# Merrow and loomis indiegogo!



## thrsher (Jul 18, 2013)

hope this one achieves its goal!

Conquering Dystopia | Indiegogo


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## Tang (Jul 18, 2013)

I cannot wait to hear this project.. Keith's riffs + Jeff's solos =


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## Wings of Obsidian (Jul 18, 2013)

awh shit...here we go Keith...after all the positive rep for him on here, and all the negative rep for any crowd-raisers...

Well...I might contribute ("might" as in "yes I am, here, take my money") because of the ....ING SICK LINEUP rounded out by Alex Webster (Cannibal Corpse) and Alex Rudinger (The Faceless)!

Why can't either of them just sell one of their numerous high-end guitars?...


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## Larrikin666 (Jul 18, 2013)

Wings of Obsidian said:


> Why can't either of them just sell one of their numerous high-end guitars?...




Haha. What guitar would either of them own worth $15,000?


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## Wings of Obsidian (Jul 18, 2013)

Larrikin666 said:


> Haha. What guitar would either of them own worth $15,000?


 
Lol good point.

Props to Keith for wearing a Whitechapel shirt!!!


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## spawnofthesith (Jul 18, 2013)

Holy shit this is gonna be awesome...


Anyone planning on coming in here with intense butthurt over a fundraiser, well you should probably just .... right off


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## DavidLopezJr (Jul 18, 2013)

Larrikin666 said:


> Haha. What guitar would either of them own worth $15,000?


I'm not trying to be a smart-ass but why doesn't a group of guys like this get signed to a label? I'm sure based alone on their names they could get signed to some major labels. Is it solely cause they would want to actually make money off of record sale? I mean that's not a bad thing but I just don't understand and am kindly asking someone to explain this to me since I don't know the label world enough.

EDIT: TL;DR What's the benefit of VERY well known musicians in the metal scene not wanting to sign to a major label?


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## Wings of Obsidian (Jul 18, 2013)

I think their goal is rather unrealistically high...

...I mean, look at what both are capable of when it comes to recording and production. They also are recording at home. That cut out a lot of the costs right then and there. So where could all the money be going? Distribution? (Obviously not CD manufacturing since they aren't doing physicals. Maybe DVD manufacturing?) Getting a professional producer to mix and master?

I mean, why is the goal so high? And for what purpose?


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## thrsher (Jul 18, 2013)

DavidLopezJr said:


> I'm not trying to be a smart-ass but why doesn't a group of guys like this get signed to a label? I'm sure based alone on their names they could get signed to some major labels. Is it solely cause they would want to actually make money off of record sale? I mean that's not a bad thing but I just don't understand and am kindly asking someone to explain this to me since I don't know the label world enough.



why sign contracts when you can just give directly to your fans these days. they dont need to burden themselves with a label. the are given a platform to let the fans decide what they want instead of labels telling them what the fans want and a chance to offer incentives to your fans for helping them out


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## NickS (Jul 18, 2013)

This is going to fvcking rule

Keith and Jeff weren't a good enough combo I guess, so they had to go get a couple Alexes to round it out I don't usually like entire albums without vocals, but I think I can make an exception for this.


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## Randyrhoads123 (Jul 18, 2013)

Sounds awesome and I'd be glad to contribute at least the $10 for the album, but I'd really like to see a breakdown of their costs. 15k does seem rather high for a self-produced, digitally distributed album...


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## ayaotd (Jul 18, 2013)

Donated! Should be good!


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## leonardo7 (Jul 18, 2013)

I am greatly looking forward to this album. I don't pay upfront for an album and then wait months for its release though. Looking forward to buying it when its available


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## UltraParanoia (Jul 18, 2013)

Keith, Jeff, Alex & Alex....
The world isnt ready for this line up! 

I cant wait!


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## Maggai (Jul 18, 2013)

These two guys are well known in the metal guitar player youtube group, Jeff of course more outside in the big metal community as well, but I don't think this album would sell great. And they will probably not tour. So for a label to put money into this is a risk the label may not be willing to take.
I don't know how well Jeff's solo stuff sold...
It says that most of the money will go to mixing and mastering. Recording the drums will probably be the most expensive part, and possibly mixing, depending on who they'll use.

They could've done this a lot cheaper by just recording, mixing, mastering themselves and editing the drums. 

But ....ing Alex Rudinger!! And Alex Webster! I wasn't that excited about this project, but now I'm pretty positive! I donated.

Indiegogo let's them keep the money even if they don't meet the goal, unlike Kickstarter, so whatever they'll make off of this will help.


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## Lorcan Ward (Jul 18, 2013)

I've put a lot of money into kickstarter and indie go-go recently so I said I wouldn't fund anymore projects but I'll make an exception for this.

Also those riffs are insane, the tremolo picking sounds sick.


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## Fenceclimber (Jul 18, 2013)

I like this!


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## NickS (Jul 18, 2013)

They are gonna easily meet their target amount! I first looked at this thread around 2:30 and they had about $600. Now barely two hours later they are up to $3,600!


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## nicktao (Jul 18, 2013)

Wings of Obsidian said:


> I think their goal is rather unrealistically high...
> 
> ...I mean, look at what both are capable of when it comes to recording and production. They also are recording at home. That cut out a lot of the costs right then and there. So where could all the money be going? Distribution? (Obviously not CD manufacturing since they aren't doing physicals. Maybe DVD manufacturing?) Getting a professional producer to mix and master?
> 
> I mean, why is the goal so high? And for what purpose?



I'd imagine that Webster, Rudinger, and Loomis are expensive names to record? Of course I have no idea of the costs involved so don't quote me.


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## rifft (Jul 18, 2013)

and now they're more than halfway there! this is going to be such a sick album


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## Bekanor (Jul 18, 2013)

Wings of Obsidian said:


> I think their goal is rather unrealistically high...
> 
> ...I mean, look at what both are capable of when it comes to recording and production. They also are recording at home. That cut out a lot of the costs right then and there. So where could all the money be going? Distribution? (Obviously not CD manufacturing since they aren't doing physicals. Maybe DVD manufacturing?) Getting a professional producer to mix and master?
> 
> I mean, why is the goal so high? And for what purpose?



They are doing physical CDs, a making of DVD and a limited edition vinyl. 


Also I scored the last lesson spot with Jeff. ^_^


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## Maggai (Jul 18, 2013)

7800 now. They'll crush their goal.


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## shanejohnson02 (Jul 18, 2013)

Tang said:


> I cannot wait to hear this project.. Keith's riffs + Jeff's solos =



My thoughts exactly. Keith is a riff / groove master, and Jeff is IMO one of the best soloists in modern metal.


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## BigPhi84 (Jul 18, 2013)

Just chipped in 10 bucks. Not a huge fan of either guitarist, but I've always appreciated Keith's posts on SS.org, even in the old days before he was "famous". LOL. I've also met Jeff in real life and he was one of the nicest and most humble renown guitarists I've ever had the chance to hang out with. *thumbsup*


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## TDR (Jul 18, 2013)

Meh, dropped $50 for some deluxe pack action. Didn't need to eat lunch today anyway!


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## mr_rainmaker (Jul 18, 2013)

IN....


needed strings but meh,I`ll just live with them a while longer.


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## shanejohnson02 (Jul 18, 2013)




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## Acrid (Jul 18, 2013)

Got me the Autographed Vinyl Record Pack


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## Señor Voorhees (Jul 18, 2013)

I think I checked it an hour or so ago and it was at like a little over $600-$700. Now they're over half way there. This is good news. I doubt they'll have trouble going well over the goal. Probably gonna go for a cheap donation myself since I'm a couple weeks away from being laid off.


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## elnyrb10 (Jul 18, 2013)

been a fanboy of both of these dudes for forever now so it feels good to be able to give back something even if it just 75 dollars but yeah id rather it go to these guys who deserve it than something stupid like booze or something i dont need lol


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## NickS (Jul 19, 2013)

Just checked again, they are well over $9k. I wonder what percentage of that money is from members here


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## anomynous (Jul 19, 2013)

Would buy the vinyl, but at $75 I've gotta pass. I understand it comes with a bunch of other stuff, but I only want the vinyl.


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## Wings of Obsidian (Jul 19, 2013)

Bekanor said:


> They are NOT doing physical CDs, but they are making a DVD and a limited edition vinyl.
> 
> 
> Also I scored the last lesson spot with Jeff. ^_^



Fixed!


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## CM_X5 (Jul 19, 2013)

anomynous said:


> Would buy the vinyl, but at $75 I've gotta pass. I understand it comes with a bunch of other stuff, but I only want the vinyl.



I feel the same, been debating that one for awhile.


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## WolleK (Jul 19, 2013)

sounds sick.... 10 Dollar well spent


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## wannabguitarist (Jul 19, 2013)

Why do people bitch about kickstarters but are totally fine with pre-orders? It really isn't that different; give the artist money, get a CD


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## Andrew Romanov (Jul 19, 2013)

They decided to make it finally! I like that idea with the indiegogo, been waiting for the good metal from these guys.
But the background music in the promo makes me feel like I'm donating to help Keith raise his dogs) Cheesy as hell)))


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## gunch (Jul 19, 2013)

Same bassist from Blotted Science?

Neat


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## Randyrhoads123 (Jul 19, 2013)

silverabyss said:


> Same bassist from Blotted Science?
> 
> Neat



Not to mention Cannibal Corpse, br0 

Over 10k now!


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## cronux (Jul 19, 2013)

Looking forward to this - I think that It will be, without a doubt, a really diverse record. If only they added Ron to the mix I would jump on that 2500$ guitar deal in a matter of seconds 






p.s. both VIP dinners went out the window, as did 1 of 2 Schecter deals!! Nice!


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## Nonservium (Jul 19, 2013)

Just popped my crowd funding cherry on this one. I am excite.


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## Dayviewer (Jul 19, 2013)

^ same here, first project I've backed! A tab book would be an awesome stretch goal imo.


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## Surveyor 777 (Jul 19, 2013)

Deluxe Pack ordered!


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## Forkface (Jul 19, 2013)

Lol, they're done. That was rather fast 
I guess people bitch about fundraisers but deep inside they know it's a good idea


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## MetalBuddah (Jul 19, 2013)

Forkface said:


> Lol, they're done. That was rather fast
> I guess people bitch about fundraisers but deep inside they know it's a good idea



People only bitch about fundraisers when it is for a local metalcore band that has 100 likes on facebook


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## GiveUpGuitar (Jul 19, 2013)

MetalBuddah said:


> People only bitch about fundraisers when it is for a local metalcore band that has 100 likes on facebook



I've seen several local kickstarters for bands who haven't released a record yet. Why would we support you if we don't know what you sound like? You know what, lets just trust that you're genuine people who will deliver the most serious record we've ever heard. Right. _Right._


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## MetalBuddah (Jul 19, 2013)

GiveUpGuitar said:


> I've seen several local kickstarters for bands who haven't released a record yet. Why would we support you if we don't know what you sound like? You know what, lets just trust that you're genuine people who will deliver the most serious record we've ever heard. Right. _Right._



It's because their ego's are bigger than their checkbooks 

My band released our debut album the good old fashioned way...all by ourselves. Crowdfunding only works when people know who the hell you are...hence why PTH and KM/Jeff were so successful


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## Xaios (Jul 19, 2013)

Sounds awesome, although it does make me wonder what happened to the Keith Merrow/Paul Waggoner colab.


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## Nonservium (Jul 19, 2013)

Dayviewer said:


> ^ same here, first project I've backed! A tab book would be an awesome stretch goal imo.



Shit man, I'd drop more loot on that, great idea.


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## Ben.Last (Jul 19, 2013)

wannabguitarist said:


> Why do people bitch about kickstarters but are totally fine with pre-orders? It really isn't that different; give the artist money, get a CD



Because pre-orders are on a product that is already pretty much guaranteed to come to fruition. That's not assured to be the case with Kickstarter, and especially not with Indie Go Go (where they get the money regardless of whether the goal is reached). 

At some point there's going to be a notable instance of someone disappearing with crowdfunding money and not following through. And I say that ass someone who's a huge proponent of the process. It's just bound to happen now and then. That's not the case with pre-orders.


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## NaYoN (Jul 19, 2013)

wannabguitarist said:


> Why do people bitch about kickstarters but are totally fine with pre-orders? It really isn't that different; give the artist money, get a CD



With Kickstarters there is no liability if the provider fails to deliver. Read the terms of service of Kickstarter. With a pre-order you are guaranteed a product. With Kickstarter, after funding, they can go "well, we failed, sorry" and not deliver a product. There is no accountability.


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## Xaios (Jul 19, 2013)

NaYoN said:


> With Kickstarters there is no liability if the provider fails to deliver. Read the terms of service of Kickstarter. With a pre-order you are guaranteed a product. With Kickstarter, after funding, they can go "well, we failed, sorry" and not deliver a product. There is no accountability.



Indeed. The hope would be that everyone would be aware of the risk of funding a Kickstarter before going into it, but it seems like the general perception is "Project Funded = Product Guaranteed." (possibly owing to the great success of that paradigm up to this point, but there has to be a curve in the road somewhere). Just as in the world of venture capitalism, that's definitely not always the case.


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## Andromalia (Jul 19, 2013)

Actually, getting someone like Loomis doing a solo on one of your songs for 1K$ is a pretty good deal when nobody has ever heard of you.


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## NaYoN (Jul 19, 2013)

Xaios said:


> Indeed. The hope would be that everyone would be aware of the risk of funding a Kickstarter before going into it, but it seems like the general perception is "Project Funded = Product Guaranteed." (possibly owing to the great success of that paradigm up to this point, but there has to be a curve in the road somewhere). Just as in the world of venture capitalism, that's definitely not always the case.



Especially considering most Kickstarters fail to meet their deadlines, and many have also shipped products which are far less than what has been promised. (source for many kickstarters failing to meet deadlines: Most Kickstarter Projects Fail to Deliver on Time | News & Opinion | PCMag.com )

It's even worse with Indiegogo "flexible funding" because that means that even if the project doesn't receive its target funding, they will still get the money (in Kickstarter, if the funding target isn't reached, the backers aren't charged). This is quite shady in my opinion.

There's also the problem with many kickstarters not really giving a good breakdown of what the money will be used for. Many people do not trust strangers to use the money for its intended purpose. The difference from preorders is, again, you know the product is guaranteed to exist so your money will literally go to that product, whereas if you kickstart a dream, who knows where your money will go.

Also, there have been several scams on kickstarter already, so some people are understandably wary. 

Examples:
http://mashable.com/2013/06/21/kickstarter-scam/
Sham Kickstarter Project Found Out, Closes Down
9-Year-Old's $20,000 Kickstarter Campaign Draws Scam Accusations


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## wannabguitarist (Jul 19, 2013)

Lern2swim said:


> Because pre-orders are on a product that is already pretty much guaranteed to come to fruition. That's not assured to be the case with Kickstarter, and especially not with Indie Go Go (where they get the money regardless of whether the goal is reached).
> 
> At some point there's going to be a notable instance of someone disappearing with crowdfunding money and not following through. And I say that ass someone who's a huge proponent of the process. It's just bound to happen now and then. That's not the case with pre-orders.



Ah, I've only donated to one of these campaigns and (kickstarter for Conducting from the Grave) and if the goal wasn't reached the site would refund everyone. I just assumed the other bigger campaigns were done in a similar way (this one and Protest the Hero). Guess I was wrong


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## Ben.Last (Jul 19, 2013)

wannabguitarist said:


> Ah, I've only donated to one of these campaigns and (kickstarter for Conducting from the Grave) and if the goal wasn't reached the site would refund everyone. I just assumed the other bigger campaigns were done in a similar way (this one and Protest the Hero). Guess I was wrong



Yeah. Indiegogo, they get it either way.

Regardless, even with Kickstarter, if it reaches its goal, there's no guarantee of delivery.

As I said, I still think crowdfunding is an amazing step forward for consumer based commerce. I'm sure that there will be some bugs to work out, and I'm sure at some point the government will step in and ruin everything somehow. But, for the time being, let it ride.


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## Wings of Obsidian (Jul 19, 2013)

Lern2swim said:


> I'm sure at some point the government will step in and ruin everything somehow.



The man with the words. ^^^

But what government? The US government? Not even they can control the Internet....it's kind of a worldwide web thing.....


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## MikeH (Jul 20, 2013)

Made $5,000 over their goal so far, but they can't afford to ship the reward packages?


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## Ben.Last (Jul 21, 2013)

Wings of Obsidian said:


> The man with the words. ^^^
> 
> But what government? The US government? Not even they can control the Internet....it's kind of a worldwide web thing.....



I imagine it will work much like current anti-piracy efforts do. With individual governments acting on their own, but with an obvious underlying bent to just generally screw over everyone in their attempts to fix things, along with some unilateral actions that border on illegal.


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## BigPhi84 (Jul 21, 2013)

dyjdjdrtlhu said:


> hope this one achieves its goal!


 



It already has.


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## Wings of Obsidian (Jul 21, 2013)

Man...who the f*** funded this? Well, how many contributors are SS.org members.


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## Stuck_in_a_dream (Aug 17, 2013)

I just donated, this is a galactic metal event IMHO. Can't wait till it's 3/2014.


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## Stuck_in_a_dream (Aug 17, 2013)

MikeH said:


> Made $5,000 over their goal so far, but they can't afford to ship the reward packages?



My guess is they may have decided all of this before the campaign started and made it this way just in case they barely make it. It could be that offering free shipping now would be against the rules or something.


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## anomynous (Jan 21, 2014)

So the band is performing on Friday at NAMM, so I guess we'll be getting our first taste of the band via live video. Also Wes Hauch might be playing with them, judging by this tweet:

https://twitter.com/GenerousSug/status/425744113971900417


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## Dayviewer (Jan 23, 2014)

That first taste has come a bit earlier 
Not the best sound but sounds badass nonetheless:


I recognize some riffs from Keiths videos too!


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## Dayviewer (Jan 24, 2014)

Found moar! 

Better quality for sure on this one


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## coreysMonster (Jan 24, 2014)

NaYoN said:


> With Kickstarters there is no liability if the provider fails to deliver. Read the terms of service of Kickstarter. With a pre-order you are guaranteed a product. With Kickstarter, after funding, they can go "well, we failed, sorry" and not deliver a product. There is no accountability.


Not true. The TOS of Kickstarter explicitly state that you have to either deliver the rewards promised, or refund the money.



> Project Creators are required to fulfill all rewards of their successful fundraising campaigns or refund any Backer whose reward they do not or cannot fulfill.



Terms of Use &mdash; Kickstarter

If the reward includes the product (which many do), and they can't deliver the product, backers can take legal action against them if they can't or won't refund the money - whether they actually do that is up to the backers.


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## TheShreddinHand (Jan 24, 2014)

Dayviewer said:


> Found moar!
> 
> Better quality for sure on this one




Thanks! His new guitar sounds and looks great!


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## NaYoN (Jan 24, 2014)

coreysMonster said:


> Not true. The TOS of Kickstarter explicitly state that you have to either deliver the rewards promised, or refund the money.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



That's a more recent development, I guess. Also this article articulates some points I'm talking about:

Kickstarter Pledges Are Risky Investments, Not Purchases | Rock, Paper, Shotgun


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## Ben.Last (Jan 24, 2014)

NaYoN said:


> That's a more recent development, I guess. Also this article articulates some points I'm talking about:
> 
> Kickstarter Pledges Are Risky Investments, Not Purchases | Rock, Paper, Shotgun



There's a few points made in that article, some are discussing facts, one is giving the writer's opinion:

If a game gets funded and made, it may still not be very good. This is, of course, true. It is just as true for a pre-order of a game though. Just because every previous GTA game has been good, that doesn't mean that the GTA XII that you pre-order in the middle of 2022 is guaranteed to be good. 

If a game gets funded it may not be finished, for one of 2 reasons:
A) There's fraud, for which the investors are owed refunds. Duh.
B) They just can't finish the job. Now, the writer then goes on to posit that the investors are not owed refunds if this happens. To which I call bullshit. If the promised product is not delivered, for whatever reason, the investors SHOULD get their money back. And what the writer fails to address is that, with the current kickstarter terms, they DO. That's not new. Kickstarter has had that clause in place for a while now. Indiegogo does not have anything equivalent.


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## coreysMonster (Jan 24, 2014)

NaYoN said:


> That's a more recent development, I guess. Also this article articulates some points I'm talking about:
> 
> Kickstarter Pledges Are Risky Investments, Not Purchases | Rock, Paper, Shotgun


Not at all. At the bottom it says "Last Updated October 2012". Kickstarter has always had that projects have to honor their rewards if successfully funded in their TOS.

The article is also wrong in the assumption that pledging towards a project on KS is making an investment. You are putting money towards a project within a service that clearly states that the project makers have to give you what they offered you for your pledge, or else your money back. To claim anything else is simply not a fact.

EDIT: Kickstarting games is a completely different monster altogether, anyways. I have no idea who in their right mind would think that doing a Kickstarter for a game anywhere earlier than late Beta is a good idea. So very, very many things can go wrong during development with even the most seasoned of industry veterans, and Double Fine has shown both the power of crowd funding, and the dangers of a development studio blowing their budget by a huge margin.

Game projects on Kickstarter should be more like FTL, which was almost finished when they got ridiculously over-funded, yet still stuck to what they would've done had they only barely reached their goal.


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## Ben.Last (Jan 24, 2014)

coreysMonster said:


> Not at all. At the bottom it says "Last Updated October 2012". Kickstarter has always had that projects have to honor their rewards if successfully funded in their TOS.
> 
> The article is also wrong in the assumption that pledging towards a project on KS is making an investment. You are putting money towards a project within a service that clearly states that the project makers have to give you what they offered you for your pledge, or else your money back. To claim anything else is simply not a fact.



Exactly. The author is applying the idea of "investor" in the most useless way. He's propagating this idea that new outlets such as Kickstarter need to follow the same rules that current systems do ("since this is what investors have done in the past, it's what they need to do now and in the future"). I ....ing hate that mindset, and it's ruining or threatening to ruin so many new technologies. Can we please evolve already???


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## coreysMonster (Jan 24, 2014)

Ben.Last said:


> Exactly. The author is applying the idea of "investor" in the most useless way. He's propagating this idea that new outlets such as Kickstarter need to follow the same rules that current systems do ("since this is what investors have done in the past, it's what they need to do now and in the future"). I ....ing hate that mindset, and it's ruining or threatening to ruin so many new technologies. Can we please evolve already???


It's not even that it's an old mindset, it's that it doesn't apply to KS in any way. An investment usually means that if the project fails, you lose everything - but if the project does well, you take a slice of the profits, and possibly have a portion of control over the project. It's a far higher risk/reward situation, and saying KS backers should accept all of the same risk, but expect none of the rewards of an actual investor, is ridiculous.


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## TheFerryMan (Jan 25, 2014)

Dayviewer said:


> Found moar!
> 
> Better quality for sure on this one




Loomis is so perfect.


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## Dayviewer (Jan 25, 2014)

Now I'm still wondering actually when the album is going to be availlable for all the backers, they said end of January and it's the 25th now so.. I NEED this


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## anomynous (Jan 29, 2014)




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## ridner (Jan 29, 2014)

DOH! missed the donation boat


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## JPhoenix19 (Jan 29, 2014)

Oh my...


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## Randy (Jan 29, 2014)

Not trying to knock this at all, but musically, it's hard to separate this from just being another Loomis solo album with guest rhythms by Keith. I mean, like I said, I'm not trying to knock it because it's good, I know everybody worked their ass off on this, Keith contributed VERY heavily toward it but the anthemic leads and the rhythms sounds more like Jeff's solo stuff than Keith's, or any kind of amalgamation. 

Also, I haven't peeked in on this project in a while but I thought there was speculation about vocals originally? Maybe I'm thinking of something else. Hmm..

Well, good to see Jeff doing his thing again and glad to hear them both playing awesomely FWIW.


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## Xaios (Jan 29, 2014)

Is it just me, or does Keith NEVER play solos? 

With regards to it sounding more like simply another Jeff Loomis project, there's some truth to that. However, Jeff's soloing style is so recognizable that he could record an album simply by soloing over the sound of a swarm of locusts and people being attacked with spoons.


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## Ben.Last (Jan 30, 2014)

Xaios said:


> Is it just me, or does Keith NEVER play solos



Who can blame him? Solos are lame.


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## bobbybuu (Jan 30, 2014)

Xaios said:


> Is it just me, or does Keith NEVER play solos?



If you were in a band with Jeff Loomis wouldn't you let him play all the solos? I would.


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## HaloHat (Jan 31, 2014)

Ben.Last said:


> Who can blame him? Solos are lame.



Your drug free aren't you?  

Bought a Loomis guitar, paid at least $10 for each of Keith's CD's that were offered free and bought his last CD and bought all Nevermore and Jeff's and Warrel's CD's. You spent that already? lol, j/k

Best of luck with the new endevor, will buy that CD too...


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## Ben.Last (Jan 31, 2014)

HaloHat said:


> Your drug free aren't you?



My drug free what?


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## Xaios (Jan 31, 2014)

bobbybuu said:


> If you were in a band with Jeff Loomis wouldn't you let him play all the solos? I would.



Tell that to Steve Smyth and Tim Calvert.


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## Randy (Jan 31, 2014)

Xaios said:


> Is it just me, or does Keith NEVER play solos?
> 
> With regards to it sounding more like simply another Jeff Loomis project, there's some truth to that. However, Jeff's soloing style is so recognizable that he could record an album simply by soloing over the sound of a swarm of locusts and people being attacked with spoons.



I know you were obviously making a joke, but 2:12:



...and there are other examples as well.

I link that because I'm very familiar with Keith's catalog and I actually really love his flavor in both riffs and leads. Exactly what you said in your second paragraph is the reason I'd have loved to see more trade off between the two of them; keep things fresh. As I said in my original post, no disrespect, but I haven't heard any tracks (yet) that really embody what I think of when I think of Keith and his "flow".


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## Dethyr (Feb 1, 2014)

While I respect and enjoy every member of this project, it could really use some vocals. They probably could have had any singer they wanted. It would just liven things up a bit. Someone with good cleans and good growl/scream abilities. Instrumental stuff is cool in small doses but even with the best of players it gets dry to me.


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## bobbybuu (Feb 1, 2014)

Dethyr said:


> While I respect and enjoy every member of this project, it could really use some vocals. They probably could have had any singer they wanted. It would just liven things up a bit. Someone with good cleans and good growl/scream abilities. Instrumental stuff is cool in small doses but even with the best of players it gets dry to me.



I rather like the instrumental stuff, but I wouldn't mind hearing a couple tracks with vocals (mix things up a bit).


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## Dethyr (Feb 2, 2014)

Dave from Revocation would be killer to hear over that stuff


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## Acrid (Mar 2, 2014)

Has anyone that contributed been invoiced for shipping yet? I got the email on the 03/02 asking to confirm shipping address and advising that we would receive another email in a week or so with an invoice for shipping but nothing since.


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## DIOBOLIC5150 (Mar 2, 2014)

Acrid said:


> Has anyone that contributed been invoiced for shipping yet? I got the email on the 03/02 asking to confirm shipping address and advising that we would receive another email in a week or so with an invoice for shipping but nothing since.



According to the campaign manager, not everyone has been billed for shipping yet. They have to handle this in phases due to the amount of contributors. If you want, you can PM me your email address and I'll make sure you're all straight. -Keith


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## rifft (Mar 2, 2014)

fourteen and a half minutes of teaser goodness! I'm pumped for this album 



And some full tracks here, but I can't get them to play :\
http://conqueringdystopia.com/downloads


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## HaloHat (Mar 3, 2014)

Ben.Last said:


> My drug free what?



Ben, was just teasing you about your "solos are lame" post...


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## ricknasty1985 (Mar 3, 2014)

Dammit... I'm so stupid, i always leave everything so late... is there a way I can obtain the DVD or buy a pack still?


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## Joomis (Mar 3, 2014)

Hey Keith,


The teaser clips sound fantastic! What tunings did you guys use for the album?


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## Stuck_in_a_dream (Mar 3, 2014)

Joomis said:


> Hey Keith,
> 
> 
> The teaser clips sound fantastic! What tunings did you guys use for the album?




From their Schecter interview, iirc it was drop A for both rhythm & lead.


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## Techdeath (Mar 3, 2014)

Psyched!


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## Bekanor (Mar 3, 2014)

Gotta find out when my lesson with Jeff is so I can take the day off work. It'll either be a super early morning or a super late night because of the time difference, either way I'm going to need some time to stop feeling bad about myself.


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## Acrid (Mar 4, 2014)

DIOBOLIC5150 said:


> According to the campaign manager, not everyone has been billed for shipping yet. They have to handle this in phases due to the amount of contributors. If you want, you can PM me your email address and I'll make sure you're all straight. -Keith



PM'd, thanks Keith


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## skisgaar (Mar 5, 2014)

Randy, I hear you, but I'm going to have to disagree. 

Keith has a musical flavour that to me is recognisable in a lot of the riffs I've already heard in the preview, and it's the perfect amalgamation of both him and Jeff's talents.

Basically, I think they've achieved exactly what they set out to do, and it sounds killer!


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## HeHasTheJazzHands (Mar 7, 2014)

Conquering Dystopia &#8211; Conquering Dystopia - Heavy Blog Is Heavy


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## Veldar (Mar 8, 2014)

Alex "Mother Fuc_k_ing" Webster.

And a terrible name for a band.


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## Dayviewer (Mar 8, 2014)

Read on Keith's FB that the album will go out to backers today or tommorow!


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## Veldar (Mar 8, 2014)

I heard they were in F or something super low on this album, do you guys know what it is?

I'm curious to know if Alex tuned up or down, and hear the results.


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## Cyn__Theia (Mar 8, 2014)

Veldar said:


> Alex "Mother Fuc_k_ing" Webster.
> 
> And a terrible name for a band.



I know, it's almost as bad as naming a band "Cannibal Corpse".


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## anomynous (Mar 8, 2014)

They sent it out


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## Stuck_in_a_dream (Mar 9, 2014)

I received the link e-mail a few hours ago. I am super hyped, just downloaded it. Only minor disappointment is lack of lossless option download. The files are 320k mp3, while 320k is extremely high quality it is not lossless. There is a WAV download on the web site, why the WAV is not an option for the backers?


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## DIOBOLIC5150 (Mar 9, 2014)

Stuck_in_a_dream said:


> I received the link e-mail a few hours ago. I am super hyped, just downloaded it. Only minor disappointment is lack of lossless option download. The files are 320k mp3, while 320k is extremely high quality it is not lossless. There is a WAV download on the web site, why the WAV is not an option for the backers?



If you want the wav version, just reply to the email we sent and request it.


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## Double A (Mar 9, 2014)

Shits so gud.


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## Stuck_in_a_dream (Mar 9, 2014)

DIOBOLIC5150 said:


> If you want the wav version, just reply to the email we sent and request it.



I just did. Thanks Keith, great album!


*EDIT:* ...and received the WAV file link, AWESOME, thanks again Keith.


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## Randyrhoads123 (Mar 9, 2014)

Conquering Dystopia - Downloads

You can buy it on their website today even if you weren't a backer. Sounds totally killer!


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## Señor Voorhees (Mar 9, 2014)

I always felt like shit having not funded the kickstarter/whateverthefuk, but have just redeemed myself. Purchased the .wav download just a second ago. Feels good giving money to well deserving artists.


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## groverj3 (Mar 9, 2014)

Really liking this!


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## Forkface (Mar 9, 2014)

goddamn. This is shred incarnate.


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## Acrid (Mar 9, 2014)

So epic, gets better with every listen


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## Icecold (Mar 10, 2014)

I'm on my second consecutive play through of this album. With the amount of flavor Merrow brings I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing his name much more often outside of guitar circles. Keith and Jeff have the makings of the next great guitar duo. All they need is a great vocalist.


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## esp_eraser (Mar 10, 2014)

^ Would love to see them take it to the next level with a vocalist


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## Cyn__Theia (Mar 10, 2014)

I'm may "go out on a limb" here by saying this, but I really feel like their sound doesn't require a vocalist. The current format allows them to do things that aren't weighed down by the contingencies of integrating vocals into the fold. It also keeps it musician's music by not forcing something like vocals to the front of the sound. It nullifies the potentiality of the vocals being a distraction instead of an additive. The focus is on the instruments, forcing the listener to keep attention to them instead of relying on the vocalist for their accessibility.


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## Bekanor (Mar 10, 2014)

I find a lot of metal singers these days ruin perfectly awesome music rather than becoming an organic enhancement of it. The right singer in the right place always leads to amazing results but I feel like it's something rarely achieved by modern metal bands and for that reason I'm super glad to see a rise in the popularity of instrumental music, especially projects like this where there's enough "voice" in the instrumentation that there's no singer required.

However if someone would like to start a tech metal band with Russell Allen, I'd back that kickstarter too.


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## leonardo7 (Mar 10, 2014)

This shit would be ruined by vocals. There are no vocals that can do it justice. Sometimes you need some good ol music without the annoyance of some dudes voice being there. Its PERFECT the way it is


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## jwade (Mar 10, 2014)

Really wish it had vocals. Great guitar playing, but it would've been really nice to have vocals happening to keep it from getting tiring.


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## Black_Sheep (Mar 11, 2014)

The album is absolutely awesome, bought it on iTunes yesterday and been listening to it ever since. I REALLY hope they take this to the next level, by which I mean (even though they are all busy with other projects) tour, tour more, and record a second album. 

It's probably too early to ask but anyone got tabs?  ...Im trying to play pieces of "Lachrymose" by ear, but... it's difficult, absolutely love this beautifull piece of music and ever since I first heard it I wanted to learn it. Decent tabs would help a lot...


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## Stuck_in_a_dream (Mar 14, 2014)

Bone crushing


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## Ralyks (Mar 14, 2014)

Ok, so the first song to me pretty much came across as Keith Merrow, who just happened so have a good backing band.

After that first track, HOLY BATMAN, BATMAN!!! Not even the awesome leads, but those RIFFS!!


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## fatalfable (Mar 15, 2014)

Ralyks said:


> Ok, so the first song to me pretty much came across as Keith Merrow, who just happened so have a good backing band.
> 
> After that first track, HOLY BATMAN, BATMAN!!! Not even the awesome leads, but those RIFFS!!



Haha i felt the opposite for the first song. The whole time it felt like a song straight off of jeffs albums with not much keith shining through. Interesting how people can view songs differently


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## mnemonic (Mar 15, 2014)

Stuck_in_a_dream said:


> Bone crushing




Cool video! Nice to see them doing a playthrough though I have to admit its pretty annoying how they can't keep the same camera angle for more than 4 seconds, its hard to see how they're playing something when the camera can't keep still. 

They also switched to showing keith playing rhythm solely for my favorite part of the solo 

gotta say though, jeffs guitar looks so awesome, not making it easy not to order one. But I kind of want an 8 more. (also an axe fx first)


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## Stuck_in_a_dream (Mar 15, 2014)

Hey guys, I have been listening to C.D. quite a lot and on this haunting song "Doomsday Clock", does anyone know what is the speech they use in the background? It's too low in the mix so it could be anyone, but I thought that was JFK, does any one know?


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## xfilth (Mar 15, 2014)

Stuck_in_a_dream said:


> Hey guys, I have been listening to C.D. quite a lot and on this haunting song "Doomsday Clock", does anyone know what is the speech they use in the background? It's too low in the mix so it could be anyone, but I thought that was JFK, does any one know?



Franklin D. Roosevelt's speech at Madison Square Garden in 1936

The excerpt that is used in that song: 

"(...) without prejudice the effect on our Nation of a victory by either of the major political parties. The problem of the electorate is far deeper, far more vital than the continuance in the Presidency of any individual. For the greater issue goes beyond units of humanityit goes to humanity itself.
In 1932 the issue was the restoration of American democracy; and the American people were in a mood to win. They did win. In 1936 the issue is the preservation of their victory. Again they are in a mood to win. Again they will win."


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## Stuck_in_a_dream (Mar 15, 2014)

Thanks man, you rock


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## TheShreddinHand (Mar 15, 2014)

Loving this album! Anyone know what they tuned to for it? Jeff always seems to be a half step down but riffs look like the low string is a step lower for the 'dropped' barre chords.


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## Stuck_in_a_dream (Mar 17, 2014)

TheShreddinHand said:


> Loving this album! Anyone know what they tuned to for it? Jeff always seems to be a half step down but riffs look like the low string is a step lower for the 'dropped' barre chords.



IIRC, both Jeff & Keith mentioned they were tuned in Drop A for the whole album.


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## TheShreddinHand (Mar 17, 2014)

Stuck_in_a_dream said:


> IIRC, both Jeff & Keith mentioned they were tuned in Drop A for the whole album.



Interesting, after that playthrough I figured it might have been Drop Ab so Jeff could have all his other strings a half step down like normal. I just need to stop being lazy and break out my 7 and double check myself. Haha!


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## fatalfable (Mar 18, 2014)

TheShreddinHand said:


> Interesting, after that playthrough I figured it might have been Drop Ab so Jeff could have all his other strings a half step down like normal. I just need to stop being lazy and break out my 7 and double check myself. Haha!



i checked on my 7 tuned half step down and it looks like it is in drop A  a shame. i really loved how consistent jeff was with one tuning. having a floyd makes drop tunning kind of difficult


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## TheShreddinHand (Mar 18, 2014)

fatalfable said:


> i checked on my 7 tuned half step down and it looks like it is in drop A  a shame. i really loved how consistent jeff was with one tuning. having a floyd makes drop tunning kind of difficult



Thanks!  Us lazy folks appreciate you checking it out!

That is interesting though since Jeff's been a half step down since Nevermore started I think!


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## elnyrb10 (Jun 18, 2014)

anyone heard any news as to receiving the perks from the indegogo campaign? i order a signed vinyl and havent heard anything about when it should be coming


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## anomynous (Jun 18, 2014)

The vinyl itself appears to have a release date of 7/8, so I would assume soon.


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## elnyrb10 (Jul 2, 2014)

so i have to preface what im saying with the fact that i have been a huge keith merrow fan for a number of years and maybe even a bigger loomis fan from his days in nevermore, but i gotta say im pretty disappointed. When the indiegogo campaign came out i was one of the first people on board, and i bought the 75 dollar package that included the deluxe package as well as the signed vinyl and i just got the vinyl two days ago without any other of the perks from the package, and the vinyl wasnt signed :/ maybe im being a dick by being a little pissed at this, and maybe the rest of the perks are still on their way, but i was really hoping to frame the signed vinyl. am i being unreasonable? eitherway, killer album and hopefully keith, jeff, alex, and alex make another killer record soon!


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## Ben.Last (Jul 2, 2014)

elnyrb10 said:


> so i have to preface what im saying with the fact that i have been a huge keith merrow fan for a number of years and maybe even a bigger loomis fan from his days in nevermore, but i gotta say im pretty disappointed. When the indiegogo campaign came out i was one of the first people on board, and i bought the 75 dollar package that included the deluxe package as well as the signed vinyl and i just got the vinyl two days ago without any other of the perks from the package, and the vinyl wasnt signed :/ maybe im being a dick by being a little pissed at this, and maybe the rest of the perks are still on their way, but i was really hoping to frame the signed vinyl. am i being unreasonable? eitherway, killer album and hopefully keith, jeff, alex, and alex make another killer record soon!



How about you contact them and sort out whether they're going to make it right before getting all pissed on a message board?


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## DIOBOLIC5150 (Jul 2, 2014)

elnyrb10 said:


> so i have to preface what im saying with the fact that i have been a huge keith merrow fan for a number of years and maybe even a bigger loomis fan from his days in nevermore, but i gotta say im pretty disappointed. When the indiegogo campaign came out i was one of the first people on board, and i bought the 75 dollar package that included the deluxe package as well as the signed vinyl and i just got the vinyl two days ago without any other of the perks from the package, and the vinyl wasnt signed :/ maybe im being a dick by being a little pissed at this, and maybe the rest of the perks are still on their way, but i was really hoping to frame the signed vinyl. am i being unreasonable? eitherway, killer album and hopefully keith, jeff, alex, and alex make another killer record soon!



We're really sorry about that. Because people have waited so long, we had to have Century Media send the vinyl to people, directly. We didn't have them in our hands to sign (we still havent even see the finished product for ourselves). However, the vinyl perk comes with the DVD (which will arrive at a later date). We will include autographs with the Deluxe Pack, and hope that it will make up for the fact that the record is not autographed. Sorry for the mishap!


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## Skrapmetal (Jul 2, 2014)

DIOBOLIC5150 said:


> We're really sorry about that. Because people have waited so long, we had to have Century Media send the vinyl to people, directly. We didn't have them in our hands to sign (we still havent even see the finished product for ourselves). However, the vinyl perk comes with the DVD (which will arrive at a later date). We will include autographs with the Deluxe Pack, and hope that it will make up for the fact that the record is not autographed. Sorry for the mishap!



That's a pretty quick response right there.


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## Jed (Jul 3, 2014)

DIOBOLIC5150 said:


> We're really sorry about that. Because people have waited so long, we had to have Century Media send the vinyl to people, directly. We didn't have them in our hands to sign (we still haven&#8217;t even see the finished product for ourselves). However, the vinyl perk comes with the DVD (which will arrive at a later date). We will include autographs with the Deluxe Pack, and hope that it will make up for the fact that the record is not autographed. Sorry for the mishap!



Hey Keith,

I recently got my vinyl as well. Are the blue color vinyls limited to those who crowdfunded the album? I was under the impression that these were going to be the only vinyls created, which is the main reason why I went for that perk package. Since they weren't signed, I hope the color will be specifically for those who helped fund the record.


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## elnyrb10 (Jul 5, 2014)

DIOBOLIC5150 said:


> We're really sorry about that. Because people have waited so long, we had to have Century Media send the vinyl to people, directly. We didn't have them in our hands to sign (we still havent even see the finished product for ourselves). However, the vinyl perk comes with the DVD (which will arrive at a later date). We will include autographs with the Deluxe Pack, and hope that it will make up for the fact that the record is not autographed. Sorry for the mishap!



well now i look and feel like a complete and total asshole and i apologize a million times for that! Keith thank you so much for clearing this up and thank you even more for just being an awesome dude. cant wait to get the rest of the perks and bask in the full glory of this album! Thanks again!!!


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## Cyn__Theia (Jul 24, 2014)




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## Stuck_in_a_dream (Jul 29, 2014)

Hi Keith, I received the email about the DVDs and that you will be adding live footage from the tour you did, which is awesome. Any idea when they'll be sent out?


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