Once Dead - Visions of Hell CD?

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

Listening for the 3rd time...some quick assessments:

- riffs kick 4ss!!! Great job on the riffs & songwriting...love the solos too...

- vocals are indeed LAMB OF GOD style...almost "core"...

- tones are raw & overall vibe is energetic...nice old school atmosphere...

- the mix is the downfall...uneven, jumbled, inconsistent and muddy...comes off noisy in places...lows too "boomy" and highs too "tinny"...

Rawness and volume are no big deal...its when there's inconsistency in levels and EQ from song to song...the drum sound changes, sometimes the snare is louder than others, sometimes the guitars are louder than other times...then when it's so boomy in places that it all runs together...it's very uneven...I think if it was the same all the way through, even if it was like Born Again, it would be tolerable...

I think that is the perfect description of the sound quality. You hit the nail on the head. There is a difference between raw production and poor production. As for the budget it is not like it impacted the Fasedown albums this way. The 1st fasedown album sounds like the most polished album ever in comparison and I doubt Rescue records forked out a ton for that one. In fact, the 2nd Fasedown album was not even on a label. It was fully funded by the band members and the sound quality is 100% better than Visions. I think it is more about the engineer and to a lesser extent some decisions made by the band.

For example, nobody has mentioned how the vocals are mixed slightly below the music. I am not sure why the members would make that decision. I think that is one decision made by the band that lends itself to the overall "muddy" sound that has been used to describe it. The vocals should always be mixed slightly above the music in my opinion. Crisp and clear as possible.

I'll tell you how the vocals we're recorded. They we're recorded doubled. One track with a regular tube mic and the other with a hand held mic, which Devin used like he would live.
They also had him going through an old Yannaha SPX90 set for a low harmony. All this was the idea of the vocalist.

The ruff mix sounds so much better then what came out. Thats why I left. This is a prime example of too manny Chief's in the mixxing room...

Glenn Rogers wrote:

I'll tell you how the vocals we're recorded. They we're recorded doubled. One track with a regular tube mic and the other with a hand held mic, which Devin used like he would live.
They also had him going through an old Yannaha SPX90 set for a low harmony. All this was the idea of the vocalist.

The ruff mix sounds so much better then what came out. Thats why I left. This is a prime example of too manny Chief's in the mixxing room...

It would've been cool if you could've stayed. Did Jim have any imput in the drum sound?

They're his drums...The snare drum always sounds like that. It sounds like too much overhead mic.

Glenn Rogers wrote:

They're his drums...The snare drum always sounds like that. It sounds like too much overhead mic.

That's exactly what it sounds like...too much room sound...

does anyone else hear a lot of static on this disc?

biddle wrote:

does anyone else hear a lot of static on this disc?

Yes! I hear it all over the album.

Rex wrote:

biddle wrote:

does anyone else hear a lot of static on this disc?

Yes! I hear it all over the album.

Yup. It's there. When I first heard it I though something was wrong with my CD player or speakers, but when I went into my car and played it, I heard the same noise.

The recording engineer pushed the volume way to high (guitar static). The drums definately had to much echo or resonance. The snare should of been isolated and tweaked more for a more balanced sound.

Despite the production, despite the line-up, despite the delays; THIS FRIGGIN' RULES!!!

kmorg wrote:

Despite the production, despite the line-up, despite the delays; THIS FRIGGIN' RULES!!!

Always look on the bright side of life.........

The songs are great...for sure.

kmorg wrote:

Despite the production, despite the line-up, despite the delays; THIS FRIGGIN' RULES!!!

Horray! Someone who agrees with me.

I have my copy now and the vocals definitely remind me of Lamb Of God. Once I get used to that I will enjoy the album. Some of the already mentioned production issues make it a little hard to make out some of the tunes, but I think overall the music is great. I didn't realise you had left Glenn - maybe that was old news, but I hadn't picked up on that.

VaughanGF wrote:

I have my copy now and the vocals definitely remind me of Lamb Of God. Once I get used to that I will enjoy the album. Some of the already mentioned production issues make it a little hard to make out some of the tunes, but I think overall the music is great. I didn't realise you had left Glenn - maybe that was old news, but I hadn't picked up on that.

Glenn left after recording most of the rhythms and a bunch of the leads. I think the only song Glenn didn't play rhythm guitar on was "The Contract". Larry came back after Glenn left and recorded some of the leads. At least that's the way I understand it.

kmorg wrote:

Despite the production, despite the line-up, despite the delays; THIS FRIGGIN' RULES!!!

I agree 95%. This guy's vocals are bordering on hilarious. He sounds like Cookie Monster trying to force out a turd that is twice the size of his butthole. I get absolutely nothing message-wise from the album because of this.

spectrefate wrote:

kmorg wrote:

Despite the production, despite the line-up, despite the delays; THIS FRIGGIN' RULES!!!

I agree 95%. This guy's vocals are bordering on hilarious. He sounds like Cookie Monster trying to force out a turd that is twice the size of his butthole. I get absolutely nothing message-wise from the album because of this.

I don't know what is is in the last few days, but some of the comments on this board have had me laughing out loud LITERALLY!

http://teethofthedivine.com/site/reviews/once-dead-visions-of-hell/

My review is up...

Good review Shawn. My review should be up tonight as well. We have a lot of similar comments.

ult

ultmetal wrote:

Good review Shawn. My review should be up tonight as well. We have a lot of similar comments.

ult

Thanks dude...

Here is my "review" I am putting on No Life Til Debbie :

Quote :

Formed from the ashes of the once mighty Vengeance Rising, Once Dead is a modern thrash band with the 80's thrash heyday mentality. "Visions of Hell" is an album that alot of people have been looking forward to. After the initial lineup of Once Dead produced a very cool DVD of a performance a few years back, fans were excited at the idea of an album by this lineup. Unfortunately, this wasn't meant to be. Original Once Dead vocalist Scott Waters (of Ultimatum fame) was ousted from the band under questionable circumstances. Many fans were perplexed by this decision but this didn't eliminate any of the anticipation of the album.

Fast forward through several years of production issues, more lineup changes, essentially life in general, and we now have this storied album in our hands in the Fall of 2008. Is it good? Heck yes it is! From the opening guitar of "Body Parts" to the last breath of "Defy Man", Visions of Hell is an album that could have been released in 1989 and would have sold like hotcakes. (Do hotcakes REALLY sell that well?) This album is riff-tastic. It is literally overflowing with the elements that made thrash such a hit with fans in the late 80s. This is due to the awesome writing of thrash legend Glenn Rogers along with Doug Theime and Larry Farkas. A thrash metal fan should instantly salivate on their first listen.

There have been grumbles about the production of this album from some fans, but I find the production to be satisfactory. Rather than the perfection that many bands try to acheive in the studio, this album makes the listener feel the rawness of the music. Jim Chaffin's snare drum sound is also something that has been mentioned in a negative light. I do not see a problem with this either. Again, this is "In your face" kind of music. Everything should be in your face...and it is.....that is, everything except the vocals. Thank goodness the vocals are buried a bit in the mix! Vocalist Devin Shaeffer adds a new metal vocal sound to this classic sounding thrash music that I find to be very irritating. Mr. Shaeffer's vocals border on the hilarious. He sounds like Cookie Monster trying to force out a turd that is twice the size of his butthole. Because of these vocals, I get absolutely nothing from the strong Christian lyrics. That is truly a shame. It's difficult to feel you are being evangelized to when you are being incoherently screamed at from the pulpit. Perhaps this issue will be resolved if the band ever produces another album. However, despite this obvious mistake on the band's part, I find this album to be VERY entertaining and it is an album any true heavy metal fan should be proud to own.

Favorite Tracks : The Contract, Visions of Hell, Grave Diggers:The Forgotten Genocide, Defy Man

ultmetal wrote:

Good review Shawn. My review should be up tonight as well. We have a lot of similar comments.

ult

Hey, where's that update!

kmorg wrote:

ultmetal wrote:

Good review Shawn. My review should be up tonight as well. We have a lot of similar comments.

ult

Hey, where's that update!

Hopefully tonight, barring any computer problems.

Quote :

(Do hotcakes REALLY sell that well?)

Oh, buddy, you better believe it!

(good review!)

Just got my physical copy today and the first three songs rule! The print job isn't as bad as i was led to believe either. There are obvious production issues but like ult and kmorg said the music is good despite it.