TMR - Dark Ride: 'Burning Bridges'

[dnafe]

Hi all

This was a foray into unfamiliar territory but made so much easier by the caliber of the players and the recording...well done guys!

As always your comments are welcome

Enjoy

[mackncheeze]

Before I start, just know that I tend to type a lot to say a little. Feel free to ignore as much as you want.

This bass is SUPER prominent, and maybe a little too bass heavy. It sounds like you brought the low-midrange up with an EQ, and it doesn't really need it. Your rhythm guitars are totally buried, and that's really what carries the song. Typically with this style of song your rhythm guitars fill up most of the sonic space and most of the stereo image, so keep them loud and use the bass guitar to support them in the low end and provide focus to the center. Maybe cut a little bass out of the guitars so that you have the room for that bass, and don't be afraid to let that high end of the bass come through.

The drums on this song are so well recorded that it's really hard to make them sound bad (though a surprising number of people have managed to do just that by overusing EQ), and yours sound find. So this is a sort of power-metal/metalcore hybrid, and in both of those subgenres, this kick needs to be agressive. Personally, I tend to EQ my kicks to be a little more mellow than most in this genre, but even by my preferences you could do to bring yours up a bit. Other than that, maybe try to widen out the drums. Move that high-hat to the side. That's just a suggestion, and a matter of personal preference.

Last but not least, Vocals. Because the rhythm guitar is usually so loud in metal, its easy to bury the vocals. As a result, the vocals usually exist in a relatively narrow band of frequencies in the upper midrange. You've actually over-compensated. Instead of burying the vocal in guitar, you've turned them up so that they just cover up everything else in the mix. I think you'll find that if you use a combination of high-pass and low shelf filters that you can bring those vocals down quite a bit and they'll actually be clearer and sit better. The same goes for the background vocals. One final tip on vocals; don't feel like you have to use every track thats available throughout the whole song. Saving some of the background vocals until the second verse or chorus can help make the song feel like its going somewhere, and cutting the "Whoa-oh-ohs" at the end can leave room for your guitars to really bring the song to a satisfying close.

I hope this helps. As with anyone's advice, take it with a grain of salt, and don't over-compensate. Use your ears. If EQ is obvious, then you're probably using too much. I've got plenty of other, more subtle tips for your mix if you want to hear them.

[dnafe]

Thanks for the advice....I'm new to this genre so any and all suggestions are welcome

[Blitzzz]

You don't have to use any EQ at all (except hpf/lpf) to mix this song and it would sound good. your mix just need more balance - guitars should be louder, vocals have to come down a little. and you should add fx like delay and reverb sparingly to make little things interesting