We're happy to announce that The Golden Hourglass is officially mixed and the album is off to mastering tomorrow!
The next couple of steps will be approving the album master and then sending the album to our vinyl manufacturer who will then send us the album test pressings for approval!
Recording was completed around July 6th
We received test mixes from producer Kevin '131' Gutierrez starting in mid/late July
The first mixes of the complete album were sent to us for feedback on August 7th
Through the rest of August we went through several rounds of feedback and updated mixes.
The mix was 100% locked on Tuesday of this week (September 1st)
The album was immediately sent to our new mastering engineer Brad Blackwood who is scheduled to do the first master tomorrow (September 4th)
Brad will send masters to be approved by both the band and our producer Kevin - it's possible there could be a few rounds of masters before we land on the final version
As soon as we receive the final masters we'll send them off to our vinyl manufacturer to create test pressings of the album
Mastering is a bit of a mysterious art to most music fans and one that frankly not a lot of people even think about. Just know that we're not cutting any corners! Brad Blackwood has worked with some huge artists and is a 3-time Grammy winner! You can read more about him here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Blackwood
That's it for today! We'll continue working on setting up the backer surveys while we wait on the masters and test pressings, and will be sure to give you a heads up when they go out! Joseph Schmalke's stretch-goal shirt image is done and Bo Bradshaw's is only a hair away from being done so hopefully we'll have mock-ups of both shirts in the next update too!
Thanks for your support, patience, and for making this album happen!
Recording complete and SURPRISE *ALL* STRETCH GOALS UNLOCKED!
HAIL, LEGION OF THUNDER!
We've just emerged from the studio and all recording for The Golden Hourglass is complete! We took some video and will post more updates soon. But first we have a very special announcement:
One of your fellow members of the Legion of Thunder has stepped up to sponsor the instrumental mixes of the album and the trading cards! Pete from Ohio is a longtime fan and supporter who wanted to do something special not just for the band but for all of you too! He told us he sets aside some money each year to do something cool and this was a way to make hundreds of people happy.
So you'll all be getting the instrumental mixes of the album when the digital goodies are delivered, and backers getting any physical merch will now get the trading cards! (We haven't decided exactly what to do with the cards just yet but they'll likely be playable proxy cards. We'll probably be putting up a poll to help decide exactly what we do!)
Let's hear it for Pete!
Ok, it's time for us to get to work on the backer surveys and album layout while we await mixes! We'll be back soon with updates featuring video we took during recording, sneak peaks, behind-the-scenes, etc.!
THE CAMPAIGN IS COMPLETE! Thank you so much for your support which totally blew us away, especially in the last two days where you all super-charged the campaign and smashed FIVE stretch goals!
We would normally post immediately when a campaign ends however Justin, Kevin and I were in the studio recording all day yesterday! Our full band get together this week was Thursday night's live stream, so please consider the toast at the end of the stream our big group thank you to all of you!
Being able to make records like this, with all the time and attention that go into them, is really a dream. Thank you for making that dream come true!
Post Campagin Schedule
LATE JUNE - RECORDING & STARTING ARTISTS ON STRETCH GOAL ART
JULY - MIX & MASTER, simultaneously with;
JULY - BACKER SURVEYS SENT & PACKAGING LAYOUT
LATE JULY/EARLY AUGUST - ORDERING VINYL & OTHER MERCH
LATE SEPTEMBER - RECEIVING VINYL & OTHER MERCH, ORDERS LOCKED & POSTAGE CHARGED, SHIPPING BEGINS
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER - SHIPPING CONTINUES*
*For those new to our campaigns, we don't use a third party fulfillment service. I pack and ship everything myself with a little help from the band where possible. Due to the autograph options and add-on items, almost every package is unique and no bulk packing is possible. So you get white glove service from the guitarist, but it will take a while to ship all rewards! We'll continuously update you during this time!
Ok, I'm back in the studio in a few hours so it's time to practice! We'll update you from the studio over the next two weeks!
Less than 2 hours left! VGM EP unlocked! New signed cymbal add-ons!
HAIL, LEGION OF THUNDER!
Less than two hours left, we just smashed another stretch goal and are already close to the next!
THE 8-BIT/16-BIT VGM EP IS UNLOCKED!
WE ARE LESS THAN $400 AWAY FROM UNLOCKING THE BO BRADSHAW ART!
You all have already done so much! But we know *you* want that Bo Bradshaw art too. So just in case it comes down to the wire, we've added two new autographed cymbal add-ons that could potentially put us over the top for another stretch goal:
JUSTIN'S FIRST BROKEN CYMBAL
CHRIS'S LAST BROKEN CYMBAL
Cymbal's make great wall decorations! Just sayin'! ;)
JUSTIN'S FIRST BROKEN CYMBAL
CHRIS' LAST BROKEN CYMBAL
Updated stretch goal list!
Whatever happens in these last minutes we just want to say THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! None of this would be possible without you. Thank you for putting us back in the studio and for allowing us to continue doing all of this. You rule!
The Lord Has Been Unlocked! 7" Picture Disc Added! (12 Hours Left on the Campaign!)
HAIL, LEGION OF THUNDER!
This update is going out wide to everyone on our mailing list. TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO BACK THE NEW ALBUM!
Big thanks to everyone who joined us on the live stream tonight! We're delighted to announce that the "Lord $#!te@ter" bonus track & 7" picture disc stretch goal was unlocked while we were live! That means:
ALL BACKERS WILL NOW GET THE EXCLUSIVE "LORD $#!TE@TER" BONUS TRACK, and;
THE "LORD $#!TE@TER" 7" VINYL PICTURE DISC IS NOW AVAILABLE IN THE ADD-ONS!
The song and picture disc will only be made available to backers!
For current backers:
You *don't* have to add the picture disc before the campaign ends;
You *will* have an opportunity to add items after the campaign ends when the backer surveys go out! However;
If you want to help us hit the next stretch goal (the bonus 8-bit & 16-bit VGM versions EP) you can add it and/or other add-ons before the campaign ends!
Also, in kind of big news, we've just learned that it costs us almost nothing extra to make this picture disc two-sided! So you can expect an equally colorful Side B...although we're not sure what song and art will be on it yet!
Here's a look at the picture disc design featuring artwork from our Queen of Hell: Initium comic by the incomparable Mike Ratera!
New 7" picture disc in the add-ons!!!
HERE ARE THE REMAINING STRETCH GOALS THAT NEW BACKERS CAN STILL HELP US UNLOCK
We are back in the studio working on the album and recorded lead guitars & keys for two songs today and worked on some production ideas. There are a couple of videos up onour Instagram page. Once the campaign is over we'll start posting more behind-the-scenes content here on the campaign and on our Patreon!
Thanks again to all of our backers for making our metal dreams come true and putting us back in the studio for our tenth album! You rule!
This is a vinyl sticker that will be one of the first stretch goals and we expect to be giving it to everyone for free!
We like "BRAKE" for the joke if you put it on your car, but "BREAK" would make more sense for any other use!
We'll go with whatever spelling wins!
We're happy to announce that The Golden Hourglass is officially mixed and the album is off to mastering tomorrow!
The next couple of steps will be approving the album master and then sending the album to our vinyl manufacturer who will then send us the album test pressings for approval!
Recording was completed around July 6th
We received test mixes from producer Kevin '131' Gutierrez starting in mid/late July
The first mixes of the complete album were sent to us for feedback on August 7th
Through the rest of August we went through several rounds of feedback and updated mixes.
The mix was 100% locked on Tuesday of this week (September 1st)
The album was immediately sent to our new mastering engineer Brad Blackwood who is scheduled to do the first master tomorrow (September 4th)
Brad will send masters to be approved by both the band and our producer Kevin - it's possible there could be a few rounds of masters before we land on the final version
As soon as we receive the final masters we'll send them off to our vinyl manufacturer to create test pressings of the album
Mastering is a bit of a mysterious art to most music fans and one that frankly not a lot of people even think about. Just know that we're not cutting any corners! Brad Blackwood has worked with some huge artists and is a 3-time Grammy winner! You can read more about him here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Blackwood
That's it for today! We'll continue working on setting up the backer surveys while we wait on the masters and test pressings, and will be sure to give you a heads up when they go out! Joseph Schmalke's stretch-goal shirt image is done and Bo Bradshaw's is only a hair away from being done so hopefully we'll have mock-ups of both shirts in the next update too!
Thanks for your support, patience, and for making this album happen!
We've just emerged from the studio and all recording for The Golden Hourglass is complete! We took some video and will post more updates soon. But first we have a very special announcement:
One of your fellow members of the Legion of Thunder has stepped up to sponsor the instrumental mixes of the album and the trading cards! Pete from Ohio is a longtime fan and supporter who wanted to do something special not just for the band but for all of you too! He told us he sets aside some money each year to do something cool and this was a way to make hundreds of people happy.
So you'll all be getting the instrumental mixes of the album when the digital goodies are delivered, and backers getting any physical merch will now get the trading cards! (We haven't decided exactly what to do with the cards just yet but they'll likely be playable proxy cards. We'll probably be putting up a poll to help decide exactly what we do!)
Let's hear it for Pete!
Ok, it's time for us to get to work on the backer surveys and album layout while we await mixes! We'll be back soon with updates featuring video we took during recording, sneak peaks, behind-the-scenes, etc.!
Less than two hours left, we just smashed another stretch goal and are already close to the next!
THE 8-BIT/16-BIT VGM EP IS UNLOCKED!
WE ARE LESS THAN $400 AWAY FROM UNLOCKING THE BO BRADSHAW ART!
You all have already done so much! But we know *you* want that Bo Bradshaw art too. So just in case it comes down to the wire, we've added two new autographed cymbal add-ons that could potentially put us over the top for another stretch goal:
JUSTIN'S FIRST BROKEN CYMBAL
CHRIS'S LAST BROKEN CYMBAL
Cymbal's make great wall decorations! Just sayin'! ;)
JUSTIN'S FIRST BROKEN CYMBAL
CHRIS' LAST BROKEN CYMBAL
Updated stretch goal list!
Whatever happens in these last minutes we just want to say THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! None of this would be possible without you. Thank you for putting us back in the studio and for allowing us to continue doing all of this. You rule!
