Psalm 13

Hey it's me, Brandon, again. I am the founder of Analyzed Within, a Christian Metal band being born. We are still recording vocals for our EP, Living in the Last Days.

This track was written for my band's (Analyzed Within) future worship album.

This will be an interlude with either Josh (my vocalist and cousin) or me speaking Psalm 13 over it. I want to start out soft and build the intensity to match the track's flow. I showed this track to Josh last night during our recording of Testing of Christians. Actually we were re-recording some parts we didn't like before.

Psalm 13 

O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?
    How long will you look the other way?
  How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
    with sorrow in my heart every day?
    How long will my enemy have the upper hand?
  Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!
    Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.
  Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!”
    Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.
  But I trust in your unfailing love.
    I will rejoice because you have rescued me.
  I will sing to the Lord
    because he is good to me.

This Psalm speaks so much to what I am going through. Sometimes it feels like God has abandoned you, but really he is right there all the way. I have a lot of things on my heart I can't wait to get out on the new worship album. But we have an EP to finish first. The reason I am still working on new stuff is because me and my vocalist obviously can't work continuously on tracking vocals. So I just keep my mind fresh by pumping out new stuff. It will actually make the launch of the album faster this way anyway.

I quad tracked the guitars using POD Farm. The bass is my 8 string, the same I used to track the guitar parts, just over accented the bass frequencies with a simulated bass amp and cab. The drums are of course EZDrummer DFH, but in the end they will be re-amped by our studio guy. He is going to either use Superior Drummer or Steven Slate, or a combo of both. The synthesizers are a cool plugin called Serenity - and it's FREE! There are two synths going on that I blended, and then the ambient guitar part is my signature preset from POD Farm.

New ideas to share

Headbanging Monks

It's been a while since I have regularly posted. This track is cool because it's different. I have two main themes going. It's kinda like two choruses - each with their own melody.



I am tuned to standard 8-string tuning: F# B E A D G B E. This song contains some 7/4 time signature.

I used POD Farm to record, as always, and my DAW is still Reaper. I have learned more about mixing and mastering, so it sounds better than what I used to put out.

You will hear multiple parts in this track. There is the ambient guitar, dual-tracked rhythm guitars (I didn't feel like quad-tracking), and occasionally lead guitars. You also can hear the guitar solos when the choruses (themes) play. The bass is my Ibanez RG8 guitar EQ'd and brought an octave down. It sounded better than using Trilogy plugin because I can easily slide around, giving it a more realistic sound. There's gotta be a way otherwise, but I always hated programming MIDI anyway. The drums are still EZdrummer DFH, but they are now compressed and EQ'd so they should sound way better like in Mt. Kilimanjaro.

It's a weird title, I know, but I wanted something that would catch people's interest and click on it. I also wanted to try the silly track name like Wide Eyes does. I couldn't find the perfect picture for this track because you just don't see many headbanging monks do you? I figured it was a great title - after I posted my starting to compose such a track on my personal facebook - because one of my "friends" on facebook liked the status, and I never hear from him.

The file is pretty big, that I uploaded, and so I hope the quality is nice.

I tried to follow my heart once again on this one.

Brandon of Analyzed Within
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No live show

I don't think that show is happening for us. After being dropped once and then put back on, and rescheduled twice, I'm sick of the whole thing. We kinda all are, and so we are not planning on doing the show after all. I've lost my enthusiasm and energy, so forget it.

However, on a good note, I was able to get with my cousin Josh for vocals on Analyzed Within. We are wanting to work hard and get this out to you guys. Been saying that for a while, and the reason we couldn't release a single was because of technical issues. We had problems with the MIDI, and so we are going to wait until the end to figure it out.

I'm starting a new job tomorrow, so that's pretty exciting and nerve-racking at the same time.

Eric M. writing solo

Writing my guest solo for my good friend @analyzedwithin in between study breaks. This track is going to be awesome! :) I am excited :D
— Eric Maldonado (@Eric_Maldonado) March 17, 2013

He is referring to my band's track, "The Lion Has Come To Defeat The Dragon."

EP track listing

Okay, this is the official track listing for my band's upcoming EP, Living in the Last Days. Officially, it's only me and my cousin, Josh, in the band Analyzed Within. I will be working on placing bonus material in a digital package for all those who download the entire album from Bandcamp.

Remember, the EP is going to be free. Just name your price - type in $0 if you want it for free; however, any contribution helps. Okay, enough talking! Here's your list. Coming soon! Nearly all of the songs are tracked! Josh is working his lyrical magic just down the road from me.



ANALYZED WITHIN
Living in the Last Days EP


1. Beginning of Sorrows
2. Living in the Last Days
3. The Testing of Christians
4. The Lion Has Come to Defeat the Dragon
5. The Mount of Olives
6. Our Hope is Here

First time playing with drummer

My friend is wanting to play a show on March 30. The event being organized has 10 bands playing, including us. What was originally going to be me and my friend Dakota playing an acoustic set, turned into a metal project with his friend Brandon (like my name  ) as the drummer. So then I invited my cousin Josh (part of Analyzed Within - my forming band). So now it's two guitarists, me and Dakota; and a drummer, Brandon; and Josh the main vocalist. We have no bassist! I hope we find one, but if we don't we will have to turn up the bass on our amps.  

We had a practice session last night. It was my first time playing with a real drummer. So much better than playing with a machine like EZdrummer! Man, Brandon keeps time very well (as you would hope from a drummer.) He picked up on everything we played quickly. His fills and beats rocked! My little 70 W amp was running wide open and was still having a hard time competing with the drums in that small garage.  We might just mic the amps for the show. And yes, I kept the gain low so it would cut through.  Or I might find a new amp (if I can find the $$$), as Dakota is getting himself a new guitar and amp.

We are concerned about getting a few songs ready for the show. Last night was more of talking and jamming. We need material to practice. We have a 20 minute window to play our part. We are expecting 200 or more people in this park that the show is taking place. The drummer has played shows before, as has my vocalist Josh, but this would be the first time for me and Dakota. After coming up with a few things last night, we agreed I would make some playthroughs for us. Dakota said he needed to practice. Brandon would need a playthrough without drums so he could do his own thing. I might even share them here if people wanna see. We gotta stick with simple stuff right now since we are so pressed for time.

I don't know where this will take us, but I hope we could all become Analyzed Within one day, and it would no longer be just me and Josh. Right now we are just having fun in preparing for this show. If we did become Analyzed Within, we would only need a bassist. I really hope we find one for the show. haha

I just wanted to share this joy! I had a blast last night!

As far as Analyzed Within releasing music, I am working on some songs, and I nearly have the whole EP composed. Josh is writing nearly all of the lyrics now. It's easier that way. The single, the title track "Living in the Last Days," has not been released because our studio guy is so dang busy that he cannot get to it as much as he would like.

And if you know me and my low-tuned guitars OCD, you might be surprised to hear we are playing Drop C for our show. I'm pulling one of the songs from the EP - at least that's the plan. Transposing is no big deal, but will be fun!


Brandon

2012

In 2012 a lot of things happened, as I would expect most people could claim.

However, I won't bore you with details. Besides, I can't remember all of them anyway. I will just note a few of the highlights, good and bad.

At the beginning of 2012, I had my new speakers from the previous 2011 Christmas. I received my Alesis M1 Active MK2 monitors as a present from my parents. You can see them in the picture to the left. I had no where to put them at first, so I just used the top of this dresser for a platform. I started learning how to use them from the community at www.guitarmasterclass.net.

I would soon change my setup with the purchase of a desk. I actually changed it twice. First, I was just trying to be compact. Then I learned from a pro that the brick wall would cause the bass frequencies to sound different on one side. (I was in the added in part of the house.)

My second choice of the setup was much classier, and better for the frequencies - right there facing the corner. You can see the HD video of the room as it looked in the photo the right here.

In February, I conceived the idea for a solo project called Analyzed Within. It would later become a collaboration, a band in the making, with my cousin as the vocalist. You can watch the story in this cool video.

Analyzed Within is basically a Christian Progressive Metal project. I come from different approaches in the metal and hard rock spotlight. I like bands such as, RED, Demon Hunter, Hope For The Dying, Becoming The Archetype, As I Lay Dying, and Days Of Confusion. So you could expect a mixture. We are still waiting to release the single, "Living in the Last Days."

In April, I purchased my first DSLR - a Canon T3i with an 18-55 mm lens. I had problems with it so I had to send it back and get a replacement. Later that year, I would also learn I had purchased too slow of a memory card. So, I would later purchase a $70 card at Bedford's Camera and Video.

In May, my life changed forever and I moved. I started a new chapter in my life.

In July, I went to see Tim Hawkins with my brother. Tim is a Christian comedian and is very funny! You should check him out at www.timhawkins.net.

I have all his DVDs and CDs. "If you can't laugh at yourself, laugh at other people."


For Halloween, I dressed myself in toilet paper and played an original song.


And lastly, for Christmas I covered "Mary, Did You Know?" in my own hard rock style.



And you can find many more details of my 2012 in this blog, and my two YouTube channels, TheFireball100 and Analyzed Within.

Thanks for reading this entry.
-Brandon Burch

Writing Closing Track Verse

Josh, my vocalist, and I are writing the lyrics for the closing song on the EP. The song is "Our Hope is Here."  I am dropboxing him a webcam video of me singing my idea over the track. This doesn't mean we are almost done with the EP. I just happened to compose the closing track after the single.

Since very few people visit this blog, I am going to share this "secret" video. This is one of the video ideas I sent him tonight. Lucky you! :)

Practicing the single

I was just practicing our single, "Living in the Last Days." Analyzed Within, Josh and I, hope to have it out by Christmas. I was playing along with my little mix I made separate from what I sent to the studio. I'm practicing the "stage presence," as in headbanging and singing along as I would live. Still some more work to do.

EDIT: My neck is still sore! 12/08/2012

101+ subs

I have 107 subscribers on my Analyzed Within channel. At 101, I remember saying I would make a video about Analyzed Within - the name - what does it mean? I started making the notes just now. I am going to try to start videoing.

Shake that Atmosphere!

I've been working on this song for a few days. This is my first time to be so experimental in my writing. I just let it flow and this is the result. NOTE: There has been no bass guitar added yet.




I was considering on making this a track on my EP, Living in the Last Days, with a proper title of course. I have several free vsts laying around in my computer. I just combined many of these for my track. This is a partial track - what I have so far. I added some Asian influence into this track.  There's a really groovy section in there that is my favorite part.

Let me know what you think.

-Brandon Burch
of ANALYZED WITHIN

Metal Mash Mummy

I hope everyone had a safe Halloween! Here is my new music video launched yesterday.



I am playing my Jackson SLSMG in Drop Bb, with DR DDT 13-65 gauge strings. My tone was derived from POD Farm. The main rhythm guitars were only dual-tracked, as well as the occasional lead guitars. You are hearing EZdrummer DFH, a church organ vst, and a eerie synth vst. The bass was recorded with my guitar, as in POD Farm. The scary sounds came from a pack included with my Sony Vegas Movie Studio 10 software - I only added effects.

Download it for free:


I've been working hard on this the past week for you guys. It's finally here in record time. I almost hate this song now that I have heard it sooooo many times. I have been trying to post it to Facebook, which I have, but the thumbnail is not showing. Maybe that's why people skip over it. Perhaps if they saw a mummy, they would stop and click. I will check later today, after work, and see if YouTube/Facebook fixed it. I want to post it again on my fan page with the thumbnail showing. A quick Google search tells me this issue has happened before at least once. Not sure which company is at fault. It's annoying! Just when I want to promote my video! It's probably Facebook, if I were to take a guess. It posts here as you see; although, it's embedded.

-Brandon of Analyzed Within

- - - - - - - - - -
FACEBOOK FAN PAGE:
http://www.facebook.com/analyzedwithin

CHANNELS:
http://www.youtube.com/analyzedwithin
http://www.youtube.com/thefireball100

MUSIC PROJECTS:
http://soundcloud.com/fireball100

BLOG & EXCLUSIVES:
http://fireballnews.blogspot.com

Casting Crowns Metal

I uploaded this a few days ago and have received positive results. I haven't done this in a while.

People are asking me to do a full cover. I had thought about that, but there are parts in the song I wouldn't know what to play, such as the quiet verse. Glad people are enjoying this cover though. It's just my personal "metal" take on the chorus of the song. It's in the style of Analyzed Within. (that's me)

Brandon

First vocal session

I had a really cool vocal session with my cousin yesterday before work. Initially, I was surprised his scream was not very loud. I thought there was more volume. But actually, you really don't need more volume with a microphone. :) Just turn it up like you would a guitar. I think his tonality is right. We just have a few things to work out. We only just started. This was just under two hours. This is a screenshot of a video that will be uploaded soon.

Guitar Center

No, I did not buy a 8-String. :/ Just read on. haha. I've been waiting on my guitar for a few days. I took the Jackson SLSMG to Guitar Center on Sunday.  The guitar tech wasn't back until Tuesday. I need it setup for a different string gauge. Normally, I have been using 14-68 gauge strings, but those are hard to find by themselves. Ernie Ball 10-74 eight-string packs are pretty numerous. So I am going to start using those I think. I'll be using the middle six: 13-64. It's a little lighter in string gauge. The neck and action and stuff needs to be set on the guitar, and I don't know how  to do that properly. I feel good knowing that an experienced person is working on my guitar. :) Plus, it's getting cleaned up. The fretboard is nasty. I haven't cleaned it in forever. I'm just that lazy, I guess. Or actually, it may be because when I pick up the guitar it just lulls me into this trance of playing right away. ;)

I bought two sets of these strings to start out. I want to have a spare set. I am sick of not having strings at my disposal. I will stock up soon and have more than just one spare. I need to get more picks, too, and just throw away the ones that I don't really want to use anymore. They are worn down, and it's senseless to keep them. Picks are so cheap.

While I was there Sunday, I shot a video of me playing a 7-string guitar. My brother was so kind to come along and video me. I even created a photo album of my visit.


Hopefully today they will get to my guitar. It would be a great day for it, because I only work a few hours today.

New Album Art!

This is my composition I did tonight in GIMP 2, basically a stripped down version of Photo Shop. These are three photos composited. I downloaded the photos from NASA. This picture is all about layering.

I was actually trying to find a good volcanic picture, erupting with darkness all around. I see a vague image in my mind, but I'm sure it doesn't really exist. However, this final product is fine. That dry landscape is like a desolate mood that might be nice to set. This may not look professional, but it sure beats the extra expense of an artist.

So it's obvious what my album is about by the cover title, "Living in the Last Days." Analyzed Within is my musician name.

Quoting from my fan page:

I wanted to create an artist name that described me, and be original as possible. I over-analyze most everything. A choice of a menu item is a case study. So all information that enters inside of me is analyzed within. Additionally, there is a parallel. As a believer in Christ Jesus, His Holy Spirit lives inside of me. I am analyzed within, for He is always watching me.

-Brandon Burch

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EP writing has begun

For those of you who didn't find out from my fan page, I have started writing and recording my EP (mini-album). I would like to quote here what I posted on my page, which also made me lose a like. haha.

I sort of laugh because it just shows you how powerful the Holy Spirit of God is....just read below.

Dear Fans:


The concept of my new EP: The End Times. It would be awesome if I could find a vocalist for my stuff. It's a Christian message by the way. ;) Not to start a religious war, but the coming of Christ IS going to happen. I think about the end times often. I think we are living in the last days, people. I want to tell the world about it in my music, with or without vocals.


I am not going to hide my light under a bushel. I want to be reasonably straightforward with my music and its message. This is who I am and what I believe. If it means blazing a trail, then blaze a trail I must. If people don't like it, I'm sorry they feel that way.

I'm not yet sure what to call this EP. I have only just starting recording, much less writing, this mini-album.

-Brandon Burch

I am bringing back to life an old song called "Living in the Last Days." I played it (in my car stereo) for my friends at church camp the year before last. I have changed up the song a lot. I only kept one riff the same, besides the chorus being exactly the same as before. But more epic! If you are curious to hear the original version of this song, it is here. I actually haven't heard it in a while. I actually love the opening riff now. I bet I could play it better now if I use it in another song. By the way, this album is going to use tunings Drop Ab and Standard Bb. I don't think I'll use any others because I want the same sound throughout the album. By that I mean, the sound of my Jackson SLSMG tuned down low, using heavy gauge strings.

Soon to order HD Cam

If the Lord wills and the creek don't rise, I am going to order my Canon T3i with the 18-55 mm lens Monday morning. :) I plan on making a video of my ordering it. I would make that tomorrow's Analyzed Within video, but I don't want to order early. I get a text to let me know what my paycheck is going to be. I am still not sure what to make tomorrow's video about. I upload videos every Saturday on that new channel. I guess it doesn't always have to be guitar playing. I don't always have a project to share, because I work on different stuff. Hey! I just had an idea! What if I make a video on how to become a successful guitar player? Or maybe, how I progressed? There are a lot of people who watch my Three Year Guitar Evolution and wonder how I did it. Yes, I think I shall make a video on how I did it. I want to tell that story anyway. :)

By the way, when I reach 101 subscribers on my Analyzed Within channel, I will make a video that following Saturday about the meaning of that artist name. It has a spiritual application. I say 101 because I am subscribed to myself with my Fireball channel. That's what the other big channels do. Maybe to identify with both channels?

New Facebook Fan Page

Check it out!! Click the picture to go, and Like if you want! ;)