AB VI Studio/Recording Thread

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RevenantGB
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Re: AB VI Studio/Recording Thread

Post by RevenantGB »

Has anyone noticed how nasal Myles sounds now for the mixed/higher notes, particularly for In The Deep? As much as I want to ignore it and just enjoy the song I can't help but notice. In The Deep's bridge and the vocal melody just before the final chorus are great examples.

I'm not sure if this is a stylistic choice or simply the effect of age, but compared to the vocals on Fortress it's not as pleasing in my opinion. Still my favourite singer by a long shot though.
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Re: AB VI Studio/Recording Thread

Post by ToNsOFuN88 »

So this may or may not be a really dumb suggestion, but I'll say it for those like me who always listen to their AB with their head phones all the way up. As far as production goes, I'll admit that I do hear a bit of layered muddyness at times (though its never been enough to turn me off to the music, and I think people overreact at how bad it is). For example, I've never been able to hear what exactly that riff before the chorus of Pay No Mind was doing. Until last night. Idk why but I didn't have my headphones up nearly as loud as I usually do, and I was surprised to noticed that I was hearing guitar parts and little intricacies so much more clearly. Some stuff I've never even noticed before. You guys that don't like the production ever try listening with head phones on a lower volume? Maybe I'm wrong, but last night that lower volume was where the production really seemed to shine, every song I went back and listened to that I had struggles with before sounded great for the most part. Like I said idk if that's a dumb suggestion to try, but try it if you typically listen to AB full blast like I do.

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Re: AB VI Studio/Recording Thread

Post by DarkKnight12 »

ToNsOFuN88 wrote:So this may or may not be a really dumb suggestion, but I'll say it for those like me who always listen to their AB with their head phones all the way up. As far as production goes, I'll admit that I do hear a bit of layered muddyness at times (though its never been enough to turn me off to the music, and I think people overreact at how bad it is). For example, I've never been able to hear what exactly that riff before the chorus of Pay No Mind was doing. Until last night. Idk why but I didn't have my headphones up nearly as loud as I usually do, and I was surprised to noticed that I was hearing guitar parts and little intricacies so much more clearly. Some stuff I've never even noticed before. You guys that don't like the production ever try listening with head phones on a lower volume? Maybe I'm wrong, but last night that lower volume was where the production really seemed to shine, every song I went back and listened to that I had struggles with before sounded great for the most part. Like I said idk if that's a dumb suggestion to try, but try it if you typically listen to AB full blast like I do.
You should take care of your ears mate, and try to keep that volume down as much as possible haha. Idk what kind of headphone do you use but maybe try to invest in some that silence the sound of your surrounding so that you don’t have to listen to music so loud. Anyway you do whatever you want to of course !! Just thought i’d Preach some ears prevention since our boy Myles have tinnitus ^^

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Re: AB VI Studio/Recording Thread

Post by ToNsOFuN88 »

DarkKnight12 wrote:
ToNsOFuN88 wrote:So this may or may not be a really dumb suggestion, but I'll say it for those like me who always listen to their AB with their head phones all the way up. As far as production goes, I'll admit that I do hear a bit of layered muddyness at times (though its never been enough to turn me off to the music, and I think people overreact at how bad it is). For example, I've never been able to hear what exactly that riff before the chorus of Pay No Mind was doing. Until last night. Idk why but I didn't have my headphones up nearly as loud as I usually do, and I was surprised to noticed that I was hearing guitar parts and little intricacies so much more clearly. Some stuff I've never even noticed before. You guys that don't like the production ever try listening with head phones on a lower volume? Maybe I'm wrong, but last night that lower volume was where the production really seemed to shine, every song I went back and listened to that I had struggles with before sounded great for the most part. Like I said idk if that's a dumb suggestion to try, but try it if you typically listen to AB full blast like I do.
You should take care of your ears mate, and try to keep that volume down as much as possible haha. Idk what kind of headphone do you use but maybe try to invest in some that silence the sound of your surrounding so that you don’t have to listen to music so loud. Anyway you do whatever you want to of course !! Just thought i’d Preach some ears prevention since our boy Myles have tinnitus ^^
It's a little late for that, but I do take better care than I used to. I ALWAYS used to have my head phones in as kid. I remember being a young teen and reading Harry Potter books and listening to Linkin Park at the same time. I always used to sleep with my headphones on every night. It was bad, and my hearing has definitely took a hit. I just like the way the music hits when it's loud, especially those big AB choruses. You know that setting on phones that warns you that listening to music too loud can damage hearing? I've literally never listened to AB in headphones below that recommended level until last night. It's pretty ridiculous. That's why I said my suggestion might be really dumb, because I might be the only one dumb enough to never have listened to AB at a safe level lol. The production really did sound so much better at the "safe" volume levels though.

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Re: AB VI Studio/Recording Thread

Post by Ubik »

peapod0609 wrote:Not sure if someone posted this before, but a newer interview with Myles.

Not a ton of new info, but he did mention that In the Deep was his personal favorite on the new album.

https://www.thehypemagazine.com/2019/09 ... usic-more/
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Re: AB VI Studio/Recording Thread

Post by Arctic »

First that reviewer had In the Deep on the list of best tracks, and Myles is saying it as well. I don’t get it. It’s an extremely short song for Alter Bridge comprised mostly of chorus. This is why I trust Marks judgment more, lol, his favorite is Godspeed which is probably way better than ITD.
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Re: AB VI Studio/Recording Thread

Post by Timotheus »

Arctic wrote:It’s an extremely short song for Alter Bridge comprised mostly of chorus.
So is Ties That Bind. Fantastic song, I'd say.
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Re: AB VI Studio/Recording Thread

Post by mycarhasabs »

I def received some mixed opinions on a post I made about this on Ao12.

I too am a bit surprised at how negative the reactions are from the fans this go round. I think the obvious reason their music is sounding vastly different from past entries before an album release is they're taking a strong shot at garnering more radio play. This next part is where I pissed some people off.. but secretly 'sorry not sorry'.

People who still listen to the radio as their primary source of music discovery.. suck. I can't stand those people because they're the source of the problem in the music industry. They're the reason why we have musical artists (who I don't doubt are talented in their own ways) cranking out this corporate 'made on computer' bull s***. Your Post Malone's, Cardi B, Lil Wayne, Fall Out Boy, Bhad Bahby (cash me outside girl). All of these artists are glorified on the radio as being the 'creme de la creme' of the music industry. This is my opinion so I understand if I have some disagreements, but the vast majority of their music is complete trash. It's uninspiring, it's not creative nor artistic, and it's slowly weathering down the core of music culture in this country. Again, my opinion.. but the vast majority of the radio is complete trash. The radio is merely an outlet that tells it's listeners what to listen to and who to root for. That's it.

With that being said, I think if you want radio play now.. you have to water your music down a bit. It has to be cut down to a certain length, it has to be appealing to a particular crowd. Here's a few analogies I'd like to tack on to this theory:

1) I work at an advertising agency. I'm a graphic designer. If a client tells me they need a 10 second animation using this particular music and this and that 'creative direction', the end result is going to be very simplified. Versus... "hey here's an idea, it can be any length for a video, use any colors, surprise us! Creative is totally open". 10 fold, I'm going to do some of my best work in this scenario as my creativity is unrestricted.

2) I'm a craft beer enthusiast. My office throws monthly happy hours in the cafe area. When it's my departments' turn to host, I'm in charge of getting the beer. Personally,.. I love a good bourbon barrel aged stout or really earthy DIPA. However, as vastly superior as those styles may be in complexity to more 'simpler beers' like a Kolsch, or a Lager. I have to understand that my taste buds do not much my fellow coworkers. I have to 'please a crowd'. So I'm going to 'water down' my selection and variety a bit in order to have a high turnout for the 'mainstream' beer drinkers. However, if I'm hosting a party for nothing but Craft Beer snobs, you but your a** I'm going all out and getting nothing but the good stuff.

This is just like getting on the radio, you have to 'please a crowd' and I'm sorry to say, that crowd in my opinion are musically illiterate. Tim has been really pushing the fans to ask their local radio stations this time around and I think that's very strong evidence to back up my 'radio playability' theory. Some of the hardcore fans appreciate the new singles. Others like myself notice something's a little "off". Despite all of that, I'm very confident we have yet to hear the best this album has to offer.

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Re: AB VI Studio/Recording Thread

Post by anguyen92 »

I don't want think that something is off with AB. To me, it's not like Shinedown or Skillet where I hear some recent singles from them and I found myself not liking them as much as the stuff that they have done to really showcase themselves. I still find the songs that AB have released so far to be still top-tier in comparison of its contemporaries.

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Re: AB VI Studio/Recording Thread

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Re: AB VI Studio/Recording Thread

Post by Blackbirddd »

Timotheus wrote:
Arctic wrote:It’s an extremely short song for Alter Bridge comprised mostly of chorus.
So is Ties That Bind. Fantastic song, I'd say.
Yeah but TTB doesn't slow down after a great intro and riff as In The Deep

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Re: AB VI Studio/Recording Thread

Post by Blackbirddd »

mycarhasabs wrote:I def received some mixed opinions on a post I made about this on Ao12.

I too am a bit surprised at how negative the reactions are from the fans this go round. I think the obvious reason their music is sounding vastly different from past entries before an album release is they're taking a strong shot at garnering more radio play. This next part is where I pissed some people off.. but secretly 'sorry not sorry'.

People who still listen to the radio as their primary source of music discovery.. suck. I can't stand those people because they're the source of the problem in the music industry. They're the reason why we have musical artists (who I don't doubt are talented in their own ways) cranking out this corporate 'made on computer' bull s***. Your Post Malone's, Cardi B, Lil Wayne, Fall Out Boy, Bhad Bahby (cash me outside girl). All of these artists are glorified on the radio as being the 'creme de la creme' of the music industry. This is my opinion so I understand if I have some disagreements, but the vast majority of their music is complete trash. It's uninspiring, it's not creative nor artistic, and it's slowly weathering down the core of music culture in this country. Again, my opinion.. but the vast majority of the radio is complete trash. The radio is merely an outlet that tells it's listeners what to listen to and who to root for. That's it.

With that being said, I think if you want radio play now.. you have to water your music down a bit. It has to be cut down to a certain length, it has to be appealing to a particular crowd. Here's a few analogies I'd like to tack on to this theory:

1) I work at an advertising agency. I'm a graphic designer. If a client tells me they need a 10 second animation using this particular music and this and that 'creative direction', the end result is going to be very simplified. Versus... "hey here's an idea, it can be any length for a video, use any colors, surprise us! Creative is totally open". 10 fold, I'm going to do some of my best work in this scenario as my creativity is unrestricted.

2) I'm a craft beer enthusiast. My office throws monthly happy hours in the cafe area. When it's my departments' turn to host, I'm in charge of getting the beer. Personally,.. I love a good bourbon barrel aged stout or really earthy DIPA. However, as vastly superior as those styles may be in complexity to more 'simpler beers' like a Kolsch, or a Lager. I have to understand that my taste buds do not much my fellow coworkers. I have to 'please a crowd'. So I'm going to 'water down' my selection and variety a bit in order to have a high turnout for the 'mainstream' beer drinkers. However, if I'm hosting a party for nothing but Craft Beer snobs, you but your a** I'm going all out and getting nothing but the good stuff.

This is just like getting on the radio, you have to 'please a crowd' and I'm sorry to say, that crowd in my opinion are musically illiterate. Tim has been really pushing the fans to ask their local radio stations this time around and I think that's very strong evidence to back up my 'radio playability' theory. Some of the hardcore fans appreciate the new singles. Others like myself notice something's a little "off". Despite all of that, I'm very confident we have yet to hear the best this album has to offer.
What doesn't make sense to me it's why would you try to get radio plays on your sixth album :/

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Re: AB VI Studio/Recording Thread

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SamarthJoshi wrote:New interview with Myles.

https://myglobalmind.com/2019/09/14/myl ... the-studio
"On previous records, we approached it differently where Mark and I would put parts together, but with all the touring, it was impossible."

This is not great, at least IMO. AB has always been stronger together with Mark/Myles contributing to each song, and now it seems that all the side projects could actually be harming the band for the first time. Instead of waiting till they could write together, they hit the 3 year mark and since the album *had* to come out, just turned in whatever.
anguyen92 wrote:I don't want think that something is off with AB. To me, it's not like Shinedown or Skillet where I hear some recent singles from them and I found myself not liking them as much as the stuff that they have done to really showcase themselves. I still find the songs that AB have released so far to be still top-tier in comparison of its contemporaries.
That's just your opinion, as a lot of people other than yourself do find something to be off with AB this round. And as far as being in comparison with their contemporaries, it's not their competition they should be compared with so much as it should be themselves. Just because I can listen to a band I think sucks (Breaking Benjamin, Shinedown or Skillet, for example) and AB's latest singles are better in comparison doesn't necessarily mean they are good, just that they are better in comparison of what I consider to be turds. I can go listen to the first 4 albums, then listen to these singles and think "Wow, how could a band capable of writing songs like Blackbird, WDTTW, Cry of Achilles and more put out new stuff such as this?" The tracks just aren't nearly in the same echelon, and I understand they may just be the singles, but the fact that Myles and two interviewers both consider two of those single tracks to be the best the album has to offer is worrying. I understand music is subjective, but I really don't see how people think this new material (so far) lives up the standards set by other albums.
Last edited by DCooper727 on Sun Sep 15, 2019 2:32 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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Re: AB VI Studio/Recording Thread

Post by DCooper727 »

*Accidentally double posted*

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Re: AB VI Studio/Recording Thread

Post by DCooper727 »

Did it again, somehow. Jesus.

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Re: AB VI Studio/Recording Thread

Post by Dolo »

DCooper727 wrote:
This is not great, at least IMO. AB has always been stronger together with Mark/Myles contributing to each song, and now it seems that all the side projects could actually be harming the band for the first time. Instead of waiting till they could write together, they hit the 3 year mark and since the album *had* to come out, just turned in whatever.
Wait, I'm lost. It is better for them to piece puzzles together or to write separately? When they did it together people complained (including myself), now they wrote separately in such a way that one of them was responsible for a whole song and people are complaining again?
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Re: AB VI Studio/Recording Thread

Post by Blackbirddd »

Dolo wrote:
DCooper727 wrote:
This is not great, at least IMO. AB has always been stronger together with Mark/Myles contributing to each song, and now it seems that all the side projects could actually be harming the band for the first time. Instead of waiting till they could write together, they hit the 3 year mark and since the album *had* to come out, just turned in whatever.
Wait, I'm lost. It is better for them to piece puzzles together or to write separately? When they did it together people complained (including myself), now they wrote separately in such a way that one of them was responsible for a whole song and people are complaining again?
I think people are complaining now because of the songs they have released with this formula, which is valid :shrug

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Re: AB VI Studio/Recording Thread

Post by One Drew Remains »

I'm not judging anything until I hear these tracks within the context of the entire record.
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9/17/11, 5/02/14, 10/16/14, 10/08/16, 1/28/17, 5/13/17, 12/08/17, 10/14/19, 8/17/23

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Re: AB VI Studio/Recording Thread

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Dolo wrote:
DCooper727 wrote:
This is not great, at least IMO. AB has always been stronger together with Mark/Myles contributing to each song, and now it seems that all the side projects could actually be harming the band for the first time. Instead of waiting till they could write together, they hit the 3 year mark and since the album *had* to come out, just turned in whatever.
Wait, I'm lost. It is better for them to piece puzzles together or to write separately? When they did it together people complained (including myself), now they wrote separately in such a way that one of them was responsible for a whole song and people are complaining again?
That's not what I said. They've written songs together since Blackbird, which was my point, and IMO, the tracks have been generally composed better than them now being apart. I never mentioned puzzle piecing. Really feels like you're just being dismissive that people have criticisms. If anyone doesn't like something the guys did and mentions it, it is now complaining.

On a related note, I feel it's rather sad that the band has now admitted that they don't even have time to write a record together anymore due to side projects.

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Re: AB VI Studio/Recording Thread

Post by Ubik »

DCooper727 wrote: That's not what I said. They've written songs together since Blackbird, which was my point, and IMO, the tracks have been generally composed better than them now being apart. I never mentioned puzzle piecing. Really feels like you're just being dismissive that people have criticisms. If anyone doesn't like something the guys did and mentions it, it is now complaining.

On a related note, I feel it's rather sad that the band has now admitted that they don't even have time to write a record together anymore due to side projects.
He's making a general point, that people used to complain about the puzzle-piece songwriting, and said they should write songs on their own so they don't feel so jigsaw like. And they did complain about it, I remember it happening a LOT before Fortress in particular.

It's cool if you don't like the stuff so far, but let's at least wait for the whole album before dismissing the new method. If it turns up and Dying Light is the only stellar one, I'll agree.
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