The second Wolf’s Endeavor album, ‘Fahrenheit 451‘, was the first full-length album I recorded on which I played real drums and every other instrument. It was also the first project in which I played real drums and recorded all other tracks directly into the computer instead of first recording them to tape and then creating audio files from the tape. I had done some other direct-to-computer projects mixed and developed within the DAW since making the jump from the 4-track tapes to digital, but they did not use my own real drumming.
This was probably also the first recording on which I felt my own drumming was up to par – I was drumming almost every day at the time, and I had been thinking out and practicing the drum parts as many of the songs were developing. This is somewhat in contrast to how many songs will initially develop with a beat in my head that is implied by the riffs I am playing on the guitar or bass. I suppose both happen on the spot in real time, but there is something to be said for the different feel of real drums as the backbone of a recording.
I am a huge fan of using drum loops for the backbone as well, but I must say the way the drums were played – and the human driving element – influenced the tone of the entire record that resulted. I am proud of this record as the first example of a full album on which I *really* physically played all the instruments.
With the exception of “The Hidebehind”, “Ray Gun”, “Subtropical Dreams”, and “A Bullet’s Defense”, most of these songs were written in the months leading up to the recording sessions. This album was a huge transition for Wolf’s Endeavor, as the first 7-song album featured no solos and the bass was there to back up the guitar. ‘Fahrenheit 451’ had bass, rhythm guitar, solos, soft/loud dynamics, many more tracks of music, significant use of digital effects within the DAW, and real drums… The album’s successor, and arguably the best Wolf’s Endeavor album, ‘The Horror’, would see a return to drum loops with these other elements intact and further enhanced.
I will probably return to each individual song to explain some of the “behind the music” facts and song meanings. In the meantime, you can hear the full album below:
