital sales, for instance, have cut into a huge chunk of CD sales and the entertainment industry blames piracy for losses of revenue on music sales, to some extent. Music is widely available for free on the Internet—sometimes legally, through streaming music stations and so forth—which means that people may be less motivated to buy a $20 CD to get the one track they like if they can hear it most any time they want.

Whether you view the way the music industry has changed as liberation of the art from the hands of the corporations that used to be so much more profitable at distributing it or an unbearable hardship on musicians, the fact remains the same: music isn’t worth what it used to be worth, at least to large companies. Sometimes, decline in one industry gives a rather skewed view of what’s actually going on.

More Music

Forbes reported in an article in 2012 that, in 2008, there were 106,000 new albums released compared to 38,000 in 2003. Quite simply, there’s been more music out there than there has in the past. Not all of it is coming from large record companies, however, as the tools required for recording and production have become less and less expensive and has more musicians have started releasing their albums on their own.

Live Still Rocks

The same Forbes article reports that, between 1999 and 2009, the sales of concert tickets in the US market was on a healthy upward trajectory. In fact, it was something beyond healthy. The sales went from $1.5 billion to $4.6 billion. Concerts have always been huge parts of how musicians make their livings and, going by these figures, things were three times as good in 2009 as they were in 1999, at least in terms of concert attendance.

Different is Not Dead

The music industry is much different than it used to be, that is for certain. In the past, musicians sent demos to every record company they thought would sign them. If one of the record companies showed an interest, the musician could rely on their support for marketing, promotion and so forth, but, without a label, it was very hard for independent artists to develop a presence on the market. Today, it’s as easy as opening up a Facebook page, uploading some MP3s to a distribution site and having a web page. These are all things that the average band could take care of in the space of a couple of days, rather than spending years playing in taverns, clubs and other venues, hoping that they got noticed.

The Forbes article also reported that the revenues for digital music players, advertising and in other categories has jumped up over the years.

The record companies may be faltering, but that does not mean a decline in music as an art form or, in fact, as a commercially viable art form. The industry itself has changed, however, and today that seems to mean that CDs may not be selling well, but more music is out there and bands still have ways to make money.

About The Author

Mark of Soundista.com offers tips and information on music production, download loops, download sound and more.

Five Ways To Make The Most Of Recording Studio Time

April 10th, 2013 by Luke

The following blog is by a special Guest Author and presented in collaboration with www.selectrecordingstudios.co.uk

Make The Most Of Recording Studio Time

Whether you’re about to record an album or making a demo that you can shop around to record companies, studio time is a significant investment – so it pays to do everything you can to get the most bang for your buck. It’s essential to carefully plan and organise your time so you don’t waste a minute and end up with nothing to show for a day’s recording. Follow these simple steps to get everything you can out of time in the recording studio and end up with results you love.

1. Get Studio Versions of Songs Prepared

There’s a huge difference between live performance and performing in a studio so make sure you’ve checked your arrangements and worked out how best to record your song. Creating succinct, tight versions of your song will afford you the best results and save time in the studio too. If you’re trying to promote your band, then a sloppy demo is not the best way to go about it. The more slick and professional your demo is the more likely you are to be picked up.

2. Set Studio Time Goals

You’ll have a set amount of hours in the studio but whether it’s a day or a fortnight, treat it like a job and carefully map out your time. This is especially important if you need to accommodate other musicians flexibly. Once you’re in the studio time will fly so it’s much more effective to have a concrete timetable than a loose plan.

Choose one or two tracks to work on in a day and don’t be tempted to squeeze more in if you don’t have any longer. It’s much better to complete two songs perfectly than end up with a bunch of half finished recordings. A three minute song could take three hours to record so it’s unlikely that you’ll finish a whole album in a day. However, there’s always the chance that you’ll get things done more quickly than you expected so make contingencies for any time you have left by preparing a couple of extra tracks just in case.

If you’re working with a band then make sure they’re aware of your plans and understand what your expectations of them are. That way there’s far less likely to be confusion over which songs to learn or which instruments to bring.

3. Opt for Professional Mastering

Mixing is usually done by engineers within a recording studio but mastering is an entirely different process. If you eliminate mastering from the studio time you have it can allow you to fit in more. You can get your recordings mastered at a later date but make sure you enlist someone with the skills and experience you need. Although professional mastering is a separate investment, you’ll end up with better results than you will if you try to do everything at once.

4. Eat and Drink

It may sound silly but when you’re caught up in the moment everything else goes out of the window, but forgetting to eat and drink certainly won’t help your performance. If you want to maintain your energy levels then choose healthy foods that release energy slowly like wholemeal bread, porridge and brown rice. Avoid high fat, high sugar foods as they will give you a burst of energy followed by a slump. Keep hydrated with plenty of water and if you want to stay on your toes avoid drinking alcohol.

5. Pick the Right Studio

Embarking on your first recording studio session can be daunting so look for a studio that caters for your needs. Most studios accommodate amateurs and professionals but will incorporate differing levels of service. A good studio will have friendly, helpful, well-qualified staff who will be able to talk you through the recording process and put you at ease. They’ll also be able to help you find ways to improve your performance and offer advice on recording techniques.

You’ll find useful information on the majority of recording studio websites about the kind of work they do and some will even allow you to listen in to recent recordings so you can get a feel for the type of result you can expect.

Bonus Tip

If you’re feeling a little intimidated by the idea of a recording studio session then pay a visit to the studio before it takes place. Staff there should be happy to give you a tour and let you familiarise yourself with the surroundings and what will happen on the day, which will help you to feel more at ease when you finally come to record.

So if you’re set to become the next big thing make sure you start off on the right foot and follow these tips to ensure that your recording studio session is a rousing success.

About the Author:

I’m a fifty something technical director with a passion for the food industry and blogging.

I’m happily married with two grown up daughters.

Margaret Thatcher Dies: Welcome To The Afterlife (Zombie Thatcher)

April 8th, 2013 by Luke

Welcome To The Afterlife Mrs. Thatcher

This morning (8th of April 2013) Margaret Thatcher died after suffering from a stroke, or after a strike according to the epic typo from the BBC news website which can be seen below. I don’t really have much of an opinion on Thatcher’s politics because it’s not very easy to sort fact from fiction. A lot of people hated her, a lot of people worshiped the ground she walked upon. Having not lived through the larger part of her time in power an opinion I may have wouldn’t be very valid. But Soul Sanctuary would like to welcome Margaret Thatcher to the Afterlife, being our catchphrase and all. And wanted to share this awesome Zombie picture of Mrs. Thatcher in all her glory, eating flesh and swallowing souls. We would also like to dedicate our video Afterlife to the Iron Lady in her moment of passing.

Funny typo about Margaret Thatcher on the BBC News website:

“Welcome to the Cemetery, you’ll walk with grace amongst the dead. Living in a world that’s completely dead inside. Welcome to the Afterlife!”

What do you think about the death of Mrs. Thatcher, were you one of her supporters, were you one of her haters? Did she do anything good or bad for you while she was in power? Should we dedicate more blogs to famous people that have died? Let us know in the comments below. 🙂

Sempiternal Review: Bring Me The Horizon – Album Review by Luke Jon Gibson

April 3rd, 2013 by Luke

Credits:
Terry Date: Production
David Bendeth: Mixing

Bring Me The Horizon

Bring me the Horizon is a Metalcore/Post Hardcore band from Sheffield UK, currently made up of five members. Oliver Sykes (Vocals), Lee Malia (Lead Guitar), Matt Kean (Bass Guitar), Matt Nicholls (Drums), Jordan Fish (Synth & Keyboard). They have released four studio albums since 2004 when they formed.

Sempiternal: Review

Sempiternal is the New album from Bring Me The Horizon, which was officially released yesterday [2nd of April 2013]. Before now, I’d never paid much attention to BMTH, I heard various bits and pieces from their last three offerings over the years and honestly it just didn’t really grab me. I didn’t think it was bad, but nothing made it stand out for me. With this album that has been flipped on its head. I’ve been listening to this album a lot in the last few days, via their now “self-destructed” preview on www.sempiternal.info. I’m really impressed on many levels. I heard the band starting the move into exploring more melodic ideas in the predecessor of Sempiternal: There Is A Hell, Believe Me I’ve Seen It. There Is A Heaven, Lets Keep It A Secret. But this time I think they took it one step further and to a whole new level. I made the decision to purchase it after only hearing the first few tracks, so I visited Amazon and bought it there and then. Sempiternal is probably the first album I’ve ever bought on its release date. Saying that, I actually feel quite ashamed, being such a big music fanatic and that until now I’ve never purchased an album on the day of its release is pretty bad. Oh well, it now seems that BMTH have taken my virginity on that one. I feel 14 again! 😛

CAN YOU FEEL MY HEART

Sempiternal kicks off with CAN YOU FEEL MY HEART which pulls in with a strange melodic “ah” sound cut into a choppy staccato melody via what sounds like excessive autotune. At first it struck me as odd, and didn’t sit with me well, but it quickly grew on me as an essential hook of the track. The first thing you notice about this track is that although Oli Sykes still screams in a hardcore style vocal, it’s been altered from the flat monotone sound that had never really got my attention, into a more melodic and much more exciting style. Even more of a surprise came when I heard him sing in a completely clean tone, I will admit I’m not familiar enough with the previous album to know if Sykes attempted any sort of melodic vocals there, but for me this album is the first time I had heard him stray from the path of standard hardcore vocalists. The track has an almost dubstep feel to it, which I can only imagine was helped along by the addition of BMTH’s new Keyboard man Jordan Fish. With booming synth under Lee Malia distorted guitars, layered with a thick dashing of autotune and halftime drums. Does a sense of Skrillex’s collaboration with Korn comes to mind? It does for me. This track has definitely been added to my list of favourite tracks from 2013 so far.

THE HOUSE OF WOLVES

The second track on Sempiternal is THE HOUSE OF WOLVES which is a much more energized track, with a punchy hardcore punk vibe to the opening riff. Complimentary fast paced drumming from Matt Nicholls soon kicks in and Oli Sykes comes crashing in screaming the words “Show me a sign, show me a reason to give a solitary fuck about your goddamn beliefs. I’m going blind, but one thing’s clear. Death is the only salvation you’ll feel” although I think “Goddamn” is slightly cheesy and might have been better off being worded slightly differently, it fits and shows the angry intention of the track and its anti-theistic theme. It lets you know Oli has got something to be seriously pissed about. The melodic style chorus really adds a great dimension to what could have been a pretty a straight forward hardcore musing. When the song hits the breakdown/middle eight with the awesomely catchy hook “And when you die, the only kingdom you’ll see, is two-foot wide and six foot deep!” You really can’t help, but want to sing/scream along. The track continues to rage until the end blasts out in a blaze of glory.

EMPIRE (LET THEM SING)

Track three is up next, titled EMPIRE (LET THEM SING) which introduces Mr. Sykes screaming almost completely solo with only a small amount of soundscaping to add subtle atmospherics to his tone. As the intro progresses, a distorted guitar is introduced slowly into the left speaker as it fades up to the climax “Let them sing, let them SING!” unleashing some almighty mosh pit inducing riffage layered with dark symphonic overtones that is sure to create chaos and cause injury to a notable percentage of their young and boisterous fan base. Littered with beautiful soundscaping and amazing production values this tune really gets the blood pumping and the heart beating, with a healthy dose of head banging for good measure.

SLEEPWALKING

The opening of SLEEPWALKING wouldn’t raise an eyebrow placed on a Linkin Park album with it’s reverb soaked pad sounds and futuristic vibe that is intertwined throughout most of LP’s music. In fact the whole song feels very Linkin Park even the vocal melody and lyrics hints at influences that make me recall fond memories of Hybrid Theory and Meteorafrom my teens. That certainly doesn’t take away from the sense of euphoria that it induces upon impact, oscillating the membranes of my eardrums. The sound is sweet and full of succulent flavour, I will easily say this is one of the best/catchiest tracks on the album. The hook “It’s like I’m sleepwalking” gets caught in your brain like a genetically engineered bio weapon, designed to be as infectious as the common cold and as deadly as a strain of Ebola. A strain of Ebola that’s having a really fucking bad day. In a word this track is simply “Killer!” if this was released in the age where we still didn’t have the option of buying separate tracks unless released as single, (i.e. the Internet) this track would be worth the purchase of the whole album alone.

GO TO HELL, FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE

In my opinion Bring Me The Horizon have always had a clever sense of humour with their song titles and present many wonderful distortions of cultural references, although not strictly humourous, it certainly has a little tongue in cheek twist to the title GO TO HELL, FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE. This is another great offering from the Sheffield based 5 piece. Another track with an intro that probably wouldn’t sound out-of-place on a Linkin Park album. Sykes voice comes in with his more usual hardcore style over some very satisfyingly punchy toms and bass pedal work. Then comes a heavy pre-chorus before dropping out for a short moment of silence, where only a gentle bass synth rumbles in the background while a soft spoken vocal leads with the very bizarre lyric “When did the diamonds leave your bones?” which I either don’t know the particular reference or is meant to be purposely cryptic and lends itself to a sort of Deftones-esque void of logic. A beautifully gritty chorus with a melodic scream “I’m burning down every bridge we make, I’ll watch you choke on the hearts you break, I’m bleeding out every word you said, Go to hell for heaven’s sake” is superbly catchy and infection. My only gripe in this song is the use of the word “make” instead of “made” not only would it have sounded better, but it doesn’t quite make sense with the first part of the line sounding like it belongs in a past tense. How can Mr. Sykes be burning down bridges he hasn’t MADE yet? Or am I missing the point, and it’s actually a very clever micro black hole in logical thinking again? Only the boys from BMTH could answer that I guess. Other than my meaningless insignificant gripe, it’s a great track with lots of energy.

SHADOW MOSES

SHADOW MOSES was the first track I heard from Sempiternal, I had no idea that BMTH was about to release a new album, but while scrolling through the limited choices on Xbox live’s music channel, I decided to give it a try. I was instantly taken back by the new melodic style that Bring Me The Horizon had brought to the table. A sound that I hadn’t heard from them before, and when the killer heavy riff kicked in I was totally hooked. I probably raped the replay button at least 6 times before my other half decided she was getting pissed off at me for being a hog with the Xbox controller. So I went downstairs to find the video on YouTube and listen some more. I must admit I did laugh at all the comments on the video’s YouTube page about Oli Sykes sounding like he’s screaming “This is Sandpit Turtle” instead of “This is Sempiternal” during the middle eight of the song. But if I’m honest even if that’s what he was singing it wouldn’t affect the quality of the track. Although nothing to really do with the album in terms of how it sounds, the strange effect used in the music video for this song did become quite nauseating after a while. Overall though it was a wise choice to represent the album before it’s release, simply because it kicks a lot of ass!

AND THE SNAKES START TO SING

This track took a little longer to grow on me than the others before it, not because it’s any less of an awesome tune, but after 6 seriously pounding tracks, it felt like the low to the high I was only came a little too quickly. But after a few runs through the album, it’s certainly found it’s place, and it’s exactly where it belongs. Bring Me The Horizons new reverb drenched ballad is by far the most mellow track on the album and is very rich with Deftones influences from the album White Pony. Surprisingly it’s mostly what sounds like Sykes impersonating the Deftones frontman Chino Moreno with his overly breathy melodic whispers. It all works very nicely, the only real bad point of this track is the some of the snare rolls sound very unnatural against the background. Probably not Matt Nicholls (Drummer) or the bands fault, most likely whoever did the drum replacements, was being lazy with recreating any of the subtle dynamics that Nicholls probably intended. That’s just my opinion though, as a producer myself I felt it made the drums sound programmed and very over-produced. Still I wouldn’t say it takes away from the song in any major way.

SEEN IT ALL BEFORE

Up next we have SEEN IT ALL BEFORE, Sempiternal’s eighth track. The band push off with a very mellow lead in, which lends itself nicely to the previous track, but quickly changes direction into a fast paced riff that has an almost 80’s pop rock vibe to it. Although I can’t quite put my finger on what. On this track Oli brings back some more of his Deftones overtones in his vocals. This song has a nice use of dynamics throughout the duration of its short and sharp 4 minute lifespan. The chorus has a sweet catchy screamed melody that compliments all aspects of the sound spectrum flowing through the listeners speakers. At the end of the song it drifts out on a soft passage which slips into the night and disappears into a faint echo, before flatlining completely.

ANTIVIST

By the very high standards of Sempiternal as an album, thus far. In terms of lyrical merit I don’t feel ANTIVIST delivers its message as thoughtfully as the rest of the album. Although it isn’t a bad thing to come down from your pedestal to say what you mean without remorse, or beating around the bush. The style of the lyrics sounds like they were only used for their apparent shock value. Obviously not shocking to anyone who is intelligent enough to understand words are only as offensive as you let them be. But to me it sounded somewhat forced, it felt like the sole intention of this track was designed to make the overprotective parents of teenage girls want to write angry letters, and post them to worthless newspaper columns. It lets the track down a bit, but that being said the somewhat cheesy, but still insanely catchy hook “Middle fingers up, if you don’t give a fuck! Think you’re changing anything? Question everything!” is a lot of fun to sing to. It still contains some great hooks, and the the carnage of djent style guitars after screaming the word’s “I think you’re a CUNT!” does have a certain appeal to my own inner rebellious child that likes to come out when I’ve had too much to drink. TMI?

CROOKED YOUNG

CROOKED YOUNG is another track based on an anti-theistic theme. This time it’s probably more obvious, with the line “Fuck your faith!” being a much more direct way of sticking a middle finger up at organised religion and the god fearing folk of planet Earth. The track comes belting in with a mix of Matt’s fast paced drumming and low mixed guitar work from Lee Malia and Matt Kean’s bass, which gives way to a classical sounding piece of string music complementing the instrumentation in a very satisfying way. After the intro section, the sound drops into a more classical sounding Bring Me The Horizon sound that many fans with be familiar with. The song slows its pace with sections of more reverb soaked symphonic compositions that add a lot of atmospherics to the songs. The lyrical content of this track, although still containing some elements of the shock value from the previous song, feel much more polished and well thought out. Eventually the song builds to a climax and then burns out like a candle on crack!

HOSPITAL FOR SOULS

The eleventh hour is upon us and also the eleventh and final track of the album. HOSPITAL FOR SOULS begins with a soft ambience that rings out under Oli Speaking about how hard it is to change, and learning valuable life lessons. The musical style of this number goes back round full circle with a dubstep style intro of slow thumping drums and bass overloaded synth that could kill a small rodent at fifty feet. Sykes showcases a fairly long scream (for him) of the lyrics “Watch me BURN!” repeated several times throughout. Although not more than about 5 seconds long, from the live performances I have seen of Oli, I’m interested to see if he’s able to pull it off. His screams sound great on record but live his technique rags his throat very quickly. The vocal has obviously been majorly tampered with in places, but it’s hard to tell if it’s just an artistic choice or not, the effect is littered on many accented screams throughout the entire album, so it’s more than likely it’s simply for artistic reasons. The track then goes on to settle down into a prolonged mellow buildup before the album chimes in with the final hook laced with gritty guitars and more orchestral overtones playing in the background, which add a lot of character to the soundscaping. Soon after, the track wraps up the curtain drops, the band takes its bow and as quickly as it had started, it was all over again. At least for now!

Final Thoughts on Sempiternal

I would personally put this album on par with albums like Hybrid Theory and White Pony, the latter of which is probably helped by the fact Sempiternal was produced by Terry Date who did many of Deftones albums. Although it’s hard to see Sempiternal as being the same kind of game changer as Hybrid Theory in terms of impact on the music industry. I do believe the quality of the songs is of the same calibre and mass appeal without pandering. If you don’t like LP that probably sounds like an insult, I could imagine many BMTH fans disliking the comparison, but Hybrid Theory was and still is a great album which brings back many fond memories, as I’m sure Sempiternal will for many, in successive generations. I think this album will stand the test of time far better than their previous works, but ironically only time will tell if I’m right. So we’ll have to wait and see. Overall I would give this album a solid 9/10.

What’s your favourite track on the album? Are you already a Bring Me The Horizon Fan? Or are you like me and feel this latest album is enough to make you change your mind about them? Have you bought their album? If so how do you feel about it? Let us know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading guys, I know it was long, but I had a lot to say about the album.

Stay Awesome
Stay Metal \m/

You can purchase Sempiternal here
. Also go check out the official video for Shadow Moses below.

Needabeat: Find The Beat You Need With Crowdsourced Music Competitions

April 3rd, 2013 by Luke

Needabeat is a crowdsourced music competition website that I came across the other day and felt that I should share it with you. I know this isn’t my usual kind of post, but bear with me. The site is primary focused on the Hip-Hop/Jazz/Pop genre’s but that doesn’t it’s not useful for find resources when producing rock/metal music. The site is in it’s early days, but I think it has a lot of potential.

It’s no secret that crowdsourcing has become a very popular format in recent years, designed as a way to get what you need at an affordable price with the benefit of not risking putting all of your eggs in one basket. If you’re not familiar with the idea of crowdsourcing. It is the concept that instead of paying and relying on one individual to be able to give you what you want. You can offer prize money or simply something of value to a public forum, or group of people (usually with the help of a site like Needabeat or Kickstarter) and let them either all contribute small parts for a large combined effort or allow them to compete and provide their best work in an effort to win a fixed amount of prize money, which is usually agreed upon beforehand.

How Wikipedia defines crowdsourcing:

“Crowdsourcing is the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people, and especially from an online community, rather than from traditional employees or suppliers.”

Needabeat’s primary function is to crowdsource musical needs through competitions for small to large prizes, I have seen another site in this sort of vain before but was tailored for much bigger artists with a lot more money, so unless you have thousands of dollars to play with which you’re willing to put up for a project, then more than likely Needabeat is a much more accessible site for artists who haven’t made it rich and famous yet.

So how does it work exactly?

• Step one: Start a contest – Start a free music contest and choose from a large source of high quality entries provided by experienced beat producers and singers.
• Step Two: Pick a winner – After the music competition has ended, users get to choose one of the submitted entries which suits their needs best.
• Step Three: Exchange – During the final stage of the process, music competition creators provide the prize money in exchange for the beat or vocal samples they wish to purchase.

In the spirit of safety and fairness

Upon the completion of a contest, Needabeat creates a new transaction on the dashboard of the contest holder and the contest winner. The contest holder is then instructed to pay the prize. After the completion of the payment, Needabeat notify the winner that the money has been received and ask them to upload the complete beat or vocal. After the upload, Needabeat transfer the prize to the winner and both parties are able to provide feedback about each other afterwards.

The music competition prizes range anywhere from a few dollars, up to a few hundred. The service is open for anyone to join, compete or crowdsource any piece of music they may require.

The site is split into 3 main section which are as follows:

The Marketplace

The Marketplace is where users can start a new competition, which is completely free to do. The place where people can start a new beat or voice contest and talented producers and singers can submit their entries.

Beats & Vocals

The Beats & Vocals section is a database filled with beats from the sites producers. Fortunately if someone doesn’t have the time to run a Music contest, Beats & Vocals has the option to pick out and purchase whatever unique beats they may require when time is of the essence.

Producers & Singers

Producers & Singers is an area dedicated to the artists on the site. For people looking to hire a beat producer or singer to help create their musical projects. The section contains profiles and portfolios from a selection of artists ready for hire.

Overall Needabeat is well designed and user-friendly which presents a professional level tool for their users. Although I’m not majorly into the Hip-Hop genre, the primary focus of this websites user base. The samples they provide can be very useful for rock music production purposes if they are in the right hands. I’ve always enjoyed cross pollinating genres from all different walks of life. Needabeat simply gives me access to a different kind of resource.

If you are interested in the idea of crowdsourcing some stuff and think this might be what you need go visit NeedaBeat’s website, and check out their music competitions.

Stay Awesome 🙂

Fear Factory’s Former Bassist Auditions For Machine Head Tour, You Can Too

April 2nd, 2013 by Luke

Fear Factory‘s Former bassist Christian Olde Wolbers recently posted a video clip on Facebook of him “auditioning” for the currently empty bassist position in the band Machine Head. Which can be checked out below.

Olde Wolbers was Fear Factory’s bassist up until the year 2002, but after Fear Factory had a falling out with then guitarist Dino AKA “Fat Bastard” he was prompted to take up the guitar for the band until 2008.

Interesting Fact:

Contrary to the fact that he had been the bass player in Fear Factory for near on 10 years, Olde Wolbers spent the first part of his career in the music business as a guitar player, where he held several positions in bands located in Christian’s home country of Belgium, before joining Fear Factory in 1993.

In August 1999 during an interview, Olde Wolbers told RoughEdge.com the story of how his decision to join the band Fear Factory came about, and how it pivoted on the suggestion of his friend Evan Seinfeld (the front man of Biohazard). A suggestion which influenced him to make the original switch to the bass guitar.

“Evan Seinfeld [Biohazard frontman] had seen me playing upright bass in a rockabilly band on the street in Belgium back in ’90 or ’91,” He said. “He always thought I was a bass player. I had always played guitar in metal bands and hardcore bands. And [during a night hanging out together] he said, ‘Oh, you’re a bass player, I have a band for you!’ I kept telling him ‘I’m not a bass player, I’m a guitar player now.’ But he said, ‘Fear Factory needs a bass player — you’re a bass player and you’d be perfect.’ ”

Olde Wolbers continued “And I’d actually heard of Fear Factory because someone told me about them while I was still in Europe. However, I really wasn’t into the death metal scene too much, but I knew they were different. When I went to the audition and I was blown away when I saw Raymond [Herrera, Fear Factory Drummer] playing — I said, ‘Alright, I’ll play bass.’ So I borrowed a bass from Evan and auditioned for a couple of days right before a tour with Sepultura and then I knew I was going to do the tour. After the sepultura tour, the rest of the guys said, ‘Do you want to be in the band?’ I said, ‘Hell yeah!’ ”

So do you think you can out play Christian Olde Wolbers on the bass? If so, you might just be interested to hear that Machine Head’s auditions for the bass player slot are open to the public. Machine Head who are based in San Francisco Bay Area, are on the hunt for a bassist who can fill the shoes of temporary bass player able to perform at this year’s Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival tour.

In an attempt to find the right man for the job of playing the duration of the Mayhem festival, Machine Head posted to the Facebook page of nearly 800,000 fans, asking for anyone interested in filling the bass player position. They asked for fans to post video clips of themselves singing and playing bass along to three tracks: “This Is The End”, “Halo” and “Beautiful Mourning”.

After Machine Head narrows down potential candidates, they will be holding live auditions in person at a currently undisclosed location.

If you wish to take part in the Machine Head auditions click here to find out how to get involved.

You can support bands like Machine Head, by clicking here and buying some of their music! DO IT NOW!

Christian Olde Wolbers audition video: