ValveDriver

Zoot, how are ya, man? Well, I hope.
Thanks for the listen and the comment. I appreciate it.
Ministry has been on regular rotation in my playlists since about 1989. Even in my tracks where I'm not intentionally going for that vibe (like this one), they still show up in some way or another.
I'm flattered that you would think to show this to your son. I know you've said in the past that he's become quite the metal head. Let me know what he thought of it.
Take care, mister.
Aaron.

Mark, how's it goin' Mister? I hope your holiday was good, and just how you needed it to be.

First of all, thank you for not only listening, but listening deep enough to be able to leave some critique. That is absolutely crucial for improvement, and I don't think a lot of people here understand that.
Since I'm just a self-taught producer, I've kind of missed a lot of important tricks and tools. Moreover, the discipline to go find them. I looked into multiband saturation, and you absolutely correct. I'll work on getting that set up and played with. I don't think I'll re-re-reupload though. Just like "third time is the charm," so is "Third time is good enough" HA!
Anyhow, I listened to the track you posted for me to check out, but it was only once on my phone speaker, while trying to distract an 8 week old Doberman puppy from tearing down the tree. I had planned on coming back to check it out with the respect it deserved, but you had already changed it. None the less. I'm honored that you would do that for me, and I don't take the gesture lightly.
With much respect, Sir, do take care.
Aaron.

Dime, what's goin' on, my friend?
Thank you for taking the time to give this one a whirl. I'm glad you liked it. It is a little different, but not by too much. Especially when compared to my "A.I. Is Sex And Violence". There are a lot of similarities in these two.
True, I do like the darkest of the dark. But every now and then, man, you just gotta get up and rock the F out!
Take care, brother. I hope your Christmas was exactly how you needed it to be for you!
Aaron

Thank you. Originally I was going for "The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste" era Ministry vibes. But as usual, it kind of morphed into what IT wanted to be.
Thanks again for listening and commenting. I appreciate it greatly.
Take care.
V.

Fair enough! Thanks for actually taking time to answer. I always enjoy back and forth in the comments.
I like the fact that it started creating scenes for you. It means I did an alright job at creating a piece with "feel" as opposed to just sound.
Thanks for getting back to me, Dan. I appreciate it!
Take care.

I did readjust the bass. I didn't really bump it up at all, but I did clean the low-mids so it's not so muddy. Thank you for giving it a second go, and the suggestion!
Take care, Robin!

Aaron

Thank you, Kay. It's not my best quality work, but it's my first public upload. Sort of the Valvedriver debut, if you will. So, it holds a special spot in my heart. I do really wish I could go back and remix it, though.
Thanks again, Kay!
Take care.
Aaron.

Thanks, Dan. I appreciate you taking the time to listen and comment, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. I am curious though, I wonder what your interpretation of "cinematic" is. Especially in this case. I wonder if it's the vocal samples from cinema that gives you that feeling, or if the track itself somehow invokes a cinematic feel overall.
Either way, thank you again!
Take care.
V.

At first I was struggling to see how you were able to connect Fleetwod Mac to this track. That's just something I thought I'd never hear. Valvedriver and Fleetwood Mac in the same sentence. But after going back and listening to The Chain again, I can totally see where you're coming from. What a cool connection!
Thanks, Kay. I appreciate you swinging by and having a listen and a comment.
Take care.
V.

Anthony, thank you for your kind words. I appreciate it! I made quite a few changes to this track since you listened to it. If you ever listen to it again, I'd love to hear any feedback you may have.
Thanks again.
Take care.
V.

Thanks, Robin. I appreciate it. If you're interested enough to check it out again, I went back and edited the whole track. Like I told Aaron, it's the same...just more.
Either way, thanks for listening and commenting. I appreciate it.
Take care.
V.

Thanks man. I appreciate it. Your brother does a fine job at things as well!
Take care.
V.

I discovered Ministry in 1989. Since then, I've been a die hard fan. They have a few that came out after FilthPig that I'm not real excited about. But I still love them just the same.
I did some (a lot of) rework on this track. In my opinion, it wasn't up to Valvedriver standards. Check it out again. It's the same...but more.
Take care, brother!

They were both heavy influences. Thought I'd take a spin down that genre and see if I could do anything even remotely similar.
Thanks for listening and commenting. I appreciate it.
Take care.
V.

Thank you, Alan. I appreciate that.

I'm glad to hear you and your siblings have conquered the beast. Truly. I believe that peace is the baseline default of our psyche. It's not something you chase, achieve, or ascend to. It's something you have to uncover by removing agents of chaos. Anything that inhibits the natural state, anything that has been piled on by the human narrative. Addiction being one of those things. That's why it's such a motherfucker. It lulls you into a false state of peace. But really, it couldn't be more chaotic, and caustic. The antithesis of peace.
As far as understanding my art. I do. I was born an artist, and expression through creativity is the only way I know how. Drawing and painting are my true love. Music is an alternate path of expression when I need a break from the canvas. So, in that, I still paint, but with sound instead of oils.
Thanks for taking the time, man. And again, I'm glad you guys kicked it.
Take care.

This genre is new territory for me, so I'm glad you liked it. Thanks man.

Anthony, you are absolutely correct. This is empathy for the user, and how they feel. The heavy anchor of addiction, and the screaming presence of withdrawal.
Thank you for listening so intently. I appreciate that beyond words.
Take care.
V.

Mark, thanks for stopping by, mister. I'm glad you liked this. I remember a time when I blasted Zeppelin, too. But that quickly gave way to Metallica, then Slayer, and ALL of the metal that came after it. But, don't get me wrong, I still love the "classic rock". Growing up on it means it's basically a part of my DNA, and every now and then, I have to go back and get my fill.
Thanks again, man. I really do appreciate it!
Take care.
V.

Thank you. I'm glad you like it.
Take care.
V.

What you said you felt, is exactly what I was going for! So, I was actually glad to see that you said, "the wind is blowing a mist storm and you know there is danger you just can't see it,".
That was one of the effects I was going for when I was designing the patches. I have two layered patches that were built using the Noise engine, and two oscillators set to high pitched sine/triangle waves (and a ton of filter effects, envelopes, and LFO's) for the "tension in the mist" feel. It's good to know that their intended purpose was a success.
Ambient is a new genre for me, and I'm really liking it. So, thank you for the great feedback. It lets me know I'm doing something right!
I'm glad you enjoyed, mister!
Thank you, and take care!
Aaron.

Thank you, Glenn. I was just playing in Serum2 when it all started. Then, everything kind of just...fell together. Thank you again.
Take care.
V.