Discover Australian Melodic Hardcore Bands #2

In todays instalment of Discover Australian Melodic Hardcore Bands I decided to go with a newer band and two veterans.

New South Wales

Vilify

Melodic hardcore band Vilify is an all-star group of  metalcore musicians, Made up of members from The Beautiful Monument, Liberties, SETMEONFIRE, and Cold Era. The band released their debut EP CLARITY in December of 2020 and a the new single Veils of Grey earlier on in the year in February. These people are solid and talented musicians and I'm excited to watch them grow.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Vilifyau/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1vcCPOlMYtuwIS7W7fzZno?si=WKbh3vXcTrysd_h8T65BYQ/

Queensland

Stepson

Emotional heavyweights Stepson formed in late 2014 releasing their debut single Leak. This band has done countless headline tours across Australia, Supported bands like Counterparts, Title Fight, While She Sleeps, Stray From The Path, The Acacia Strain, Polaris, Capsize and Northlane. Their set to go on their first international tour with Polaris across the EU & UK and show no sign of slowing down. So far this year they have headlined a tour for their new album Help Me, Help You, played 2 festivals and are booked to support Being As An Ocean's on their Dear G-D... 10 year anniversary tour. A discography made up of three EPs, one single and an album should give you the impression these boys know their way around and its obvious when you see them live.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stepsonpunk/

Bandcamp: https://stepsonpunk.bandcamp.com/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5zAwXQwC3M34U7lKFgeX1y?si=z4vV0YUpTvaTX0HZIKKyyQ/

South Australia

Ambleside

Named after a street in their hometown Ambleside is made up of 5 people. They formed in late 2013 releasing their debut EP New Tide and in 2015 they remastered and rereleased New Tide with Mutant League Records. This newer version of the ep had less songs than the original but also included Tired Eye which became their most popular song until the famous Wash Away came out. They've been on countless tours both as a supporting acts and as the headliner. They have played shows with international bands like Silverstein, The Plot In You and Movements. Ambleside are one of my favourite bands of all time so I'm very biased when it comes to their music. Ambleside played shows with Stepson regularly until the pandemic.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amblesidehc/

Bandcamp: https://stepsonpunk.bandcamp.com/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7Fr8MbK08l3g9yHrXb4j4Y/

Live Music In Australia

Perth beatdown band Sedative playing Diamond Dogs Music Lounge and Bar, Dapto, NSW

To support live heavy music we have made a YouTube channel. On this channel you will find playlists for Australian band footage, An updated list of channels who post band footage and footage recorded by us and our Zoom Q2n video camera. Although it can be weird seeing a different perspective of events you attended and footage at venues that don't exist any more. I encourage everyone watch, record and share gigs. We all need to push live heavy music and make an effort to archive it. Don't forget to share the channels as well as the videos.

You can find our YouTube page here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnaJcdo-o7Xcv6p70wrQGPg

A playlist of live recorded Australian music with the best audio: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3eX0jAmXK_RGVNpJbpK-C99-kFY7zrZF

A playlist of more live recorded Australian music with good audio: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3eX0jAmXK_RGVNpJbpK-C99-kFY7zrZF

List of channels we personally watch

Radarspics

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2FZ-Z2zoPp7ZW2D0Yzcyhw

Sean Kerwin

https://www.youtube.com/user/Sean3886

HCMI

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxYdAFU0VCJcYF3Nzu4sgYA

Harley Merrell-Rose

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJfE_4mBz7lJ9cSEft3w95g

CoastCore TV

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVGa7nEv3ZteBLaPoCX2fuA

jack from adelaide

https://www.youtube.com/user/zooyorkjack

That Guy's Live Music

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTgtNjx7j4zC6D27IC_D9-A

Daniel Ginger

https://www.youtube.com/user/Daniel123939

Cracked Teeth Media

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmUn48RBiR0ok5i8ILBiE5g

TRIG GAMES

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkdUIwCJ1bgh_Ou96bpbRmw

kizza

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqsiO0Z6RtlNGpekcs7phDQ

Free Metal Drum Samples

In this post I have put together some of the best metal drum samples I have found on the internet. You can never have enough drum samples so here's some downloads to clutter up your computer. 

Deathcore Drums - groovemaster

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UDZMlpjlRaDsY2_Bgqbcla6NOCTnEz9v/view 

Kicks, Snares and Toms by THE METAL KICK DRUM 

https://www.themetalkickdrum.com/free-stuff/kicks

GetGood Drums VIP List Free Drum Samples - GetGood Drums - download by going to the link and scrolling down until you see free samples

https://www.getgooddrums.com/?msclkid=7225d354b6a511ecb37466609d9c573c

Odeholm Audio FREE Mini Snare Pack

https://odeholm-audio.com/products/free-mini-snare-pack

Erkan Collection including samples from Andy Sneap - Ultimate Metal Forum

https://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/threads/sharing-my-collection-of-drum-samples-here.529782/?msclkid=eb69484eb6a611eca4fdd46301a25c05

Over 300 Royalty Free Snare Samples

https://www.stayonbeat.com/2013/09/25/free-snare-samples/

Slingerland, Rock and Indie Drum samples

https://www.indiedrums.com/2015/10/10/slingerland-kit/

https://www.indiedrums.com/2012/10/10/free-drums-samples-rock-kit/

https://www.indiedrums.com/2012/10/10/free-drums-samples-indie-drums-free/

Kristian Kohle Free Kick and the Kold Konkrete Krack Snare

https://app.filepass.com/s/j0nZ7KVrgLUC8ehh/p/Raw%20Samples

https://app.filepass.com/s/o6KQRhzltGn6yADL/f/350159/Kohle%20Kold%20Konkrete%20Krack.wav

Wilkinson Audio Creative Commons Drum Samples

https://wilkinsonaudio.com/collections/free/products/wilkinson-audio-cc-drum-samples

NumbSkull Snares 1.0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ypxcauby2l7z837/Numbskull%20Snares%201.0.rar?dl=0

Snaredrum-13x03inchPearl-HighPitch-multisampled

https://freesound.org/people/quartertone/packs/9034/

High Quality Cymbals 2006

https://freesound.org/people/ltibbits/packs/889/?page=1

PureTones Pearl Reference 14x16 Snare Drum

https://puretones.net/product/freesnare/

AuroraDSP

https://auroradsp.com/en/samples/39-the-rising-drum-samples.html

https://auroradsp.com/en/strona-glowna/28-dw-collectors-sample-pack.html

Discover Australian Melodic Hardcore Bands #1

Today I will be sharing three great melodic hardcore bands each from different states.

New South Wales

Keepsake

From the city of Sydney, past Wild Fires members and a few new faces come together to write sad songs you can't help but sing along to. Keepsake released their debut EP Slowburn on the April 10th of 2021 and have been talking about releasing new music very soon. I've personally seen this band live and they put on a great show.

Check out the song Passivity from their debut EP on YouTube:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aukeepsake/

Bandcamp: https://keepsakeau.bandcamp.com/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/20PmpnVklB8MTdPPnjxXvM?si=jOKChaulSxaiBEQF2KnecQ

South Australia

Raccoon City

Formerly known as Raccoon City Police Department the band released music from 2011-2015 then went on hiatus. They returned several years later releasing a single under their new name Raccoon City. This emo/melodic hardcore group is made up of  5 talented people from Adelaide. From all the images and footage I have seen they put on a great show.

Check out the single CARNATION from their second album on YouTube:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RaccoonCityband/

Bandcamp: https://rcpd.bandcamp.com/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3jjLXvgaQQxuk5KWsGKZhc?si=MmpL_eRrTr2BsCQYvwyt3A

Western Australia

Vacant Home

Formed in late 2016, the isolated city of Perth brings us a 5 piece melodic hardcore band. They started their journey by releasing their first single Shiver on the Dreambound YouTube channel to which they received raving reviews. Since being formed the original vocalist and bassist have left but they have new members and continue to play play gigs. I have personally seen this band many times and was never disappointed . 

Check out their very first single Shiver on YouTube:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vacanthomeau/

Bandcamp: https://vacanthomeau.bandcamp.com/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7prTdTVfJtpIkodHVYOxxH?si=HuQGoheoTpqkfFL0LZfiaQ

Free Impulse Responses

Today I have created a list of websites giving out free impulse responses. This is made up of websites I have personally downloaded impulse responses from. An impulse response is the way you can reproduce the sound of an amp speaker, the microphone and its direction through a cab sim. For a better explanation from a much smarter person read Getting Started With Impulse Responses For Guitar by Joey Strugis.

Kalthallen Cabs Free

https://shop.kalthallen.de/?page_id=423

Redwirez

https://redwirez.com/pages/the-marshall-1960a-ir-pack

Wilkinson Audio

https://wilkinsonaudio.com/collections/free

Soundwoofer

https://soundwoofer.com/Library/Index

Ultimate Metal Forum user post

https://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/threads/the-best-impulses-since-s-preshigh-and-theyre-free.947395/

Seacow Cabs 

https://seacowcabs.wordpress.com/

Catharsis Impulses

https://pluginfox.co/products/catharsis-impulses

Official Tone Junkie

https://tonejunkiestore.com/official-tone-junkie-kemper-sampler-pack

Audio Assault

https://audioassault.mx/collections/plugins/products/seacow-cabs-teaser-pack

Free Impulse Response Download – Cenzo Townshend IR Mix

https://www.celestionplus.com/free-download/

Line 6 Community Free IRs

https://line6.com/support/topic/26822-free-irs/

10 Free IR Packs for metal

https://www.dropbox.com/s/34cblu2nr3vvhd5/List%20-%20Top%2010%20free%20irs%20for%20metal%20-%20IR%20FILES%20USED.zip?dl=0

ML Sound Lab "THE BEST IR IN THE WORLD"

https://www.dropbox.com/s/m4fwk8jx6m08hse/ML%20Sound%20Lab's%20BEST%20IR%20IN%20THE%20WORLD.zip?dl=0

Slam IR and IR Collection by calvaire

Slam IR: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xGgQ6IIA_0x1LoBzduzFMQm7_j81nZ8c/view

IR Collection: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FLvbNzQpFMxrpoZSGZuZ2SmF7HPkSXIT/view

7 Free Guitar Overdrive Plugins for Metal and Rock

In this day and age you don't need to spend your hard earned money to get good quality music plugins. Spending money is for rich people with bitcoin, Dingwall basses and Pro Tools. Today we are going to overdrive your guitar and unleash hell with $0 worth of pedals!

To test these VSTs I will be running each overdrive pedal plug-in in front of a high gain amp sim. The amp sim I decided to go with for this post is Amped Roots Free by ML Sound Lab. I will be using the same amp settings on each track. Here's the settings being used:

Amped Roots Free Built in Overdrive

Lets start off with the overdrive included in our free amp sim. There isn't much to say about this pedal other than it works well with the amp sim.

Another Metal Music Blog · Roots Overdrive

Download the amp sim at https://ml-sound-lab.com/products/amped-roots?variant=32886035513403

Here are the pedal settings used in the demo:

TSE 808 2.0 Lite

TSE808 is an emulation of a generic green tube screamer pedal. You have probably seen very similar looking pedals at gigs as the tube screamer is a popular pedal. This plugin is brought to you by TSE Audio.

Another Metal Music Blog · TSE808 Demo

Download the plugin at https://www.tseaudio.com/software/tse808

Compatibility: Mac, Windows 64bit and 32bit

Format: VST and AU

Here are the plug-in settings used in the demo:

TSB-1 Tyrant Screamer

This pedal is a digital emulation of the real life pedal used by Experimental Metal band Benevolent's two guitarists Hadi Sarieddine and Mohammed Gad. The great thing about this plug-in is that it is made by the same company that built the real life pedal, Ignite Amps.

Another Metal Music Blog · TSB-1 Tyrant Screamer Demo

Download the plugin at https://www.igniteamps.com/

Compatibility: Windows 64bit and 32bit

Format: VST and AU

Here are the plug-in settings used in the demo:

TS-999 SubScreamer

Yet another digital emulation of a tube screamer but this time it's the pedal used by Thrash/Death Metal band Subhuman's two guitarists Mattei Buti and Elia Murgia's. This plug-in is also made by the same company that built the real life pedal, Ignite Amps.

Another Metal Music Blog · TS-999 Demo

Download the plugin at https://www.igniteamps.com/

Compatibility: Windows 64bit and 32bit

Format: VST and AU

Here are the plug-in settings used in the demo:

Over Diver od82o

Over Diver od82o is an emulation of the old reliable green tube screamer. There are quite a few settings in this VST not included in the others so if you know what you're doing you can dial in a plethora of great tones. This plug-in is brought to you by NSP.

Another Metal Music Blog · Over Diver od82o Demo

Download the plugin at https://plugins4free.com/plugin/2550/

Compatibility: Windows 64bit and 32bit

Format: VST

Here are the plug-in settings used in the demo:

OverDiver

OverDiver is an emulation of the real life pedal Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive. TIP: Keep the boost ON! This plug-in is brought to you by Anaolog Obsession.

Another Metal Music Blog · Over Diver Demo

Download the plugin at https://plugins4free.com/plugin/3096/

Compatibility: Mac and Windows 64bit

Format: VST and AU

Here are the plug-in settings used in the demo:

Dr Drive

Dr Drive is an emulation of the real life pedal Horizon Devices Precision Drive. With this pedal you're able to adjust attack, bright, drive and level. This plug-in is brought to you by Audiority.

Another Metal Music Blog · Dr. Drive Demo

Download the plugin at https://www.audiority.com/shop/dr-drive/

Compatibility: Mac and Windows 64bit

Format: VST2, VST3 and AU

Here are the plug-in settings used in the demo: