Messenger of Hope [Rock/Hard Rock]

[Gadritan]

As some of you know, I play bass for a band called Messenger of Hope.

We've posted 3 songs from our new album on our myspace, http://www.myspace.com/messengerofhopeband

Please forgive the stripped down look. We were recently hacked, so we're still working on a new layout.

Note that these are the full album versions. Radio edits will follow shortly (editing intros/outros/breakdowns for content), so these are a little lengthy at some points.

Edit: An interesting side note. This was all recorded in a 2 bedroom apartment.

Just curious as to what some of you like/dislike. It's near impossible to listen objectively when you're involved in the project.

All comments are welcome. Even if you think it's a smelling pile of poo and feel the need to say so, feel free! You have to have thick skin to make it in the entertainment industry, so it won't bother me in the slightest. :D

Enjoy!

[Nekonaruto]

"Wow." <-- That was my first thought.

I really dig "Aurora Blue" and "Fifteen"..."Manhattan" is awesome too but the quality is kinda weird, so it's slightly difficult to hear everything out.

But my question is: when are you releasing the album? Hard-copy or iTunes? I want more. NOW! :D

PS: Please don't do radio edits...the songs should be enjoyed in their whole length But then again...air time is kind of important for a newcomer band...

[Gadritan]

"Wow." <-- That was my first thought.

I really dig "Aurora Blue" and "Fifteen"..."Manhattan" is awesome too but the quality is kinda weird, so it's slightly difficult to hear everything out.

But my question is: when are you releasing the album? Hard-copy or iTunes? I want more. NOW! :D

PS: Please don't do radio edits...the songs should be enjoyed in their whole length But then again...air time is kind of important for a newcomer band...

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it. The full album will be released the last week of July. It will be available in both Hard copy and iTunes. I'll bump as a reminder.

As far as the radio edits, we have to do it to comply with the magic 2:30-3minute mark that labels enjoy for radio play.

Edit: I'll see what's going on with the quality on Manhattan and try to get that resolved. I wasn't sure if that was just on my end or not, and apparently it's not, lol.

[Nekonaruto]

When the hard-copy comes out...do you think there's a possibility to ship it to Europe? Because I'm guessing you're doing it by yourself still...?

[Gadritan]

Absolutely. We're going to do a package deal with a t-shirt and stickers and such as well so you get more bang for your buck.

Edit: At no extra charge that is.

[Nekonaruto]

Ok awesome Definetely waiting for the bump in that case. I joined the fanpage on Facebook, so I'll be up to date in case you forget to bump the thread ;D

PS: about Manhattan, the quality is fine but the volume is just lower than the rest...which shouldn't be the case since it's from the same album (I'm guessing).

[Gadritan]

Yeah. It's something on their end apparently. Myspace is such a piece of crap, lol.

[Nekonaruto]

Did some more digging...bought the mini-EP :D

[Gadritan]

Love you long time.

Edit: A note on that EP. It's quite a bit softer. It's from last year, and we've progressed to a heavier style since then.

[Vandole]

i'd give it a listen again if you got a different drumset/way of recording the drums. it just sounds too muffled for my taste. real good for recording in an apartment though.


needs some studio magic to find your sound though.

[Gadritan]

Aye. To get the kind of quality we want requires more money than we can afford. Starving artists etc.

In other news, we just got offered a gig with the one and only Vanilla Ice, lol.

[KuroTsuki]

It's pretty good, man. I like it. I love alternative rock, so that little bit that you guys have in the songs gets me.

I'll definitely help with spreading the word out here in Oregon among friends and shit.

[Gadritan]

Tyty! That's all we're trying to do right now. Get our name heard here and there.

[Sanoske]

I liked what I heard. I agree with Vandole though, a little studio magic could bring you guys to a whole new level. Solid drumming and I dig your vocalist.

The only thing I wished was different musically was the guitar riffs. Granted I only gave each song 1 listen through, but they all seemed pretty similar in construct. Not sure how to describe what's missing... maybe throw in some more embellishment under the verses? The lines don't move enough, they stay a bit too solid. And turn up the bass, man! Let's hear it.

I did enjoy the songs though, I can't even say my comments are really criticism. Just thinking out loud.

[Gadritan]

i'd give it a listen again if you got a different drumset/way of recording the drums. it just sounds too muffled for my taste. real good for recording in an apartment though.

Ya know, this kept bugging me because I wasn't hearing it at all. I forgot we triggered most of the drums, which essentially gives you a "perfect," sound regardless of where you record, or what you use to record (we still had about $50k worth of mics and such we were using, top notch shit).

Edit:

The only thing I wished was different musically was the guitar riffs. Granted I only gave each song 1 listen through, but they all seemed pretty similar in construct. Not sure how to describe what's missing... maybe throw in some more embellishment under the verses? The lines don't move enough, they stay a bit too solid. And turn up the bass, man! Let's hear it.

I did enjoy the songs though, I can't even say my comments are really criticism. Just thinking out loud.

lol, thanks! We're a 4 piece, and our singer is good enough on guitar to play some of it live with us, but he predominately sticks to just singing. We don't want to do anything in the studio we can't duplicate live, so we have to keep the guitar somewhat in the envelope.

Great ear though! I love when people give specifics.

[ringthree]

Let me start by saying that I do like your music, but it is a little light for me, so my criticism will be coming from that perspective, and it might not necessarily provide you with anything useful for a larger audience.

First, it seems like the lead guitar and drummer are very talented. I liked the semi-solo in Aurora Blue and the intro to Fifteen, and I really like the drumming at the end of Aurora Blue even if there were problems with the pick-up. That said, some of the riffs seem a little derivative to me. I can hear slight variations of POD and a few other bands. This may not even be from similar music but from similar tunings on instruments. I am no musician (I have zippy musical talent whatsoever) but from what I can hear I would suggest that you could be simply a little more creative with everything. For good portions of all of the songs it sounds a little cautious, which makes it sound a little formulaic. But there are great moments when that feeling is broken and the intensity massively improves. The 4 minute mark of Manhattan is something I liked a lot for another example.

The quality of play appears to me to be very high, it just seems like you could do more, I guess.

My second comment is going to be much more personal preference, but I don't know how I feel about your singer. I grew up listening to hardcore in the early to mid-90's, so harmony was never something that mattered to me very much. He sounds really good, but definitely contributes to that "formulaic" issue I have with parts of your sound. I liked him a lot in Fifteen when he was switching styles more often, but it just seems like a compromise to me, like trying to be something a little more mainstream and something a little more hardcore at the same time. He just doesn't seem to stand out or compliment the music as much as he could. It's hard for me to explain, because I think his rhythm and tone is fine, but it just seems like he is singing on top of the music instead of singing with the other instruments.

This sounded really critical, but I don't think you are looking for anyone to blow smoke up your ass. Let me just say that your band sounds great (even if it isn't exactly my thing, it's close though) and I am shocked that you recorded it outside of a studio because the quality is great too. You guys have some real potential and you definitely have your skill on display. I just think you have the skill to be more creative, and find your own way musically, but that will come with time most likely.

[Gadritan]

Hey man, those are really good observations and I appreciate it.

As far as the guitar riffs, that goes back to being a 4 piece. We still have to maintain some sort of structure as well, otherwise it's not really a song. I think you'd be surprised how many layers of guitar you're actually hearing though, lol (There's over 50 tracks of guitar on Aurora alone). We try to do little things to break it up too, i.e. we never actually transition from riff to riff the same way in Manhattan, ever. We have some songs we're working on right now that have poly-metric riffs as well, though they didn't make the cut for the album this time around.

What you heard in Manhattan is really the direction we've been moving towards. That's actually the only song written from scratch with the current line up. MOH has existed for years, but me and our guitar player Joey (he's only 19 btw, potential out the ass) replaced the old members about a year ago. We revamped all the old stuff and wrote a few new ones, though Manhattan was the only new one that we felt was ready for the studio.

As far as the vocals, I can see where you're coming from. I listened to mostly metal and shit growing up in the 90s as well, so I never quite got comfortable with mainstream voices. I'd always been a thrash/death metal bass player up until this project. We want to keep it marketable and radio friendly for the most part, while still keeping a nice heavy edge on it musically.

If you like really fucking heavy shit (like, omg kill a baby wtf just happened heavy), check out our guitar players other band, Seventh Denial. He plays with them for kicks, but trying to get signed as a metal band severely limits your audience, and chances. Hence why we joined MOH. http://www.myspace.com/seventhdenial

[Sanoske]

lol, thanks! We're a 4 piece, and our singer is good enough on guitar to play some of it live with us, but he predominately sticks to just singing. We don't want to do anything in the studio we can't duplicate live, so we have to keep the guitar somewhat in the envelope.

Great ear though! I love when people give specifics.

I'm a fellow musician, so I at least know my ass from a hole in the ground. (Well, most times.)

But no excuses! lol Check this shit out... plays that line AND sings. I saw it live, and my mind was blown. (Don't even need to watch the whole thing, first 30 seconds you'll see what I mean.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCSuYdOAr8w

Manhattan had a good sound. I'm getting a vibe thats a mix between 12 Stones/Alter Bridge/Breaking Benjamin. (I'm assuming you know at least 2 out of those 3) But if that's the direction you're going then thumbs up. I'm excited to hear new stuff.

[sephir]

I've been working in a recording studio for a while now so I think I can give some input based on all the different bands and artists I see come and go.


First of all, the guitar sound seems flat. I'm willing to bet he uses something like a Jackson or Ibanez guitar, and not something that will give a "round" sound. I know it is an apartment recording, but you can tell quite distinctly that something is off. Drums are extremely difficult to record in a small space as for a decent sound you need to position the microphone at least 8 feet from the stand and any other obstacles that could obstruct the sound. Sound does not travel in a single direction, it goes out in a wave in every angle, and you have to be aware of what it can bounce off of.


My biggest criticism would be that it sounds a little to much like a lot of the bands that are out now. I'm not saying its unoriginal, but I don't think you have really established a niche yet. Your music also seems to be very similar in terms of its pattern. Some people love this as "if you like one song you will like all of them", but I personally don't. I feel you need to try a little more variety - but its somewhat hard to judge based on 3 songs.

You have some talent, but I think you need to think a little more objectively about each song. Ask yourself if it is too similar to something you've already written or have heard somebody else play. You also need to work a bit on your "pop", give the audience a little surprise. Essentially try to make it a little unpredictable, you might be a little surprised at what you can come up with.

Keep at it though. The music business is very tough to get anywhere. I know I lucked into my position as a session musician.

[Gadritan]

Manhattan had a good sound. I'm getting a vibe thats a mix between 12 Stones/Alter Bridge/Breaking Benjamin. (I'm assuming you know at least 2 out of those 3) But if that's the direction you're going then thumbs up. I'm excited to hear new stuff.

That dude is amazing, I just can't stand his voice, lol. He's kind of the Les Claypool of guitar. If you play, you HAVE to listen to it because it's so unreal what he can do.

Yep. I'm familiar with all 3 of those bands. It's still strange, but still very much a compliment, to be compared to bands like that with a metal background like mine. I'm used to hearing shit like "it's Sepultura, Nothingface, and Pantera in a blender."

First of all, the guitar sound seems flat. I'm willing to bet he uses something like a Jackson or Ibanez guitar, and not something that will give a "round" sound. I know it is an apartment recording, but you can tell quite distinctly that something is off. Drums are extremely difficult to record in a small space...

He used 4 different guitars for those songs, and I wasn't present for all of the guitar tracking, so I'm not entirely sure which ones he used for what. I know for sure though that he used an LTD for the bulk of Aurora. As far as the amps, everything was tracked on both a Mesa Triple Rec and Peavey 6505.

The drums are still bugging me. Almost all of them are triggered, which essentially eliminates environmental variables. I talked to the guy who's been mixing for us, and he's gonna' try to tweak it around a bit to get a better sound. He said that he had a problem with some of it peaking (which would explain muffled/flat sounds) but he picked up some new software that eliminates that, he just hasn't had a chance to apply it yet.

That's exactly why I'm digging the criticism. We need to get all the kinks worked out before the full album is released.

My biggest criticism would be that it sounds a little to much like a lot of the bands that are out now. I'm not saying its unoriginal, but I don't think you have really established a niche yet. Your music also seems to be very similar in terms of its pattern. Some people love this as "if you like one song you will like all of them", but I personally don't. I feel you need to try a little more variety - but its somewhat hard to judge based on 3 songs...

Aye. It's sooooo hard in this day and age to create something truly "original." I think one of the hurdles that we're going to have to get over is that our singer has a very mainstream, somewhat cookie cutter voice. We've been working with him a lot. He used to be VERY throaty. He basically sounded like Creed rehashed. It still bleeds through some, but he's progressing at an amazing rate. His previous bands never pushed him, never told him "it's good, but it could be better." That kinda' thing.

As soon as we get a rough recording of some of our newer stuff with the poly-metric riffs and such I'll post them here to get some feedback. I'm using some mild chorus and overdrive on some of it as well to give each song a unique tone.

I was somewhat hesitant to post here because I truly expected to just get flamed all to hell, but this has been some of the best criticism I've gotten from anywhere/anyone.

Keep at it though. The music business is very tough to get anywhere. I know I lucked into my position as a session musician.

You lucky bastard! lol. You're right, it's hard to do ANYTHING in the music industry, much less a session musician. That's impressive. I'm jealous man.