ValveDriver

Hello Glenn. I'm glad you stopped by. I always appreciate it when someone takes time for my work.
It's good that you had a hundred different images with this. When I make a track, I tend to try to paint with sound, hoping that it evokes something within the listeners mind, or heart. Your confirmation encourages me to continue.
Thank you again, Glenn.
Take care.
V.

Eric, thanks for stopping by to listen to this, man. Your opinion is an important one. So, I appreciate that you took time to for this, and I'm glad you liked it.

" I think you've just set a new bar for yourself brother. I can't wait to see where it goes from here !!! "
Yeah, I'm kind of curious about that too! I have a WIP folder that I should probably dig around in for any old starts that need a revisiting.
Thanks again, brother. I really do appreciate it.

Mr. Neo. I remember a time when I would get critiques from you, Evisma, Static Nomad, and all the other old timers. The fact that the critiques have lessened to few and far between just lets me know that I've finally gotten good. Finally.
In my synth based tracks, and even a few metal ones, I have always liked to add some form of dubstep synths. I like them too. When used right, they do have a particular attitude.
It's funny you mention angels and demons. That's more or less what this is about. As is most of my work. The conflict of good and evil. How the iniquity of man disguises itself in the clothing of righteousness. The title was taken from Psalms 51:5. "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me". I just tweaked the one word for the context of the song.
A little over a decade of darkness from the Valvedriver camp. And there's no sign of light on the horizon!
Thank you, Neo, for taking time. Your opinion is one that truly matters.
take care, brother.

Thank you. I appreciate it.
V.

Aaron, how ya doin?
I'm glad I could inspire you. It's always good to know that what you do makes others want to do bigger and better. For that, I thank you.
It took a lot of bad tracks to get to these good ones, as I'm sure you know. When I joined in 2012 I had some real ugly ones. But it was because the crowd back then were full of people who weren't afraid to leave constructive criticism. I'd say about 80% of what I know now, is because of those back then. I learned so much. I wish more members still did that. I mention it because, to me, that in itself is a great form of inspiration.
As far as collaborating on M. Squadd, get ahold of me over on Discord. Let me know exactly what you're looking for. We can discuss it over there.
Until then, take care.
Aaron.

Hiya, Rita.
Thank you! Cinematic seems the be the general consensus. For a long time I tried to get away from the cinematic sound, but as an artist before musician, I can't help but make images. In the case of music, I've learned that I basically just paint with sound. I start to see an image in my head as the track progresses, and then I just continue to create the soundtrack to whatever it is that I "see". So, Cinematic it is!
Thank you again!
Take care.
V.

I can guarantee you that any Trap that might be in there is purely coincidental. That's a genre I don't listen to, so I really am not familiar with it. But I can agree with cinematic and weird. People have always told me that my non-metal work is very "soundtracky".
Either way, thank you for listening and commenting. It's much appreciated.
Take care.
V.

Thanks, Robin. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Kay0s, thank you for listening and commenting. You started out on the right path with Black Sabbath. But Linkin Park, Alien And Farm and Velvet Underground are a miss. I like Lou Reed a little, but not enough to call my self a fan. The other two, not a fan at all. Now, if you had said, Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Ministry, and UFOMammut, you would have been straight on.
I appreciate you taking the time, and I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Take care.
V.

(condensed for space limit):
Mr. E.
"Thought for sure the synths would come in"
Metal is what I know best. The synth driven stuff was a pacifier until I figured out the metal. I still dick with synths, but not as much. "

2:20. I may have went a tad Mastodoniacal. It wasn't intentional, but as you well know, influences happen.
Vocals are Alan Watts. If you haven't, you should look into him. He's quite profound.
Originally, this was about life, but when I heard his speech, I had to use it. Not sure if he meant it the way I took it, or if he was using the bell to illustrate that...all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness...you know the rest
.
"You've improved since I last listened to your stuff."

That's good to hear, and thank you for saying so.
I hope to hear some new work from you soon, man. It's been far too long. Just dive the fuck in, and start swimmin'. Let the current carry you to a well earned NTB.
Take care, Mr. E.
Mr. V.

Thank you Rita, I appreciate that!
Take care.
V

Thanks, Paul. I appreciate the kind words.
Funny thing about the "wind" is that when I was making that, my original intent was to recreate the sound of an ultrasound picking up a heartbeat. But as I was tweaking the settings, I got distracted for a minute and when I got back to it, the "wind" sound was still playing and I really liked it, so I went with it. I guess the ultrasound thing will be for another project, huh?
Take care.
V.

Thanks, man. I'm glad you like it. Now that I've finished this, I can focus more on building a few riffs and whatnots for you to use in your projects. I was, as the cool kids these days say, hyper-focused on this bad-boy for a few weeks.

Oh yes. The WIP folder. It should be called the "Stopped-dead-in-it's-tracks,-never-to-be-seen-again,-and-if-it-is,-I'll-say-I'm-going-to-finish-it-someday,-then-throw-it-back-in-so-it-can-rot-in-the-dark" folder.
Typically, the only thing I have that could be considered a work flow is when I first start a new project, and I'm picking, assigning, and setting tones and effects on the instruments. Once that part is over, it's a total free-for-all. It's almost the equivalent of throwing a stack of papers in the air, and then sorting them out after they land.
Thanks for letting me know how it sounded on your system. I usually run mine through a few different ones, including the car. This one was a little elusive on finding that happy medium across them all. So, I appreciate the extra set of ears.

Thanks, man! I appreciate that. This was one of those where I'm thoroughly pleased with it. Usually there's something that I'm not happy with when I finish, but I'm sick of trying to work it out, so I just call it done and cast it out. This one didn't have that. The only issue I had was getting the bass/mid/treble frequencies balanced evenly across all my different sound systems. So, when you listen on your stereo, please, let me know how it sounded, and if I need to make any adjustments.
Alan Watts has some very profound, deep, and insightful words. Definitely an open minded individual.
Thank you again.
Take care.
Aaron.

Thank you John, I appreciate it, and I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Take care.
V.

Pseudo, thank you. I appreciate it. There are definitely a lot of similarities between metal and classical, but beyond the distortion, there are still so many differences. I like to think of it as if Metal is Classical's angry grandchild.
Thanks for the time and the comment. Again, I appreciate it.
Take care.
V

Nonube, thank you for taking the time to listen and comment.
I don't think metal is something I'm capable of not listening to for any extended time. I've been a metalhead since the cold war. The adults back then always said "It's just a phase. He'll grow out of it.". Nope. Never did.
As far as how long it took, a total working time of 19 hours and some change. I think at least a good third of that time was just getting the mix balanced.
Anyhow, thanks again. I appreciate it.
Take care.
v

Thank you Kay0s. I appreciate it!
Take care.
V.

Anthony, I'm glad you like this one. Thank you for taking the time to listen and comment. I appreciate it.

Take care.
V.

For the guitars and bass, I just EQ them side by side so I can make sure the frequencies across the board are cut or boosted in a way that they are all level with no gaps or overlaps. I do cut below 30h and above 10kh. Just to keep it clean since you can't really hear those anyhow. On their buses I use a multiband compressor. Mainly as a form of EQ more than compression. I like to keep my levels lower during the process and boost them in the master.
I do the same thing with the drums. Each piece has it's own mixer track where they are EQ'd and then sent to the bus. Same process as the guitars. After they all go to the master I just boost the levels and if I need to, I use a compressor, a little saturation and a limiter. I think the mixing and tweaking take longer than building the track itself. Which is fine, that's the part I enjoy the most.

I'm one of those that enjoy the tedious act of drawing in the notes and beats one note at a time in the piano roll. Each hit of every piece of the drums, every "pick of the strings". All one click at a time. I don't record anything. But, to answer your question, I do have to nudge the right and left guitar just a touch to avoid phasing.
I really appreciate you taking to time to listen, and to comment so thoroughly. I hope I was able to adequately answer your questions.
Let me know how it sounded on the speakers. I have to admit, I was a little lazy with this one as far as checking against all my different systems. So, some levels may be a little too much, or too little.
Thank you for taking the time, man. I do appreciate it.
Take care.
V.

I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's just a little different compared to my usual attempts. It means a lot that I was able to inspire you.

As far as what I used, I'm assuming you mean software for the guitars, etc.

For the guitars I used Shreddage II and III. For the bass guitar I used Native Instruments Rickenbacker. The amp sims are from Line 6's Pod Farm 2. The synth effect in the intro, outro, and scattered in a few places here and there I made using Sylenth1. The drums are Easy Drummer metal kit.
I hope that answers your question.

Take care.
V.