I like it, seems like a good solid single-type song.
- Like the clean picking intro. The riff when the band comes in is nice.
- The first verse grooves, just sounds a little too much like Outcry.
- Chorus is pretty good, vocals are a little muffled with the effects, the melody is decent though.
- Second verse is cool, and the groove before the vocals enter is nice. MM does some nice changes in the second cycle of the first section of the verse with his cymbal work, nice.
- The breakdown at like 3:25 is SOOOO Home and I love it.
- Solos sound good, nice trade off and to the point, not too long. JP has some really nice playing in there.
- Unison is good, but feels like it takes away from the momentum of the solos a little. Still a good line though.
- Outro is really cool, nice heavy stuff.
Mix/production observations -
- Drums are probably the best sound MM has got in the studio with DT. Not much to complain about here, the kick is full and present. The snare sounds decent in the mix, and the cymbal balance is WAY better than usual.
- Bass is solid and audible throughout.
- JP guitar tone sounds really nice and heavy, very good tone with less chorus than he's been using in recent years.
- JR had some good patches in there, especially the organ.
- JLB sounds like he performed well, but they went a little overboard with the effects and muffled him a little.
The mix sounds really strong, the balance of the instruments is good. The rhythm section sounds big and heavy, the presence instruments sat well in the mix. The big issue with this track was the vocals. I like the idea of the effect work they put on his voice, I just think they overdid it and the result are the vocals being muffled at times. Overall though, this is a really solid sounding mix and master.
I'm excited for this record.