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18 DecBehind-The-Scenes Look at Hard Rock Band Inside The Black In The Studio

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Inside The Black in the studio.

Inside The Black in the studio.

We just recently got out of the studio, recording some new material, and wanted to share some video footage with you!

We video taped as much as we could, covering everything from setting up the drums, to recording scratch tracks, to tracking the drums, bass, rhythm guitar, solos and vocals.

It was a lot of fun and we hope you enjoy this behind-the-scenes look at the recording process!

As we mentioned in the last post, we recorded these four new songs at Hemispheres Recording, with James Lugo, Gregg Sartiano and Daniel McMains. They were great to work with and we hope to record more there soon.

Here you go, check ‘em out!

Part 01 – “Arrival”

Part 02 – “Drum Your Face Off”

Part 03 – “Nick’s Confession”

Part 04 – “Scratch That Itch”

Part 05 – “Rhythm Method (Bass)”

Part 06 – “Rhythm Method (Guitar)”

Part 07 – “A Tune Up”

Part 08 – “Solos Gone Wild (Part 1)”

Part 09 – “Solos Gone Wild (Part 2)”

Part 10 – “Interlude”

Part 11 -  “Vocals”

Part 12 – “Is This Over Now?”

Part 13 – “One Door Closes, Another Door Opens”

Part 14 – “Mixing It Up”

Part 15 – “Fine”

That’s all of ‘em … thanks for watching!

Category(s): Production
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26 NovIn The Studio Recording Four New Songs

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Back In The Saddle

On Friday, November 19, 2010, Inside The Black re-entered the studio to record some brand new material!

We’re recording four new songs, including one that will appear on the official soundtrack to Heavy Metal magazine’s digi-comic, Gates.

The Studio

Studer 2" Tape Machine

Studer 2" Tape Machine

All tracking and mixing is happening at James Lugo’s Hemispheres Recording. It’s a really cool studio with an incredible amount of jaw-dropping gear – the kind of stuff that was used to make all of your favorite records.

For all you musicians and gear heads, here’s a quick rundown of some of the recording equipment we’re using:

DAW:

- Pro Tools HD3 Accel

Drums:

- Yamaha Oak Custom 24″ kick drum

- Peace toms

- Ludwig 6.5X14 Black Beauty Snare

Bass:

- ‘66 Reissue Jazz bass with Antiquity pickups

- Ampeg SVT 300 Watt Bass Amp (Vintage ‘78)

- Mesa Boogie PowerHouse 8X10 Bass Cab

- DI

Guitar:

- Les Paul Standard

- Fender Telecaster

- Marshall ‘71 Super Tremolo 100w (modded by Dave Friedman)

- Ceriatone Plexi Super Lead 100 (Marshall Plexi clone)

- Orange Amplifier

Other Cool Shit:

– Studer A800 16 Track 2″ Tape Machine with Endless Analog CLASP (Tape to Pro Tools). We recorded the drums to tape, and may “rinse” the other tracks through 2″ tape as well.

- Echoplex

- Neve mic pres

- Universal Audio 1176LN Compressor

- Universal Audio La3a Compressor

- Urie 1178 Stereo Compressor

Audio, Video and Photos

Everything is sounding fantastic and we can’t wait for you to hear these new tunes. We’re still figuring out the best way to release the songs, so stay tuned for details on that.

We did shoot some video and will work on editing together some exclusive looks at our recording process.

We also took some photos which you can look at on our official Flickr page.

So far we’re having a blast and will keep you posted on our progress. In fact, you can follow us on Twitter for up to the minute updates.

Category(s): Announcements, Production
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22 NovFleshed Out Demo 9 (Instrumental)

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Drive Me Crazy

This song was written after a long period of not having written a lot. I was mainly looking to play a mid-tempo driving riff on the low E string – something that grooved as usual, and just felt like it could go on forever, sounding cool as hell.

I had this main C6/A -> E progression sitting around, but it needed more parts.

C6A / E

C6A / E - Click for larger view

After a lot of failed attempts, I was finally able to sit down and add another chord to the main progression (going to an F every other time), a bridge, and a chorus!

The Arrangement
I liked listing the arrangement in the last demo post, so here it is for this song:

Intro (verse): 0:00 – 0:30

Verse 1: 0:30 – 0:50

Bridge: 0:50 – 1:09

Chorus: 1:09 – 1:28

Verse 2: 1:28 – 1:48

Bridge: 1:48 – 2:07

Chorus: 2:07 – 2:26

Solo (over verse): 2:26 -2:45

Chorus out: 2:45 – 3:40

As usual, there aren’t vocals for this yet. We may or may not end up singing over the intro. We’ll probably also play around with the idea of the intro only being the drums and guitar, or only the drums and bass.

Let The Music Do The Talkin’

That’s about all there is to say about his song. Take a listen.

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And finally, make sure you download the band’s first album for FREE at http://insidetheblack.bandcamp.com.

Category(s): Demos, Songwriting
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31 OctInside The Black to be on Soundtrack for Heavy Metal Presents: Gates

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It was announced today that Heavy Metal magazine plans to publish its first digital comic, Heavy Metal Presents: Gates. It was also revealed that the comic will feature a music soundtrack that will include a song by Inside The Black.

Heavy Metal Presents: Gates

Heavy Metal Presents: Gates

The comic’s official site, http://gates.heavymetal.com, launched today and the comic will debut on the site on 1.1.11.

The release details are still being worked out and will be announced soon, but look for a digital and limited edition CD release by early 2011.

Gates centers on a specially-conceived young man, named Gates, living a wretched existence in an isolated colony of humans ruled by a totalitarian government that controls all facets of life, from which Gates must escape. Gates is an epic tale of discovery and adventure addressing ideas of identity, society, politics, and philosophy, as well as modern concerns, including environmentalism, evolution, and the unintended consequences of scientific and technological experimentation.

Heavy Metal and the comic’s creator, Hal Hefner, wanted to not only pay homage to the famous soundtrack for the 1981 Heavy Metal film, but to also create something special for the release of Gates.

The 1981 Heavy Metal film soundtrack features songs by Sammy Hagar, Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult and Stevie Nicks, among others.

The soundtrack for Gates will not only feature a song by Inside The Black, but also music from LoveKrafty, The Odd Wedding, and more acts are to be announced.

The official site for the comic can be found at http://gates.heavymetal.com

For a limited time, fans can receive a free download of the demo for Inside The Black’s song “Is This Over Now?” which will appear on the soundtrack by signing up at http://insidetheblack.fanbridge.com/

Category(s): Announcements
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27 OctFleshed Out Demo 8 (Instrumental)

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Unedited

Inside The Black: We like it raw.

Inside The Black: We like it raw.

Here we are with the eighth demo, still in its early instrumental form. While it didn’t start out as such, this song eventually was arranged with a fairly ambitious goal in mind. It’s hard to say if the song is where it should be, so I would love to hear what others think.

The song currently clocks in at just over eight minutes. It’s entirely possible that it could use a little editing. Or perhaps even some re-writing of parts. But in the spirit of sharing demos in their raw form, I wanted to share this first arrangement.

Since there are no vocals yet, here is a breakdown of the song’s arrangement … either to help it make more sense in its current form, or so you can skip around to the different sections if you want.

Intro (variation on the chorus): 0:00 – 1:04

Intro chorus: 1:04 – 1:55

Turnaround (variation on the verse): 1:56 – 2:09

Verse 1: 2:09 – 2:38

Bridge: 2:38 – 3:03

Chorus: 3:03 – 3:55

Turnaround (variation on the verse): 3:55 – 4:08

Verse 2: 4:08 – 4:40

Bridge: 4:40 – 5:06

Chorus: 5:06 – 5:57

Turnaround (variation on the verse): 5:57 – 6:10

Solo (over verse and bridge): 6:10 -7:05

Chorus out: 7:05 – 8:12

While I could easily edit the length of many of these parts – cutting them in half in most cases, I have to admit that a lot of the inspiration for this arrangement came from endless hours of listening to long sprawling pieces by Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Metallica. The latter two in particular are known for taking a riff/part and beating you over the head with it repeatedly, often without vocals. Whether or not I came up with something that deserves that same treatment is another story, but that’s the inspiration.

The Demo

Alright, take a listen and let us know what you think!

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Subscribe, Bookmark, Download!!!

Subscribe to this blog (explanation/instructions)!!! Or bookmark it and visit often if you don’t use an RSS reader — I post about once a week.

And finally, make sure you download the band’s first album for FREE at http://insidetheblack.bandcamp.com.

Category(s): Demos, Songwriting
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