7 Seals - Moribund - ALBUM finished
(02/18/2008)


I know I haven't been around much lately and I haven't told my loyal fans why. I spent the last two months in the studio with german power metal band 7 Seals

www.7-seals.de

Their new album which now clocks in at just over 60 minutes features 13 tracks of high class MATTLE (which is what I call Battle-Metal, even though many bands blind themselves by trying to call it power metal, or melodic metal or whatever, it's Battle Metal and they know it).

This album is loaded with giant metal choirs (in good old Frameshift tradition) provided by Markus Wagner, the lead vocalist, and four other guest vocalists, including Juan Roos and yours truly (yes, they actually let me sing).
Since the work with Markus was a lot of fun and he was able to crank out the big vocal parts rather easily, we just added more and more and there are some songs that have around 40 vocal tracks in them. Sabrina, one of the guest vocalists, has a beautifully soaring voice and brought a great timbre to the table.

Goetz and Dominick, the guitar players, spent a considerable amount of time with me and I am glad to say that we are all alive and haven't killed each other yet. Recording sessions can be tough, but that's what it takes to get the best product possible. In the end we had LOADS of fun and of course the new Laboga/ Amp did its part to guarantee killer guitar tracks. Even though both Goetz and Dominick are experienced guitar players, they invited me to play a few soli on the album which I gladly did. That was some serious fun.

The album is also filled to the brim with big orchestral passages. Pre-production lasted a long time before I ever met the band and they arrived here with most of the orchestrations already worked out. All I had to do is put some finishing touches on them, use more realistic sound and finally (and that's the most important part) take all the credit for the work they had done. Soooo, that said: "I did all the orchestrations on the album, Goetz and Nicko (the pre-pro engineer and arranger) had NOTHING to do with it." Sound familiar?

Now, seriously, they did an amazing job in supplying me wih mostly everything we needed to make this album as bombastic as it turned out.
Drummer Daniel and bassist Thomas are also two very experienced musicians whithout whom the band would not be where they are today.

Since I am only the producer, mix and mastering engineer and co-arranger (oh, and lead vocalist, sorry Markus, you just died), I have no clue when this album will be available, but I am sure they band will keep you informed on their website and I will try to keep this page updated as well.
For my fans, be warned, this is not a progressive rock album, but nevertheless it is a fun CD, with many high points, great melodies and loads of good ol' metal, so you might like it anyway.

Henning signs endorsement Deal with LABOGA Amplifiers
(02/17/2008)


In my search for my new guitar sound I came across an article in a guitar magazine in which Jeff Waters (Annihilator) talks about his new signature amp from a polish company by the name of LABOGA. I checked out their website at www.labogaamps.com/ and found that they have amazing sounding amps. After talking to David Laboga I travelled to the nearest dealer to check out their high gain monster "Mr. Hector", which is what the Jeff Waters Amp is built on, and the more classic "Alligator". I just loved the latter and since I need a great variety of sounds for my rather wide range of music I record I chose to swim with this elegant reptile.

This amp has an amazingly flexible clean channel which gives you everything from smooth jazzy tones to very clear high attack funk notes. It even goes into sweet distortion for slightly crunchy chords if you crank up the gain.

The second channel just lets your notes sing. It doesn't offer as much high gain as many modern amps but instead a VERY defined attack that is perfect for very precise riffing and amazing for any kind of rock or blues. It has a second gain control which you can change to with a footswitch. This kinda makes it a three channel amp since you have access to another gain setting on stage. It also has a nice reverb and a serial fx-loop.

I have the TWIN version of the amp which simply means it has seperate EQ sections for each channel. Technically this doesn't really matter too much for the studio work I do since I can alsways just change the controls, but of course it is easier that way.

You will hear the Laboga Alligator Twin a lot in the near future if you listen to my music and I am really looking forward to recording more with it. It has definitely survived its first test because it is the only amp we used on the new "7 Seals" album. Both guitar players, (Goetz and Dominick) played through the Alligator and loved it. Both of them arrived here with much more expensive amps which we turned on for just a few minutes and then never again because nothing could rival the Laboga.

Take some time and check out their website, they also make combo versions of the amp and have a very flexible custom shop.

Frameshift 3 - The God Delusion - Slow but steady
(02/17/2008)

I know that many of you are probably asking yourself where the new Frameshift album is. It's in developement, that's where it is. since I became a teacher (music teacher at a public school, yes) and added more guitar students, I don't quite have the time I used to have. Nevertheless I have been working on material for the new Frameshift album.

Work has also been slower because I seem to have become more and more critical of my own music and very few ideas I develop survive this criticism. Furthermore I have experimented with new guitar sounds. I always used to record with Line6 gear and other direct recording devices but now I have discovered (after only 17 years of playing guitar) that a real tube amp with a microphone in front of the speaker is a whole different beast that I am in the process of hunting down and capturing. (For this see above news item). Needless to say, I am hoping that the guitar sounds on the new album will be a whole new level from where my guitar stuff used to be. But I will let you decide once it is done.

As I am wriring songs I am sending them to the vocalists so they can collect ideas and know what is going to happen to them.

What else is new? Well, I mastered the debut album from VIRUS IV, Magali Luyten's main band which recently landed a record deal.

Also, (see above) I produced, mixed, mastered and co-arranged the new album from Power Metal band "7 Seals".

But, I still can not go into full FS3 mode because I'll be back in the studio immediately to produce an 8 song EP for "Power-Punk" band "Change of Ideas". The ssinger and guitar player of the band are brothers and both are guitar students of mine. They have good material and an enthusiasm and motivation the likes of which I have rarely seen. This one will be a lot of fun.

THE SEARCH IS OVER
(09/01/2007)


The search is finally over.

First of all, I am amazed at how many people sent me their stuff and even more at how many went through the trouble of writing and recording vocals for the test song I supplied. I heard some awesome singers and altough some of them were phenomenal, they still didn't get chosen. They might ask themselves why. The only way I can say it is that I was looking for something different. I have worked with great metal vocalists some of the ones that applied are "on par" with LaBrie, Bach and Roos, but since I have already worked with that type of vocal performance, I would like to go in a slightly different direction.

So, let me thank everyone at this point and please don't be too disappointed because there will be other projects and I now have a great list of vocalists to chose from.

I would also like to thank Duncan Glenday from the prog site "sea of tranquility" who got me in touch with a lot of interesting candidates.

In the end I found what I was looking for. I actually found a bit too much. I ended up with two vocalists and I could not make up my mind. So, we are embarking on a project that has not been done before. I will not go into detail on HOW the two vocalists will share their duties, but I can say that it will be very interesting and powerful.

And here they are:

MAGALI LUYTEN from Belgium (Virus IV, Beautiful Sin, Ayreon)
and
DAN SWANO from Sweden (Nightingale, Edge of Sanity, Ayreon and many more)

So, that is it from here...I have much more music to write be fore I even get into spending some time with those killer singers !

One more thing: We have official permission from Richard Dawkins to use "THE GOD DELUSION" as the title for the album.

FRAMESHIFT 3 VOCALIST
(06/15/2007)
Click here for info !!! Audio and Video inside !!!

The Pauly/Thompson Triangle (working title!)
(06/15/2007)
I bet some of you have been wondering what I have been doing lately. The answer is: Lots of stuff. I have been working on some new Frameshift material, writing arrangements for choir (see below), mixing, mastering and even teaching a bit. One project I have been working on is a little bit different from the music I normally do. I have been writing and recording a singer/songwriter album. I wanted to make a CD with good songs...not loud songs or gimmicky songs, just good music that gets you because of a nice groove and a hooky melody and the fact that it is real, about real things, not fairies and knights and shit. So...no distortion, no metal...just great music. Well...I needed to find a collaborator for the whole thing now that Matt is out of my life and I found that collaborator in Julie Thompson, a songwriter and vocalist from across the channel (England, for the numb-nuts among you). So...we've been writing and recording and generally having a GREAT time. You'll get more updates about this upcoming CD in the future. For now, here's the first studio log.

Find out more about Julie on her myspace site

Here are the links to the video files:
There is an HD-Version which is rather big, but has a resolution of 1280X720 and looks awesome. We also prepared a smaller version in 388x260.
Both are Windows Media Videos.
Studio Log 1 - HD (150MB)
Studio Log 1 - (50MB)
Studio Log 2 - HD (75MB)
Studio Log 2 - (14MB)
Studio Log 3 - HD (162MB)
Studio Log 3 - (51MB)

Choir Arrangements...
(06/15/2007)
I have been hired by a few choirs to write arrangements for them. I just finished an arrangement of Robbie Williams' "Let me entertain you" for a 55 piece mixed choir. The arrangement is over 7 minutes long and features Frameshift-style counterpoint parts and some amazing vocal harmonies. Now I am working on an arrangement for an 80 piece all male choir. The song is called "Maenner sind SChweine" by the german band "Die Aertzte". Writing pop song arrangements for the choirs is an amazing experience and I can't wait to hear them do this stuff live. I will be writing more of these in the future.

Due to public demand (3 people asked), I am posting the recording I made for the choir. PLEASE remember that it's purpose was to be a guide for the singers in the choir who are MUCH better than I am. With this recording they get an idea of what it is supposed to sound like when it all comes together and hopefully this makes rehearsing it a lot easier. I did all the voices (covering more than 3 octaves). The alto in the first verse is sung by Julie Thompson and she also did all the female vocals in the end, starting with the "We will rock you part". For those of you wondering what that weird melody in the end is...that is the german national Anthem woven into the song. Enioy and please don't laugh too hard...but if you do, sit down for a minute and try to sing those parts (all of them) on your own...
Let me entertain you - Arrangement for Mixed Choir/Piano/Bass/Drums

"Raised Banner" Mix and vocal session.
(06/15/2007)
I recently finished mixing the song "Welcome to my dreams" for german metal band "Raised Banner". We also rerecorded the vocals for the track in my studio and improved a bit on the melodie lines.

Raised Banner's Website

Transmission - ID, Ego and Superego
(04/14/2007)
After almost three years of work on this longplayer, Transmission finally finished their first album. THis CD has everything one expects from a great progmetal album and more. The musicianship is phenomenal and it is a wild ride that shouldn't be missed. Let me remind you that Juan Roos (Credit where Credit is due) is Transmission's vocalist and that Stepahn Kernbach and Christian Becker (Chain) are also part of the band. Stephan took over the mixing duties for the album which left me with mastering it and that was a pleasure. We recorded severeal guitar and bass tracks here in my new studio and also filmed several studio logs for the DVD which can be purchased from Transmission's website, just like the album. In case that isn't set up yet, just write the huys an eMail, I am sure they'll send one your way. Enjoy !!!

Find out more about the band and the CD here: Transmission Website

Taliesin EP is done
(04/13/2007)
Finally, this six song EP is done and if you ask me it is awesome. To get your hands on this little masterpiece, go on the forum and ask Taliwakker where to get it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed working on it.

Taliesin EP is in the works
(11/14/2006)
Just like the Vision Scope album, this project came to me through my message board. This time the tracks are coming from all the way down under...Australia. The band around Richard Moseley has worked on these tracks for several years and they are more than ready to have them see the light of day. After some prelimenary tests it was decided that I would replace the drums and the band even allowed me to put some of my little tricks into the parts. I am having a blast working on drums for songs that are not my own. I am working off the original parts and add a little bit here and there. It is a lot of work, but I think the songs are very original and that the result will be a great 6 song EP that will please the critical prog ear.

Vision Scope - The Peter Pan Principle
(11/14/2006)
Vision Scope's long awaited CD "The Peter Pan Principle" is finally done. After Mo Stuebig, a very active member on my message board, designed the booklet for "Credit Where Credit is Due" as well as the website www.jinglegroup.com for me, we started talking about his band's album that was in production at the same time. After some mix tests, he flew out to Los Angeles (he lives in Germany) to spend two weeks mixing the album with me. In the end that time was not enough and with my move in between there seemed to be no end in sight. Now that my studio is set up again I could finally dedicate myself to the project again...with the help of the other bandmembers.
"The Peter Pan Principle" is a great progressive rock CD that sometimes goes into prog-metal. At times it reminds you of Ayreon and at other times of Dream Theater and many times it doesn't remind you of anything at all and stands on its own. It's got a bunch of amazing hooks and really should be owned by any serious prog fan.

Find out more about the band and the CD here: Vision Scope Website

Babysteps Video Logs
(14/10/2006)

Here are some video logs we did while recording Babysteps. Some of those you might already know, but there's a new one, too. I know, you are used to a lot more videos for an album, but this album just took too long to record and we rarely had the camera rolling.

NEW Jody Ashworth tracks some songs NEW

Michael Sadler tracks "A Place in Time"

Jody Ashworth Interview

And now I'll go in the studio to start work on the new Frameshift album...

Three albums - DONE!!!
(07/11/2006)
Babysteps is done and ready for order.

After pushing back deadline after deadling for the mammoth project Babysteps, I finally decided to reduce the scope of the project and release it as a single disc (although still 75 minutes long). Scheduling conflicts with the many guest artists simply delayed the process too much so that this alternative seemed a good solution. The album features 15 Tracks with vocalists James LaBrie (Dream theater), Jody Ashworth (TSO), Matt Cash (Chain/Frameshift/Solo) and Michael Sadler (SAGA). Ian chrichton and Jim Gilmour from Saga also appear on a few solos. The reason that Babysteps will be released under progrockrecords is simple: The label was involved from the start and it made sense to finish this project with them. You can hear samples in the media section here.
You can order the CD here: ProgRockRecords Shop


The punk album is done

We finsihed the punk album. Oh my god this one was a lot of fun to make and I seriously enjoy listening to it. The cover you see here is in now way the final cover, but I just threw something together to fill the blank space. This CD features 22 tracks and clocks in at roughly 69 minutes. We have a myspace page, so plase drop in and check it out: The Anthologies on MySpace We don't have a label for it yet, so in case anyone is interested they can contact me. We don't know when the actual CD will be available. It's done, but pressing CDs costs money and who has that? You can hear samples in the media section here.



Matt Cash's Western Country is done.

After a long year, Matt's country album is done and already receiving airplay. The CD will go into manufacturing soon. Western Country features 14 tracks that range from more traditional modern country to some songs with a few more rock influences. Matt and I played all the instruments on it and a few other vocalists lend their voices to some of the background vocals, including Michael Sadler (SAGA) and Juan Roos (Transmission). I am very pleased with this album. I have learned so much more about arranging and production and most certainly about approaching the guitar in a different way. You can hear samples in the media section here
To find out more about how to get the CD and when and where Matt is playing visit his homepage MattCash.com

The Anthologies - Greatest Hits - COMING SOON
(05/29/2006)
The punk album is taking shape...

Finally, we are doing it. We have a lot already done and a lot more to do...this will be a pretty full album spanning the complete history of the band's career. This album from "The Anthologies" will take you through the ups and downs of the band from the early days in the garage (yes, you will hear previously unreleased tracks...they sound raw and not very produced but capture the essence of the band in their early days) up until their just recently released album which has been produced in the best studios the wolrd has to offer without any expenses spared. Throughout all of this "The Anthologies" never lose their their feel for songwriting and rebelious power. The booklet will lend you an insight into the bands history and allow you a backstage look at some of their proud and not so proud moments. The DVD which is also being produced at the moment will accompany the making of this album and feature interviews with all three band members.

This album is going to be fun. You will be taken on a ride through the many faces of punk by a band that has influenced many others through the years.


Here is a sneak preview...we'll let you hear one of the songs ahead of time. BUT THAT'S IT...no more spoilers...

The Fuckheads from Connecticut


here are some pictures...(scroll down)

Air Band - Video
(04/20/2006)
This is just silly...

Chris Donlon, my bosses son, has a production company with Adam Evers (co-writer of FS2) called Dutlin (www.dutlin.com). They wanted to enter a contest for a commercial on newbandtv.com and asked Matt and me to participate in this ridiculous project.

I mean...I could tell you all about it or just could the work speak for itself... I think that's what I'll do...


(Files require the latest version of Quicktime)

Dutlin's AIR BAND Commercial


here are some pictures...(scroll down)