Almah - More news from the studio

2008-06-05T21:06:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

We’re still working hard on Almah’s second album, and the results are making us really happy! Since the last report we have worked on guitars, bass and acoustic guitars, and it’s all done now.

As soon as the drums were done, Paulo Schroeber and Marcelo Barbosa started recording the basic guitar tracks. On the first day we spent many hours looking for the right sound, trying different setups, guitars, amplifiers and microphone positions. In the end we came to a killer sound, but with a very particular character, that doesn’t remind you of every other metal band around. The guitar we used was a 7 string Carvin that belongs to Brendan Duffey, owner of Norcal Studios, where we are recording, and also a guitar player. From all the various guitars we tried, it was by far the best.

But the best of all was not the tone itself, but the way Marcelo and Paulo played the songs. It’s funny because they have their own unique styles, but at the same time they complete each other perfectly. Everyone was quite surprised with the level of musicianship that we achieved in the band now. The rhythm tracks were awesome, and the solos even better! Jaw dropping guitar duets with lots of feel and technique can be heard all over. From the speed of light licks to the soulful bends, it’s all there! Sounds like they’ve been playing together for ages! We were all thrilled with the results!

We had a very good surprise with the pleasant visit of Mike Stone [Queensryche guitar player] to the studio. He was in Brazil doing shows with Queesryche, and was kind enough to offer his great contribution. He recorded a beautiful solo in one song. In return all we could do was take him to one of the best burger places in Sao Paulo. He seemed to like it!

Then it was time for the bass. All Felipe’s Yamaha basses were taken to the studio, together with tons of gear to be tested. After a couple hours we came to the right sound, using a small Roland combo, the CB-100, with two microphones plus the DI. He had all the bass tracks done after 11 hours, including a beautiful fretless in one of the ballads. Felipe used his Yamaha TRB6P2 and BBNE2 basses.

Next step was to do the acoustic tracks, which were recorded by Edu and Felipe, since the guitars players had already left back to their cities. They used a steel stringed Takamine captured with two microphones for everything. Edu took care of the detailed harmonies and Felipe did the solos and overdubs. In one track we have an E-Bow solo which reminds us of a bowed instrument.

Now we are working on Edu’s vocals, and more news will come very soon!

Almah's recordings have just started!

2008-05-02T10:05:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks!

In the past weeks we’ve been working really hard on Almah’s second album. It all started in Brasilia, capital of Brazil, where we rehearsed the songs for the first time with the whole band. We stayed at Marcelo Barbosa’s place for 10 days, working all day in the arrangements, guitar duets, and all little details of the songs, coming to a final number of 11 tracks to be recorded.

The rehearsals happened at the GTR Music School, owned by Barbosa, where we also took some time to teach personal classes to selected students. It was an amazing experience! The songs sounded killer with the complete line-up! Paulo and Barbosa are a guitar duo that will drop many jaws, and drummer Marcelo Moreira is a powerhouse, fast, creative and accurate. It’s incredible how the songs take a whole different form when each one of the members gives a personal touch to them, so right now it’s a constant change of favorites. Sometimes a song that didn’t catch your attention at first can grow so much that it ends up being one of the best; actually it happens all the time!

For the last rehearsal we invited 10 fans, and they were the first people ever to see this line-up playing together, and also the first to hear the new material. It happened at the Sgt. Pepper’s studio, also in Brasilia, and it was quite cool! They seemed to like the music very much, and they were very impressed with the players. We had lots of fun together! It was the final test for the songs before we started the recording itself.

On Monday, April 21st, we started recording drums at Norcal studios, in São Paulo. Marcelo Moreira set up the drums and recorded 11 songs in only 3 days! The results are no less than excellent, from drum sound (thanks to Adriano Daga, our engineer) to performance. Moreira surprised us all with his power, speed and creativity! The album is being produced by Edu and Felipe, who contributed a lot to the whole process.

Now we are getting ready to record guitars next week. Stay tuned for some more news soon!

Felipe Andreoli's Blog

Almah - More news from the studio

Almah's recordings have just started!