The Petra Zone

cvs2kids wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 23, 2017 9:45 am

Hmm, Judas Kiss wasn't too bad,

My initial thought is there feels like a lack of energy on this album. Anyone else know what I mean?

I would agree. It feels like Greg was singing while he was sitting down. I want to like this project, but the production sounds cheap and keyboard heavy. And why so much auto tune?? This is why you shouldn't self produce. Unfortunately, the originals sound far superior, and I still can't get down with the album cover. (I was kind of hoping that someone at Lamon Records would have talked the guys out of using that cover.) Maybe the songs will grow on me, but I remember liking Classic Petra's Back to the Rock album the first time I heard it. Sadly, I cannot say the same for CPR's part "II."

On a separate note, I wonder if CPR and the Union of Sinners & Saints at least had a discussion about covering and releasing their own versions of "The Coloring Song" days apart from one another. Hmm...

I doubt there was a conversation about it. Anyone can cover anything as long as they all pay Bob, or whomever the copyright owners are.

That mixing console they tracked through is no slouch. It is sort of like a SSL, minus the bite. It is very clean sounding. He has great convertors and is using ProTools.

The mixes sound as produced as the original songs did, especially the vocals. To me, the instrument tracks don't quite have the thickness/density of the first release. It doesn't have a finished album quality.

It's easy to pick other people's stuff apart. There could be good reasons for it sounding the way it does. They might have liked it this way. It might be a matter of time and economics. Who knows?

I wish it was a little harder!

Hey Brent. Do you think those are real drums on this album or programmed computerized drums like during the Elefante years? I know that the first classic Petra album was real drums by Louie because I saw the pictures they posted of him recording back then with his full drum kit miked and everything.

They sound Louie-like to me. That's not to say they weren't snapped to the grid. I think there is a pic or a post somewhere talking about Louie tracking in the studio.

What do you mean by "snapped to the grid", over processed, compressed?

Quantized. In ProTools, and other DAWs, we have the ability to detect the transient, make an edit, and snap it to the nearest beat. We have the ability to adjust the swing as well, so the quantization grid isn't perfect and has a human feel.

Cool. So too much snapping can sound Robotic, right?
I feel a difference in the drum sounds in the record compared to BTTR 1. For instance the snare drum sounds are very different from track to track, you can see this if you compare this new Dream On version which sounds tracked with triggers and very digital and the new Beat The System version, very different drum sounds. On BTTR 1 all the songs had similar drum sounds.

I just wish they could one day record real drums live for the whole Beat The System album. I love those songs, they are brilliantly written, maybe Bob's best work, but the digitized drums and bass kills it for me. No 'human' feel, and it dates it so fast.

There is almost nobody recording and mixing the stock drum sounds only in rock and metal. Mix engineers layer samples all the time. We have drum replacement plug-ins to use too. Steven Slate Drums dominates modern rock music. It's just the way it is.

I've listened to the cuts and felt like something is missing which in my opinion is Bob. These cuts also lack punch from the lower end; I hear very little bass tracking and very little snare and the bass drum is not even there.
I haven't been against this but have felt from the start that they should just make new music and throw in a couple of Petra tracks; Greg X Volz swears he has 5-6 albums worth of new music why not use those tracks?

executioner wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 25, 2017 11:10 am

I haven't been against this but have felt from the start that they should just make new music and throw in a couple of Petra tracks; Greg X Volz swears he has 5-6 albums worth of new music why not use those tracks?

If that refers to GXV songs, I can see why they'd rather use anything else... I'm remembering something about"... Here He Comes"


Anyway, I think CPR sounds good, but not comparable to the originals, which is why I frankly think this was a waste of time. I'll probably buy it anyway... that album art is really something else, though...

"Back to the Rock" was fun, well-produced, and had energy. I haven't listened to these samples yet, but the way you folks are describing it, it sounds like a bunch of has-beens trying to recapture their glory days. It strikes me as unnecessary.

Meanwhile, I'm waiting for the next release from Union of Sinners and Saints who have the guts and talent to produce original music.

Ouch.

I keep going back to demand. We had Petra with John. We had Classic Petra with Greg, and it was pretty dang good. Neither had demand to keep going.

Who is thinking about having their church lay out $6k-10k for a concert? If you had that money, which would you want?

OK, I've listened to the samples, and... um... are these demos, or final mixes? Because they sound like unfinished demos, or like a low-rent tribute band. The mix is flat, there's no "pop", and, quite frankly, Greg sounds bored, and the instrumentation is uninspired, like everybody was just going through the motions without enthusiasm. Not to mention I don't much care for these "reimagined" arrangements that have none of the spirit of the originals (and I'm someone who likes "Double Take"!). I expected more out of these guys, but I guess Bob Hartman really is the heart and soul of Petra.

I'm not impressed at all.