What is the Status of the Physical CD?
A brief History
When Tortured Conscience first started working with Battlefrost Productions, the first order of business was to re-release “Every Knee Shall Bow.”
Of course this album was originally released by Bombworks Records in 2006…
Well, I didn’t want to simply release something that is already out there unless something could be done to make it truly different. What would be the point?
So when Jeff Lenormand (founder, main song writer, and guitarist) told me (Charles/Battlefrost) that he had access to the original multi-tracks of this record, the plan was set. (For a little more info on that, check out this video.)
It was decided there would be a complete re-mix from the ground up, not just a re-master. That is how we were going to make this new release worth the price of admission.
After I finished re-mixing this, the sound was completely different. Check out this example to hear for yourself.
Old mix compared to the new mix
Well, somewhere along the way, it was agreed that I would step in on the Lead Vocal position for the band with the new material that is forthcoming. This led to the idea of re-recording one of the songs, completely over again from scratch as a bonus track. This new recording would be made exclusive to the physical CD.
This bonus track would be “No Ambiguity,” the first track with my vocals. This would further set apart this release as a totally unique album for old and new fans.
Listen to this audio clip of Jeff talking about the bonus track, “No Ambiguity.”
Jeff on “No Ambiguity.”
The Recording Process
Jeff went to a studio in San Jose, California to record the bass and guitars with Audio Engineer Gareth Morris.
So the search began for a drummer to re-record “No Ambiguity.”
For anyone who knows me, I am a huge proponent of recording real acoustic drums. I have a raging, passionate hatred of fake programmed drums (I will talk more in depth on this matter in future news and articles.)
The process of trying out drummers took a huge chunk of time and we just could not find the right drummer for this. It was at this point the dreaded “programmed drums” topic began to surface.
The only reason I even allowed the concept of programmed drums to enter into my vicinity is because I had announced that the physical CD would be out soon after the digital-only release. Time was getting away from us and this was not good. Something had to be done, a decision had to be made.
We can’t keep those metal heads who pre-ordered waiting. That is absolutely unacceptable. Will will wait no more…
The Drums...
We used Superior Drummer 3
With great reluctance, I accepted the fact that in order to get this out there, we would program drums.
I called on Assistant Engineer, Luke Renno to handle this part while I attended to other responsibilities.
Luke proceeded to program the drums for the new “No Ambiguity.” After Luke passed off the completed drums back to me, I made a few minor adjustments and proceeded to track the vocals.
Luke talks about programming the drums
A quick note about programmed drums... It is true that I avoid them as much as possible and it is obvious that I am very passionate about this. I will explain in future news articles more about this. I realize that for many it is their only option and I do understand that plight. After all, here I am resorting to programmed drums myself. Having to use this option, I could have had no better person than Luke Renno to help me out. The music of Tortured Conscience is very good and is not compromised in this situation. The people involved in this production came together and made this work (Jeff, Luke, and myself.) My heart's desire is that you, the fans, enjoy this creative expression of art.
The Vocals
I growled the vocals into a Shure SM7b which went into a Neve Portico 511 preamp, then to an Empiracle Labs Distressor.
Jeff provided the lyrics to me and a guide track showing how he wanted the vocal rhythms to go. I followed that pretty closely, but did make a couple of small adjustments.
What's Next?
I will now go ahead and mix/master this track. As of this moment, I have prepped the song for mixing and will begin later this week.
The artwork will also be getting formatted for the CD as soon as possible. Updates will be released when I have details to share.
The plan is to get this CD printed in July 2021 so we can start shipping in August.
That is the story and I will release updates as they become available.
A massive THANK YOU to all who have pre-ordered for your patience. The CD is on the way and will be in your hands soon. To everyone else, if you order now, your wait will not be long.
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