Metal Ears?

[JonathanE]

So I've been working on a collab, I find this metal instrumental quite compelling, but hard to tell if I'm just biased? https://www.taxi.com/members/ocDl4_2KTS ... -suffering

Would love any metalhead's thoughts on this, if they find it compelling? Anything that really stands out negative wise also?

I think the mix/master needs more adjustments, but would love some thoughts in general, thanks a lot

[VanderBoegh]

Yessir! This one is a ripper! The composition sounds spot-on to me. It has a certain gothic quality to it with the choir, which is a sound I like particularly well with a good dose of metal, kinda like Dommin and others.

As you suspected though, the mix needs work. It's pretty muddy and just lacks the clarity and punch you'll need it to have in order to be competitive. A better master can help, but mastering's usefulness is limited by what the mix sounds like from the outset.

Good luck to you, I'd love to see you hit a home run with this whenever the next metal listing comes up!

~~Matt

[JonathanE]

Yessir! This one is a ripper! The composition sounds spot-on to me. It has a certain gothic quality to it with the choir, which is a sound I like particularly well with a good dose of metal, kinda like Dommin and others.

As you suspected though, the mix needs work. It's pretty muddy and just lacks the clarity and punch you'll need it to have in order to be competitive. A better master can help, but mastering's usefulness is limited by what the mix sounds like from the outset.

Good luck to you, I'd love to see you hit a home run with this whenever the next metal listing comes up!

~~Matt

Matt!

A privilege to hear from you, man, Means a lot, Stoked to hear the composition rings true to your ears!

Ok then, back to the mix to make it less muddy and bring more clarity... thank you!!
-Jonathan