Hello, my favorite stopgame and good day to those who read my humble blog.
Finally, what I have been working toward for several years has come true, namely, writing a music album.
I am pleased to present to you my musical project, proudly called “Mad_X”.
Initially, I planned to play with different musical compositions or groups in each song, but ironically it turned out that the project turned into a group ala “Four dudes from different cities and countries gathered to play music”. But Mad_X still remains a project in which anyone can participate and offer their ideas or thoughts, if he or she, of course, knows how to play or sing.
Anyway, the mini-album is ready. Initially, the album was called “The Devil’s stories”, combining stories of the Devil and human nature, but with the appearance of some songs (which are not yet presented in this small epishka), the theme of the album changed, which called into question the appropriateness of the original version of the name. And so, after consulting with myself in my head, I decided to name the album “Another_Side”, which better suits the theme of the cover and the songs in general (well, the opening track is named that way, where would we be without it).
Light at the end of the tunnel.
The reason for my creativity was clinical death in 2011 as a result of an accident. When I lay unconscious in intensive care, I saw neither the light at the end of the tunnel nor the tunnel itself. I didn’t see anything at all, but at the same time I thought that I was conscious. And at some point the thought came to my mind: “What if this is life after death?? We will be left alone with our thoughts forever, deprived of the ability to see and feel anything.”. After four years that I spent bedridden as a result of multiple fractures (the Fracture Map is a different story altogether :D), I realized how fragile human life is and how easy it is to end it at any moment. And what will remain after us when we die?? That’s right – the memory of our loved ones about us. Personally, I believe that as long as we are remembered, we live. But how long? Year? Two? Ten years? No matter how good a person is, sooner or later he will be forgotten. Therefore, I decided to leave my modest mark on history by starting my efforts in writing books and music.
And no, friends, I’m not asking you to feel sorry for me and the like. I just want to explain to you my vision of the world after that incident that became a turning point in my life.
Concept and theme of songs.
Mad_X is a project, an idea, the meaning of which is to involve as many people as possible in writing music. Initially, I planned to assemble the most diverse composition for each track, but the result of this was the song Red_Obelisk, which you will not see, because the result was more than terrible. The musicians did not understand what I wanted from them, everything was done in haste and haste. Why, I was in a hurry and didn’t understand what I wanted. But even then, the general idea of the album was outlined, namely, stories telling about philosophy and human nature, reflections on religion, human sins, relationships, and so on. For certain reasons, I parted ways with those musicians (we remained friends and communicate well), but there is material and I need to write something further. Besides, before that I recorded a couple of covers. And the search continued, as did the writing of new material.
As a result, several compositions were born, I specifically tried not to adhere to the concept in the melodies, created the most different mood and atmosphere for each song, but, most importantly, the lyrics of my tracks retained the general philosophy.
Music.
Well, we finally got to Nongamstopsites.uk the most important thing, which is why I created this blog.
Album cover. This is the final version. There will be no names or any other information intentionally. Special thanks to this cool dude!
1. Another_Side.
Working title: Metal_Machine
The first and opening track was Another_Side. Its theme is simple, as is its message. The words in this song tell us about a man who has spent his entire life “alone in his room,” isolating himself from others. He wanted fame and fortune, but did absolutely nothing to achieve his goals until voices whispered to him about “The Other Side.”. And the other side is nothing more than a deal with the Devil. Initially, I planned to record the composition even faster with a powerful fuzz in the stoner style (who knows, will understand), but in the end we decided to settle on a more understandable tempo and instrument sound for the listener.
The peculiarity of the track is that it was recorded on film and then digitized, which gave it some warmth of sound (you can hear a small crackle at the beginning of the song).
2. The_Edge_Of_Insanity.
Working title: stoner_maybe
Edge of Madness. That’s what I call drug addiction. This song touches, as you already understand, on the topic of drugs, addiction and the fight against this disease. The most psychedelic text associated with images, visions and the inevitability of death. Probably the only song with an open ending of all. The irony is that it was recorded almost earlier than the others (precisely a draft), but we only recorded and mixed it now 😀
3. Odin_Will_Rise.
Working title: Rise
Initially, this song was at least 3 minutes longer, but due to the fact that I could not come up with lyrics for it, I left the original version of the title, shortened it and added even more harshness, coupled with fast solos. I don’t have much to say about the process of writing this song, except for one important point. The ending of the song involves a seven-string guitar, which I don’t have, and I’ll never play like that in my life. Not my style at all, because I’ve never been into such djent moves. For toughness, cool performance and power, special thanks to Dead Dog!
4. Osc_2
Working title: Osc_2.
Initially I wanted to record two albums. One in the style of the tracks above, and the other in the ambient genre that you could use for your games, films or shows. Yes, yes, I wanted to record an album especially for you, so that you don’t have to worry about music in your works. But for certain reasons it didn’t work out. But it added weight to the main album.
You won’t believe it in real life, but this track would have happened if my delay hadn’t stuck in the program 😀 The pedal froze and went on endless repeat. Well, what the hell should I do?? I turned off the sound of the guitar, went to drink tea and wait for the signal to die out, because the recording was in progress! Well, then the melody was complemented by an unobtrusive bass, a few electric guitar chords and a wah-wah pedal solo. I wanted to call the song Lonely_Space_Cowboy, because I saw a wandering astronaut in the gloomy darkness of space, but then I thought that this would severely limit the listener’s overall understanding of the song. What’s more important is what you see in your head when you press play.
5. Fuzz_Wars
Working title: Doom.
Probably the most confused and stubborn track here. Let me start by saying that I wrote this song while on pills (medicines!), that’s why the rhythm is as broken as possible (8\8, instead of 4\4). The song is more about images, but talks about religion and its general essence in my understanding: the lie and deception of people that somewhere there is a higher mind that will punish you for your sins. And only eternal prayers and the life of a slave will give you a reason to go to heaven.
I am an atheist and in no way am I trying to offend believers, I am only expressing my opinion. Everyone believes in what they think is right.
The lyrics of the song tell about the Desert of the Sun, in which many people gathered with their guitars and amplifiers to the sounds of burning ships. Turning the volume up to ten, they began playing melodies on the guitar, thereby trying to attract the attention of their god, who is represented by the Sun. A notable point is a small reference to my insanely favorite game Dark Souls. You can hear this reference in the next verse:
For those who are keen: the bass was passed through a guitar amplifier with a guitar cab, which gave it a hard and slightly flat sound, literally cutting through the mix. The sound of guitars is nothing more than an amplifier cranked up all the way, paired with a bridge humbucker, but placed in the neck position. The output I got was a powerful fuzzed sound. The vocals, like on the track above, are routed through a guitar cab paired with a Maxon OD808 pedal.
6. Something_Beautiful
The final track of the epic was this song. Initially, just like Osc_2, it was planned for an ambient album, but migrated here. There are no synthesizers or other instruments except guitars. Whatever I did, I lowered the pre-recorded sound down several octaves, severely slowed everything down (the roar at the beginning, for example, is a blow to the string). And the melody is a feedback effect (when the guitar is started from the amplifier), passed through several echo and delay effects.
Recording participants:
Guitar, author of music and lyrics – Artem Korotkov (you know me as Mamba. We need to make a deanon sometime, yes?).
Bass: Konstantin Kalinin
Vocals: Ilya Palvenko.
Sevenstring: Dead Dog.
Drums: Fred Shikada.
Cover: Kasagon
Mixing, mastering and recording: Artem Korotkov.
That’s all for today. Thank you very much for your attention! I hope you enjoy my songs and support me by joining my VK group, where a release will be announced soon. Stopgame became the first site where I officially published these tracks 😉 Please do not forget to comment and give pluses or minuses, because this is the only way I can understand whether you liked my music or not.
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