Amongst Enemies

[Bonehead]

Some of you all might remember my son Iain, who used to write reviews for RMM before he got way too busy. Well, one of the things that is occupying his time is his band and they have a brand new song up on their MySpace page, AmongstEnemies (http://www.myspace.com/amongstenemies)

Now, there is a bit of a story about it. You see, all the guys in the band are flat broke and can not afford any studio time at all. But they really lucked into a pretty sweet situation as one of their friends owns a studio and offered to record one song so that he could teach his apprentices how to tune, mic, and record drums. And while he could have just worked with the drums alone, he was kind enough to do the entire song, as long as they got it done in a day. They spent 10+ hours doing it and it came out pretty well.

So, please take a listen and I would appreciate any comments you might have about it. By the way, Iain is the drummer.

[Mark Carras]

The high end vocal reminds me a lot of Believer! I do love the way they mixed a high end and low end extreme vocal. Probably one of the best blends of two extreme vocal styles I have ever heard. I prefer the high end, but the low end gives it all a nice accent. The two together gives the song depth that is so lacking in most extreme metal.

I find the drums to be very tastefully done as well. He goes from fast to slow seamlessly and makes it all flow so well. Many are going to bitch that he doesn't do any blast beats, but I find his drumming to be above most band's that use blast beats. He shows diversity and a good amount of variety. Papa should be proud. :cool

The guitar and bass are mixed horridly though.

Have they tried just sticking a really good mic into a computer to record through something like Audacity? Have them experiment with mic placement and they might be shocked at how good of a recording they get.

[SHUT UP AND DIE]

I can get into it. I really don't think the mix is bad at all, personally. The high-end/low-end thing is cool, even if it's a it overdone out there in extreme metal today. I'm not diggin the breakdown at the end at all....WAY overdone by EVERYONE. Aside from that, the guitar/bass playing is great, vox are cool.

Your son's drumming could be a bit more tech, to be honest. Does this mean blasts? Not necessarily, but they help to spice things up. I dunno what the hell Mark was talking about with the blasts comment, but whatever... (:cheers) He's just a hater....mwahahahahahha. Anyway...I think more fills, more toms, more double bass, more use of cymbals (I'm a sucker for flashy cymbal spots), and yes, I dare say....blasts from time to time. I personally think when drummers exhibit ALL of the aspects of good solid tech drumming then you have a winner. Iain (dude's name rules) is headed in the right direction from the sounds of it.....just try to spice it up some.....or....a lot. :)

[Mark Carras]

I dunno what the hell Mark was talking about with the blasts comment, but whatever... (:cheers) He's just a hater....mwahahahahahha.

I don't really hate blast beats, it's just that 99% of the drummers way over do it. It's is a great spice, but most of the time it tastes like a huge mouthful of salt. I like a little salt on my fries, but too much ruins the whole thing. Same with blast beats. A little touch here and there is great. It is just very rare to hear a drummer that uses them as a spice.

[SHUT UP AND DIE]

I don't really hate blast beats, it's just that 99% of the drummers way over do it. It's is a great spice, but most of the time it tastes like a huge mouthful of salt. I like a little salt on my fries, but too much ruins the whole thing. Same with blast beats. A little touch here and there is great. It is just very rare to hear a drummer that uses them as a spice.

You should listen to more of the promos you send me then. :rotfl Lots of bands out there use them sparingly (Kataklysm, Himsa, Unleashed, Epica, etc), ya just have to find them. Not every band out there is Deicide, Origin, Hate Eternal, or Krisiun in terms of percussion. Not to knock those guys, but you know what I mean...... :cheers

[Bonehead]

Keep in mind that this was a demo created while the engineer was trying to teach his apprentices the trade, and that it was all done in one day.

Iain does blast on some of their songs. He does a pretty cool thing on one of them where he trades his right and left hands back and forth right in the middle of the blast beats. Looks pretty cool and really impresses some of the drummers around here. On this song he "dumbed" the drums down a bit to make the recording clearer and to make sure that they could complete the song in that one day, but live he has about 30% more stick work in it.

I don't know if you checked out any of the info on their MySpace, but the band has only been together since April maybe, and because Iain is still in school, it really limits the time they have to practice and play out. They have 5 completed originals, with a 6th in the works. This one was chosen simply because it was the one they all knew the best and that they could get it done in time. The other songs tend to be a bit longer and more technical.

Neither the band nor myself feel that this is a perfect recording; far from it. But I think that they did a pretty nice job for a first effort on no budget and very limited time. Thanks for the positive comments, and even the critiques. It is always good to hear the good and the bad so that they can more fully develop what is working, and take steps to improve what isn't.

More comments would certainly be welcome.

[Mark Carras]

they did a pretty nice job for a first effort on no budget and very limited time.

Totally! :monkey

[Lord Zombie]

Awesome song. :metal

[Bonehead]

Awesome song. :metal

The guys say "Thanks!"


Any other thoughts or comments?

[Bradzilla]

I also like the higher vocal better than the lower one, but they're used well together. There was some almost nu-metal riffing around the 1:30 mark and then again at the end that was a little offputting, to me anyway. Riff-wise this type of stuff is kinda prevalent nowadays, but the vocals definitely help keep it from sounding like the latest Darkest Hour ripoff or something like that. Needs a few more catchy elements, speed always helps (at least for me), and guitar solos are always welcome. Soundwise it's well produced, decent tones and mix, and mostly pretty cool sounding. I'd like to hear more of their stuff to get a better idea of their sound.

[CFH]

The main riff kicks some ass and the rest of the song is good for the most part.

[Lord Zombie]

I like to keep my comments simple. I don't know how to explain my thoughts like alot of the other people here... :shrug