I’ve had this banging around in my head for a long time and I finally took a whack at it.
It’s not a finished product, but it would be great to get some feedback on it in general. The mix right now is static, so my main concerns are structure and whether I should keep working on it. Thanks for your ears!
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Free from this world of hate…powerful stuff from a powerfull singer. Man how do you get yourself up for that vocal? I’d have to get kicked in the bottom a few times to do that.
Guitar riffs are very good with and instant stop to breathe. I like that alot. I agree totally for the need of a a sheriff. Great demo start. Bet it felt good with the old axe in your hands. carry on
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There are great elements in this! The guitar solo is smokin! Your vocals, if I haven’t mentioned this before, remind me of Glenn Hughes (Trapeze, etc).
The intro is cut off a bit, seems like it needs more of a lead in. The lyrics seem very impactful, I’d enjoy a lyrics post. The guitar riffs and progression are great. Sounds really good for a static mix, but some embellishments of sections and parts could really take it up a notch.
BTW - Here’s a great organization I heard of. Watch the video on the main page. Sheriff’s are the unsung heroes of the Constitutional Republic!
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Grab all you can, and head for the mountain
Or meet with your final reward
They’re burning our churches, and taking no prisoners
In the name of their merciful Lord.
We need a brand new sheriff in this town
Who won’t put up with bloodshed on his hallowed ground
A brand new sheriff in this town
And when he swings the sword of justice
You’d better know what side you’re on
Father, receive these innocent children
They did not deserve their fate
Safe in your keep, they’ll play with the angels
Free from this world of hate
(Chorus)
Bridge:
Nothing’s sacred in this Holy War
But we’re still sinning
We mourn our dead while you bury yours
No one’s winning
(Guitar solo)
Father, forgive this weary crusader
I took pleasure in my vengeance, I can’t deny
I killed without conscience and slayed in your glory
A tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye
(Chorus)
Father
Father
Oh Father.
Question; are the vocals not sticking out enough? I always think they are way out there, but I’ve gone through the lyrics a thousand times.
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I remember years ago a video showing a grown Middle Eastern man stomping an infant enemy child to death, and it stuck with me.
The idea that we live in a world where people can still act so primitively is astounding to me.
Religious extremism should be an oxymoron we can eliminate.
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Hey Bob, rockin’ track, as usual!
For me, the arrangement could do with a tweak to get more variation and drama. I would suggest making the last verse (after the guitar solo) a “down” verse, especially since it is kind of confessional. Perhaps pull out the drums and bass and just have a simple guitar and voice, building up to the last line of that verse, and then coming back in full on for the final chorus to create some real impact to bring the song home.
I hope that makes sense.
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I hear you. I could take down the main guitars and just use the 16th notes. Simplify the bass line to play a melody without drums and just have the drums do a swell into the chorus.
Good idea, I’ll think about it a bit, although I do like how it just slams right through everything.
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Thanks for the lyrics! I can hear them clearly, and was able to get a pretty good sense of the story by listening, but reading a lyric sheet can be really helpful to better understand the story, and clear up anything I may have missed or misinterpreted.
The vocals are plenty prominent IMO, but still glued enough into the music track to feel natural.
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Good track all around, I like the lead sound, can you give us your signal chain? Could have an outro too I think, maybe riff on the Father , Oh Father line?
Signal chain for the solo guitar is a tweaked preset on Scuffham Amps S Gear based on their Marshall emulation. It has a little slow chorus on it that gives it a “chirpy” edge to it that seems to accentuate the pick harmonics.
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Here’s a new arrangement for the tune. Fun day trying to get my Waves plugs to load, and learning how to move things around in Reaper. Thanks to Ingolee and Andrew for some good ideas. I think there’s more impact now.
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Sounding cool! The new arrangement works great 
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Hey Bob My puter’s headphone died. Had to resurrect an old one Ha ha
Would love to have your start the song with what yur doin at 2:35 ish. It’s very cool and would let one ease into it smoothly??? Also the bridge solo is as good as it gets, but would like it down the middle for more punch.
You sung this very well. That said, I would love to study your vocal with melodyne. Event a ten second raw clip. I have a feeling it is gonna be spot on. You could pm me as not to show it on the forum.Just for shits and giggles as they say.
congrats for the track and killin it in the studio again
Unfortunately, my voice is all over the place. I think the feel is okay, but it’s not accurate. My vibrato hides it a bit.
I can move the solo up the middle easily. Just a bit of automation.
Hoping to redo this down the line with a live rhythm section, so it’s still marinating.
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That section at 2:32-2:54 sounds new, and is very interesting and cool! At first listen I didn’t care for it, the sound was wild and almost untamed, but I was enchanted with the unusual effect. How in the world did you achieve those sounds? The heavily vibed melody sounds detuned and phased, the countermelody on the left sounds like a mandolin? Really curious about your process on this.
I’m playing two tracks of slide guitar on my 12 string Strat home built guitar through a Plexi preset on S-Gear. I’m also plucking chords on the 12 string up the middle.
From there it’s a growling B3 on the right and a bell-like synth patch on the left. I tried to eq everything so the individual parts poked out at different times.
I tried to make it feel like it was a confession to a priest, where in the rest of the song the protagonist is yelling at God because he can’t figure out what is happening in the world.
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Woooowww, that’s pretty deep stuff man. I knew there was a lot more to this song than meets the ear. That’s what drew me in. As to what’s happening in the world, you can probably watch what’s happening with Twitter as a microcosm of “All Hell’s Breaking Loose”. 
“Marco … Polo!” 
I don’t think I’ve ever heard a 12-string slide guitar … until now! That may have contributed to the initial impression of wild and untamed. What I thought was a mandolin, which also kind of sounds like a harpsichord, must be the bell-like synth patch. I think I can hear the B3 on the right, but there’s some degree of blurring between that and the guitar slides. I can feel it, but can’t always clearly hear the elements of those. Which has some beneficial and yet befuddling effects.
Now that you mention it, it might be cool to cascade the parts in measure by measure to build the section up slowly.
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Yeah, just a tad more clarity of instruments as it progresses in that section maybe. I do think that very last ‘note’ where there’s a loud pick scraping down the strings or something (maybe it’s the B3?) is really cool and should be left in, left the same. It’s panned far right on my speakers.
I forgot to mention previously that the intro is fixed in this new version, where it was cut off in the 1st version by a couple of seconds. That was probably just the file render parameters though.
Also, as I think more about the story, there’s a strong sense of what many people are talking about these days; “a spiritual war between good and evil going on in the world” basically.