Voice of the Soul Studios

10/03/2022

tracking vocals today! i wonder which will be the lucky mic

06/01/2022

the ssl eq i just built came with a couple business card pcb’s so now i have a new active DI box! i just did a quick A/B against my RNDI using a splitter box that i made and it nulled to about -60db. i ran it through an amp sim and couldn’t really tell the difference so i’d say it’s a success! now i have both passive and active DI options that were both diy, i think that’s pretty sweet. also poor planning is why the case looks like s**t haha and the switch caps are probably too big but whatever it works. also the LED is UV so now i can have a blacklight party

26/12/2021

i just built this diy ssl 4000 black eq clone from link audio designs, and now it’ll be part of a pretty solid vocal chain that’s mostly diy!

02/12/2021

the new Agony by Default album is out today! Symphonic melodic black metal for fans of early Dimmu Borgir, Rotting Christ, Satyricon and more!

i produced, mixed and mastered it, as well as did all of the orchestral arrangements and programming based on some basic string parts that were done in the demos, links for everything will be in the comments, check it out!

also, this was done completely remotely, he recorded DIs and vocals at his home studio in wyoming and programmed the drums, i did pretty much everything else so if you like what you hear and you want to do a single/ep/album/whatever let me know and we'll make it happen!

17/11/2021

the first single is out! i not only mixed and mastered, but also did all of the orchestrations based on some basic string parts that were written! bandcamp pre-order link in the comments

From Agony by Default:

“New music is here! "Leave Not One Alive", the first single from the upcoming album "A Serenade for Eternity", is now streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, etc.! Bandcamp preorders are available as well.

If you're looking for some aggressive yet melodic symphonic black metal/blackened melodeath, this is going to be an album that's right up your alley. I'm extremely proud of how this turned out; myself and producer Johnny Dove (Voice of the Soul Studios) tried some new things here while building upon what I did on the last album...and the result is absolutely killer.

Take a listen to the single and feel free to share with anyone you know who may dig it!”

Agony by Default · Song · 2021

05/11/2021

The new album is officially finished!

"A Serenade For Eternity" will be released December 1, 2021. A single from the album, "Leave Not One Alive", will be available everywhere online on November 17, and another song will be released the next week as well!

I am incredibly excited to share this album with you all, as I feel it's a huge step forward in both writing and production, as well as the overall evolution of Agony By Default. For fans of very early Dimmu Borgir, Old Man's Child, Rotting Christ and more, this album takes the melodic black metal/blackened melodeath from the last album to a whole new level, with the addition of heavy symphonic elements. The album was also produced, mixed, and mastered by Johnny Dove at Voice of the Soul Studios, who was also responsible for much of the orchestral arrangements and the epic sound of the album overall.

Here is the tracklisting and album art!

1. The Cleansing
2. Paradox of Tolerance (The Plague)
3. Leave Not One Alive
4. Dogma of the Arrogant
5. The Devil You Seek
6. All That Could Have Been
7. The Rising Tides
8. Serenity in Darkness [Instrumental]
9. The Call of Time

03/10/2021

i just finished up programming orchestral stuff for a symphonic black metal album that i’ll be mixing soon for Agony by Default. some of the songs only had a couple string parts written so i took those and tried to turn it all into something that could be listened to on its own and it was pretty fun!

15/09/2021

it’s gonna be pretty great!

11/08/2021

i’m going to solder some new ends onto this snake later after i finish up some drum editing, and i put the boots on now while i was thinking about it to save myself the potential headache of forgetting about it when i do get to it lol

02/07/2021

It's finally here: The new full-length album from Laramie, Wyoming hard rock/post-grunge outfit Ashes of Denial, "Cheap Thrills and Bitter Pills", is now available on all streaming and digital platforms. Featuring bangers like "Hold On" and "The Candle"...and a haunting acoustic song called "Drowning" (featuring Johnny Dove)...it's the perfect album for fans of Seether, Ta***ic, Shaman's Harvest, Black Stone Cherry, old Theory of a Deadman, and more!

Produced, Mixed, and Mastered right here by yours truly!

Taken from Matthew Brammer's post:
"Every artist feels like or says the newest album or song or whatever they've done is their "best yet" or whatever. Part of that is marketing; part of it is recency bias.
But as I sit back and listen to this Ashes of Denial album on Spotify for the first time, I'm absolutely blown away by how far I've come, by how much I've learned, and by the help I got along the way...and it has led to the best thing I've ever done with this particular project. This album truly is fu***ng awesome.
I've got a few different bands/projects, and most of them are of the much heavier variety....death metal and such. And they've all really taken huge steps forward lately. But this is the one band that's kinda out on its own, a different kind of music than the rest....an outlet for a different side of me and a different group of influences and such that I grew up with. It's probably the one with the most commercial potential, but it's also the one that's most "personal" in a lot of ways...just in the song material, lyrics, etc. So it's nice to see this thing finally blossom.
But I will definitely say that this huge step forward would not have been possible without my good friend and producer Johnny Dove. Recently he has started to really push me, challenge me to elevate everything I do and think about things differently, and has started holding me accountable for maximizing my potential, and this is the result...and I couldn't be more thankful. It hasn't always been easy (and for the record, this album wasn't and I struggled a lot with it)...but we got there. And holy hell am I proud of this thing.
So if you're a fan of 90s/2000s hard rock type s**t...Seether, old Nickelback, old Theory of a Deadman, Black Stone Cherry, Ta***ic, Alice in Chains, all that s**t....give this thing a spin. It's a pretty diverse album that I guarantee has at least a couple tunes you'll dig. Personal favorites are the two singles ("The Candle" and "Hold On"), as well as a fu***ng KILLER acoustic track called "Drowning" that Johnny did some outstanding supporting vocals on. (Honestly, you should probably just skip to that, because as Johnny put it, it's like a yarling Alice In Chains version of Dust in the Wind or something to that effect...and it's pretty much the pinnacle of anything I've done acoustically.)"

Links are in the comments if you want to check it out!

11/06/2021

here’s the first single from the album i just got done doing for ashes of denial! all i got were DIs for guitar and bass, midi for drums, and vocals and i did the rest, along with some backing vocals on the chorus, go check it out! links to everything are in the original post 👍

Official music video for the Ashes of Denial song "Hold On", the first single from the album "Cheap Thrills and Bitter Pills" (out July 2nd, 2021).Music and ...

02/06/2021

i had a lot of fun working on this and i’m excited for everyone to hear it!

The new Ashes of Denial album is finally done, and the details are in!

"Cheap Thrills and Bitter Pills" will drop on Friday, July 2nd on Bandcamp and all digital platforms. The first single from the album, "Hold On", will be here on Friday, 6/11!

As usual, the album was recorded here in Laramie, Wyoming, but this time mixing, mastering, and overall production was handled by Johnny Dove of Voice of the Soul Studios in Downers Grove, IL. Dove also contributed backing vocals to several tracks, and co-vocals to an acoustic pseudo-duet titled "Drowning".

The album is a killer mix of southern hard rock/post grunge for fans of Shaman's Harvest, Ta***ic, Seether, Black Stone Cherry, Alice in Chains and more. It's also a huge step forward for this project in both production and songwriting, and I feel like it's the beginning of a new era. I'm stoked to share it with you all, and I hope you guys dig it as much as we do. Keep an eye and ear out for the aforementioned first single!

Here's the tracklisting and the artwork:

1. The Candle
2. Hold On
3. Follow
4. Hate Me
5. Drowning (Feat. Johnny Dove)
6. Burn
7. Rotten Meat
8. Cycle
9. Bitter Memory
10. Crumble

14/05/2021

mrs gregory is helping me judge vibrato today but she keeps getting distracted by the squadron of geese that keep walking through the yard. that’s actually what she was looking at when i took this, it’s a nice day and the window to my right is open

11/05/2021

modern problems require modern solutions lol

also, i found that getting the woofer and the tweeter lets you tailor the amount for each part so that’s cool too. there are 3 songs on this album that i’m mixing for Ashes of Denial that have this effect and maybe they don’t all need to sound the same, we’ll find out later!

08/05/2021

mrs gregory does a pretty good job at letting me know when the edits don’t sound right

24/04/2021

it’s one of her favorite napping spots, apart from my chair haha

07/04/2021

some new stuff is happening!

27/03/2021

this mic has been randomly not working for a while, so i thought i’d finally try to fix it when it wasn’t working two days in a row. usually it’ll work fine and then the next time it won’t but this was different. i found another tube thinking maybe that was it, but it turns out i just didn’t do as good of a soldering job as i thought when l made the pair of these like 12 years ago. oops lol anyway now it won’t be a problem anymore!

20/03/2021

some nice things were said here today

Voice of the Soul Studios is a Recording/Mixing studio in Downers Grove, IL

13/02/2021

an absolute legend, RIP
https://www.rupertneve.com/news/rupert-neve-1926-2021/

Wimberley, TX (Feb. 13, 2021) – It is with great sadness that we announce that Rupert Neve, whose name is synonymous with quality audio recording equipment worldwide, has died. He remained in great spirits to the end, enjoying his life in Wimberley, Texas, where he and his wife Evelyn have lived ...

11/02/2021

TONIGHT AT THE PIT: EVERYONE GETS LAID

i had a great time producing and mixing this, and you should all check it out!!

06/02/2021

here's my entry for the Turning Point mix contest, it was fun! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPwmiCnNQWo

My entry for the Dark Times Collaboration – Turning Point Mix Contest 2021

29/01/2021

well look at that, now you can check out a couple of the songs before the album gets released!

8 track album

29/01/2021

Silence Before The Storm now has a new album done! who’s next? you don’t have to be near me to make it happen, all of this project was done from across the country, let me know if you need anything mixed!

20/01/2021

sometimes you get sent files from across the country (like from Silence Before The Storm from wyoming) to mix and that’s great! BUT the downside is not being able to track the vocalist through your vocal chain that you’ve been working on, so you just gotta reamp! i’ve been working a lot on getting stuff the best i can at the source and trying to see how little i can do afterwards. i’m also trying to have as much DIY stuff as i can, so next on the list is a 500 series ssl eq that i just found out about, also if anyone knows about a diy de-esser that would be cool too

18/01/2021

here's an update from Silence Before The Storm that i couldn't directly share because facebook likes to be weird about stuff

"Album update: Tracking is pretty much finished; just tidying up a few things and then it will be completely in Johnny Dove's hands at Voice of the Soul Studios for mixing and mastering!
Writing and recording this album has been one hell of a journey and experience for me, and having Johnny produce this album has definitely elevated it (and me, as a musician) to a whole new level.
This thing has a little something for everyone...metalcore fans, melodeath fans, groove metal fans...all seamlessly woven together into an absolute fu***ng banger.
I can't wait to share this s**t with all of you.
(For some reason Facebook won't let me tag the studio page directly, but definitely click on that link and check him out if you're a metal musician looking for audio services!)"

14/01/2021

i’m editing guitars for an album i’m working on from Silence Before The Storm and i thought i’d take a quick shot of the situation lol my small assistant beata is hard at work making sure i don’t f**k it up

28/12/2020

The first single from The Monarch "The Grand Scheme" is officially out today! It was recorded/mixed/mastered here and I'm very proud of how it came out, everyone did such a great job! There's also a really awesome video done by my good friend Greg Fender, I'll leave the links to everything in the comments!

Let me know if you'd be interested in working with me on your next musical project, I'd love to hear about it!

29/11/2020

oh hey something new to work on! i’m pretty excited for this one

18/11/2020

out of all of the things in this picture, i think i only still have like 3 or 4 and have sold everything else lol. the acoustic panels, the headphones, that 70s ibanez strat ripoff, a couple patchbays and cables, the lava lamps, and those figures on the meter bridge are all that i still have haha sometimes you’re broke and you need money. actually i still have the same computer monitors that i was using then, i just put them on the floor for the picture because i wasn’t using them that night, it was all analog acoustic stuff going through the tape machine. oh wait i still have my dbx160xt and an spx90, but yeah everything else is long gone

it was for a whiskerino pic, the theme was something like what is your job so that’s why there’s a random pizza box haha