Also Mozart wrote the first Grind fecal songs: "Leck mir den Arsch fein Recht schön sauber" (lick my ass quite nicely clean) and "Leck mich im Arsch" (Lick me in my ass), the latter one being a canon for six voices.
Also I'd strongly recommend for anybody playing live: Always record your own playing, not only the whole band but your playing. And then listen to it, no matter how painful it is to listen as you only can improve by listening to the mistakes you make and then learn to do it better.
If you never hear yourself, you'll never know how much you suck. My old bandmates used to tell me "if you listen to your own music you're cocky" fuck that, I make the music I want to hear, and listen to myself and critique. They don't. They are awful in the studio and take forever to hit a take, or find out what they're playing is wrong and off. I'm very well known here at home for being a one take guy and much easier to work with. All because I take the time to listen to myself and figure out how to work better.
This!!! Also this might be a little out of topic, but I think it’s also very important to watch yourself playing in real time. Get a big body mirror, or at least big enough so it can reflect your playing. Get your techniques right!
i stream on twitch when i practice so i have a video and audio that i can review without needing to host it myself lol, but yeah this is fantastic advice, if you review your tapes you can really identify areas you need to improve on
I’m sure you may have, but explore some recent bands in the hardcore genre. I love their “kill’em all/ride the lightening” production outcome. Real kicks, real mic’ed amps and no metronomes. The vocal styles of “hardcore” is usually what keeps these group from becoming giants, maybe by choice. Ekulu band is one example. The guitars and drums are so damn tasty.
@@santiagoj9042 The main guitarist also plays in Illusion (hardcore band). A previous record with same vocalist and guitarist is Countdown (hardcore band)(on RUclips too). Turnstile and Candy, there’s a lot of good hardcore. Malevolence out of England is great too.
#7.5 - Vocals - especially backing vocals - make the record. The whole record. Never just track the lead vocal as a single track, double it, harmonise it, add incidental vocals, gang vocals, call and response, change up the effects, add distortion, vary the sound between songs, whatever, just give the vocals a lot of love.
NO matter if you like or hate Ghost the leader Tobias Forge understood this so despite not wanting to originally be the vocalist he put in as much effort as he could and has masterful harmonies on every track.
Vince nailed it on Too Fast For Love, I’m pretty sure he doubled his vocals and the offset them in some parts. Reverb too, the perfect amount makes or breaks a song/record.
Gang vocals? LOL! Is that an edgy way to say a chorus? I know we think a chorus is a part of a song, but actually the word refers to a group of singers who perform together. They’re singing in a chorus. Gang vocals LMAOOOO!! 🤣
I think the only thing that could be added would be: Remember you're doing this because it's fun and you enjoy playing! No one ever talks about how playing music is supposed to be fun, you're supposed to get some joy out of writing music, not turn it into a soul sucking grind. We have call center jobs to do that.
I can't stress enough how important is that harmonizing tip. Most groups can't pull off dense harmonies, and those that can immediately rise above. Voice lessons can help a lot and are absolutely worth the investment.
Geebz, Finn/PRMBA, Beato, Dines, Glenn fuggin Fricker. All I need is for Marc Rebillet to do a live set in Spectre under Frickers faders, and Fantano to slap bass. Only then, the 42 ways to Kevin Bacon is complete.
Introspection, humanity & giving a flying f-ck about other people besides oneself also, alas among many other important things, is grossly lacked by violent unthinking stupid humans. Get an act, humans! ffsakes and asafp!
Even as a solo 12-string acoustic performer, I have always treated every performance like it was MSG. Even a handful of people who cared enough to come see me play at a small cafe, deserve the same performance I would give to a full theater. There is no excuse for giving a half-hearted performance.
I actually would be as terrified as the number of people that is watching me. I can't even record a video without flaws (you can see in my channel if you don't want your ears and eyes anymore), don't matter how I try! Well, I'm way too far from playing live.
@@JubaDeMetalAlumínio I’ve performed quite a few concerts at this point in time and I don’t even get why you wouldn’t give every concert your best performance, if you love music and you wanna be a musician then I can’t even understand of not wanting to put in the work and perform great
The drummers I know that are the most vocal about the "don't need a metronome" are ironically the ones that can't keep a groove to save their lives. Funny enough they're the same ones that put the cymbals as close as possible to the drums, have fuckall dynamic control and bitch about the bleed.
If everyone can play to the click, they can play with each other. Had a drummer who couldn’t do it but woodshedded for a week and got it. Should be a thing that all players use when starting out.
@@friedrudibega6384 The first lessons on learning simple pieces on guitar in my music school were under the metronome, simply because without it the results would be a complete mess.
Couldn't agree more about the genre thing. In the last few years I've rediscovered my love for MCR (who I was obsessed with as a teenager in the mid 2000s), and with the benefit of hindsight I genuinely think they're one of the greatest rock bands of all time. Part of the reason for that is they don't sound like anyone else out there (barring the people who copied them), and part of the reason for that is because everyone in that band went into with such a broad range of influences. You can hear everything from Misfits to Maiden to Queen to Bowie in their music, but it still all sounds like them.
For Metal, you could also read Punk, Goth, Soul, Funk, Glam etc. The last point is spot on; writing about the issues, and gigging the songs, is great fun and therapeutic. Getting shit off your chest is a great release.
So much Metal today is so anemic sounding. Everything ultra polished. Perfected. Every guitar sounds lifeless and digital. No live vibe. No mistakes. Just robotic 1s and 0s on a 7 or 8 string.
@@lashedandscorned i agree. Theres plenty of inspired stuff out there too. Sometimes thw production is uber polished but you can find the organic stuff if you look. My thing has been instrumental prog for a bit and it sounds fucking great
It’s not just the polish. They’re playing the same shit, too. If they did something original, a robotic polished sound would be fine. “ *jun-jun jun-jun jun-jun growl, growl jun-jun jun-jun jun-jun growl scream* “ -Every metal band for the past 15 years
@@crescendo5594 thats not what i meant. I meant there are plenty of heavy and heavy ish bands that dont jun jun growl, you just gotta look. Their stuff sounds sterile sometimes at first look, so you might think its a jun jun growler, but hang a bit and youll see they atleast attempt some form of novelty. Whether they succeed is simply personal taste
One thing I love about Havok is that their lyrics are straight to the point and they're not afraid to say what they think. They get some controversy but that comes with a territory. Many modern bands are not nearly as brave. Even RATM are raging with/for the machine.
You can't take math out of music and stick some esoteric bullshit there instead. Do the same with photography, and you're doomed. Architecture? Nuff said. Painting and graphic design? Yeah, tell me you don't need to keep proportions and all to certain limits in order to keep your work “readable” by others, and the color choice/relationship fuckery is one of the most math heavy things in the universe. Every art requires strong knowledge of math and geometry, otherwise you're not gonna get “the quality”. Music is no exclusion.
This video is exactly what I needed. I’m 14 and I really want to make it big as a Metal band, but the main worry of making music is making sure it’s not generic. Thank you bro!
No one makes it big in metal anymore bro. Just play for the love of it. If you can sell 5,000 albums online that is success nowadays for tons of bands.
Include the interests of women in your music. The glam bands of the 80's did it, the emo bands of the 2000's did it. I hope you could be big just based off of the shear potency of your songwriting skills like Metallica or AC/DC, but it's a slim chance. Gotta sing about heartbreak and relationships, dawg.
Your best option for 'making it' in any style you choose is to put time into learning the industry and how to negotiate. What makes the biggest difference for a band mostly has nothing to do with their music.
Saying "good enough" was the biggest workflow improvement for me as a musician. Perfectionism really can get in the way on different levels. Focusing too much on the engineering side or playing techniques can kill musical inspiration pretty fast and the final song will be much better with a "good enough" approach. At least that seems to be the case for me. Done is better than perfect.
What you said is something I saw in the corporate world. Someone from the likes of marketing will come in and say "I want a button here" on the screen. "Um... the program isn't done yet. The fundamentals aren't in. This will delay the product." Higher up will come in and say "No, we need this button". It took this movement of the MVP (Minimally Viable Product) to get them told "RELEASE SOMETHING THAT WORKS FOR GOD'S SAKE!" for them to get the idea that "oh, we can actually make money if something is actually released". This is a computer program though and not music, but I feel there's overlap. Yeah, you can modify a program for years, but if you have a program that's done, you have something done that can make money. In fact, overdoing it in the modifications can delay your program to where it never gets released, or force your company to pay people overtime to get it done on schedule.
Martin, I wholeheartedly agree. I'd just point out the difference in perspective of your "good enough" and the "good enough" Glenn mentioned. In your case, "good enough" is in reference to something that's actually good, just not absolutely perfect. Whereas in Glenn's examples, "good enough" means shoddy work with the expectation of someone else spending an inexcusable amount of time fixing garbage. You're both very right, it's just different perspectives.
Thank you Glenn !! I couldn’t agree more ! We actually went to record our upcoming ep with Anssi Kippo (Children of Bodom) at Astia-studio. No metronome, no samples, no quantizing and we could not be happier. Our music started to live a life of it’s own and due to high standards and ambition, the end result is by far the best work we have ever done.
I am 65 years old and been in the music biz my whole life..played my first gig at 14..played with all types of bands from rock to new wave punk to country..opened a very successful sound company in 95 and did sound with everyone from Missy Elliott to POD..from Johnny Paycheck to Mary j Blidge...now I am a solo performer playing local bars and clubs classic rock music..I sing and play acoustic guitar...I ENJOY YOUR CHANNEL EVEN THOUGH ALL YOUR YELLING IS TIRESOME AT TIMES..I still enjoy the content and your advice is spot on from my experience..keep up the good work
Aretha Franklin's voice was Auto-Tuned on her last album. All these decades people were complaining about how she couldn't sing? Was that why she was famous?
6 minutes is a pretty risky length for song, especially if the riffs, verses, or chorus repeat over and over again. Fun Fact: Gar Samuelson is reason the Peace Sells song was 4 minutes, originally Dave wanted the song to be 8 minutes long! RIP Gar
@@graxjpg You're right, but most people listen and appreciate to lyrical music over instrumentals. Also this is just me speaking for myself but I cannot stand a lot of prog metal instrumentals.
Gar was one of the best metal drummers ever and in retrospect played so out of pocket for thrash but it worked so well. This man has jazz quality parts all over peace sells and killing is my business is crazy as well
Theres a video of Mustaine saying that Gar would often fall asleep in the studio behind the kit during reherseals or recordings, and just as he was about to fall Gar would wake up and do amazing fills all over the kit...the guy was so raw, jazzy and authentic its unbeliavable.
Throwing some oscillators and white noise on a drum track is definitely not sample replacement, we were doing that in recording school back when sample replacement plugins were a fortune and nobody had them. It's a great trick.
But I already have my 6505 profile, a Mesa 4x12 v30's IR, a horizon devices nano attack, and my guitars are tuned to Z, you are braking my heart Glenn.
2:29 Glenn: "Look, it's perfectly fine to be inspired by a great band, but when you wind up as a carbon copy of the band that inspired you, nobody is going to give a flying fuck." *Greta Van Fleet has entered the chat*
@@deanpavlovski I agree, I like their music. I can totally understand the people who think their sound is derivative but personally it doesn't come off that way to me, I hear a group of musicians who have come up together clearly inspired by bands like Zeppelin and Rush. They are an old school garage band and I have a lot of time for that, they can play together well and play well live while writing songs that shoutback to classics, but still have their own distinct sound. There is plenty of room for all kinds of music these days so I don't really understand why G.V.F. seem to receive so much disdain, no, they aren't the best thing ever, but it is still good quality music written and played by real musicians based on what they enjoyed. As you say, each to their own, but I think the level of criticism they receive is a little unwarranted.
@@deanpavlovski Back in the day, when they released their first album, Rush was a Led Zepellin's copycat; well, now we can see what they became - another huge influential band.
"Was it perfect? Not even close!" This is an excellent example of how the concept of perfection is itself imperfect. It might have been imperfect according to specific ideals (exact tempo in this case), but these ideals are simply tools. When good music is the real goal and ideals get in the way of good music, then strict adherence to these ideals become the real flaws.
I've been a long time watcher; love your content and realness. 2 years ago I decided to take vocal lessons so that I could have better training and have some tools to aid singers in the studio. The lessons I took were classical in nature thru a vocalist with their masters in vocal performance. It was very challenging in every way. It made me dig deep to get better, to understand the music and to understand myself. There are those who are music enthusiasts and there are musicians; musicians push themselves to get better while surrendering themselves to the music. Respect for the music is what's important, everything else will fall into place. Rock on ya'll and always keep pushing to be better!! Side Note Learn some Jazz if you want your metal to get some inspiration.
What I love about your vids is you basically sound like my inner rock muse screaming everything I’ve known since I was a kid and often forget these days. I don’t do as much rock these days, but most of this is true for all music (look up how the Beastie Boys made Ill Communication or Check Your Head) and, for myself, every time I pick up my guitar I’m trying to do these things.
I just wanted to say THANK YOU Glenn. I'm 52. Getting back into music after years of stepping away for many years, due to addiction and family problems. Now, I am free and healthy. Your channel, perspective, and advice, is sooooo helpful. So on-point. Shit that my ears need to hear. You inspire this old man a great deal! Thank you Glenn, for helping this ole' headbanger get back into the game. All love and respect from H-Town(Houston), Texas.💜☺👍
You have published some great content over the years but this is absolutely spectacular. Every tip in this video is a perfect gem. This video should be required viewing for anybody considering a career in music. Thank you for speaking the truth that people need to hear.
My snarky response to the title was going to be, "don't play metal," but your takes are outstanding. Just because metal is incredibly boring right now, from a fan point-of-view, doesn't mean it has to stay that way
Also fun fact about pre-sets, Kurt just used a Boss Ds-1 for his distortion, but since someone gave him a DOD Grunge Pedal, he would lie to guitar magazines and say he used that, when all it did was take up space on his board. Wonder how many people were fooled
Loving your content Glenn. I’ve been watching for years and never have you ceased from expending the truth to the masses. I had the opportunity to meet you at NAMM a couple years ago. Highlight of the weekend honestly.
My favorite episode! We gotta get back to letting music breathe and capture the energy of the band! You can teach nearly everything else, but finding that energy, takes guts. That should be our quest!
Wow great video! Glad I watched til the end! As an underground Hip Hop artist I can really relate to your approach even though I'm not into metal. Much respect and many thanks for creating such a cool informative video! 🙏🏽🤘🏼
This is something that everyone needed. Thank you for bringing the facts to light! I think Meshuggah did Monstricity Live off the floor... now that's what separates the musicians from the others
I was under the impression you usually start sounding like your influences in the beginning of your composing then you naturally evolve into your own style but I could easily be thinking about it wrong.
No that's very true, but that usually applies to a single musician's evolution, and not the whole process of an entire band being original which is what Glenn is talking about.
But yeah that definitely is usually the case with a musician though. a guitar virtuoso for example will openly list people who influenced how they play when at the same time people listen to that virtuoso play and think wow he's got a very original sound and play style because what you said in your comment is often the case.
About the last point. I don't personally have any interest in politics. I write lyrics about fantasy and Sci-fi. I've found that if you write songs about what you're interested in, it shows
I'm interested in society, government, history, the news daily soap opera, but unless your Zappa making fun of it, it comes off as heavy handed or it ages really poorly- people figured out RATM from Sony records are a wee bit hypocritical for example (and on the other side of the street, corporate pop country music is miserable for different reasons). It's an easy way to divide a potential audience long before people hear two notes.
I agree. Write about what interests you and write from your own experience. I also agree that politics does not go well with music. In the right hands, like Bob Dylan or Zappa, it can work. But overtly political material turns me off, even if I agree with the writer's point of view. That said, I can enjoy the music apart from the lyrics, so for me it's pretty easy to tune out the message.
I agree with Glenn, but I think it's better to take this list with a grain of salt. Maybe I'm reducing things to an absurd, but I think that being loyal to oneself and not to try to be someone else is the point. Going political or not, well, everything can be considered political because every positioning means a political positioning.
funny because while everyone wants to sound like them, they try to branch out instead (like when drum samples were all the rage, they decided to record the real thing again (albeit clearly quantized to a degree), maybe we'll see them doing it without metronome again like their old records)
Gosh I'm so happy for my band, and so on pointy with our present, it's good to realise you actualy have a message to spread, you all will hear about us (and hear us) in the near future!
This video is a perfect example of why I fucking love your videos and value your opinion. "It doesn't matter if you offend someone. Don't let others opinions determine your world view." Such perfect advice for an imperfect world. It's best advice this generation could get. Believe in what you believe, stand up for what you believe in, and just because someone says your opinion is wrong doesn't mean they're right. I wish all you musicians out there the very best of luck in all your musical endeavors.
Every person in the post hardcore band I played in during highschool came from a different style of music. Singer was obsessed with screamo and pop punk, bassist was obsessed with funk and and weird eclectic music, drummer was the best young jazz drummer in the city, and I taught myself to play guitar learning every John Mayer song there was and every Van Halen song I could figure out. It all came together in a very weird but cool sound. Hardcore funk/punk metal with jazz inspirations that could also play amazing acoustic versions of all our songs. The drummer was also a great pianist.
I'm just sayin, theres a lesson to be learned from polka. You will never see an accordion player performing for people that isnt happy. That old guy is having a fantastic time, hes thrilled to be there, and the energy bleeds over to the audience. Basically, get into that shit, don't be stiff and rigid, be fun. Be exciting, be worth seeing
I've made all the same mistakes as the clones. I just realized it too late and became a vanilla sausage. It's why I love Glenn shouting about using real drums. Share this vid bois and girl. Live capturing of the bones of the track needs to come back.
Love the vid, man. My band, Sacred Monster, has been doing stuff all down this list for years. We released our first album independently in 2019 to critical acclaim, got a vinyl deal with a record label, and even had to cancel our first tour due to COVID-19, sadly. The only difference is we joined because of our love of doom metal, not prog metal. But it’s the same thing: some people look at it as a competition, like I don’t sing like Ozzy Osbourne or our guitars aren’t drone-y enough. It’s weird what people will nitpick because we’re different, but we’re still doing okay. So cheers!
Man, that last bit hit hard. I’ve been in a rut with making music for a while cause I wanted to write songs that double as cinematic stories. There’s no reason I can’t. There’s so many different TV shows and movies attempting to push the envelope. There’s no reason I can’t. Edit: That Burp Master cut at the very end was priceless XD
"Violence shows a sheer lack of imagination" Fricker 2021, put that on a tshirt, it's like what the Anti Joker would say, make some real chaos why don't we.
The "Turn off the Metronome" part. I do agree partly but it requires extremely skilled, very experienced musicians and a total sum of a band rehearsing endless hours to achieve coherence which is not always the case. It is just to much to ask. I better suggest a simple metronome track with basic automation on your DAW.
1) "yeah, I bought this 9-string, 27-fret guitar with perfect intonation to make music" (proceeds to play 0111010101221001 and sweep picking as exercises) 2) "I use my kemper / mooer to go out to the PA so I don't use an amp" (the feedback and reaction of a real amp is lost) 3) "Yes, our music sounds perfectly in tune, quantized drums and the voices are tuned to perfection with melodine, that way we sound the most perfect on the album" (and when you see them live, they can't sound more different) 4) "we want our message to be understood clearly and strongly, to create awareness" (they proceed to sing with gutturals and screams, terrible pronunciation and forgetting the lyrics)
Sometimes screams work to convey a message, like in DSBM (Xasthur, Trist, Sadness) which adds to the atmosphere of "five seconds away from offing myself if a minor inconvenience happens".
One of the tricks I've used in the past to push a vocal performance is incrementally sneaking the vocal mic volume down in the headphone mix to try to get the singer to open up their pipes. I started doing this after noticing that the scratch vocal, though unusable for the final mix, was often a better performance because they needed to compete with the band in order to be heard. Nothing kills a song quite like a lackluster vocal performance. Obviously, it's a balance and you don't want to overdo it, but if the singer needs to really belt it out in order to hear themselves well, then they won't do the thing where they sing at like half the volume they would at a show. Also, if the singer is just a singer and doesn't play an instrument at the same time, I'll just give them a handheld and skip the expensive condenser. A beta-57 is good enough if it means getting a better performance.
Glenn, thank you so much for this video. I am just getting started making my own music in my garage (doing all instruments and vocals) and I often find myself being my own biggest critic and second guessing my work. Alot of stuff you said in this video gave me the confidence that the direction I'm going may just be the right one. Horns up to you 🤘
....and by using barely any compression as that is a dynamics killer. Modern music squashes the life out of everything that is dynamic, preferring the loud, fatiguing, flat sound.
You have si gle handedly become my favorite content creator. Literally find myself stumbling across videos with information i need and most of them end up being yours. Plus you look like a lo g haired version of my neighbor Ben
Great video man I sat through the entire presentation. I had a band in high school, and I remember our issue being what sound we were trying to produce. All we did was play power chords, and cover our favorite songs. We disbanded while in school, and have not gotten together since we graduated. I think I figured out what it is I want for the music I’m trying to make now that I’ve been on my own. Thank you.
@@Coryiodine Agreed mate. A lot of people confuse an artist not being his or her cup of tea as "bad". Just because an artist is not one's preference does not mean he or she is bad at what he or she is doing.
I think the majority of us who use the grid in recording usually intend to add synths and sequencers later on, because it's modern, groovy, and lots of fun
@@nialldunsmore8336 But what if the midi is programmed in a demo beforehand? Thats the one thing stopping me because sometimes the synths are so integral to the sound that you can't just remove them when it comes time to record.
@@mrelegoboy since it's MIDIi you can just break up the bars (or even down to the beats) and align those to the grid map. The whole point of having MIDI is you should have a sequence at some point in the recording. If you just have an audio track then just have them play it again live. Point is if you can quantize MIDI tracks you can also humanize them. Slide stuff around a millisecond here and there. If it is an audio track slice it up every beat or bar and slide it around to match the drums. Good music isn't made in a day.
@@mrelegoboy I mean that all depends. I personally don't know any anyone who can play perfectly to a beatless track whether that is metronome or drums. Like I know drummers who can lay down a pretty well spot on track FIRST but if they try to play that same thing over top a guitar/synth/bass line that is playing anything less than 8th notes...they are gonna struggle. Honest answer. 99/100 times if you record drums at the end without having recorded everything else to a click also, then it's gonna be a nightmare. Even then though you can always slice and dice the drums into submission which is made easier if you gate them so they have really sharp decay. Just don't record a demo unless: You use a clicktrack You use a whole band scratch take You just record the drums first Pro level, top tier, musicians can probably do it any order they want but anyone beyond that is gonna go crosseyed trying to even come out the other end with anything useful if they have no click/drums to follow. The drummer is the most important member of any rock band, hence why he goes first, or is there as an ensemble...or you use a click :)
I love everything you have to say when you aren't yelling at the camera. I understand it's your thing, but... I'm trying to relax and learn some stuff along the way.
2:54 Along those lines...I think it's a good idea for guitarists to study and experiment with the guitar tones of guitarists outside their main genre. For example, I'm a metalhead who loves the tones of Robin Trower and Carlos Santana. It's easy enough nowadays to dial in the tones and play around.
Glenn, you Sir have spoken one hundred percent facts! This sort of cultural phenomenon crosses cultural barriers in several different musical communities. I can attest to everything you have spoken about in my twenty years of music listening/playing experience. Songwriting courses, singing and instrument lessons, performing/harmonizing as a unit and avoiding the competitive mindset are all key elements towards musical and artistic expression and success! Excellent video, thank you for sharing!
I love this vid. People always tell me I HAVE to use a metronome. I can't stand metronomes. I also tell myself everything I do musically has to be absolutely perfect. I'm my own worst critic. This vid has helped me so much and gave me new found confidence in my writing. I'm trying to create something truly different.
Most of the people and musicians that survive "cancel culture" are not the ones that apologize. The ones who weather the storm are the ones that say, "Go fuck yourself." There is value in telling sensitive people to get bent, lol.
I've spent my whole life waiting for chance to be where I'm at right now.....having enough stuff that I can record my own music. I have a pretty decent music background (piano lessons since I was 7, went to college for Piano, ect), but I know nothing about engineering and production. I've been watching your videos relentlessly trying to gain as many tricks as I can to make the best product I can with what I have. I value your knowledge and your content so much. Thank you for everything you have to offer!
I can think of a few reasons why you want to keep that metronome on. Editing, backing tracks, synchronizing synthesizer patterns, automated patch changes, lighting and my all time favorite, STAYING ON F*#&ING TIME WITH THE REST OF YOUR BAND. just to name a few.... Sure, it's fun to plug in your instrument and jam with the boys on occasion, but if you wish to make it in the music industry in any shape or form (nowadays) , keep that click on! You'll be glad you did.
True talent is in doing something that anyone can do, in a way that no one's ever done it. Some good points in this one, Glenn. Something I learned as a screenwriter when I was trying to get my stuff produced; everyone thinks they can be the star, whether there's anything exceptional about them or not. I've known a ton of people that would read my stuff, tell me how great it is and want to write with me, but then they're only interested in working on their undeveloped, unthought out fraction of an idea. Someone literally brought me "something with a hotel..." When I asked him to elaborate he said "You know, like all those different people. There's so much going on, right?" He didn't get it when I told him a hotel's a setting, not a story. Same thing with bands I've been in and known. Someone new comes in and has to have their "signature tone" and don't know the difference between a solo and a bunch of notes hit super fast and sloppy. Maybe it's the participation trophies that've gotten people thinking they're all standouts. People see someone actually creating instead of covering something and can't accept that it's beyond them. Instead they rearrange their pedals and play G, C, D and tell their moms they're artists.
I wholeheartedly agree with pulling inspiration from outside of metal. In fact, I would go as far to say stop listening to metal completely. Everyone knows what it should sound like, you don't need any more examples Also, for guitarists wanting to sound unique I always suggest 2 things: 1) every guitarist should build a guitar cab. It's the easiest part to DIY in a guitar chain even a bass player could do it and it is a big contributor to your sound. 2) buy a cheap ass strat and mod the circuit. Apart from teaching you to solder, this enables one to explore different circuit designs and pickup options with minimal risk and no need to carve guitar wood since all the electronics are embedded in the pickguard. The worst you can do is destroy a pickguard which costs less than €20. All the great guitarists in the past tinkered with their instrument (Brian May, Jimmy Page, David Gilmore, Jeff Beck, Eddie Van Halen, etc). You can't really get anything new if everyone is using the same HH guitar wiring in all guitars. Try some coil splits, phase switches, series-parallel switches, put a step-up transformer or a full wave rectifier in your guitar see what it sounds like, make mistakes when wiring that accidentally end up giving you the best tone you've ever heard, etc. That's how you find your sound
The best and oryginal thing that happened to metal music in last 10 years was Mick Gordon's Doom Soundtrack from 2016, and his metal choirs in Doom Eternal Soundtrack in 2020.
Not to diss on Mick because he is a fun and experimentally open-minded lad... yet the doom soundtrack is not exactly groundbreaking. It fits the theme, it runs with it, and iterates upon it. Don't get me wrong, it's fun to listen to, just like Killing Floor 2. But ultimately it's just another blend of industrial metal. No amount of his exploits of how to get certain sounds and what sounds he hid where is going to change that. I'd rather think that Pentakill's "Grasp of the Undying" has a much richer and more varied spectrum in itself than the entirety of the Doom soundtrack. Especially since the instrument sounds on the songs are ACTUALLY different. Which is a refreshing change in the age of "I use exactly this sound for the entire album, no matter how dull it gets."
Are you serious? The modern Doom soundtrack is as run of the mill djent and Deathcore as it gets. Not to defend original Doom, either - just reworked Metallica and Pantera songs - but no way is the 2016 soundtrack breaking any ground.
Even with distorted vocals having harmonies is a great idea. There's a finnish industrial metal band called Turmion Kätilöt that have harmonizing vocalists and they sound great together.
This video made me feel way better. I've been re-recording this awesome transition for days trying to match it to the metronome, and I kept missing bye micro seconds on one part or another, but it sounded amazing regardless. But my refusal to move on was based on my engineer telling me he needed everything to be timed perfectly to quantize it. I'm ready to tell him now "it sounds the way I want it to sound".
![Megan Thee Stallion - Roc Steady (feat. Flo Milli) [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/HozPPyqW0dY/mqdefault.jpg)
"Tone is stored in the balls."
-Mozart
Truly shows his genius, so concise
Also Mozart wrote the first Grind fecal songs: "Leck mir den Arsch fein Recht schön sauber" (lick my ass quite nicely clean) and "Leck mich im Arsch" (Lick me in my ass), the latter one being a canon for six voices.
- Dave Oshry
“Stop buying distortion pedals you fucking imbecile” - The Rhythm Players
"I'm just wishing some guitarists these days could record their track without always having to flange the piss out of it !?." - Frank Zappa.
The whole time I'm like , "This dude is like an angrier Rick Beato." And then he name-drops him. Nice! Instant subscribe.
Photo op and everything
Dude read my mind 😂
Rick seems to me as a mellowed out old geezer
He reminds me of an angry Huey Lewis. Love it.
Angrier Rick beato... LooooooooL
Also I'd strongly recommend for anybody playing live: Always record your own playing, not only the whole band but your playing. And then listen to it, no matter how painful it is to listen as you only can improve by listening to the mistakes you make and then learn to do it better.
If you never hear yourself, you'll never know how much you suck. My old bandmates used to tell me "if you listen to your own music you're cocky" fuck that, I make the music I want to hear, and listen to myself and critique. They don't. They are awful in the studio and take forever to hit a take, or find out what they're playing is wrong and off. I'm very well known here at home for being a one take guy and much easier to work with. All because I take the time to listen to myself and figure out how to work better.
This!!! Also this might be a little out of topic, but I think it’s also very important to watch yourself playing in real time. Get a big body mirror, or at least big enough so it can reflect your playing. Get your techniques right!
This can be applied anywhere. Especially music. Great idea 🔥
Yes! This!
i stream on twitch when i practice so i have a video and audio that i can review without needing to host it myself lol, but yeah this is fantastic advice, if you review your tapes you can really identify areas you need to improve on
I miss metal productions with space and reverb. Even in pop music nowadays nearly everything is recorded super hot and direct with no atmosphere.
Completely agree. I’ll always love a more wet production over anything
I’m sure you may have, but explore some recent bands in the hardcore genre. I love their “kill’em all/ride the lightening” production outcome. Real kicks, real mic’ed amps and no metronomes. The vocal styles of “hardcore” is usually what keeps these group from becoming giants, maybe by choice. Ekulu band is one example. The guitars and drums are so damn tasty.
@@msw812 got any other cool bands to check out?
@@santiagoj9042 The main guitarist also plays in Illusion (hardcore band). A previous record with same vocalist and guitarist is Countdown (hardcore band)(on RUclips too). Turnstile and Candy, there’s a lot of good hardcore. Malevolence out of England is great too.
Peep spectral voice
#7.5 - Vocals - especially backing vocals - make the record. The whole record. Never just track the lead vocal as a single track, double it, harmonise it, add incidental vocals, gang vocals, call and response, change up the effects, add distortion, vary the sound between songs, whatever, just give the vocals a lot of love.
NO matter if you like or hate Ghost the leader Tobias Forge understood this so despite not wanting to originally be the vocalist he put in as much effort as he could and has masterful harmonies on every track.
AC/DC executes backing vocals just like u described. Gang vocals, harmonies, response
Vince nailed it on Too Fast For Love, I’m pretty sure he doubled his vocals and the offset them in some parts. Reverb too, the perfect amount makes or breaks a song/record.
Gang vocals? LOL! Is that an edgy way to say a chorus?
I know we think a chorus is a part of a song, but actually the word refers to a group of singers who perform together. They’re singing in a chorus. Gang vocals LMAOOOO!! 🤣
I think the only thing that could be added would be: Remember you're doing this because it's fun and you enjoy playing! No one ever talks about how playing music is supposed to be fun, you're supposed to get some joy out of writing music, not turn it into a soul sucking grind. We have call center jobs to do that.
True....
No. We’re not hereeeeeee to have FUN! *crosses arms and pouts*
I agree. One of the first thing I was told was to remember, we play an instrument not work...the key word is play
Buckethead - Funbus
Agreed...that goes double for metal...metal is supposed to be fun
"The pen is still mightier than a sword. You just have to pick it up"
This struck me differently. Kudos to you, good sir! Cheers from the 🇵🇭
Nice to see a neighbor here.
What country is that?
That inspires me too
I loved this!
Borealis - Mightier Than The Sword
The earlier Van Halen albums were also mostly recorded live as well, mistakes and all, aside from a few overdubs.
I think the debut is entirely live, although I could be wrong
I hear no "mistakes"
Ain't Talkin Bout Love just straight up has a mistake in the intro riff but it just added flavor and humanity into the track
Alice in Chains is another great vocal harmony band. Also... You can actually harmonize or layer death metal growls and have it sound cool.
That because AIC is the greatest band ever :)
I can't stress enough how important is that harmonizing tip. Most groups can't pull off dense harmonies, and those that can immediately rise above. Voice lessons can help a lot and are absolutely worth the investment.
I guess I'll shelve my "Parallel Tangential Foundations" project.
XD
Thank you.
It's good to release now
Well done man - Stayed for the whole vid!!!
Wasup Geebz!
@@lifcharleserickson5374 Howzit!!!
Thanks for dropping by!
Geebz, Finn/PRMBA, Beato, Dines, Glenn fuggin Fricker. All I need is for Marc Rebillet to do a live set in Spectre under Frickers faders, and Fantano to slap bass.
Only then, the 42 ways to Kevin Bacon is complete.
@@KeyOfGeebz GEEBZ
"Violence shows a severe lack of imagination"
- great aphorism, Glenn.
Introspection, humanity & giving a flying f-ck about other people besides oneself also, alas among many other important things, is grossly lacked by violent unthinking stupid humans. Get an act, humans! ffsakes and asafp!
Even as a solo 12-string acoustic performer, I have always treated every performance like it was MSG. Even a handful of people who cared enough to come see me play at a small cafe, deserve the same performance I would give to a full theater. There is no excuse for giving a half-hearted performance.
I actually would be as terrified as the number of people that is watching me. I can't even record a video without flaws (you can see in my channel if you don't want your ears and eyes anymore), don't matter how I try! Well, I'm way too far from playing live.
That's my motto. Whether I'm playing for 1 person or 3 they should get my best.
@@JubaDeMetalAlumínio I’ve performed quite a few concerts at this point in time and I don’t even get why you wouldn’t give every concert your best performance, if you love music and you wanna be a musician then I can’t even understand of not wanting to put in the work and perform great
“Violence shows a severe lack of imagination” …damn, that’s such a great way to put it.
The drummers I know that are the most vocal about the "don't need a metronome" are ironically the ones that can't keep a groove to save their lives. Funny enough they're the same ones that put the cymbals as close as possible to the drums, have fuckall dynamic control and bitch about the bleed.
PREEEEEAAAACH
The drummers I know can’t spell metronome.
First learn to play to a metronome, then learn to play without it :)
If everyone can play to the click, they can play with each other. Had a drummer who couldn’t do it but woodshedded for a week and got it. Should be a thing that all players use when starting out.
@@friedrudibega6384 The first lessons on learning simple pieces on guitar in my music school were under the metronome, simply because without it the results would be a complete mess.
Devin Townsend has a huge death metal range and he's been doing it for 40 years. It can be done
He is also a killer singer
How has he been singing for 40 years if he’s 50 years old?
@@mrpires1055 started when he was 10, that's science!
@@mrpires1055 starting at the age of 10 isnt anything close to be being unheard of. nick menza started drumming at age 2
"the pen is still mightier than the sword. You just gotta pick it up" oooo i felt that!
This is false....because the man with the sword can always obtain the pen....
the pen is mightier than the sword if the sword is very short, and the pen is very sharp
Couldn't agree more about the genre thing. In the last few years I've rediscovered my love for MCR (who I was obsessed with as a teenager in the mid 2000s), and with the benefit of hindsight I genuinely think they're one of the greatest rock bands of all time. Part of the reason for that is they don't sound like anyone else out there (barring the people who copied them), and part of the reason for that is because everyone in that band went into with such a broad range of influences. You can hear everything from Misfits to Maiden to Queen to Bowie in their music, but it still all sounds like them.
For Metal, you could also read Punk, Goth, Soul, Funk, Glam etc.
The last point is spot on; writing about the issues, and gigging the songs, is great fun and therapeutic.
Getting shit off your chest is a great release.
Loved that you mentioned Rick Beato, you guys are my two favorite producer channels right now
Subbed to both, happily, Except one is a lot more positive and educational.
I fuckin love Ricky Beats
So much Metal today is so anemic sounding. Everything ultra polished. Perfected. Every guitar sounds lifeless and digital. No live vibe. No mistakes. Just robotic 1s and 0s on a 7 or 8 string.
Well said!
That's metalcore/deathcore & djent in a nutshell. Just stay away from most of the stuff on major labels, -core in general, and you should be good.
@@lashedandscorned i agree. Theres plenty of inspired stuff out there too. Sometimes thw production is uber polished but you can find the organic stuff if you look. My thing has been instrumental prog for a bit and it sounds fucking great
It’s not just the polish. They’re playing the same shit, too. If they did something original, a robotic polished sound would be fine.
“ *jun-jun jun-jun jun-jun growl, growl jun-jun jun-jun jun-jun growl scream* “ -Every metal band for the past 15 years
@@crescendo5594 thats not what i meant. I meant there are plenty of heavy and heavy ish bands that dont jun jun growl, you just gotta look. Their stuff sounds sterile sometimes at first look, so you might think its a jun jun growler, but hang a bit and youll see they atleast attempt some form of novelty. Whether they succeed is simply personal taste
I'd like to see a list of "newer" music that Glenn likes or recommends.
Red Fang, Blackhawk Down, Okd Blood
@@SpectreSoundStudios hell yeah Glenn, seeing red fang in 2 months. Glad to see they're noticed in "modern music"
Strongly agree
@@SpectreSoundStudios do you like any newer bands that don't sound like older bands?
Well there it is, I'll go check it out! Thanks.
"if something in polka blows your hair back then try integrating it"
Gene Hoglan is about 30 years ahead of you with his blast beats
I was born near the Amazon jungle and l use some tribal and Caribbean percussion and beats in my songs we opened for Sepultura back in the 90s
One thing I love about Havok is that their lyrics are straight to the point and they're not afraid to say what they think. They get some controversy but that comes with a territory. Many modern bands are not nearly as brave. Even RATM are raging with/for the machine.
Rage on behalf of the machine
Love me done Havok
Rage against those raging against the machine
I don’t get the whole “rage for the machine” thing
@@gezi0752 they're one of the gears of that machine
“Music isn’t math it’s art” could be a new T-shirt.
i don’t think more dumb phrase shirts will help
music is math converted into audio and arranged artistically
it's art. but also math
I always say music is art not athletics.
Architecture is both and so is music
You can't take math out of music and stick some esoteric bullshit there instead. Do the same with photography, and you're doomed. Architecture? Nuff said. Painting and graphic design? Yeah, tell me you don't need to keep proportions and all to certain limits in order to keep your work “readable” by others, and the color choice/relationship fuckery is one of the most math heavy things in the universe. Every art requires strong knowledge of math and geometry, otherwise you're not gonna get “the quality”. Music is no exclusion.
This video is exactly what I needed. I’m 14 and I really want to make it big as a Metal band, but the main worry of making music is making sure it’s not generic. Thank you bro!
if your getting into metal to "make it big" youve got quite the lesson coming your way. goodluck out there !
No one makes it big in metal anymore bro. Just play for the love of it. If you can sell 5,000 albums online that is success nowadays for tons of bands.
Include the interests of women in your music. The glam bands of the 80's did it, the emo bands of the 2000's did it. I hope you could be big just based off of the shear potency of your songwriting skills like Metallica or AC/DC, but it's a slim chance. Gotta sing about heartbreak and relationships, dawg.
Dude you have any music I checked your channel
Your best option for 'making it' in any style you choose is to put time into learning the industry and how to negotiate. What makes the biggest difference for a band mostly has nothing to do with their music.
Saying "good enough" was the biggest workflow improvement for me as a musician. Perfectionism really can get in the way on different levels. Focusing too much on the engineering side or playing techniques can kill musical inspiration pretty fast and the final song will be much better with a "good enough" approach. At least that seems to be the case for me.
Done is better than perfect.
What you said is something I saw in the corporate world. Someone from the likes of marketing will come in and say "I want a button here" on the screen. "Um... the program isn't done yet. The fundamentals aren't in. This will delay the product." Higher up will come in and say "No, we need this button".
It took this movement of the MVP (Minimally Viable Product) to get them told "RELEASE SOMETHING THAT WORKS FOR GOD'S SAKE!" for them to get the idea that "oh, we can actually make money if something is actually released".
This is a computer program though and not music, but I feel there's overlap. Yeah, you can modify a program for years, but if you have a program that's done, you have something done that can make money. In fact, overdoing it in the modifications can delay your program to where it never gets released, or force your company to pay people overtime to get it done on schedule.
Martin, I wholeheartedly agree. I'd just point out the difference in perspective of your "good enough" and the "good enough" Glenn mentioned. In your case, "good enough" is in reference to something that's actually good, just not absolutely perfect. Whereas in Glenn's examples, "good enough" means shoddy work with the expectation of someone else spending an inexcusable amount of time fixing garbage.
You're both very right, it's just different perspectives.
@@dooshnukem32 Exactly, it all depends on the scenario.
Not saying good enough is why I havent made a song in years.
@@dooshnukem32 I agree with everyone on the thread so far. I feel that Glenn meant that good effort needs to be put in.
Thank you Glenn !! I couldn’t agree more ! We actually went to record our upcoming ep with Anssi Kippo (Children of Bodom) at Astia-studio.
No metronome, no samples, no quantizing and we could not be happier. Our music started to live a life of it’s own and due to high standards and ambition, the end result is by far the best work we have ever done.
Mikäs teiän bändi on nimeltään?
@@Memu_ Vanguardian ! Ja tämä kyseinen EP tulee näkemään päivän valon aivan pian. Bändiä vaan seurantaan !
@@tino_drums666 Uijui. Ains hyvä nähdä lisää suomalaisia bändejä
I am 65 years old and been in the music biz my whole life..played my first gig at 14..played with all types of bands from rock to new wave punk to country..opened a very successful sound company in 95 and did sound with everyone from Missy Elliott to POD..from Johnny Paycheck to Mary j Blidge...now I am a solo performer playing local bars and clubs classic rock music..I sing and play acoustic guitar...I ENJOY YOUR CHANNEL EVEN THOUGH ALL YOUR YELLING IS TIRESOME AT TIMES..I still enjoy the content and your advice is spot on from my experience..keep up the good work
Jinjer doesn't sound like anyone and that's why I love them. Even though they are prog they have very memorable songs and a ton of energy!!
Jinjer are one of the best for sure
Yeah somtimes I feel Glen has no idea how much good music is coming out :') - that in mind he is talking to guys just starting out
Yes indeed. And oh no, they use a metronome. One of the only "prog" bands I don't hate
@@jackcollins1873 He's extremely out of touch
@Mazinblaster Z i agree
Current music is fixed by engineers like animals are fixed by Vets. That’s where the balls went.
This needs to be an a shirt.
Chalk me up for 1.
Well said
lol, edgy, bro
Aretha Franklin's voice was Auto-Tuned on her last album. All these decades people were complaining about how she couldn't sing? Was that why she was famous?
“I pity your wife if you think 6 minutes is too long”
Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury
Rami* - from a drummer
@@graxjpg NNICE now we just need a bassist and we can have a Dissagreeing with People in the RUclips Comments Club House Band
@@martenmanna Rimi Ushigome
6 minutes is a pretty risky length for song, especially if the riffs, verses, or chorus repeat over and over again.
Fun Fact: Gar Samuelson is reason the Peace Sells song was 4 minutes, originally Dave wanted the song to be 8 minutes long! RIP Gar
@@graxjpg You're right, but most people listen and appreciate to lyrical music over instrumentals. Also this is just me speaking for myself but I cannot stand a lot of prog metal instrumentals.
Gar was one of the best metal drummers ever and in retrospect played so out of pocket for thrash but it worked so well. This man has jazz quality parts all over peace sells and killing is my business is crazy as well
nick menza was amazing aswell. dave defenitly has an eye for good drummers
Gar had super chops, and brought groove to thrash. Not just hauling double bass (which is cool too). Two best thrash albums of all time.
Theres a video of Mustaine saying that Gar would often fall asleep in the studio behind the kit during reherseals or recordings, and just as he was about to fall Gar would wake up and do amazing fills all over the kit...the guy was so raw, jazzy and authentic its unbeliavable.
Throwing some oscillators and white noise on a drum track is definitely not sample replacement, we were doing that in recording school back when sample replacement plugins were a fortune and nobody had them. It's a great trick.
It would've been perfect if he would have said " This video was brought to you by GetGood Drums" at the end.
And even better if he plugged his own sample pack that he released
But I already have my 6505 profile, a Mesa 4x12 v30's IR, a horizon devices nano attack, and my guitars are tuned to Z, you are braking my heart Glenn.
don't forget ezdrummer
@@joseartur3215 or GGD One Kit Wonder, for that matter.
and 4 noise gates, because of Misha reasons
2:29 Glenn: "Look, it's perfectly fine to be inspired by a great band, but when you wind up as a carbon copy of the band that inspired you, nobody is going to give a flying fuck."
*Greta Van Fleet has entered the chat*
*Dirty Honey has entered the chat*
@@deanpavlovski I agree, I like their music. I can totally understand the people who think their sound is derivative but personally it doesn't come off that way to me, I hear a group of musicians who have come up together clearly inspired by bands like Zeppelin and Rush. They are an old school garage band and I have a lot of time for that, they can play together well and play well live while writing songs that shoutback to classics, but still have their own distinct sound.
There is plenty of room for all kinds of music these days so I don't really understand why G.V.F. seem to receive so much disdain, no, they aren't the best thing ever, but it is still good quality music written and played by real musicians based on what they enjoyed.
As you say, each to their own, but I think the level of criticism they receive is a little unwarranted.
@@deanpavlovski nice reddit post
@@deanpavlovski Back in the day, when they released their first album, Rush was a Led Zepellin's copycat; well, now we can see what they became - another huge influential band.
Led Zeppelin enters the chat
After watching about 50 of your videos this one is, by far, the best I've seen. Great work Glen. Keep it real, keep it METAL. Cheers mate.
"Was it perfect? Not even close!" This is an excellent example of how the concept of perfection is itself imperfect. It might have been imperfect according to specific ideals (exact tempo in this case), but these ideals are simply tools. When good music is the real goal and ideals get in the way of good music, then strict adherence to these ideals become the real flaws.
"If something in Polka blows your hair back, try integrating it."
Nice thrash metal stab. :P
Yup
Ahh the good ol bay area polka
No one listening to Weird Al?!
I've been a long time watcher; love your content and realness.
2 years ago I decided to take vocal lessons so that I could have better training and have some tools to aid singers in the studio.
The lessons I took were classical in nature thru a vocalist with their masters in vocal performance. It was very challenging in every way. It made me dig deep to get better, to understand the music and to understand myself. There are those who are music enthusiasts and there are musicians; musicians push themselves to get better while surrendering themselves to the music.
Respect for the music is what's important, everything else will fall into place. Rock on ya'll and always keep pushing to be better!!
Side Note
Learn some Jazz if you want your metal to get some inspiration.
My masterpiece "Kinda Sounds Like that One Maiden Song, opus 3" is nearly complete....
What I love about your vids is you basically sound like my inner rock muse screaming everything I’ve known since I was a kid and often forget these days. I don’t do as much rock these days, but most of this is true for all music (look up how the Beastie Boys made Ill Communication or Check Your Head) and, for myself, every time I pick up my guitar I’m trying to do these things.
Not a metal guy, but you’re putting out stuff that every musician should learn.
Best episode ever. SO many right things have been said. Hats off, Glen.
I just wanted to say THANK YOU Glenn. I'm 52. Getting back into music after years of stepping away for many years, due to addiction and family problems. Now, I am free and healthy. Your channel, perspective, and advice, is sooooo helpful. So on-point. Shit that my ears need to hear. You inspire this old man a great deal! Thank you Glenn, for helping this ole' headbanger get back into the game. All love and respect from H-Town(Houston), Texas.💜☺👍
You have published some great content over the years but this is absolutely spectacular. Every tip in this video is a perfect gem. This video should be required viewing for anybody considering a career in music. Thank you for speaking the truth that people need to hear.
My snarky response to the title was going to be, "don't play metal," but your takes are outstanding. Just because metal is incredibly boring right now, from a fan point-of-view, doesn't mean it has to stay that way
Also fun fact about pre-sets, Kurt just used a Boss Ds-1 for his distortion, but since someone gave him a DOD Grunge Pedal, he would lie to guitar magazines and say he used that, when all it did was take up space on his board. Wonder how many people were fooled
Loving your content Glenn. I’ve been watching for years and never have you ceased from expending the truth to the masses. I had the opportunity to meet you at NAMM a couple years ago. Highlight of the weekend honestly.
My favorite episode! We gotta get back to letting music breathe and capture the energy of the band! You can teach nearly everything else, but finding that energy, takes guts. That should be our quest!
So many quotable lines in this one video Glen. “Music is not Math, it’s Art” I would buy that on a tee shirt! 😅
Wow great video! Glad I watched til the end! As an underground Hip Hop artist I can really relate to your approach even though I'm not into metal. Much respect and many thanks for creating such a cool informative video! 🙏🏽🤘🏼
This is something that everyone needed. Thank you for bringing the facts to light!
I think Meshuggah did Monstricity Live off the floor... now that's what separates the musicians from the others
I was under the impression you usually start sounding like your influences in the beginning of your composing then you naturally evolve into your own style but I could easily be thinking about it wrong.
No that's very true, but that usually applies to a single musician's evolution, and not the whole process of an entire band being original which is what Glenn is talking about.
But yeah that definitely is usually the case with a musician though. a guitar virtuoso for example will openly list people who influenced how they play when at the same time people listen to that virtuoso play and think wow he's got a very original sound and play style because what you said in your comment is often the case.
About the last point.
I don't personally have any interest in politics. I write lyrics about fantasy and Sci-fi. I've found that if you write songs about what you're interested in, it shows
Case in point, Iron Maiden. Is there really any doubt that Bruce Dickinson seriously enjoys history?
I'm interested in society, government, history, the news daily soap opera, but unless your Zappa making fun of it, it comes off as heavy handed or it ages really poorly- people figured out RATM from Sony records are a wee bit hypocritical for example (and on the other side of the street, corporate pop country music is miserable for different reasons). It's an easy way to divide a potential audience long before people hear two notes.
I agree. Write about what interests you and write from your own experience. I also agree that politics does not go well with music. In the right hands, like Bob Dylan or Zappa, it can work. But overtly political material turns me off, even if I agree with the writer's point of view. That said, I can enjoy the music apart from the lyrics, so for me it's pretty easy to tune out the message.
@@SynthApprentice I thought Steve Harris wrote a majority of their lyrics.
I agree with Glenn, but I think it's better to take this list with a grain of salt. Maybe I'm reducing things to an absurd, but I think that being loyal to oneself and not to try to be someone else is the point.
Going political or not, well, everything can be considered political because every positioning means a political positioning.
But meshugga did it!
funny because while everyone wants to sound like them, they try to branch out instead (like when drum samples were all the rage, they decided to record the real thing again (albeit clearly quantized to a degree), maybe we'll see them doing it without metronome again like their old records)
Like Devin Townsend says “we all rip off Meshugga”
Meshuggah recorded their last album live off the floor lol. And they change every albums sound. So I get the sentiment. But it's misplaced.
It's funny because no one sounds like them. Like, literally.
@@psychicandice Came here to say this.
Gosh I'm so happy for my band, and so on pointy with our present, it's good to realise you actualy have a message to spread, you all will hear about us (and hear us) in the near future!
This video is a perfect example of why I fucking love your videos and value your opinion. "It doesn't matter if you offend someone. Don't let others opinions determine your world view." Such perfect advice for an imperfect world. It's best advice this generation could get. Believe in what you believe, stand up for what you believe in, and just because someone says your opinion is wrong doesn't mean they're right. I wish all you musicians out there the very best of luck in all your musical endeavors.
Every person in the post hardcore band I played in during highschool came from a different style of music. Singer was obsessed with screamo and pop punk, bassist was obsessed with funk and and weird eclectic music, drummer was the best young jazz drummer in the city, and I taught myself to play guitar learning every John Mayer song there was and every Van Halen song I could figure out. It all came together in a very weird but cool sound. Hardcore funk/punk metal with jazz inspirations that could also play amazing acoustic versions of all our songs. The drummer was also a great pianist.
Name? And do you have any recordings on the net we can check out? Your sound and influences have piqued my interest.
"If something from Polka blows your hair back"
*Andy Rehfeldt enters the chat*
Well, all those swinging Helloween guitar harmonies are a bit waltz like...
Weird Al is already here, he will be speaking on this topic later.
I'm just sayin, theres a lesson to be learned from polka. You will never see an accordion player performing for people that isnt happy. That old guy is having a fantastic time, hes thrilled to be there, and the energy bleeds over to the audience. Basically, get into that shit, don't be stiff and rigid, be fun. Be exciting, be worth seeing
Igorrr too! He does it amazingly.
I somehow can't see a heavy metal accordeon. Sorry. Even a banjo has more "metal cred".
Circle of Tone's influence is palpable on this video.
I've made all the same mistakes as the clones. I just realized it too late and became a vanilla sausage. It's why I love Glenn shouting about using real drums. Share this vid bois and girl. Live capturing of the bones of the track needs to come back.
Glenn and Circle of Tone have had a lot of similar ideas for years.
@@CIRCLEOFTONE As a young musician you guys have really helped me keep things real. Cheers and hope to see more band tip vids!
@@mar1242 Thanks man. I'm working on Nine Inch Nails Downward Spiral era right now.
Right on Circle of tone. Great channel. Rob chapman dislikes him also which is the icing on the cake as far as im concerned
Love the vid, man. My band, Sacred Monster, has been doing stuff all down this list for years. We released our first album independently in 2019 to critical acclaim, got a vinyl deal with a record label, and even had to cancel our first tour due to COVID-19, sadly. The only difference is we joined because of our love of doom metal, not prog metal. But it’s the same thing: some people look at it as a competition, like I don’t sing like Ozzy Osbourne or our guitars aren’t drone-y enough. It’s weird what people will nitpick because we’re different, but we’re still doing okay. So cheers!
Man, that last bit hit hard. I’ve been in a rut with making music for a while cause I wanted to write songs that double as cinematic stories. There’s no reason I can’t. There’s so many different TV shows and movies attempting to push the envelope. There’s no reason I can’t.
Edit: That Burp Master cut at the very end was priceless XD
Hell Yessss
"Violence shows a sheer lack of imagination" Fricker 2021, put that on a tshirt, it's like what the Anti Joker would say, make some real chaos why don't we.
"Upon her spoon this motto
Wonderfully designed:
VIOLENCE COMPLETES THE PARTIAL MIND."
ruclips.net/video/GohtV7PV4cc/видео.html
Think that's the best quote I ever heard
I’ll take two
Define violence.
@@ryanwilson5936 - that's what google's for.
The "Turn off the Metronome" part. I do agree partly but it requires extremely skilled, very experienced musicians and a total sum of a band rehearsing endless hours to achieve coherence which is not always the case. It is just to much to ask. I better suggest a simple metronome track with basic automation on your DAW.
That’s why you practice and get better
tell that to jazz ensembles that still practice live on the floor, in the round. Tell that to Slayer on Haunting.
I mean, I never had an issue with this even in our shitty highschool band.
1) "yeah, I bought this 9-string, 27-fret guitar with perfect intonation to make music" (proceeds to play 0111010101221001 and sweep picking as exercises)
2) "I use my kemper / mooer to go out to the PA so I don't use an amp" (the feedback and reaction of a real amp is lost)
3) "Yes, our music sounds perfectly in tune, quantized drums and the voices are tuned to perfection with melodine, that way we sound the most perfect on the album" (and when you see them live, they can't sound more different)
4) "we want our message to be understood clearly and strongly, to create awareness" (they proceed to sing with gutturals and screams, terrible pronunciation and forgetting the lyrics)
Sometimes screams work to convey a message, like in DSBM (Xasthur, Trist, Sadness) which adds to the atmosphere of "five seconds away from offing myself if a minor inconvenience happens".
How is feedback and reaction of a real amp any relevant? Freakin’ boomer
One of the tricks I've used in the past to push a vocal performance is incrementally sneaking the vocal mic volume down in the headphone mix to try to get the singer to open up their pipes. I started doing this after noticing that the scratch vocal, though unusable for the final mix, was often a better performance because they needed to compete with the band in order to be heard. Nothing kills a song quite like a lackluster vocal performance. Obviously, it's a balance and you don't want to overdo it, but if the singer needs to really belt it out in order to hear themselves well, then they won't do the thing where they sing at like half the volume they would at a show.
Also, if the singer is just a singer and doesn't play an instrument at the same time, I'll just give them a handheld and skip the expensive condenser. A beta-57 is good enough if it means getting a better performance.
22:08 This part of the video definitely got the creative juices flowing! Very inspirational and cathartic words to live by! Thanks Glenn!!!
Glenn, thank you so much for this video. I am just getting started making my own music in my garage (doing all instruments and vocals) and I often find myself being my own biggest critic and second guessing my work. Alot of stuff you said in this video gave me the confidence that the direction I'm going may just be the right one. Horns up to you 🤘
The most interesting bands use dynamics in their sounds, both with volume and tempo.
....and by using barely any compression as that is a dynamics killer. Modern music squashes the life out of everything that is dynamic, preferring the loud, fatiguing, flat sound.
You have si gle handedly become my favorite content creator. Literally find myself stumbling across videos with information i need and most of them end up being yours. Plus you look like a lo g haired version of my neighbor Ben
Great video man I sat through the entire presentation. I had a band in high school, and I remember our issue being what sound we were trying to produce. All we did was play power chords, and cover our favorite songs. We disbanded while in school, and have not gotten together since we graduated. I think I figured out what it is I want for the music I’m trying to make now that I’ve been on my own. Thank you.
Glenn: *"Music isn't math, it's art"*
Tool: *exists*
Math rock: exists
adam has said multiple times that he cannot and will not play to a click...but theyre still better than everyone else, so...
And tool sucks. What’s your point?
@@cah88 if you truly mean that without trolling you obviously lack musical appreciation or dont play an instrument.
@@Coryiodine Agreed mate. A lot of people confuse an artist not being his or her cup of tea as "bad". Just because an artist is not one's preference does not mean he or she is bad at what he or she is doing.
I love every bit of advice in this video. Thank you Glenn, you're a legend! Keep up the awesome work my man.
I think the majority of us who use the grid in recording usually intend to add synths and sequencers later on, because it's modern, groovy, and lots of fun
You can map your grids to live drums so all the sequencing lines up. Takes time, but keeps that live vibe with a modern sound.
@@nialldunsmore8336 But what if the midi is programmed in a demo beforehand? Thats the one thing stopping me because sometimes the synths are so integral to the sound that you can't just remove them when it comes time to record.
@@mrelegoboy since it's MIDIi you can just break up the bars (or even down to the beats) and align those to the grid map. The whole point of having MIDI is you should have a sequence at some point in the recording. If you just have an audio track then just have them play it again live.
Point is if you can quantize MIDI tracks you can also humanize them. Slide stuff around a millisecond here and there. If it is an audio track slice it up every beat or bar and slide it around to match the drums.
Good music isn't made in a day.
@@BrianRRenfro thank you! What about recording drums to a demo (or at the end) though?
@@mrelegoboy I mean that all depends. I personally don't know any anyone who can play perfectly to a beatless track whether that is metronome or drums. Like I know drummers who can lay down a pretty well spot on track FIRST but if they try to play that same thing over top a guitar/synth/bass line that is playing anything less than 8th notes...they are gonna struggle.
Honest answer. 99/100 times if you record drums at the end without having recorded everything else to a click also, then it's gonna be a nightmare. Even then though you can always slice and dice the drums into submission which is made easier if you gate them so they have really sharp decay.
Just don't record a demo unless:
You use a clicktrack
You use a whole band scratch take
You just record the drums first
Pro level, top tier, musicians can probably do it any order they want but anyone beyond that is gonna go crosseyed trying to even come out the other end with anything useful if they have no click/drums to follow.
The drummer is the most important member of any rock band, hence why he goes first, or is there as an ensemble...or you use a click :)
I love everything you have to say when you aren't yelling at the camera.
I understand it's your thing, but... I'm trying to relax and learn some stuff along the way.
You are saying things which Deep Purple members say from decades...well done.
2:54 Along those lines...I think it's a good idea for guitarists to study and experiment with the guitar tones of guitarists outside their main genre. For example, I'm a metalhead who loves the tones of Robin Trower and Carlos Santana. It's easy enough nowadays to dial in the tones and play around.
"the pen is still mighter Than the sword, you just have to pick it up" great words!
Glen: get a pair!
Also Glen: rage FOR the machine?
Glenn, you Sir have spoken one hundred percent facts! This sort of cultural phenomenon crosses cultural barriers in several different musical communities. I can attest to everything you have spoken about in my twenty years of music listening/playing experience. Songwriting courses, singing and instrument lessons, performing/harmonizing as a unit and avoiding the competitive mindset are all key elements towards musical and artistic expression and success! Excellent video, thank you for sharing!
I just found this channel a few days ago and now I can't stop watching all the old catalogue... great job! Great content! Thank you!
I love this vid. People always tell me I HAVE to use a metronome. I can't stand metronomes. I also tell myself everything I do musically has to be absolutely perfect. I'm my own worst critic. This vid has helped me so much and gave me new found confidence in my writing. I'm trying to create something truly different.
I was trying to remember what Glenn reminded me of. It’s Gowron the Klingon.
GLORY TO YOUR HOUSE
K'plaa!
If Glenn = Gowron then Olaf = chadich
"It doesn't matter if you offend someone..." Glenn, you're really the poster child for this.
I'm trying to play NSBM.. is that ok?
Most of the people and musicians that survive "cancel culture" are not the ones that apologize. The ones who weather the storm are the ones that say, "Go fuck yourself." There is value in telling sensitive people to get bent, lol.
@@richard_from_england333 Varg? Is that you?
@@douga8296 Nah dude, I'm clearly Richard
I've spent my whole life waiting for chance to be where I'm at right now.....having enough stuff that I can record my own music. I have a pretty decent music background (piano lessons since I was 7, went to college for Piano, ect), but I know nothing about engineering and production. I've been watching your videos relentlessly trying to gain as many tricks as I can to make the best product I can with what I have. I value your knowledge and your content so much. Thank you for everything you have to offer!
I can think of a few reasons why you want to keep that metronome on.
Editing, backing tracks, synchronizing synthesizer patterns, automated patch changes, lighting and my all time favorite, STAYING ON F*#&ING TIME WITH THE REST OF YOUR BAND. just to name a few....
Sure, it's fun to plug in your instrument and jam with the boys on occasion, but if you wish to make it in the music industry in any shape or form (nowadays) , keep that click on!
You'll be glad you did.
3:13 if I remember correctly, Halford was also a HUGE fan of Freddie Mercury
"The pen is still mightier than the sword"
would be my shirt and mug while writing the most questionable lyrics on earth
I received the notification and i took it way too personal 😓
True talent is in doing something that anyone can do, in a way that no one's ever done it.
Some good points in this one, Glenn. Something I learned as a screenwriter when I was trying to get my stuff produced; everyone thinks they can be the star, whether there's anything exceptional about them or not. I've known a ton of people that would read my stuff, tell me how great it is and want to write with me, but then they're only interested in working on their undeveloped, unthought out fraction of an idea. Someone literally brought me "something with a hotel..." When I asked him to elaborate he said "You know, like all those different people. There's so much going on, right?" He didn't get it when I told him a hotel's a setting, not a story. Same thing with bands I've been in and known. Someone new comes in and has to have their "signature tone" and don't know the difference between a solo and a bunch of notes hit super fast and sloppy. Maybe it's the participation trophies that've gotten people thinking they're all standouts. People see someone actually creating instead of covering something and can't accept that it's beyond them. Instead they rearrange their pedals and play G, C, D and tell their moms they're artists.
I wholeheartedly agree with pulling inspiration from outside of metal. In fact, I would go as far to say stop listening to metal completely. Everyone knows what it should sound like, you don't need any more examples
Also, for guitarists wanting to sound unique I always suggest 2 things:
1) every guitarist should build a guitar cab. It's the easiest part to DIY in a guitar chain even a bass player could do it and it is a big contributor to your sound.
2) buy a cheap ass strat and mod the circuit. Apart from teaching you to solder, this enables one to explore different circuit designs and pickup options with minimal risk and no need to carve guitar wood since all the electronics are embedded in the pickguard. The worst you can do is destroy a pickguard which costs less than €20. All the great guitarists in the past tinkered with their instrument (Brian May, Jimmy Page, David Gilmore, Jeff Beck, Eddie Van Halen, etc). You can't really get anything new if everyone is using the same HH guitar wiring in all guitars. Try some coil splits, phase switches, series-parallel switches, put a step-up transformer or a full wave rectifier in your guitar see what it sounds like, make mistakes when wiring that accidentally end up giving you the best tone you've ever heard, etc. That's how you find your sound
Blasphemy....
Hey Glenn! Just a little correction: "British Steel" was recorded at John Lennon's house :)
No, Glenn was right. It was recorded in Ringo Starr's house. Watch the Classic Albums documentary on the making of British Steel.
Noticed the thumbnail has a different style from the usual. Nice change imo!
Edit after starting the video: Same goes for the editing style!
The best and oryginal thing that happened to metal music in last 10 years was Mick Gordon's Doom Soundtrack from 2016, and his metal choirs in Doom Eternal Soundtrack in 2020.
Not to diss on Mick because he is a fun and experimentally open-minded lad... yet the doom soundtrack is not exactly groundbreaking. It fits the theme, it runs with it, and iterates upon it. Don't get me wrong, it's fun to listen to, just like Killing Floor 2. But ultimately it's just another blend of industrial metal. No amount of his exploits of how to get certain sounds and what sounds he hid where is going to change that. I'd rather think that Pentakill's "Grasp of the Undying" has a much richer and more varied spectrum in itself than the entirety of the Doom soundtrack. Especially since the instrument sounds on the songs are ACTUALLY different. Which is a refreshing change in the age of "I use exactly this sound for the entire album, no matter how dull it gets."
Are you serious? The modern Doom soundtrack is as run of the mill djent and Deathcore as it gets. Not to defend original Doom, either - just reworked Metallica and Pantera songs - but no way is the 2016 soundtrack breaking any ground.
Even with distorted vocals having harmonies is a great idea. There's a finnish industrial metal band called Turmion Kätilöt that have harmonizing vocalists and they sound great together.
This video made me feel way better. I've been re-recording this awesome transition for days trying to match it to the metronome, and I kept missing bye micro seconds on one part or another, but it sounded amazing regardless. But my refusal to move on was based on my engineer telling me he needed everything to be timed perfectly to quantize it. I'm ready to tell him now "it sounds the way I want it to sound".