Abraham Watson YES! This is why it’s called Circle Of Tone. To get the people watching enthusiastic about recording and avoiding cookie cutter modern methods.
Great job. I saw Godflesh with napalm when Streetcleaner came out back in 91 or so. It was almost painfully loud. The bass was monstrous. For me personally, I love those low production value recordings pre scott burns era. Especially the first carcass recording for example. So shitty but so classicly good. Thanks
Yep. One production was so bad for Napalm they actually scrapped it. On the album notes they said “no thanks to Mike (it up badly) Smith” or something like that. I preach on here that scooped mids and lots distortion is OK. Sendible mids and fake bass and perfect freqs are so boring.
i saw that tour too, in seattle at the ok hotel. they were bummed because their drum machines memory crashed that morning and they said they couldn't remember, or know how, to reprogram all the beats again? they had to play a short set, but it still sounded great to us!!!! (we were also was impressed by napalm deaths drummer drinking a whole 6 pack of coke during their set!)
To add to this, pretty much anything godflesh ever put out is fucking genius even if it’s not all my style it’s just fuckin impressive music to me at least.
Dude, much appreciation! Hope you had a great Hexmas! I find these videos facinating, as I know how hard it is to figure out a recorded tone. Oh, and love your humor. Now I have to make sure never to use a HM2 as they surely are cursed. It's amazing Godflesh didn't end up moving to Sweden and start sleeping with dead animals. Thanks for all the hard work!
My cousin that I used to jam with had an HR-16. Not a great drum machine, but you had a lot of options for putting a whole song together. You could store your patterns on cassette tape.
Hey man, this was an awesome choice. Yeah "Streetcleaner" was definitely their noisiest album, so I can imagine this was a bit of a challenge in capturing what they did in '89. They are not a tight and clean sounding band. Even later with better produced material, they used layers of noise and kept things loose to create a heavy yet trance-like wall of sound. I was fortunate enough to see them live back in 2014. It amazed me how a guitarist, a bassist and a drum machine can fire up the crowd into mosh pits and chant lyrics along with Justin. There's a lot of bands and their tones out there to capture but hopefully you'll come back to this band in a future video. Here's another idea: Type O Negative. Ken Hickey and Peter Steele together had this distortion tone that is almost not heard in other acts IMO. Cheers.
@@CIRCLEOFTONE I read an interview with Josh Silver(Type O Negative keyboardist) where he said that the songs were intentionally mixed so that everything blended together to the point that guitar parts sounded like keyboards and keyboard parts sounded like guitars, which is probably why you had difficulty nailing down the tone.
Best video of Hex-Mass yet. Thank you for showing how you dissect the record and recreate the sound in your studio. After watching all these vids, I guess I need to go out and buy an old HM-2 and a drum machine! 666th view!
The metal industrial band that I love the most by far. For so many reasons. I absolutely love every album they have put out. Jesu the other project by Justin took me some getting used to however I started to love it just as much.
@@kryptichands968 Frontline assembly, and front 242 are really good industrial metal too. I think nailbomb only had one album. But damn was it good. Max Cavalera has so many good projects. Ministry is truly the band that got me into industrial metal for me I could have really cared less about nine inch nails or Marilyn Manson however I admire both deeply. Killing joke is another good one.
Awesome! It’s no coincidence it’s so easy to listen too. Black back celestions are amazing so to work out that piece of the puzzle that even GODFLESH didn’t know what it was...That is what this channel is all about. He said “an old Marshall cab” in the 90’s. And the 90’s and 91 live images showed a large check on the Marshall cabs. So that means Blackback celestions. I kinda want to message him and tell him.
Sounded great, have you released this song anywhere other than TH-cam? I remember hearing street cleaner for the first time on an old cassette about twenty years ago. It was the most desolate and crushing metal album I had heard at that point. I also like tunning low with thinner strings. I love the dissonance and detuning effect you get and being able to do huge stupid bends. To me it sounds more characterful and heavier than using the "proper" string gauge.
This brings back memories. I remember an article with Godflesh, where Justin Broadrick said that their strings felt like a they were spaghetti (a light set and downtuning) and I always remember that, because when I downtune I use a set of 9s and I love it (even beyond drop A). This sounded so brutal and good that it would in fact decimate anything on Streetcleaner. I remember the disappointment when I heard it (Streetcleaner album, the production not the music) and this really re-established my enthusiasm for the more extreme noise and metal. You absolutely have the knack for it and not all people do, they can't seem to be able to be brutal enough. This was so brutal that I had to headbang to it and it does not happen often. Real stuff man, REAL. Cheers.
Kurgle Kreutzer YES!! That’s why I did what i did. I didn’t put 60 size strings on the guitar because like he said, they didn’t know for downtuning, heavy strings are better. But that led to the natural detuning from hitting strings hard. Delighted you like the vids. Happy hex mass!
Yes, I recall Broadrick saying that he used 8s at least all the way into the "Selfless" era, with metal/brass picks. There is also some apocryphal stuff about the "Tiny Tears" EP section of "Streetcleaner," where Godflesh originally tried tuning lower than the usual drop-C# and everything just sounded like ass.
Cool stuff, man and good job with the video. Good to see more and more videos about Godflesh or early Industrialmetal popping up on TH-cam. It´s so fascinating once you dig into the details how much those bands got out of mostly "shitty" equipment or same conditions while songwriting, producing or recording. Have you listened to the last two Godflesh comeback records? -Nihil
every single time i run across this or any of your vids it totally trips me out how much you look like me 🤣🤣🤣 like, to a point that i go - hey, that's me! oh .......wait - it's THAT dude.
Great video. Given how much you got into Colin Richardson for your "Heartwork" video, I'm curious to hear what you make of the tones on the Godflesh album he produced, "Hymns."
Wow I can't believe the bass tone on street cleaner was created with a HM2???!!! I figured that it was some crazy parallel process with an svt and a Marshall perhaps. It's got so much heft, so much dirt, yet clarity. cheers loved the breakdown of a band that may have really started heavy doom psych industrial. . cheers
Weird JK Broadrick trivia for early Godflesh recordings, they did a lot of the amping and guitar recording in bathrooms. Because he wanted all the reverb and reflections. I doubt you could recreate it in a studio.
@@CIRCLEOFTONE I remember reading an interview with Justin a long time ago where they tried to find the biggest, most tile-covered bathrooms they could find to record guitars. They wanted the natural reverb and delays. I think they might have even recorded some stuff in public restrooms.
Nice :) Enjoyed it very much. Remember hearing Godflesh for the first time in....1989? Have indeed that same feeling about them "starting something" :) . They owe a lot to Swans of course, but they were the first to drag the muddy guitar into drummachine territory. Love them.
Larger steel covers do make a difference. I’m brining out something for my own Pickups for instant change. It makes Pickups sound more Vintage. A small pick won’t do much though.
I’m late to this video but I saw god flesh in 91 on the grind crusher tour with Napalm death in Pittsburgh pa , if I remember he used napalms Marshall’s live and I remember pro co ratt pedal and I think delays and the bass was just as distorted , and a drum machine sitting on a barstool , I bought there tape the next day , I love the song christbait raising
Bro this is awesome, i love Godflesh so much, been a fan since 92 or so, you nailed it again! What did you think about a world lit only by fire? I remember sitting there going " holy shit!" i hope you dont mind the compliments but they will keep coming. Can i request Carcass, or Napalm death. Thanks.
I feel like all the hate for HM2 (historically) is from internet critics and contrarian trolls. Because many of the most beloved albums in the 90s used it
Street cleaner is NOT their first album. Its just called Godflesh. You must listen to this release, pronto! Its a lot better and the production is way better IMO. Check it out on you tube. The song Avalanche is crushing! End of class, young grass smoker's.........
i believe from reading interviews justin used an mxr distortion in the early albums what settings do you set your short/long delay pedal thanks for the info from an awesome band
I also think you should do a review of their album A World Lit Only by Fire. It was one of their more recent albums and one that is quite unrelenting, unforgiving heavy, dark and mechanical in its own regard.
I knew that old boss pedal would come in handy one day. And oi! Don't go calling Battery 3 old, right! It's never been bettered really in many ways. I got Battery 4 and very nice it is too, but a man that knows how to operate Battery 3 will never need to fish again, or something like that. I've even got a spare license for it. It also comes with about 12GB of top shelf kits that they did away with for Battery 4 for some reason. I love the old Alesis Drum machine sounds. HR-16, HR-16B and of course the SR-16 which they still sell. I've got a few different sources of Alesis drum machines sounds - probably more like 4 or 5 different sources, but yeah, they are great samples. Battery 3 is an extremely capable and streamlined bit of kit when you know how to use it. I've got about 10GB of my own kits made up in it as well. Old funk kits, Drum and Bass, David Sylvian - all kinds of stuff. And too many Amens that I care to mention. Mine all mine. I know you weren't criticising it Owen, but I just wanted to show off a bit and show how hip I am. :-) I haven't heard this band, but it made me pine for going in to the studio and just seeing what comes out. Having fun. Being naive. I'm really curious as to how you come to all these conclusions with what each particular band uses on what ever record. Seems like you do a bit of research but also use your finely tuned ear to dial shit in yourself. Rather than rely on actual people who were there and can say for sure. Fair play for having the ability to do that. If you ever get the time, try and deconstruct and reverse engineer some of the early Stranglers records. They had an incredible sound, still vibrant and exciting to this day. They are still going too and gigging. Wrote loads of top classic songs. But that bass sound? I can get a pretty good approximation of it, I bet you can too. Rumours were that there were ripped cones in the cabs. Who knows. I bet if you emailed JJ and the boys or their management they would give you an interview. You seem pretty genuine and doing it for the right reasons, so I don't think they would have a problem getting it together with you for some interesting interviews. I know they don't like getting too technical - preferring to concentrate on the music and the songs. But still, that would be quite a catch. Everyone wins. I think you should look at avenues like that. Loads of great bands out there. You obviously have a passion for delving in to this stuff, and you obviously have hard-won talent for reverse-engineering it all, so you get a bit of automatic respect. Your interview technique is good. You are informal but serious and focused at the same time. You don't come across as someone that wants to make a name for themselves as an interviewer, just someone that wants some answers. And your viewers (such as me et al) share a vicarious thrill in that. You've worked really hard to get to this point, and you are on the tip of it all. You just need to stretch out a bit. I think you might be surprised by the response you will get if you reach out to some of those big names you revere. Rock music/alternative music is kind of dying now. People are getting older. They want to sell records, yes, but they also want to pass on the craft of what they do. They don't want to give this up to any old internet charlatan, but you might find they don't mind sharing some secrets with you. The world really is your lobster.
Great comment! I really appreciate your enthusiasm for the channel. I cross reference gear/studio images, guitar world interviews etc. Then I fine tune everything by micing up all of the speakers of that era or 10 years back. Speakers are one of the main aspects. It’s the hardest too. People often don’t know what’s in their cabs unless it’s a Vintage 30.
Nice one mate. I was a bit ripped to the tits when I made that overlong comment. Sorry. Seriously though, you got a great channel, just needs a bit of tweaking. I don't think I know of any other channel that can interview the big old edge lords. Before they die! :-) The game is over. There is only vanity left really. What I want to know is this: How the hell did Big John McCoy get that Bass sound on Clear Air Turbulence by Gillan? You asked for ideas. You need a sort of PR department. You could make a killing if you corner this one. Old dead, soon to be dead, rockers. No offense there at all. I guess no one wants to do it. I'd do it myself if I wasn't so 'old and dead'. eh eh. Really, you have a great way about you, it's rare. Use it or lose it. Get a manager in the game. Get a gimmick. Get interviewing. And all in the mean time, keep working on your own music, and maybe someone will get to hear about you in the future. Don't sit on your laurels man. Get out there!. Fucking exploit it.
You really nailed the Streetcleaner sound but, IIRC Justin didn't have his famous black Strat before Pure. He played a Westone Spectrum ST during the EP/Streetcleaner era. Also, GC's bass sound around the Streetcleaner era was an Acoustic Model 320 bass head (the one in the video). Great video nonetheless, it's not an easy task to recreate such a sound.
This guitar playing is fake. It is clear for example at 2:36 whammy in audio starts before you used it on video. Or at 2:14 corner camera shows playing something that is not in audio. At 2:45 corner camera has nothing to do with the audio. This and many other videos is just you shaking head, acting like some guitar boss. And what is very sad - lying to all of your subscribers. Just find someone real people. There are many guys and girls playing better and showing real recordings. This guy lies not only in this video. Just check them out. First I created single comment under one of his videos but he censored inconvenient truth - banned my first account. He blocks every word of critique and every word revealing he is fake. And by the way, headstock design in his guitars and in his brand logo is stolen from Collings guitars. Guys, if you see what I see - faking solos and songs. Just post about it in comments and ask mister "real" about it. He can censor me but not everyone of us.
Uncensored Bxyz not fake just poor video editing I use the same technique recording audio straight in separate and delete the cameras audio. He more than likely recorded the song off camera and then played along to the song on camera and deleted the audio off the camera maybe fucked up a couple takes and reshot them ...oh well whoopty fucking do.
Great video! One note about the photo of the bass rig. That’s actually a laney cab with an Acoustic brand bass head. I had them for years and they’re great. Used by John Paul Jones to Chuck Dukowski. acousticamplification.com/history-of-acoustic-amplification/
I recall something about the making of Streetcleaner, they were either in their garage or basement. They had a hard time getting regular studio backing due to their unique sound. At any rate, if you havne't already done so, check out their new one. It will surprise you.
No, it was financed by Earache like all the bands on the label, and was recorded in two different sessions in two different studios because Paul joined the band halfway through.
2:50 you just played more notes at one time than Justin has in his entire career put together. Nice tone, but needs more feedback IMO. It's lacking the utter chaos of Godflesh.
Godflesh!!?? Holy shit. Not only will you require the appropriate guitar gear to find their tone, you'll also need a magic fucking Dolorian to find the last time they were relevant. ...Oh snap! Snark level acquired for the day. Ignore me and merry xmas ;)
yerrr badd ass bro!! im a drummer... id love ta jam with ya love the old skool earache back cat. stuff etc.. really nail those tones man... the napalm era for me was the lee dorrian/steer/harris.. then i progressed to godflesh, carcass, cathedral.... dude, have you any thoughts on lee dorrians label , rise above, and their production techniques?
Thanks. I just did Mayhem. That tuning was off. So the tape must have been slowed or sped. I had to manually do that one. It's pretty funny what these bands were up to. The tuning at the start is different to the tuning at the end because they hit so hard they detune their instruments.
Godflesh's earliest/first material up until "Slavestate" was in B standard, but raised about a quarter tone (so halfway between Standard B and C). Then, from "Slavestate" to "Us And Them," they tuned up and played in C# standard. From "Us And Them" and onwards, up until they split, they went down to B standard (but without the whole quarter tone up). And then when they reunited and released "Decline And Fall" and "A World Lit...", he used an 8-string guitar (Ben just stuck with his 4 string tuned to B standard though). I'm not too sure what is going on in their newest Techno Animal-sounding album: I haven't listened to it much, it's very electronic and I've only seen someone cover 3 of their songs... and all 3 of them were all in different tunings. For Jesu, it's a bit more complicated. He started off playing in Standard A (although you can play some of their stuff in Drop A if you'd prefer), then used a weird open A-like tuning on "Silver," eventually switched to a 7-string guitar also tuned to that same open-A tuning for "Opiate Sun," then eventually switched to an 8-string on their last album, "Everyday I Get..."
i remember this shit : )) i was 13 when i heard street cleaner i was like what the F? not sure which 1 u playing but it totaly sounds like GF. spot on sound + fx replication. although their quality is worse + noisier.
Thanks man! That means a lot. I was hoping people would hear the bass/guitar essence that I thought I captured but the lossy formats they used to capture it hid a lot of the sonic madness. BUT that old sound still sounded good because it was fresh.
👍 Great video. I enjoyed watching it. I'd like to see you do a video about the band Big Black and their song Kerosene off of their 1986 album Atomizer. The singer/guitarist is Steve Albini who is now a very successful studio engineer. Big Black used a Roland TR-606 drum machine and used special designed metal guitar picks that made a very unique sound. They were a mix of punk & noise rock. I don't know for sure but I think they might have influenced Godflesh. Here's a TH-cam link to Big Black - Kerosene th-cam.com/video/EXV6EmSBULY/w-d-xo.html
Really appreciate the video and the channel but I'm honestly confused by all the references to the guitars being inaudible and it being some sort of naive mistake in the recording. I can hear the guitars fine - and yes, absolutely, the bass is also massive and the drum machine is very in your face. Maybe if your standard is normal metal albums where the bass is usually inaudible (at least to my ears) then the guitars might sound too low, but I for one appreciate an instrument balance that isn't just overwhelmingly dominated by guitars - and I think Godflesh shows how effective and heavy that can sound. I don't really care how inexperienced Justin was at recording, if he wanted the guitars higher in the mix, why couldn't he have just pushed the volume fader up? Sure some of the sound of the album comes from them being young and broke (which reminds me of an interview where Geezer Butler was asked how he got such a heavy sound on the first 3 Black Sabbath albums and he said something succinct like "by using the cheapest gear we could find") but surely the instrumental balance is what they wanted, at least at the time? Anyways, still really appreciate all the care and attention (and $, I assume) you put into these videos.
i respect the diligence when it comes to researching the gear and trying to recreate the tone, but the parts you're playing on guitar (which i'm guessing you wrote yourself to sound reminiscent of various godflesh songs?) is really way too musical in the traditional rock and roll sense, and doesn't really capture the spirit of the band. it's supposed to be grinding, oppressive, mechanical-- but you're playing pentatonic rock and roll shit like some kind of dollar-store dave mustaine...
Ah dude you were doing so well until comparing me to a Walmart Mustaine. You need to check your underground neckbeard cred and mention a guitarist I actually sound like in this clip. How does this sound anything like my Godflesh clip? th-cam.com/video/bOOhNPZvV80/w-d-xo.html
![NISAMANEE - TADA (ท้าดา) [ OFFICIAL MV ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hcQHEPMmJpU/mqdefault.jpg)
I've been trying to figure out how he set his HM2. Found this video. Get to the drum sample portion and instantly I'm so happy. COYS
This alone has reignited my interests in starting an industrial metal type band. Your "secrets of" videos are eye opening and amazing. Good work, sir.
Abraham Watson YES! This is why it’s called Circle Of Tone. To get the people watching enthusiastic about recording and avoiding cookie cutter modern methods.
Great job. I saw Godflesh with napalm when Streetcleaner came out back in 91 or so. It was almost painfully loud. The bass was monstrous. For me personally, I love those low production value recordings pre scott burns era. Especially the first carcass recording for example. So shitty but so classicly good. Thanks
Yep. One production was so bad for Napalm they actually scrapped it. On the album notes they said “no thanks to Mike (it up badly) Smith” or something like that. I preach on here that scooped mids and lots distortion is OK. Sendible mids and fake bass and perfect freqs are so boring.
i saw that tour too, in seattle at the ok hotel. they were bummed because their drum machines memory crashed that morning and they said they couldn't remember, or know how, to reprogram all the beats again? they had to play a short set, but it still sounded great to us!!!! (we were also was impressed by napalm deaths drummer drinking a whole 6 pack of coke during their set!)
You sir have superhuman ears to be able to recreate these tones in such perfection!
I do this for comments like that. Thanks man. Means a lot.
Merry Hexmas! The way the guitar and the bass complete each other in these videos sounds 100% awesome.
Yes! I was hoping someone would hear that. The bass grinding away and the guitars do really melt into it.
The bass head is actually an Acoustic through a Laney cab there in the pictures.
This is the vid I’ve been looking for for ages thank you
Hank Horsecore welcome to the Circle!
To add to this, pretty much anything godflesh ever put out is fucking genius even if it’s not all my style it’s just fuckin impressive music to me at least.
Love the tone! Amazing. You are the man.
Thanks John. Merry Christmas, Hex-Mass!
Dude, much appreciation! Hope you had a great Hexmas! I find these videos facinating, as I know how hard it is to figure out a recorded tone. Oh, and love your humor. Now I have to make sure never to use a HM2 as they surely are cursed. It's amazing Godflesh didn't end up moving to Sweden and start sleeping with dead animals. Thanks for all the hard work!
Lol. The HM-2 is like owning a lion. It’s ok if it grows up with you and your family. Just don’t let it loose at the local dog park.
What a pleasure it is to listen to this.
Nailed it. :)
Thanks man. Means a lot.
Interesting and well made, as usual. Merry hex-mass and thank you!
Boboh Buboh merry Hex-Mass to you too. Thanks for watching!
My cousin that I used to jam with had an HR-16. Not a great drum machine, but you had a lot of options for putting a whole song together. You could store your patterns on cassette tape.
Godflesh period..still melts my brain
Hey man, this was an awesome choice. Yeah "Streetcleaner" was definitely their noisiest album, so I can imagine this was a bit of a challenge in capturing what they did in '89. They are not a tight and clean sounding band. Even later with better produced material, they used layers of noise and kept things loose to create a heavy yet trance-like wall of sound. I was fortunate enough to see them live back in 2014. It amazed me how a guitarist, a bassist and a drum machine can fire up the crowd into mosh pits and chant lyrics along with Justin. There's a lot of bands and their tones out there to capture but hopefully you'll come back to this band in a future video. Here's another idea: Type O Negative. Ken Hickey and Peter Steele together had this distortion tone that is almost not heard in other acts IMO. Cheers.
I’ll def be doing Pete Steel. Probably for Halloween. I’ve tried in the past and failed.
For the song demo, I think "Wolf Moon" would be a fitting choice to showcase what Hickey and Steele do together sonically.
The Driver good shout. But in praise of baccuss would be the one I attempt. I’m obsessed.
@@CIRCLEOFTONE I read an interview with Josh Silver(Type O Negative keyboardist) where he said that the songs were intentionally mixed so that everything blended together to the point that guitar parts sounded like keyboards and keyboard parts sounded like guitars, which is probably why you had difficulty nailing down the tone.
Love the stuff you are doing here. Danzig and this sir: top notch! Keep up the good work!
I cannot thank you enough for uploading this 🙏🙏 subscribed
Best video of Hex-Mass yet. Thank you for showing how you dissect the record and recreate the sound in your studio. After watching all these vids, I guess I need to go out and buy an old HM-2 and a drum machine! 666th view!
Thanks man. There is a website where you can Download old drum machine samples for free.
Justin always loved those deep C tunings 😯
Gave it that signature Godflesh sound.
The metal industrial band that I love the most by far. For so many reasons. I absolutely love every album they have put out. Jesu the other project by Justin took me some getting used to however I started to love it just as much.
Them and Nailbomb are the only metal industrial projects i got into, besides Ministry
@@kryptichands968 Frontline assembly, and front 242 are really good industrial metal too. I think nailbomb only had one album. But damn was it good. Max Cavalera has so many good projects. Ministry is truly the band that got me into industrial metal for me I could have really cared less about nine inch nails or Marilyn Manson however I admire both deeply. Killing joke is another good one.
this is gotta be my favorite tone so far
It’s one of those tones that blend great with the bass. I love what I’m learning from this series.
fuck I wish we had cell phones back then to record their rigs.
streetcleaner i bought the cd the year ii joined the army what a strange kick off... to a new decade in my life i always connect that
It's funny how music is just like a smell or a location that brings back memories.
the re mastered street cleaner album was amazing sounding
azaz z interesting. Usually remasters sound crap.
Yep. It sounds great. A nice step up from my crusty old cassette. The bonus disc is great too.
Awesome video man 🤘🏴
Love this video mate! Would love to see you do some Jesus Lizard/Shellac type stuff!
the HM2 has a lofi grinding steel tone i love it.
I had to reward your efforts with a thumb up and subscribe. Merry Christmas!
Yes! Merry Hex-Mass. thanks man.
Excited for this! Have loved Godflesh forever
Awesome! It’s no coincidence it’s so easy to listen too. Black back celestions are amazing so to work out that piece of the puzzle that even GODFLESH didn’t know what it was...That is what this channel is all about. He said “an old Marshall cab” in the 90’s. And the 90’s and 91 live images showed a large check on the Marshall cabs. So that means Blackback celestions. I kinda want to message him and tell him.
Great interpretation man! Sounded fucking amazing!
I wasn't expecting this, nice!
It’s a Hex-Mass miracle!
Sounded great, have you released this song anywhere other than TH-cam?
I remember hearing street cleaner for the first time on an old cassette about twenty years ago. It was the most desolate and crushing metal album I had heard at that point.
I also like tunning low with thinner strings. I love the dissonance and detuning effect you get and being able to do huge stupid bends. To me it sounds more characterful and heavier than using the "proper" string gauge.
Nah only on TH-cam. I discovered them on a grimy tape copy too.
Surprised to hear someone slagging-off the production of Streetcleaner
👍👍👀. Thank you for all you do for us out here in the hinterlands. Merry Christmas Eve dude.
Merry Christmas, Hex-Mass and all the other ass’s.
Alesis HR16 was 5he first drum machine I ever owned at the time as this. It was pretty wacky, the speed could get so fast it could turn into a tone.
Brutal. Love it.
This brings back memories. I remember an article with Godflesh, where Justin Broadrick said that their strings felt like a they were spaghetti (a light set and downtuning) and I always remember that, because when I downtune I use a set of 9s and I love it (even beyond drop A). This sounded so brutal and good that it would in fact decimate anything on Streetcleaner. I remember the disappointment when I heard it (Streetcleaner album, the production not the music) and this really re-established my enthusiasm for the more extreme noise and metal. You absolutely have the knack for it and not all people do, they can't seem to be able to be brutal enough. This was so brutal that I had to headbang to it and it does not happen often. Real stuff man, REAL. Cheers.
Kurgle Kreutzer YES!! That’s why I did what i did. I didn’t put 60 size strings on the guitar because like he said, they didn’t know for downtuning, heavy strings are better. But that led to the natural detuning from hitting strings hard.
Delighted you like the vids. Happy hex mass!
+Circle of tone. Exactly and happy hex mass to you too! Cheers!
Yes, I recall Broadrick saying that he used 8s at least all the way into the "Selfless" era, with metal/brass picks. There is also some apocryphal stuff about the "Tiny Tears" EP section of "Streetcleaner," where Godflesh originally tried tuning lower than the usual drop-C# and everything just sounded like ass.
Cool stuff, man and good job with the video. Good to see more and more videos about Godflesh or early Industrialmetal popping up on TH-cam. It´s so fascinating once you dig into the details how much those bands got out of mostly "shitty" equipment or same conditions while songwriting, producing or recording. Have you listened to the last two Godflesh comeback records? -Nihil
Ibyss thanks man! I did check out newer stuff. Good stuff.
Indeed. Have you considered digging into the sound of Filter´s first record "Short Bus" or Nailbomb´s "Point Blank" in the future?
every single time i run across this or any of your vids it totally trips me out how much you look like me 🤣🤣🤣 like, to a point that i go - hey, that's me! oh .......wait - it's THAT dude.
You lucky man
Great video. Given how much you got into Colin Richardson for your "Heartwork" video, I'm curious to hear what you make of the tones on the Godflesh album he produced, "Hymns."
I would Loooooove to know how to recreate those tones
Dude you should totally put your interpretation song available for purchase. I'd buy it tbh. It was AMAIZING tbh
Thanks man. Feel free to download and convert it. Just commenting helps my channel so thanks!
@@CIRCLEOFTONE Hellyeah man no problem! Always down to support in the name of metal! Btw you just earned yourself a subscriber too lol.
Great vid. Those photos of the bass rig are from a gig at the Princess Charlotte in Leicester, which I was at. I think it was in 92.
Awesome. I was told with GODFLESH most of the legend is from their live shows. So I watched old vids. God damn. Amazing.
Wow I can't believe the bass tone on street cleaner was created with a HM2???!!! I figured that it was some
crazy parallel process with an svt and a Marshall perhaps. It's got so much heft, so much dirt, yet clarity.
cheers loved the breakdown of a band that may have really started heavy doom psych industrial. .
cheers
Weird JK Broadrick trivia for early Godflesh recordings, they did a lot of the amping and guitar recording in bathrooms. Because he wanted all the reverb and reflections. I doubt you could recreate it in a studio.
Hehe. I put my cab in the bath for my Saxon video.
@@CIRCLEOFTONE I remember reading an interview with Justin a long time ago where they tried to find the biggest, most tile-covered bathrooms they could find to record guitars. They wanted the natural reverb and delays. I think they might have even recorded some stuff in public restrooms.
Nice :) Enjoyed it very much. Remember hearing Godflesh for the first time in....1989? Have indeed that same feeling about them "starting something" :) . They owe a lot to Swans of course, but they were the first to drag the muddy guitar into drummachine territory. Love them.
Kick ass something on godflesh you should do one of Gordie Walker from killing joke
Regarding the steel pic. When I saw them he had a steel pic stuck to one of the pick ups of his I'm strat. No idea if that affected the sound.
Larger steel covers do make a difference. I’m brining out something for my own Pickups for instant change. It makes Pickups sound more Vintage. A small pick won’t do much though.
Hopefully you can still see this messages... Dude, you should do a video on the Fudge Tunnel guitar tone!!!
I’m late to this video but I saw god flesh in 91 on the grind crusher tour with Napalm death in Pittsburgh pa , if I remember he used napalms Marshall’s live and I remember pro co ratt pedal and I think delays and the bass was just as distorted , and a drum machine sitting on a barstool , I bought there tape the next day , I love the song christbait raising
Bro this is awesome, i love Godflesh so much, been a fan since 92 or so, you nailed it again! What did you think about a world lit only by fire? I remember sitting there going " holy shit!" i hope you dont mind the compliments but they will keep coming. Can i request Carcass, or Napalm death. Thanks.
mike degrazia you’re in luck. I’ve already done Napalm Death. Sorry I missed your comment!
CIRCLE OF TONE. Very cool, thanks man!
The Behind-the-Scenes clip was a nice addition. Merry Hexmas!
Thanks Karl. I’ll try and do that more.
I feel like all the hate for HM2 (historically) is from internet critics and contrarian trolls. Because many of the most beloved albums in the 90s used it
Here is hoping your subscibers increase in the new year. Even though I am not a metal fan. Merry christmas.🎅
Thanks man! I have some non metal vids coming up soon. I appreciate you still watching outside your genres. Cheers!
Street cleaner is NOT their first album. Its just called Godflesh. You must listen to this release, pronto! Its a lot better and the production is way better IMO. Check it out on you tube. The song Avalanche is crushing! End of class, young grass smoker's.........
It's nowhere near better than Street cleaner. And street cleaner is their first FULL album, the 1st is an EP
800th thumb!
i believe from reading interviews justin used an mxr distortion in the early albums what settings do you set your short/long delay pedal thanks for the info from an awesome band
the bass head in the pics is an Acoustic model 320.
I also think you should do a review of their album A World Lit Only by Fire. It was one of their more recent albums and one that is quite unrelenting, unforgiving heavy, dark and mechanical in its own regard.
Almost all of my metal-demos from back in the day used the HR-16. Good times!
wonderful
Thanks man!
Great vid! They did have a self titled album before streetcleaner. Recorded even worse. :)
Part of the charm!
Even better in that case
Their debut is even rawer and heavier than Street cleaner!
Circle of tone😍🤘
AMB AHMED merry Hex-Mass!!!
Hack with the Comb under the Bridge is great!!!
Yep. Expensive but worth it.
I knew that old boss pedal would come in handy one day.
And oi! Don't go calling Battery 3 old, right!
It's never been bettered really in many ways. I got Battery 4 and very nice it is too, but a man that knows how to operate Battery 3 will never need to fish again, or something like that.
I've even got a spare license for it. It also comes with about 12GB of top shelf kits that they did away with for Battery 4 for some reason.
I love the old Alesis Drum machine sounds. HR-16, HR-16B and of course the SR-16 which they still sell.
I've got a few different sources of Alesis drum machines sounds - probably more like 4 or 5 different sources, but yeah, they are great samples.
Battery 3 is an extremely capable and streamlined bit of kit when you know how to use it. I've got about 10GB of my own kits made up in it as well. Old funk kits, Drum and Bass, David Sylvian - all kinds of stuff. And too many Amens that I care to mention. Mine all mine.
I know you weren't criticising it Owen, but I just wanted to show off a bit and show how hip I am. :-)
I haven't heard this band, but it made me pine for going in to the studio and just seeing what comes out. Having fun. Being naive.
I'm really curious as to how you come to all these conclusions with what each particular band uses on what ever record. Seems like you do a bit of research but also use your finely tuned ear to dial shit in yourself. Rather than rely on actual people who were there and can say for sure. Fair play for having the ability to do that.
If you ever get the time, try and deconstruct and reverse engineer some of the early Stranglers records. They had an incredible sound, still vibrant and exciting to this day. They are still going too and gigging. Wrote loads of top classic songs. But that bass sound? I can get a pretty good approximation of it, I bet you can too. Rumours were that there were ripped cones in the cabs. Who knows.
I bet if you emailed JJ and the boys or their management they would give you an interview. You seem pretty genuine and doing it for the right reasons, so I don't think they would have a problem getting it together with you for some interesting interviews. I know they don't like getting too technical - preferring to concentrate on the music and the songs. But still, that would be quite a catch. Everyone wins.
I think you should look at avenues like that. Loads of great bands out there. You obviously have a passion for delving in to this stuff, and you obviously have hard-won talent for reverse-engineering it all, so you get a bit of automatic respect.
Your interview technique is good. You are informal but serious and focused at the same time. You don't come across as someone that wants to make a name for themselves as an interviewer, just someone that wants some answers. And your viewers (such as me et al) share a vicarious thrill in that.
You've worked really hard to get to this point, and you are on the tip of it all. You just need to stretch out a bit. I think you might be surprised by the response you will get if you reach out to some of those big names you revere. Rock music/alternative music is kind of dying now. People are getting older. They want to sell records, yes, but they also want to pass on the craft of what they do. They don't want to give this up to any old internet charlatan, but you might find they don't mind sharing some secrets with you.
The world really is your lobster.
Great comment! I really appreciate your enthusiasm for the channel. I cross reference gear/studio images, guitar world interviews etc. Then I fine tune everything by micing up all of the speakers of that era or 10 years back. Speakers are one of the main aspects. It’s the hardest too. People often don’t know what’s in their cabs unless it’s a Vintage 30.
Nice one mate. I was a bit ripped to the tits when I made that overlong comment. Sorry.
Seriously though, you got a great channel, just needs a bit of tweaking.
I don't think I know of any other channel that can interview the big old edge lords. Before they die! :-)
The game is over. There is only vanity left really.
What I want to know is this: How the hell did Big John McCoy get that Bass sound on Clear Air Turbulence by Gillan?
You asked for ideas. You need a sort of PR department. You could make a killing if you corner this one. Old dead, soon to be dead, rockers. No offense there at all.
I guess no one wants to do it. I'd do it myself if I wasn't so 'old and dead'. eh eh.
Really, you have a great way about you, it's rare. Use it or lose it.
Get a manager in the game. Get a gimmick. Get interviewing.
And all in the mean time, keep working on your own music, and maybe someone will get to hear about you in the future.
Don't sit on your laurels man. Get out there!. Fucking exploit it.
123ubuntu666 Thanks man. Im giving it a go.
Coroner? Grin?
Whats the song played at the beginning, that sounds ace
You really nailed the Streetcleaner sound but, IIRC Justin didn't have his famous black Strat before Pure. He played a Westone Spectrum ST during the EP/Streetcleaner era. Also, GC's bass sound around the Streetcleaner era was an Acoustic Model 320 bass head (the one in the video). Great video nonetheless, it's not an easy task to recreate such a sound.
Pancho Palma cool. Good info.
This guitar playing is fake. It is clear for example at 2:36 whammy in audio starts before you used it on video. Or at 2:14 corner camera shows playing something that is not in audio. At 2:45 corner camera has nothing to do with the audio. This and many other videos is just you shaking head, acting like some guitar boss. And what is very sad - lying to all of your subscribers. Just find someone real people. There are many guys and girls playing better and showing real recordings. This guy lies not only in this video. Just check them out. First I created single comment under one of his videos but he censored inconvenient truth - banned my first account. He blocks every word of critique and every word revealing he is fake. And by the way, headstock design in his guitars and in his brand logo is stolen from Collings guitars. Guys, if you see what I see - faking solos and songs. Just post about it in comments and ask mister "real" about it. He can censor me but not everyone of us.
Uncensored Bxyz not fake just poor video editing I use the same technique recording audio straight in separate and delete the cameras audio. He more than likely recorded the song off camera and then played along to the song on camera and deleted the audio off the camera maybe fucked up a couple takes and reshot them ...oh well whoopty fucking do.
Mike Flamino don't mind that guy, just a troll.
Thank satan for hex mass!!! I've found some new bands this being one of the best!
Awesome! That’s what this channel is all about.
Great video! One note about the photo of the bass rig. That’s actually a laney cab with an Acoustic brand bass head. I had them for years and they’re great. Used by John Paul Jones to Chuck Dukowski.
acousticamplification.com/history-of-acoustic-amplification/
Thanks man. Good Info.
Merry hex-mass headbangers \m/
Merry Hex-Mass! One and all.
Gonna need like 3 hours on that bass tone
I recall something about the making of Streetcleaner, they were either in their garage or basement. They had a hard time getting regular studio backing due to their unique sound. At any rate, if you havne't already done so, check out their new one. It will surprise you.
Cool Info! Thanks man. I do need to check out the newer stuff more closely.
No, it was financed by Earache like all the bands on the label, and was recorded in two different sessions in two different studios because Paul joined the band halfway through.
What was the EQ settings you had on the amplifier ?
2:50 you just played more notes at one time than Justin has in his entire career put together. Nice tone, but needs more feedback IMO. It's lacking the utter chaos of Godflesh.
Have you done any research into what synth was used on Slavestate? I missed it in the video if you said it, my apologies
There aren't any synths on Slavestate, its a sample from an old techno song.
Christbait Rising!
it's the title track
Hell yeah! Awesome song title.
The Driver I was making a request
What is the song being played
Can you do a master of puppets tone?
It’s tough because they used mesa pre and marshall power section so it’s hard to recreate. I’ll be doing RTL as it was one main amp.
CIRCLE OF TONE. Okay. Focus on the fade to black tone buddy :) Merry xmas
btp1994 good shout!
Godflesh!!?? Holy shit. Not only will you require the appropriate guitar gear to find their tone, you'll also need a magic fucking Dolorian to find the last time they were relevant. ...Oh snap! Snark level acquired for the day. Ignore me and merry xmas ;)
Lol. The last time I so a snark that hardcore it was tuning my guitar.
godflesh bass always sounds so fat, always wondered how they record and what equipment they use?
yerrr badd ass bro!! im a drummer... id love ta jam with ya love the old skool earache back cat. stuff etc..
really nail those tones man...
the napalm era for me was the lee dorrian/steer/harris.. then i progressed to godflesh, carcass, cathedral....
dude, have you any thoughts on lee dorrians label , rise above, and their production techniques?
They are pretty low key on what they do. Do you have any links to them talking about it etc?
justin broadrick lives in wales doesn't he?
I really wanna like the video, but it looks so nice at 66! Okay Ill do it, because satan isnt gunna help get your youtube back on track! lol
It’s a Hex-Mass miracle!
Great work! Sub!
Welcome to the Circle!
what was the tuning for this video?
Can’t remember. I just matched the album jamming to it. Haha.
try songsterr.com the older version - they showcase a lot of bands and their songs' tunings.
Thanks. I just did Mayhem. That tuning was off. So the tape must have been slowed or sped. I had to manually do that one. It's pretty funny what these bands were up to. The tuning at the start is different to the tuning at the end because they hit so hard they detune their instruments.
Godflesh's earliest/first material up until "Slavestate" was in B standard, but raised about a quarter tone (so halfway between Standard B and C). Then, from "Slavestate" to "Us And Them," they tuned up and played in C# standard. From "Us And Them" and onwards, up until they split, they went down to B standard (but without the whole quarter tone up). And then when they reunited and released "Decline And Fall" and "A World Lit...", he used an 8-string guitar (Ben just stuck with his 4 string tuned to B standard though).
I'm not too sure what is going on in their newest Techno Animal-sounding album: I haven't listened to it much, it's very electronic and I've only seen someone cover 3 of their songs... and all 3 of them were all in different tunings.
For Jesu, it's a bit more complicated. He started off playing in Standard A (although you can play some of their stuff in Drop A if you'd prefer), then used a weird open A-like tuning on "Silver," eventually switched to a 7-string guitar also tuned to that same open-A tuning for "Opiate Sun," then eventually switched to an 8-string on their last album, "Everyday I Get..."
What tuning is this? Drop A?
C standard
i remember this shit : )) i was 13 when i heard street cleaner i was like what the F? not sure which 1 u playing but it totaly sounds like GF. spot on sound + fx replication. although their quality is worse + noisier.
Thanks man! That means a lot. I was hoping people would hear the bass/guitar essence that I thought I captured but the lossy formats they used to capture it hid a lot of the sonic madness. BUT that old sound still sounded good because it was fresh.
👍 Great video. I enjoyed watching it. I'd like to see you do a video about the band Big Black and their song Kerosene off of their 1986 album Atomizer. The singer/guitarist is Steve Albini who is now a very successful studio engineer. Big Black used a Roland TR-606 drum machine and used special designed metal guitar picks that made a very unique sound. They were a mix of punk & noise rock. I don't know for sure but I think they might have influenced Godflesh. Here's a TH-cam link to Big Black - Kerosene th-cam.com/video/EXV6EmSBULY/w-d-xo.html
it's not supposed to be a polished sound. that's what it was all about kiddo.
Doi. Hehe. Thier latter music sounds technically better but it lacks the vibe.
Really appreciate the video and the channel but I'm honestly confused by all the references to the guitars being inaudible and it being some sort of naive mistake in the recording. I can hear the guitars fine - and yes, absolutely, the bass is also massive and the drum machine is very in your face. Maybe if your standard is normal metal albums where the bass is usually inaudible (at least to my ears) then the guitars might sound too low, but I for one appreciate an instrument balance that isn't just overwhelmingly dominated by guitars - and I think Godflesh shows how effective and heavy that can sound.
I don't really care how inexperienced Justin was at recording, if he wanted the guitars higher in the mix, why couldn't he have just pushed the volume fader up? Sure some of the sound of the album comes from them being young and broke (which reminds me of an interview where Geezer Butler was asked how he got such a heavy sound on the first 3 Black Sabbath albums and he said something succinct like "by using the cheapest gear we could find") but surely the instrumental balance is what they wanted, at least at the time?
Anyways, still really appreciate all the care and attention (and $, I assume) you put into these videos.
freaking me out how little you blink
Blinking is for the weak
Eye contacts can make you do that. I barely blinked when they’re in the eyeballs.
"Literal comb filter" :D
Lol.
i respect the diligence when it comes to researching the gear and trying to recreate the tone, but the parts you're playing on guitar (which i'm guessing you wrote yourself to sound reminiscent of various godflesh songs?) is really way too musical in the traditional rock and roll sense, and doesn't really capture the spirit of the band. it's supposed to be grinding, oppressive, mechanical-- but you're playing pentatonic rock and roll shit like some kind of dollar-store dave mustaine...
Ah dude you were doing so well until comparing me to a Walmart Mustaine. You need to check your underground neckbeard cred and mention a guitarist I actually sound like in this clip. How does this sound anything like my Godflesh clip? th-cam.com/video/bOOhNPZvV80/w-d-xo.html
what song was this?
azaz z not really a cover but it's loosely based on streetcleaner.