What's new?

[Skull Profile Website]

Have you guys secured a label for the new album? Do you have an ETA yet? Is there going to be a vinyl release?

Cheers.

[Geof]

Sorry for the delay in responding. I was checking in fairly often, but there weren't any new posts in quite a while so I got a bit lax...

Admittedly, if I was updating the News section as often as I'd like this would all be contained within. Shopping to labels is a ways off. We literally just finished recording the last main lead vocal about a month ago, and since then, engineer Shawn and I got together to begin working on rough mixes to give to Mike and Craig to listen to and determine what parts need to be cleaned up, re-done, etc.

It has been two weeks since we spent one night doing that and then...nothing. I am at the mercy of Shawn's schedule, and that's the literal truth. It's not a slam on Shawn; he has a job, family and other paid recording commitments and they come first, so evenings free to work on BEDEMON mixing come along when they do and I have to wait it out. There have been many factors to the insanely long delay in working on the project, but for the past roughly two years of it, the sole determining factor has been the availibility of the engineer and his studio. And as I have probbaly stated before, he is so entrenched into this project, it would be ludicrous to move it over to a different studio and engineer and full pro-studio rates.

Soooo, we chip away at it a few days a month as time allows. Yes, personally, I'd like the momentum of working on it 3-4 nights a week but it's out of my hands.

When we get probably 3 tracks pretty fully mixed, we'll probably start shopping those, but by that time, there may be no record labels so who knows what the music landscape will look like. Maybe we'll wind up putting it out ourselves or through someone like CD Baby...who knows?!!

I would think it's a safe bet there will be vinyl, as both the BEDEMON and PENTAGRAM releases have proved popular in that beloved format.

So...that's the update. As I've said many times over the years, this project is moving forward but it's often like sitting and staring at a tree to watch it grow.,..

[Skull Profile Website]

Thanks for checking back. I know you're all doing your best but DAMN I want hear this, lol. I hope it doesn't take as long as you’re saying otherwise we'll all be flying around in our personalized jet packs and communicating through an orgone accumulator. But I'll try to be patient because we all know that even the mightiest oak grows from the smallest seed.

What've you been spinning on your stereo recently?

Almost forgot. Every year I celebrate Shocktober by trying to squeeze in as many horror flicks as I can. Right now I'm watching the Hammer vampire set with my 10 year old daughter. It's great that these classy gothic, and slightly gory, tales still pack the punch they did upon original release. Even though they’re tame by today’s standards her eyes are the size of saucers and she’s recoiling in fear every time I take a glance, lol. I’m sure Randy would appreciate that.

[vaquerodiablo Profile Website]

Thanks for the update! Glad to hear some progress is being made on Bedemon! Can't wait to hear the new songs!

[grooverock Profile Website]

Glad to hear things are moving. Perhaps Seasons of Mist, where Pellet is working now, would be interested. I've heard rumor they're re-releasing Review Your Choices and Sub-Basement. Can't wait for the finished result.

[Mike Profile Website]

I just got an email from Geof and I think Bedemon is on the front burner for Shawn now. I'll let Geof go into more detail if he wants to, but I just sent hm a check for my share of 50 studio hours fro final mixing. I think we are getting VERY close (in Bedemon time) and I am as anxious as you are. All I can say is I was truly blown away when I was out at Geof's touching up some bass lines and got the opportunity to listen to some of the nearly completed tracks. Thanks for waiting, I think you will like the results, I know Randy would have been thrilled.

[vaquerodiablo Profile Website]

Thanks for the update! I know we are all looking forward to hearing the new tunes!

[EzraCobb Profile]

Hi MIKE - thanks for the UPDATE... It will be nice to finally listen to a properly recoreded Bedemon Album.. So what does Craig sound like? Does he have a Bobb Sound? Also - did Randy's riffs improve in this recording? Did the band share the leads like in the Past?

[Geof]

It's difficult — and perhaps pointless — to compare Craig and Bobby because they have different voices and styles. Craig is definitely a more versatile singer; he can sing everything from pop to Priest. I know there will be some who will prefer Bobby just because...it's Bobby, and there's nothing anyone can do about that. People are entitled to their opinions and tastes...

Randy's riffs were/are amazing. When you eventually hear some of the tracks like "Lord of Desolation" and "Eternally Unhuman," they've got that classic Sabbathy-lava flow heaviness. I've said it before — and I'll undoubtedly say it again — but it's amazing Randy hadn't even owned a guitar for more than a decade when we decided to record some new material, and so he went out to a pawn shop and picked up a guitar and small practice amp and started writing and putting his riff and song ideas down onto a cheap cassette player. It was these tapes he sent to me and Mike to hear the material.

As for the solos, a majority were done by myself, some by Mike and a few by Randy. This will probably disappoint some, but this was his choice. Believe me, I argued with him many times, telling him that people wanted him to play most of the leads and he'd laugh and and say he thought that was ridiculous. His opinion was that he wanted the better players to do the solos and he wanted to focus on the songwriting.

There will be more about this in the inevitable zillion-page booklet that will pour over the details of the project.

Finally, yes, as Mike reveals, Shawn and I have begun the mixing stage, but it is still slow going due to his schedule. The art hasn't been finalized, we haven't shopped it to labels yet since we don't have any finished mixes to send out, etc. etc. etc. I would say hopefully summer 2009, but obviously a label's release plans will determine that.

Believe me, it is EXTREMELY frustrating this project has taken this long. I'd like to be moving on to a long-planned solo-based project, First Daze III and so on, but this chapter really needs to be closed as a tribute to Randy. Again, this will come out and hopefully most people will like it, and I am sorry it is taking so long to reach its happy ending...

[EzraCobb Profile]

Geof thanks for the replies and updates!


Do u think u could put some samples of the new bedemon material on youre MYSPACE page? U have 3 songs mixed - give us a taste of the product - hopefully u will get us hooked!

[Geof]

What I said was, "When we get probably 3 tracks pretty fully mixed, we'll probably start shopping those...[to labels]". We don't have three tracks mixed. Right now, we don't have ANY tracks completely mixed.

Shawn and I work on a track, and then I take it home, play it a zillion times in my car and on my home system, make notes of what I like and don't and then we work on the problem areas. And we're having to do this with a week or two between available days, so it's a long and tedious process. And THEN, once we are happy with something, I send it along to Mike and Craig for their opinions, and if they don't like something, then we have to deal with that. I just sent the first song off to both of them Thursday; Craig should have received it Friday or Saturday, but as of Sunday night, I haven't heard a word. Now imagine this situation, times nine songs up to ten minutes in length and you might have some idea of why this is taking so f*@#ing long!

I'm not sure I want fans to hear — and inevitably judge — the new material and Craig on a MySpace fidelity excerpt...I think I'd rather everyone hear the full songs in full audio cranked to ear-bleeding levels. We'll discuss it amongst ourselves when we at least have some potential songs in completed mix stage and see how everyone feels...