Documentary: Weaponry “Forever Nothing” Studio Diary Day #4!

They say that time flies when you’re having fun or recording an EP with Producer Daly George (Creeper, Milk Teeth, Boston Manor) at The Ranch Production House and it’s already day #4 of #6 for Weaponry. The Reading based Post-Hardcore quartet completed drum tracking for four new cuts in the first two days and rhythm guitars for three of those yesterday with Daly making things seem effortless. Today sees the beared bear like figure of bassist Jay Rozentals join us for the first time during the process due to other commitments and the grin on his face as we  listen back to what has already been done is huge. There has always been the sense that Weaponry are a going places band but here in the studio listening to the new songs taking shape, that feeling is not only cemented but has foundations built upon it.

The morning starts where yesterday left off with the Al and Daly tracking the rhythm  guitars for “Take It Or Leave It“, which Al has introduced a couple of last minute changes to so has the full band in the studio to check they’re all happy. Once that’s done, off brand Monsters are sucked down and the “sit back on the groove” inside joke is mentioned about 15 times, we move back to some of the earlier recordings adding moments where both Daly and the band think it can be improved. That’s the power of a producer and something it’s hard to replicate when it’s either you or your band recording without an outside ear. Daly knows when to push the musicians for that little bit more from their performance and never settles for less than the best. As Jay comments, he doesn’t want to be hearing any mistakes every time he listens back to the end product and Daly ensures that doesn’t happen. He encourages and nurtures saying things like “You’ve got better in you” or “that is the one, you nailed it” or “the first part was great, that last part just needs tightening up” so their are no Diva meltdowns in the carpark at any point.

The afternoon starts with Jay picking up his distressed Redwood bass, armed with Ernie Ball strings, the same instrument used to record the bands first single proper “Hard Place” and sounds huge. The tracking starts with “Please Enjoy The Show” with Jay playing to the click, drums and guitars as the songs begin to take shape and listening to the bass parts without any of that they have Nirvana vibes. The Ibanez Tube Screamer has been switched out for a Darkglass Microtubes B3k CMOS bass overdrive pedal and as soon as the bass is pinned like a tail on a a prize race horse, Al steps into the live room rather than the vocal room to do the first vocal take so as to spread those recordings over the remaining days. Daly points out minor pronunciation and diction issues to get the best vocal performance in each take. It’s all about getting the level of performance consistent throughout while having that little bit of spice and adjusting the vocal tone and pitch right. Then it’s back to the bass for “Mine” and the band discuss what to do for the bass parts where the guitars have been changed in yesterday’s recording sessions, with Daly pointing out a few places where the bass parts clash with the guitars and aren’t as smooth. The vocal takes that follow see fair amount of experimentation with pitching to get a certain words or phrases ascented within the narrative aiming to play off of the guitars rather than follow them. The back and forth between Al and Daly is an intriguing one as the producer has a really good ear for what sits well in the mix while in contrast the vocalist is trying to capture the feel of the lyrics.

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