Studio Day 3 and 4

I'm running behind again...so sue me...It is a busy time of year which I hate...

Anyway, on Saturday, I started recording my guitar tracks for the new album. I was actually up early that day, yet I was still late. But, at least it didn't snow that day...and our, um, helper was in tow to assist with mic placement and general consulting...

We spent about an hour fucking with mic placement. I was told he would have spent more time with it, but everyone else was happy with what was coming through the headphones, so we just went for it...

As I mentioned before, I'm not a fan of the studio...while we record live in a sense, we still have to piece things together...I'm not a fan of posers that go into the studio and record a riff and just cycle it throughout thanks to digital technology...I do my best to play the whole song all the way through...if I like it and the band likes it, it remains...there may be stuff to punch here and there, but overall, I am playing to the drums that were recorded in a live setting...hell, I even stand up...I move around...and I headbang...well, not too much because of the stupid headphones...and I get drunk as well...what else is new??

And for the record, I play simple...no gay effects or anything like that...A Gibson Explorer straight in to a Marshall JCM900 with an EQ (MXR) in the Effects Loop...oh, and a Volume Pedal...That is it...So stick your Pods or whatever cheater stuff people are using up your ass!!

I recorded for about 3 hours on Saturday and got 6 songs done. I felt pretty good about everything. It sounded like me, which on albums past, I never really felt that way...So that is another plus...

Fast forward to Tuesday morning...Back in the studio...And guess what?? It fucking snowed here again!!! But at least it was overnight, so the roads were fine...I just had to do the snow for my place and some of the neighbors...

I got there around 10am...Ate a Crossandwich (first time I was up that early in awhile to eat a lovely fast food breakfast) and slugged down a couple of beers while listening to what I did on Saturday...since everyone was happy with my shitty playing, it was time to knock the rest out...

I felt a bit better and comfortable today...Maybe it was the morning drinking...I dunno...I knocked out the last 5 tunes relatively quickly, although I am my own worst critic and start getting nitpicky...But so be it...

At any rate, my tracks are done...I spent a total of about 6 hours when all was said and done...Same with Jim...So 12 hours total so far...Too bad it spans over 4 sessions...

Adam will be up next...he will record his main tracks...My guess is he will knock them out in one session because he can play rings around me...After that, it is leads, bass...then vocals...Which reminds me, I still have lyrics to write...ha ha!!

Because of the holidays, we won't be getting back in until the next week...then we have a special show on Jan 2nd...Either way, this is going much quicker than past albums and we are very happy with the results so far...It can only get better!!

Here is the studio damage so far...

Studio Day 2

Welly, well, well...

The studio is going better than imagined. I'm not a fan of recording...it can be a tedious process, and to be honest, kind of boring. I prefer playing live and raging...which we kind of do in the studio...but it is still not the same...

We returned to Polymorph on Saturday...I was fashionably late as always...had to get beer and food, and I took a different way there and there was nowhere to stop since I was in the sticks, so I had to take some extra time to get my supplies...And I dodged another snow storm again...Seems like every time we record, we get stuck with shit weather...Snow and cold...Yes, I'm aware it is winter fuckos, but it can be cold without the snow...Maybe we should switch to black metal??

We reviewed the drum tracks from the previous week and were quite satisfied. Again, Jim did an amazing job and just killed it. The drums sound massive.

So we finished what we needed to do...5 more tunes...Done...

Yes, drum tracks are done!!

Again, kudos to Jim...

So we start guitars this week. We plan on taking a little different approach this time around. No trickery or bullshit...we would never do that. We always want to capture our live performance in the best way we can. Live sound, intensity, and just our crazy sickness.

We will have a close friend lending his ears and assisting with mic placements and stuff like that. It will be a big help because he knows our sound and what we should sound like when recording. Extra ears will greatly help as we have always just did things on our own...while we have always been happy with our past recordings, I think this will kick this release up a notch...

Curious on who is helping? Well, I'm still not telling...

So, that is all for now...So far, we spent about 6 hours recording total...not bad...We are hoping to whiz through the rest. The songs are well rehearsed and everything feels great...Part 3 coming soon...

Here I Go Again...

...On my own...

Oh, sing it David Coverdale!!

Eh, yeah, I know...it has been awhile...Life has been busy...finishing up school, feverishly looking for work, playing in a rock n roll band...Busy busy...

So a bit of an update...

The New Jersey Deathfest was fun for us...a lot of work and we were kind of trapped out there (shuttles and cabs, which is very expensive) but nonetheless, fun times...

We did our last show for the year in November with Incantation, Funerus, and Fatalist here at Reggies in Chicago...Great show...We debuted 5 new songs at this show...They appeared to go over well...Kristoff (Afterparty Massacre) viddyed it and there is a soundboard recording as well...When it will surface is TDB...There are plans...

As most of you who know me know I hate playing in Chicago...It is very fickle and thankless...This year was really good to us though...We did 4 shows, 3 of them with established bands, 1 was the tour date...

April=Deceased @ The Redline Tap
July=Tour Date @ Nitecap with our bros Gravehill
August=Destroyer666/Enthroned @ Reggies
November=Incantation @ Reggies

All shows went great and we were treated the way a band should be treated at all of these shows...The majority of shows we did this year were about the same...Well, all except one maybe...Not gonna mention it though...why bother??

So what is going on you ask? Oh, you didn't ask...well, I'm gonna tell you anyway...

Cardiac has just started recording our 4th album...I'm not going to tell you the name yet, nor the song titles...My old ass still believes that there should be some kind of mystique about a band...Too much information flies around out there...

Says me who is writing a stupid blog...ha ha!!

I will say that Jim (drummer) got done 6 drum tracks last Saturday...And I must say, the drums sounded fucking intense!!! No bullshit and no tricks...Massive!!!We will be in again this Saturday...5 more songs which hopefully he can knock out...And there will be a cool surprise when we start guitars...and I'm not letting the rabbit out of the hat on that either...

No pics just yet...Jim has some drum cam footage...Go look on his or the Cardiac Facebook page if you really want to see it...

So it snowed last week...and i had to clear snow around my neighborhood before making the trek to the studio and I was late as always...And it is supposed to snow massively this Saturday, so I'm sure I'll be late again...Ugh

I started a beer pyramid at the studio...I'll post pics of the progress...Fun fun!!

What's going on with Severed you ask? Oh yeah, my other band...To be honest, I really don't know...I'm so busy, I'm not thinking about it much...Maybe time to call it a day?? Maybe not? I don't know...I hate to stop because I have been doing it since 95...Seems like a waste if I don't keep going...Decisions, decisions...

Till next time...Cheers!!!