I Made A Free Rock/Metal Album And It's Called "Illuminauts" - General

[B]UPDATE: NEW EP OUT NOW[/B] [url=https://hakita.bandcamp.com/album/pyre-songs-inspired-by-dark-souls][img]https://f0.bcbits.com/img/a3573966369_2.jpg[/img][/url] 30-minute EP consisting entirely of songs about Dark Souls. Very orchestral oriented, symphonic, dark metal with near to none electronic-esque synths. Written so it can be enjoyed alone, or while playing Dark Souls. [B]__________________________________________________[/B] Hey guys, As some of you who has listened to the Facepunch Collaboration albums might know, I write music, mostly metal. However, while usually my music would be pure MIDI, I decided to write an entire album with an RSE this time. Making this was a ton of fun and definitely very different than writing MIDI and I had much more liberty to do whatever I wanted, as you might hear from the variety of styles and sub-genres that are in this album. It's completely free, although you can still use money to buy it if you want. Just enter in "0" as the price and you'll get a free download link right away. I would really, really appreciate it if you guys took an hour out of your day and listened to this album and wrote some feedback here, since I tend to get any feedback very rarely. Anyways, without further ado, I present Illuminauts: [url=http://hakita.bandcamp.com/][img]http://f0.bcbits.com/img/a1947426059_2.jpg[/img][/url] [sub]^click the picture^[/sub] The album has a very heavy and raw sound, but still with some light riffing here and there and tons of progressive rock influences. The sound clipping on the album is purely intentional, because I wanted to go for the sound of Boris' rock albums, but I didn't want to go full on raw like them, because that would probably get really annoying with the amount of different instruments. Quick song rundown (same descriptions as in the bandcamp pages of the songs): [sub][B]Spaced Out in Outer Space[/B] -- A stoner metal intro with some Dead Space 2 samples. Pretty heavy stuff, should get you in the right mood for the rest of the album. [B]Fingering Am (It's a Musical Joke!)[/B] -- Faster paced and more basic rock than the last track. Quite a fair amount of focus on the Hammond organ on this one, with a musical 180 after around half the track. [B]This Is What I Hear When I Close My Ears[/B] -- And here's a track where I just went all out and did whatever I felt like doing. Very varied, everchanging but still with some reappearing motifs to keep a constant feel going. [B]I'm a very DRONE to EARTH Guy, Y'Know?[/B] -- Drone metal/Post-rock interlude. Much slower and less action packed, gives a little breather and keeps the album from getting repetitive. As the title implies, it's inspired by the band Earth. [B]As Vigilant As A Carrot ~ Keep Your Peepers Peeled!![/B] -- Fast-paced, light-hearted but still heavy progressive rock. Transitions slowly into a heavier prog metal style and then quickly changes to a fusion folk vibe. [B]Onii-chan, What is BRVTAL KVLT?[/B] -- Much heavier, darker, slower and more brooding metal. Starts with a djenty vibe, turns to doom metal, changes around a bit and then has some vocaloids as an outro. All-out heavy action. [B]Summersault[/B] -- Another interlude, this time as a happy guitar solo, building up from an acoustic to wah to distortion. Breaks up the tension between the 2 heaviest tracks on the album. [B]Drop The Beat, Merzbow![/B] -- The heaviest track on the album and also a very experimental one. Combining elements of noise and progressive metal to create an almost IDM-like metal song. The title is a reference to Merzbow, whom is a famous noise artist from Japan. [B]It's Always Sunny in the Cosmos (An Ode to the Illuminauts)[/B] -- The finale of the album, working off the heavy, hectic last track. Keeps changing between a calm sound and fast rock vibe while still keeping an underlying light mood. Quite epic, if I do say so myself.[/sub] As you might see from the song names and the cover, the album still has a very light-hearted feel to it, even with all the raw heaviness. So yeah, please give it a spin and I'd love to get any kind of feedback, positive or negative!

I'm down to listen [editline]7th July 2013[/editline] I'm liking what I hear already

Nice album man.

[QUOTE=Darth_Kris;41347684]Nice album man.[/QUOTE] Thanks, I'm glad you like it

I was actually gonna be a dick, and post about how you should put this in the music subforum, but then I saw that you're fucking [B]Hakita[/B]! So on that reasoning, I'm gonna listen to this. Still think you're one of the best users on Facepunch. [editline]7th July 2013[/editline] Damn, this shit's pretty good. Good job, dude. Keep it up!

[QUOTE=CAPT Opp4;41347872]I was actually gonna be a dick, and post about how you should put this in the music subforum, but then I saw that you're fucking [B]Hakita[/B]! So on that reasoning, I'm gonna listen to this. Still think you're on of the best users on Facepunch. [editline]7th July 2013[/editline] Damn, this shit's pretty good. Good job, dude. Keep it up![/QUOTE] D'aww, thanks. I've posted my earlier albums in the music subforum, but I got barely any posts there, so I figured that it would be pointless to post there since nobody would see it.

[QUOTE=Hakita;41347902]D'aww, thanks. I've posted my earlier albums in the music subforum, but I got barely any posts there, so I figured that it would be pointless to post there since nobody would see it.[/QUOTE] Yeah. There are so many people posting their own content in the subforum, (most of it's not great), so you'd probably just get brushed aside as just another indie artist. Posting here was probably a good call.

You said you wanted some feedback, so I wrote down my thoughts as I was listening to it, but I'm by no means a musical expert or critic so probably best to take everything with a bit of salt. [HR][/HR] Liked the Dead Space sampled intro for track 1, nice bass too, reminded me a bit of an older doom band bassline. The part where the distorted guitar sound comes in could have used a less sharp roll-up, but I don't know if that's because of it being midi or not (hard to emulate cranking a knob up exactly the way someone might). Part it goes into after that segue is top, I'm writing this after the other tracks as somehow I started on track 5, but I guess this is the start of those harmonized synths, nice. Ending on a slightly different version of the beginning bass/guitar part was good. Track 2, nice old school prog organ. Makes me want to go on a beat for some reason. The distorted guitar reminds me of a track on Year Zero by Nine Inch Nails, but I'm not sure which one. Possibly Capital G. Goes right into the straight metal part, I can dig it. These synth organ sounds man, you have a knack for choosing complimentary sounds throughout the album. I'm kind of bummed that all my music theory classes have served me no good except to get the title of this track though, and even then I thought it was about fingering chords before the filthy part of my brain kicked in and I went "Ooooooooh". Solid pun. Very nice open sounding chords starting out 3. Drums kick in and for some reason I'm in the desert, my brain is wired strangely I guess. Ooh, liking the bit right after, makes me nod my head. Oh god it's the weird circus-y sounding parts with a harpsichord into like blown out sounds, top. Slap bass right after, you're a man after my heart Hakita. More bouncy sounds now, good, good. This track has a lot of variety that I can back hard. Just over half-way through now. More build up, descending scales, saxophone, bass clarinet sounds, viola/cello. Damn, even more variety, like this part here with the uh, I want to say saxophones. Back into the fast building part, where will it go this time? Oh it's slowed down, aaaaaand it's over. Track 4 starts with very promising drone-tone. Thinking of Boris and Earth. I keep expecting a Japanese woman to start singing over it. Nice lighter bit now, but quickly back into a drone chord with the lighter bit still under it. Now I'm thinking of Ides of Gemini, still expecting a woman to start singing. Getting to the end now, did what drone does, but wasn't as slow or oppressive sounding as a lot of it, which I liked. Backed. Track 5 and 6 I'm actually writing about after having listened to other tracks after it because I forgot, but I liked it and track 6 a good bit, just straight forward rock/metally stuff. Track 7 reminded me of Porcupine Tree. Felt sort of like I was listening to a song off of Lightbulb Sun until nearer the end where it reminded me of something I can't remember now, an older prog band I think it was. v:v:v The first 40ish seconds of track 8 made me think I wasn't going to like it (anticipated more grating industrially stuff), then the sawtooth guitar sounds came in, thought stuff was kicking off only for it to drop into that acoustic sound with the kick drum for a couple minutes. Transitioned nicely into the black/doom part. Vocaloids took me off guard, not in a bad way, reminded me of how Between the Buried and Me use synths on The Great Misdirect. Sharp transition at the end into the part that at first reminded me of a noisier version of one of the battle themes from Pokemon, was kind of iffy to me personally but very BTB&M-y. Very end reminded me of an evil industrial circus. I lost all of what I wrote about track 9 initially because I hit go advanced and Facepunch broke, but anyway, again, reminded me of BTB&M again but with less weird rhythms. The part that went into a more straight hard-rock feel with the electric organ was nice and segued well going back into the synth/syncopated part. Acoustic ending was nice. [HR][/HR] All the titles made me chuckle, particularly track 2. :v: Good stuff all around, you weren't kidding when you said it had a lot of variety in the description.

Wow, that's a lot of feedback! Thanks a ton! [QUOTE=Greenish_;41348428] Liked the Dead Space sampled intro for track 1, nice bass too, reminded me a bit of an older doom band bassline. The part where the distorted guitar sound comes in could have used a less sharp roll-up, but I don't know if that's because of it being midi or not (hard to emulate cranking a knob up exactly the way someone might). Part it goes into after that segue is top, I'm writing this after the other tracks as somehow I started on track 5, but I guess this is the start of those harmonized synths, nice. Ending on a slightly different version of the beginning bass/guitar part was good.[/QUOTE] Starting on track 5 wasn't a glitch, I chose it as the featured track, since most people who pass by quickly just press play and I felt that that song got to the meat of it fairly quickly. [QUOTE=Greenish_;41348428]Track 2, nice old school prog organ. Makes me want to go on a beat for some reason. The distorted guitar reminds me of a track on Year Zero by Nine Inch Nails, but I'm not sure which one. Possibly Capital G. Goes right into the straight metal part, I can dig it. These synth organ sounds man, you have a knack for choosing complimentary sounds throughout the album. I'm kind of bummed that all my music theory classes have served me no good except to get the title of this track though, and even then I thought it was about fingering chords before the filthy part of my brain kicked in and I went "Ooooooooh". Solid pun.[/QUOTE] Haha, yeah, I never really found musical theory classes to be very useful. Then again, I can't even read notations :v: Most of my sound combinations come from experimentation, but you tend to get the hang of what fits with what after a few years of writing music. [QUOTE=Greenish_;41348428]Very nice open sounding chords starting out 3. Drums kick in and for some reason I'm in the desert, my brain is wired strangely I guess. Ooh, liking the bit right after, makes me nod my head. Oh god it's the weird circus-y sounding parts with a harpsichord into like blown out sounds, top. Slap bass right after, you're a man after my heart Hakita. More bouncy sounds now, good, good. This track has a lot of variety that I can back hard. Just over half-way through now. More build up, descending scales, saxophone, bass clarinet sounds, viola/cello. Damn, even more variety, like this part here with the uh, I want to say saxophones. Back into the fast building part, where will it go this time? Oh it's slowed down, aaaaaand it's over.[/QUOTE] Track 3 was basically the point where I realised the potential of not just using MIDI and started experimenting with everything I could do. I'm sorry if the ending felt a bit anticlimactic, I can definitely understand why you'd feel that, but I failed to notice it while I was writing. [QUOTE=Greenish_;41348428]Track 4 starts with very promising drone-tone. Thinking of Boris and Earth. I keep expecting a Japanese woman to start singing over it. Nice lighter bit now, but quickly back into a drone chord with the lighter bit still under it. Now I'm thinking of Ides of Gemini, still expecting a woman to start singing. Getting to the end now, did what drone does, but wasn't as slow or oppressive sounding as a lot of it, which I liked. Backed.[/QUOTE] My original idea was to go full-on drone, but I quickly dismissed that, since I don't want to completely butcher the pacing of the album :v: I'm really glad you mentioned both Boris and Earth, since both were huge inspirations for this album. Boris for the whole thing while Earth was more focused on this track in particular, as notifiable from the title. [QUOTE=Greenish_;41348428]Track 5 and 6 I'm actually writing about after having listened to other tracks after it because I forgot, but I liked it and track 6 a good bit, just straight forward rock/metally stuff.[/QUOTE] Didn't want to waste any time with track 6, so I went straight for a djent style and then quickly changed it to an Amplifier Worship -inspired Doom style. According to my soundcloud stats, track 6 is 3 times as popular as all the other tracks, so I guess I did [i]something[/i] right. [QUOTE=Greenish_;41348428]Track 7 reminded me of Porcupine Tree. Felt sort of like I was listening to a song off of Lightbulb Sun until nearer the end where it reminded me of something I can't remember now, an older prog band I think it was. v:v:v[/QUOTE] Funny you should bring up Porcupine Tree. The second section (the one after the huge pause) is heavily inspired by Phase I, from Voyage 34. Speaking of the pause, it originally had a sample of Ocelot from Metal Gear Solid 4 yelling "It's not over, not yet!", but I removed it, because I didn't feel like it fit the style of the song. [QUOTE=Greenish_;41348428]The first 40ish seconds of track 8 made me think I wasn't going to like it (anticipated more grating industrially stuff), then the sawtooth guitar sounds came in, thought stuff was kicking off only for it to drop into that acoustic sound with the kick drum for a couple minutes. Transitioned nicely into the black/doom part. Vocaloids took me off guard, not in a bad way, reminded me of how Between the Buried and Me use synths on The Great Misdirect. Sharp transition at the end into the part that at first reminded me of a noisier version of one of the battle themes from Pokemon, was kind of iffy to me personally but very BTB&M-y. Very end reminded me of an evil industrial circus.[/QUOTE] I can definitely understand why you might not like this track. It basically just started with me accidentally creating that beginning noise and then going with the flow. I'm glad I got the evil industrial style through, though. [QUOTE=Greenish_;41348428]I lost all of what I wrote about track 9 initially because I hit go advanced and Facepunch broke, but anyway, again, reminded me of BTB&M again but with less weird rhythms. The part that went into a more straight hard-rock feel with the electric organ was nice and segued well going back into the synth/syncopated part. Acoustic ending was nice.[/QUOTE] I know your pain, I just had to rewrite this post since cloud fucked me over while I was typing. It's a bit weird in my opinion how you mentioned BTB&M with this track. I haven't heard anything from them in years, but I remember them being much heavier. Also, as a side-note, the acoustic, calm intro was supposed to kind of bounce off the hectic ending of track 8, a la the last 2 tracks from Hurtbreak Wonderland, by World's End Girlfriend. Again, thanks a ton for your feedback, I really appreciate you writing all of this for me! [editline]7th July 2013[/editline] Holy balls, someone just bought this album for 10€! Thanks so much, whoever that was! [sub]that's twice as much as I have earned from writing music for 4 years[/sub]

[QUOTE=Hakita;41348982]I know your pain, I just had to rewrite this post since cloud fucked me over while I was typing. It's a bit weird in my opinion how you mentioned BTB&M with this track. I haven't heard anything from them in years, but I remember them being much heavier. Also, as a side-note, the acoustic, calm intro was supposed to kind of bounce off the hectic ending of track 8, a la the last 2 tracks from Hurtbreak Wonderland, by World's End Girlfriend. Again, thanks a ton for your feedback, I really appreciate you writing all of this for me! [editline]7th July 2013[/editline] Holy balls, someone just bought this album for 10€! Thanks so much, whoever that was! [sub]that's twice as much as I have earned from writing music for 4 years[/sub][/QUOTE] I would say BTB&M is heavier, but it was the synths that did it. There's a track on The Great Misdirect, or part of a track that has these very airy/harmonized kind of synths that really stuck in my head over the years, instantly thought of it. I'm also the one who bought the album, I try to always buy music from independent artists because I have so many friends that make music and someone saying "Hey, I'd pay market price for this" is always a big boost to them. I'll probably have to show my one buddy this, he makes ambient music, but he's a huge World's End Girlfriend fan so he'll cream himself when I tell him the last two tracks are supposed to mirror Hurtbreak Wonderland's last tracks.

[QUOTE=Greenish_;41349189]I would say BTB&M is heavier, but it was the synths that did it. There's a track on The Great Misdirect, or part of a track that has these very airy/harmonized kind of synths that really stuck in my head over the years, instantly thought of it. I'm also the one who bought the album, I try to always buy music from independent artists because I have so many friends that make music and someone saying "Hey, I'd pay market price for this" is always a big boost to them. I'll probably have to show my one buddy this, he makes ambient music, but he's a huge World's End Girlfriend fan so he'll cream himself when I tell him the last two tracks are supposed to mirror Hurtbreak Wonderland's last tracks.[/QUOTE] Many thanks! You pretty much did all 3 things I could ask for: Constructive criticism? Check Paid money? Check Told friends? Check You're a goddamn indie music superhero is what you are.

So Hakita-san, what is a BRVTAL KVLT?

[QUOTE=credesniper;41350593]So Hakita-san, what is a BRVTAL KVLT?[/QUOTE] you'll find out when you're older

[QUOTE=Hakita;41350974]you'll find out when you're older[/QUOTE]I'm 20. Are we talking buying a pistol old, or ultra porn old?

i'm really liking what i'm hearing. have you had formal training in composing? i'm interested in writing music myself.

I like it. Alot. Also love the Deadspace part. I'm a big Deadspace fan, I'm gonna download and play this in my car :D

Always great stuff you put out, Hakita. You are unmatched in your composing abilities.

Dude, this is awesome.

Thanks to all of you for your nice comments! I think it's really great that many people are enjoying this! [QUOTE=credesniper;41354019]I'm 20. Are we talking buying a pistol old, or ultra porn old?[/QUOTE] We're talking getting-so-old-you-can't-accept-being-old old [QUOTE=GoldenGnome;41355178]i'm really liking what i'm hearing. have you had formal training in composing? i'm interested in writing music myself.[/QUOTE] Nope. I'm self taught.

I love 4 and 6, they're great You've improved loads since I last listened to one of your albums You should do more drone

[QUOTE=hugarh;41358444]I love 4 and 6, they're great You've improved loads since I last listened to one of your albums You should do more drone[/QUOTE] Sure, I might try that.

[QUOTE=Fourm Shark;41358791]This is what I hear when I close my ears is my favorite.[/QUOTE] If I had to choose my favorites they would probably be Brvtal and Merzbow. I'm glad you like that track though, it was really fun writing it.

Is "Keep your peepers peeled!!!" A S&B Play or Grave Digger reference?

[QUOTE=Str4fe;41359767]Is "Keep your peepers peeled!!!" A S&B Play or Grave Digger reference?[/QUOTE] Yes. I love watching S&BP.

I really don't like the sound of the RSE, if you want to bring out quality content record these instruments please.

[QUOTE=Darkslicer;41367085]I really don't like the sound of the RSE, if you want to bring out quality content record these instruments please.[/QUOTE] Believe me, I would if I could.

i made some songs in the past.. this is one of them: [url]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/15969076/Pyramidplunder.mp3[/url] It actually was a blueprint for my band to play live, but we disbanded soon after [editline]8th July 2013[/editline] Here is another one : [url]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/15969076/Great%20general%20Scotch%26Uboat.mp3[/url]

Woah shit, okay, this is great!

This is great. [editline]8th July 2013[/editline] I love you.

[QUOTE=IceTea;41368475]This is great. [editline]8th July 2013[/editline] I love you.[/QUOTE] I love you too.