Project context
Sleep Token
There are numerous contextual references that this album lands between within the instruments used, production and the type of parts that each instrument performs. Possibly the most important area of field this album lands between is the modern-day style of mixing multiple genres together. One of the most relevant examples of this is Sleep Token and their iconic sound which explores this space. A song with a good representation of this journey of genres is the song “Chokehold” which features an atmospheric sound design intro leading to a style influenced by hip hop which is then followed up with a destructive metal breakdown. This stylistic setting of telling a narrative by adventuring through different genres was a key reference when creating the overall sound of my album and giving it the same emotional, climatic feel that Sleep Token possesses. However, despite the goals of Sleep Tokens song writing being similar to mine the genres used vary for example the metal elements that Sleep Token uses are the big, low tuning breakdowns often heard in modern metal music linking to the metalcore subgenre, but the metal I use aligns more closely with the thrash metal scene of the 80s.
Avantasia
This narrative driven compositional style was also pushed within the writing of my album by bringing in ideas that a band called Avantasia performs so efficiently with their operatic, orchestral rock songs. One of the pieces with the most influence from Avantasia is “The Raven Child”, this composition is incredibly effective because it grows to becoming heavier but still keeps the powerful melodic elements within it much like in the second track ("Eclipse") of my project that begins with a soft orchestra and descends into a heavier nature. Avantasia also uses many orchestral instrumentations placed alongside the typical band parts of the song, which leads to the mixing within their tracks to be a noteworthy reference that I have been referring back to when engineering the mix within my music. For example for when to have the band elements as the main focus and dial back on the orchestral parts but then bring them back up for big endings or choruses.
Megadeth
The style of the guitar riffs within my album are influenced by the playing style of Dave Mustaine from Megadeth which features controlled, precise staccato playing within the guitar parts as heard on the Megadeth song “Set the world afire”. The vast majority of the songs within my project contain this controlled aggression within the guitar playing as heard on track 4 of my album. The inspiration of Dave Mustaine can be heard throughout the guitar production by using a slightly scooped mid-range on the EQ creating biting guitars.
Nine Inch Nails
Another production element that has influenced me with my music comes from a band called Nine Inch Nails. This is demonstrated with the synths used within the third track ("Revenge") of my project which slightly introduces this industrial metal field within the album that leans towards the Nine Inch Nails song called “March of the pigs”. This creates an over-the-top chaotic nature, which is heavily theatrical, fitting comfortably with the many other operatic elements of this album.