[ABeautifulVirus]

http://soundcloud.com/abeautifulvirus/helicopter-head_remastered

Helicopter Head (demo)
© 2009-2012 MRI
Words & Music by Daren Thomas Turner

---------------------------------
Turn Around
Can you see
Three hundred sixty-
One degrees?

I walk through walls
I jump through fire
I speak in tongues
I dress up nice
I twist my mind and
Break my neck
To find my helicopter head
I walk on water
Melt the ice
I split the atoms
In my eye
I blow my mind and
Burn my bread
To find my helicopter head

Turn your head around
All the way
Like the kid in
That possession movie

Haven’t you heard only panoramic minds love helicopter heads?
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[Apophenia]

Rocking song!  I hear that def hear some AIC in the vocals.  The beginning part "turn around can you see three hundred sixty-one degrees"  seemed really stretched out to me.  I was waiting and waiting for each syllable to figure out what you were trying to say.  I like the moving vocals "I walk through walls...." Maybe try some rhyming in there to keep us engaged.  Keep up the good work. 

[montydog]

Holy crap, I wasn't expecting this!

I loved everything about it. It's original, weird, unpredictable and beautiful - it reminded me a little of early Pink Floyd. It's a wonderful sound you've created where it seems that anything is possible.

My only critism is that I'd like to have seen a second set of lyrics rather than repeating the existing ones but the quality of what you've written is brilliant.

One of my favourite tracks from the forum so far.

[nooms]

hi abv,
really great track !
unique & immediate, great changes and vocal ideas..
its in control..
terrific
welcome to the forum

[jim morrison]

This is ACE!! ,top vocals and i like the distant indie sound you've created ,welcome to the forum, top work!

[S.T.C]

It was good i liked it,,but it`s not original...quite clearly a mix of psychedelia i`e early FLOYD and  NIRVANA  .

There two bands i like a lot so,,i like this.

[GuitarArt1980]

This was very well done. There's a unique depth to this track that's both hypnotic and energetic. Only thing is I feel like the vocals sound too much like Alice in Chains to me. If they were produced/performed slightly less spot-on to Layne Staley (RIP), I think this track would be at another level. Either way, great job!

[man of simple pleasures]

not really my thing but give it a listen and theres a few who dig this so good stuff!

[ABeautifulVirus]

hey thanks folks for the critiques this seems like a cool forum and was recommended to us, so 'hello' from across the pond. i see how the AIC vibe in my vocals may be a tad too emulating of Layne Staley/Jerry Cantrell, but when i layer harmonies in the studio it just sorta comes out that way. when we play out live we're much more stripped down vocally as we're a only a power trio and i the only lead vocalist.  The guitar tones on this were engendered on a Roland JC120 Jazz chorus a la Andy Summers amp choice. i usually use a Mesa Boogie Dual Recto or Marshall JCM 2000 in studio but i didn't want such a heavy crunch on this track & needed a more indie/alt feel hence the Jazz Chorus. lyrically, this tune is kinda about 'enlightenment' eg being able to see in all directions at all times.

[evanjavo]

I'm with man of simple pleasures. not really my kind of music, but I really enjoyed this! The repeating lines really worked for me, I caught myself singing along seconds after it came up (I think that's when you know you've got a real winner, when somebody else instantly clicks with your song). But I agree with montydog as well, some minor lyric changes would indeed improve it creativity wise - performance wise, it's fine as far as I'm concerned.

I've gotta agree with Apophenia too, the verses seem to drag out just a bit too much. I'm not necessarily saying to try and fill the gaps, but I think it could be shortened or sung a bit faster - not too much faster tho.

Overall, good work ABV. I believe you've really got something here. Songs like this where it instantly hooks you is what I like to hear. Being able to relate with listeners is key, and even though your avatar scares the s**t outta me, I'm definitely gonna watch out for more posts from you. Awesome job, my man!

[mihkay]

You've got the Alice in Chains Vocal sound (love to know the technique), but AIC married that vocal to a dark feel. I'm not convinced it works  juxtaposed with the Police style up tempo standard chord pop.

Well done on the production though. 1st Class.

[ABeautifulVirus]

Overall, good work ABV. I believe you've really got something here. Songs like this where it instantly hooks you is what I like to hear. Being able to relate with listeners is key, and even though your avatar scares the s**t outta me, I'm definitely gonna watch out for more posts from you. Awesome job, my man!

lol thanks. & yea the avatar works better than the 3 of us posing like cliché idiots trying to look cool

You've got the Alice in Chains Vocal sound (love to know the technique), but AIC married that vocal to a dark feel. I'm not convinced it works  juxtaposed with the Police style up tempo standard chord pop.

Well done on the production though. 1st Class.

I hear ya- there are other darker songs which may be more apropos.  I don't really sound too much like Layne Staley unless I layer harmonies and double or triple them the way I'm doing here. As to your query, what I did in the verses to get that lush AIC vibe is first track the root melody on a Shure SM58, then double it standing about 3 feet away from mic, then triple that but on the 3rd time stand about 7 feet away from a hot AKG perception 420 mic in a large room to get a natural reverb and aural space. then I would do the same process on the 1st harmony (the 3rd), and finally replicate the process on the 2nd harmony (the 5th) but place the 5th UNDER the root so the triad/triple harmony forms a 2nd inversion chord musically speaking.  so you are actually listening to 9 individual vocal tracks mixed down together in the verses.
 

[The Chemist Tree]

Yeah i liked this also. I love the change from half to double time a lot.

I also liked the lead guitar sound, very much like the editors.

I also liked the chord changes as they were quite unpredictable.

I also heard the early Floyd likeness (Interstellar Overdrive meets Flamenco), and as a massive Barrett fan i could only like it really. I also hear The Pretty Things a little in the vocal sound, which is a good thing.

As for repeating the verse, maybe throw in the odd line that is different rather than write a whole different one to keep the familiarity there but to change it a little.

Keep up the good work.

TCT

[James Nighthawk]

It was good i liked it,,but it`s not original...quite clearly a mix of psychedelia i`e early FLOYD and  NIRVANA  .

There two bands i like a lot so,,i like this.

But originality can come from mixing diverse sources. So no bad thing

This is an odd one. The off kilter guitar notes at the beginning threw me, as no doubt they were meant to, so good work there. The close knit melodies are indeed very Kurt Cobain, but he would never have allowed such heavy vocal processing, which puts us squarely in the psych rock camp.

The hook is good but almost too claustrophobic for me. The whole song is very crowded and never soars. It is really well played and thought out however. Again, this "closeness" this may well have been the intention!

The production is very clean. Too clean for my liking in a rock setup, but the 80s influences here are shining through in writing and production. The vocal processing works for that genre but I find such layering to be exhausting, and modern rock demands a more human sound, so again this is dated for it.

A great and thoroughly interesting first track, and great work getting stuck into the forum, we love a bit of give and take here

JN

[andy5544]

great stuff , i enjoyed listening , a good old lead solo would of been nice about 2/3rds the way through
but thats just me , and i know nothing ,
good song chaps .