Heartland

Ian1971 wrote: ↑15 Apr 2023, 11:35 I've broken free from the 80s and have been listening a lot to the new songs lately, in preparation for the UK tour and I'm beginning to love them, a lot more than I ever loved Vision Thing.

To be quite honest, the first two songs on Vision Thing are works of transcendent genius, while the rest of the album is blah. There are at least two songs of transcendent genius among the 2019-onwards material, so I agree with your assessment.

Personally I love almost all of Vision Thing aside from Doctor Jeep but then I grew up listening to 1980's hard rock so I'm possibly biased.

TBH none of this batch of 20-odd new songs come remotely close to making me feel the way I did when I first heard War on Drugs which, IMO, is still, and by a country mile, the best unreleased Sisters song.

XidiouX wrote: ↑18 Apr 2023, 03:16 TBH none of this batch of 20-odd new songs come remotely close to making me feel the way I did when I first heard War on Drugs which, IMO, is still, and by a country mile, the best unreleased Sisters song.

The 'No Goths Allowed' collection of 2022 live recordings on Youtube is better, IMO. I'm in the process of mastering the audio, to then collate the tracks into a collection for download. It includes 'War On Drugs'.

Also, agree that 'Vision Thing' and 'Ribbons' are standout tracks on VT album!

Ian1971 wrote: ↑18 Apr 2023, 11:27

XidiouX wrote: ↑18 Apr 2023, 03:16 TBH none of this batch of 20-odd new songs come remotely close to making me feel the way I did when I first heard War on Drugs which, IMO, is still, and by a country mile, the best unreleased Sisters song.

The 'No Goths Allowed' collection of 2022 live recordings on Youtube is better, IMO. I'm in the process of mastering the audio, to then collate the tracks into a collection for download. It includes 'War On Drugs'.

Also, agree that 'Vision Thing' and 'Ribbons' are standout tracks on VT album!

THIS would be so so welcome! Thank you in advance!

Totally unrelated but I don't know where to post, and I very well just missed this: why was the "flac'ed to death" thread Locked? Used to quite enjoy that...

Ian1971 wrote: ↑18 Apr 2023, 11:27

XidiouX wrote: ↑18 Apr 2023, 03:16 TBH none of this batch of 20-odd new songs come remotely close to making me feel the way I did when I first heard War on Drugs which, IMO, is still, and by a country mile, the best unreleased Sisters song.

The 'No Goths Allowed' collection of 2022 live recordings on Youtube is better, IMO. I'm in the process of mastering the audio, to then collate the tracks into a collection for download. It includes 'War On Drugs'.

Also, agree that 'Vision Thing' and 'Ribbons' are standout tracks on VT album!

Glad you enjoyed it as regards what's better than what, that will remain the eternal personal opinion based on how one's personal ears and tastes work, no-one's ears or tastes being better or worse than the next dudettes. I look forward to your mastering Ian, to my ears the songs sound fine as is but for sure I didn't fancy converting every track and etc so glad that you want to do that. As a body of work on YT it surpasses all previous compilations for me, clearly it's a work of great love and care even if superficially it's only apparent that the overall volume has been normalised. And all being well it'll be thoroughy out of date in a months time when pristine stonking versions of On The Beach, She's A Monster and etc get aired. Maybe not, but hopefully

Planet Dave wrote: ↑18 Apr 2023, 19:34 Glad you enjoyed it as regards what's better than what, that will remain the eternal personal opinion based on how one's personal ears and tastes work, no-one's ears or tastes being better or worse than the next dudettes. I look forward to your mastering Ian, to my ears the songs sound fine as is but for sure I didn't fancy converting every track and etc so glad that you want to do that. As a body of work on YT it surpasses all previous compilations for me, clearly it's a work of great love and care even if superficially it's only apparent that the overall volume has been normalised. And all being well it'll be thoroughy out of date in a months time when pristine stonking versions of On The Beach, She's A Monster and etc get aired. Maybe not, but hopefully

Yeah, the sound is really very good. I've been experimenting with some compression and limiters, for the spikes but ultimately, it may be a pointless exercise and I may just decide to check the normalization across the board and keep them as is. I would like to bring out the vocals a bit but Von knows best! I just enjoy sitting up all night tweaking EQs, whilst off my tits on amphetamine

Ian1971 wrote: ↑18 Apr 2023, 20:23

Planet Dave wrote: ↑18 Apr 2023, 19:34 Glad you enjoyed it as regards what's better than what, that will remain the eternal personal opinion based on how one's personal ears and tastes work, no-one's ears or tastes being better or worse than the next dudettes. I look forward to your mastering Ian, to my ears the songs sound fine as is but for sure I didn't fancy converting every track and etc so glad that you want to do that. As a body of work on YT it surpasses all previous compilations for me, clearly it's a work of great love and care even if superficially it's only apparent that the overall volume has been normalised. And all being well it'll be thoroughy out of date in a months time when pristine stonking versions of On The Beach, She's A Monster and etc get aired. Maybe not, but hopefully

Yeah, the sound is very good and I may well compare my mixes to the originals and then decide the originals are better. I just enjoy sitting up all night tweaking EQs, whilst off my tits on amphetamine

there are many many far far worse journeys to head off on than that, no matter the results I wish thee an effing fine time Sir

Planet Dave wrote: ↑18 Apr 2023, 20:39

Ian1971 wrote: ↑18 Apr 2023, 20:23

Planet Dave wrote: ↑18 Apr 2023, 19:34 Glad you enjoyed it as regards what's better than what, that will remain the eternal personal opinion based on how one's personal ears and tastes work, no-one's ears or tastes being better or worse than the next dudettes. I look forward to your mastering Ian, to my ears the songs sound fine as is but for sure I didn't fancy converting every track and etc so glad that you want to do that. As a body of work on YT it surpasses all previous compilations for me, clearly it's a work of great love and care even if superficially it's only apparent that the overall volume has been normalised. And all being well it'll be thoroughy out of date in a months time when pristine stonking versions of On The Beach, She's A Monster and etc get aired. Maybe not, but hopefully

Yeah, the sound is very good and I may well compare my mixes to the originals and then decide the originals are better. I just enjoy sitting up all night tweaking EQs, whilst off my tits on amphetamine

there are many many far far worse journeys to head off on than that, no matter the results I wish thee an effing fine time Sir

That's done and download link placed in 'sharing' section. Enjoy

Ian1971 wrote: ↑15 Apr 2023, 11:35 I've broken free from the 80s and have been listening a lot to the new songs lately, in preparation for the UK tour and I'm beginning to love them, a lot more than I ever loved Vision Thing.

Some of the "new" songs are very strong. It's a shame we'll never hear studio versions

So Ben posted a clip on Instagram of him rehearsing at home to a backing track of Eyes of Caligula. It sounds stellar.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CrwMQZcr ... MyMTA2M2Y=

Presumably this is what a recorded version would sound like.

Todashi wrote: ↑02 May 2023, 22:26 So Ben posted a clip on Instagram of him rehearsing at home to a backing track of Eyes of Caligula. It sounds stellar.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CrwMQZcr ... MyMTA2M2Y=

Presumably this is what a recorded version would sound like.

Is it my imagination or is this version slightly slower than the version played on the last tour? The backing track has more than just drums, keys and bass - definitely some chugging guitar in there too…

it stands to reason there are much more finished versions of the newer songs. Ben certainly has fairly fleshed out backing tracks to rehearse over - you can hear them on his instagram page and they sound epic. My guess is that they don't have vocals on them though. That'd be just too perfect ha ha.

Still, my guess is that this is as close as we'll ever get to hearing fully recorded versions of the new songs. To my ear, what he's playing over sounds pretty advanced - maybe not fully produced, multi-tracked and layered etc -- but still clean in a way that YouTube video of a gig NEVER is.

Todashi wrote: ↑02 May 2023, 22:26 So Ben posted a clip on Instagram of him rehearsing at home to a backing track of Eyes of Caligula. It sounds stellar.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CrwMQZcr ... MyMTA2M2Y=

Presumably this is what a recorded version would sound like.

Has anyone noticed at the last second of the clip a voice is about to sing and fades quickly and stops with the clip?
It's a very slight number of msecs that appears. I believe there is also voice in the samples

"@christian_woj - these are just simple backing tracks I’ve made in order to practice"
- says Ben in the comments, still it sounds lit

H. Blackrose wrote: ↑18 Apr 2023, 02:06

Ian1971 wrote: ↑15 Apr 2023, 11:35 I've broken free from the 80s and have been listening a lot to the new songs lately, in preparation for the UK tour and I'm beginning to love them, a lot more than I ever loved Vision Thing.

To be quite honest, the first two songs on Vision Thing are works of transcendent genius, while the rest of the album is blah. There are at least two songs of transcendent genius among the 2019-onwards material, so I agree with your assessment.

I kinda think now the title track is atypically heavy handed. It starts things off with a bang, but that intensity arguably isn't really matched again until "More".
Meanwhile, "Something Fast" is criminally underrated and probably would have been a hit if someone more naive/cooperative had done it.
I mean I hate to say it but after you get played on the radio you want to try for a hit. But what do you do after you have a hit? Not hard to think that Von saw a rock and a hard place to navigate in staying true to the vision while becoming that band your mom also liked. He said as much in describing "Under the Gun" to Mtv while seeming keenly aware that it might not have been the best plan.

FinnMacCool wrote: ↑21 Apr 2023, 08:59

Ian1971 wrote: ↑15 Apr 2023, 11:35 I've broken free from the 80s and have been listening a lot to the new songs lately, in preparation for the UK tour and I'm beginning to love them, a lot more than I ever loved Vision Thing.

Some of the "new" songs are very strong. It's a shame we'll never hear studio versions

I'd have said the same thing a year ago. Also, the safe response.

https://www.brooklynvegan.com/bv-interv ... usic-more/

Have you considered maybe just doing a live album to put out some of those new songs, at least in a more sonically robust live form?

We have started to record ourselves.

Oh, baby steps, right, I guess.

Oh, bless you. I've been doing this for so long and you're still calling it baby steps, but, yeah, yeah, you're right.

You know what I mean. Baby steps towards a new album.

Yeah, I know what you mean. Sorry, dude.

Dan Cougar wrote: ↑07 May 2023, 08:35 https://www.brooklynvegan.com/bv-interv ... usic-more/

Have you considered maybe just doing a live album to put out some of those new songs, at least in a more sonically robust live form?

We have started to record ourselves.

Oh, baby steps, right, I guess.

Oh, bless you. I've been doing this for so long and you're still calling it baby steps, but, yeah, yeah, you're right.

You know what I mean. Baby steps towards a new album.

Yeah, I know what you mean. Sorry, dude.

Interesting, I guess that bodes well. Yeah, they could so easily put out a live album with cleaned up versions of the new songs: not quite the new album fans still dream feverishly about, but a lot better than nothing if he really can't find the motivation to make a new record

FinnMacCool wrote: ↑08 May 2023, 16:41

Dan Cougar wrote: ↑07 May 2023, 08:35 https://www.brooklynvegan.com/bv-interv ... usic-more/

Have you considered maybe just doing a live album to put out some of those new songs, at least in a more sonically robust live form?

We have started to record ourselves.

Oh, baby steps, right, I guess.

Oh, bless you. I've been doing this for so long and you're still calling it baby steps, but, yeah, yeah, you're right.

You know what I mean. Baby steps towards a new album.

Yeah, I know what you mean. Sorry, dude.

Interesting, I guess that bodes well. Yeah, they could so easily put out a live album with cleaned up versions of the new songs: not quite the new album fans still dream feverishly about, but a lot better than nothing if he really can't find the motivation to make a new record

I think it's about getting everyone in one place and spending money vs making it. Remove the "getting everyone in one place" bit and suddenly the whole proposition becomes more appealing.

Also, on my way to the Land of Mary tomorrow if I'm reading these ashes right. Hope to get some videos, but I don't want to be thaaaat guy. Still, bought a new crap phone just for the purpose.
If I'm not reporting back here within the next 72 hours, just hope I'm still in Baltimore.

I saw a fan made video of one of the US gigs this week and it sure looked liked Von was singing with the aid of a backing track - there was a moment when he visibly stopped singing and the vocal continued.....now, that doesn't bother me in the slightest but what's interesting is that it could mean he's recorded the vocals for the songs being played on this tour....

Ian1971 wrote: ↑12 May 2023, 17:56 I saw a fan made video of one of the US gigs this week and it sure looked liked Von was singing with the aid of a backing track - there was a moment when he visibly stopped singing and the vocal continued.....now, that doesn't bother me in the slightest but what's interesting is that it could mean he's recorded the vocals for the songs being played on this tour....

Any chance of a link to that? Sounds interesting

FinnMacCool wrote: ↑12 May 2023, 19:24

Ian1971 wrote: ↑12 May 2023, 17:56 I saw a fan made video of one of the US gigs this week and it sure looked liked Von was singing with the aid of a backing track - there was a moment when he visibly stopped singing and the vocal continued.....now, that doesn't bother me in the slightest but what's interesting is that it could mean he's recorded the vocals for the songs being played on this tour....

Any chance of a link to that? Sounds interesting

At time stamp 11:16