Still (Not) The One...

So we got some more work in last night on "(I Am Not) The One"... Josh got his first listen to the new lyrics and melodies that I had put together, liked them quite a bit for the most part. So we spent some time working them over a bit, a little nip here, a tuck there - really collaborated to make the words flow better. We also "fixed" some of the lines that I had quickly thrown to tape, which made for much more interesting and memorable melodies. We also dropped in a bass line where one was missing.

We then took a couple listens to "Suture," the other song currently in our active queue - and considered some very cool additions (vocal bridge, guitar solo, keyboard melody, a nifty way to fade it out...) So again, a productive evening in Digital Din Studio!

(I Am Not) The One

So, it looks like that may be the title of one of the first songs getting our full attention for the next album! Josh and I did some very productive work on the tune (#2, unnamed song in the last update) at this past week's session, making great progress on the music. We were excited to add some acoustic guitar parts which really acted as the "glue" between some of the sections that needed better transitions. The song now sounds much more cohesive and complete. We also worked on some sounds, tightening up the tone for the bass and electric guitars. Of course, they'll mostly be re-recorded for the final versions, but... nice to get the scratch versions sounding as good as possible to keep us inspired and focused.

I later got back in the studio and did some lyric writing and scratch vocals. I'd run the concept of the lyrics past Josh during the session, and he seemed to really dig the idea. So I had some inspiration and got behind the board with a pencil and paper and got to work. The lyric writing is proving to be a little difficult because the line lengths for the verses tend to vary from line to line, so the meter isn't steady. But I think I've got the first verse knocked out, wrote what I think is a pretty cool chorus, and am working on a two-line bridge and second verse. We'll see what makes the cut when Josh returns to the studio.

Back in the studio!

Josh and I got together to work on some music last night; it was largely an "evaluation" session, where we went over our large catalog of partially finished tunes to determine where to dive in. We're currently going to be working on three songs:

1. An almost completed song that we may release on the internet, separately from the album - we'll call it "N.T.S." - it's got humorous lyrics and a musical vibe not unlike some of the more playful songs by A.C.T. (an interesting association that Josh made while listening to it last evening).
2. An unnamed song which is 95% done musically, but needs lyrics/concept/vocals and subsequent rearranging. It's a bit more epic, and has very interesting changes.
3. A dark song called "Suture" which is mostly complete musically but needs some lyrical work and some arrangement and orchestration changes.

More work on the Concept Album

I did some more writing and preliminary recording on the concept album last night. I think I'll have the working title of the concept album be "Barren" for the time being. The opening song (for now) will probably be called "Story of a Man" and that's what I was working on last night; it's starting off kind of "ballad-y" and serves to introduce the primary "character" in the piece. I don't want to give too much away, mostly because it's all still a work in progress and some things may change. But the concept has a very interesting storyline, and offers the great possibility to bring in guest vocalists, which is always fun!

Josh did like what I've composed thus far, and is itching to stamp his "sound" on it with some killer guitar parts... so he and I need to get together and work on the songs, and also talk about whether some of our other songs in progress can and will fit into the concept. Perhaps we'll make it an entire concept album, rather than a partial - I do think that our earlier work in progress, "Undertow," will seamlessly "fit" within the storyline.

Anyway, I'm rambling now - but more to come, and soon!

New album may contain a "Concept Album Side"

So for quite a while I've had an interesting concept percolating in my head... it actually goes back several years, even before the release of our first album. But it was too large to include on "Awaken the Man" and we already had the material in the pipeline for that album anyway. So this concept was put on the back burner, perhaps for the follow-up album.

It's actually been quite a labor to make it all "work." The concept is a bit heady, yet I wanted it to be simply stated. I had some great ideas, but getting them all to work well together has been a real chore. Some of it required a good bit of research, too - I'm actually basing some of it on real life historical events and legends.

Curiosity piqued yet? It promises to be a real undertaking, one that should be epic, yet enjoyable for all of our fans. And it has some neat twists (and hopefully, some sonic surprises) that will make it really unique and powerful.

So I've got most of the lyrics laid out and ready for critical editing, and I've started on some of the music - I have some good themes going, and should be able to get some nice melodies written over the instrumentals. I sent a rough over to Josh, we'll see what he thinks... :)