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"man's inhumanity to man" or Zombie Apocalypse --not much difference, I suppose. WOW! This IS BIG, Ron. Love the lyrics. Man, there are so much imagery in there. So many quotables. I like this: "And then you pick up the Red Phone And you say Nobody’s Home!" Right out of the gate this one is one to make you back up in your seat, or knock you down if you're standing. You use harmony briliantly like it's the one thing that can tame the current and get us back on track. A great track, Ron.
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Ron,
That's a great piece of writing. Love the big production and the crisp mix. The guitars and piano sound awesome. Love your vocal and its tone against the urgency of the music & arrangement.
"The ones that lived were never safe and turned upon each other
And they all had a true self that they would soon discover
The days are long, the nights are longer, never seems to end
Breathe in for a moment as the dust settles on your skin"
Excellent! One of your very best!
Bob Thanks, Bob! Yep, the music had to be BIGGER THAN BIG to approach the impact of the excellent-though-dark lyrics. Just when I thought I had it BIG enough, I'd find another layer to add to it. For example, I think the "nobody's home" harmonies were the last add, but now I can't imagine how I ever left them out. BIGGER isn't always better, except when it is, right? Thanks for the vocal compliment. If I had David Draiman's pipes I would done a more dramatic take, 'cause the song could take it. Sometimes we have to settle for the little we have though. Sigh. 
DC Ron
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Wow! BIG is right..everything about this is quite large! You got me right from the beginning with those massive chords. I really enjoyed your vocals and the BGVs. The whole thing is so tight and slick. I enjoyed my listen!! THANKS, Tom! It was a lot of fun to build the song around the lyrics and flesh out the dynamics with harmonies and BGVs. So glad you enjoyed listening to it!
DC Ron
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What a heavy intro I wasn't expecting from the pop-rock master of our forum, heavy and closer to Weazer at their best.
Excellent lyrics full of lines that tell all about our times: "The zombie outbreak now is only partially contained", "Don’t give up, put the pin back in the hand grenade", "The Geiger counter clicks upon the fusion isotopes" - it's going to take weeks to find everything about the released beast between the lines. I'm surprised how this horn of plenty fit into four minutes.
Great dark vocals and enjoyable harmonies.
The metal band, especially the drums with a bang, and the mix are absolute top class. This song screams BIG PEACE OF HIT!!
Janne
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Ron,
very original peace (piece) of antiutopian music. Excellent style fusion. Near spoken word vocals work a treat. BGV are a bit loud, but fit well in composition. Mix is great and listens very well. Message.... My only hope is that hot heads take a cold shower. The sooner, the better. Thank you for sharing.
Misha.
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Hi Ron,
Well, this is something different from all your other songs (as far as I know).
Dark, but good lyrics and so well sung! (But you always sing really well).
I'm afraid these words are becoming more and more real...
When I told my sons some years ago that the chance they (and maybe I too) would face war was increasing, they looked at me like I had dementia or something. Not anymore...
Nice play on words with "peace and quiet." I like that.
Let's try to catch the beast(s) before it's too late, Ron!
And your song surely helps...
Hans THANKS, Hans! We have LOTS of dark tunes like this one (many MUCH darker) but...I tend to post songs that are easy for the broader audience to listen to. This song is not so easy to listen to, but thought the lyrics and musicality were strong enough and topical enough to win over a few listeners just the same. Time will tell. The silver lining around these dark times is that you were right all along, and your sons know that now. The bad news is...you were right all along. Yikes! Thanks as well for the compliment on the vocals. They take a lot of work, but it's nice to know the time was well spent and they were not a distraction to the song. I agree...let's catch the beast! Might be like the dog that catches the car though...
DC Ron
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Fabulous production with delightful BGVs that take this to another level.
Such darkness shrouded by bouncy powerpop melody.
This would have been standard MTV fare in the mid 80s.
Most excellent!
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Really Kick-[*****] musical bed on this one for sure.
The Best Ever!
I don't know if this happened to anyone else, but I don't know if I've been more cheerful and uplifted and happy just listening to a power anthem like this in quite a while.
I just felt like going downtown and busting something up man and getting it on and just saying Hoorah and kicking some cans old school.
Kind of reminded me of my favorite feel-good movie from back in the day Clockwork Orange.
Nice glass of cold milk and I'll be ready to go kick it Savage again.
Keep it coming boys this is party music!!!!
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Ron, all I can say is WOW! This is so good and unfortunately so true in today's world. Everything about this is perfect and should be on the radio today. I think the chorus says it all:
"Peace, we’ve celebrated it
Piece by piece by piece
Dismantled humanity
The beast is released"
The beast has been released and it is world wide.
Loved it. THANKS, Mario! Appreciate the listen and kind remarks. Just one question...what's this "radio" thing you are speaking of? Man, music consumption has REALLY changed during our lifetimes, hasn't it?
DC Ron
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When I read your introduction, I thought, “WTF is he talking about?” Then I listened to your song. And listened to it again. And now I know - just like you, I don't know exactly what it is or where to put it, but whatever it is, it's BIG. Some unusual but very original lyrics, and man, I really dig all those little harmonies you've placed behind the vocals. That's a REALLY cool song ![[Linked Image - Only viewable when logged in]](https://www.pgmusic.com/forums/images/icons/default/thumbs_up.gif)
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Very potent lyrics and powerful music in this song! I sometimes wonder if songs like this aren't semi-premonitionary. With a seemingly growing number of national leaders being mega-kakistocrats I'm losing my optessimism! [Optessimism: having a positive view of the future despite a pessimistic view of the present. / Kakistocrat: comes from the Greek kakistos, meaning the worst, thus a kakistocracy is a government composed of the worst. A friend of mine discovered the terms back in the 70s and until a few years ago I never heard the terms used by anyone else, but then Jan Oberg, founder of the Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research became a positive acquaintance and he continually uses them!]. The words from you blurb, "AI: Not used. Sorry, HAL. Now, open the pod bay doors" made me laugh!  "I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that..." Gosh, I LOVE that movie. Glad it made you laugh, too. I'll never forget the cold chill from the first time I heard that line in a theater. And thanks as well for expanding both my vocabulary and my knowledge of Jan Oberg, a true ambassador for Peace. Wish him and others like him much success. We certainly need it...
DC Ron
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Dystopia thy name is Not With A Bang.
Bang on great song.
The only thing that struck me was the bit "...charred like charcoal..." a bit that could've been worked on but the picture is clear anyway.
Excellent.
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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"Not With a Bang" certainly lives up to its grand billing: a gloriously apocalyptic soundscape where the end of the world is less a whimper and more a profoundly vast, heavy metal roar.
Ron leaves us not entirely sure if it's man's inhumanity, a zombie outbreak, or "complete nonsense"— after a listen, one might agree on all three counts.
Whatever the cataclysm, the "Sundry Heavy Symphonic Metal" style delivers the weighty, dramatic punch required. From bowling ball worlds to red phones and charcoal briquettes, the imagery is vivid, even if its ultimate meaning demands a coroner's report... or perhaps a re-listen.
So, is it profoundly allegorical, deliciously literal, or just really, really big? Ron asks us to decide, which feels appropriate for a track this epic and elusive.
Cool song
Izzy
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Ron,
Well, this song suggests you might think the world has gone crazy in the worst possible ways. I wouldn't argue with that!
That's some strong backing tracks behind a really good vocal. A little different from your normal offerings. Buit it feels good to step out of the comfort zone once in a while. Ya did good!
Alan Thanks, Alan! Yeah, it's ragweed season here, which is kryptonite for my meager singing voice. So I delayed recording the vocals for a couple of weeks so I could get some decent takes. A little break in the pollen count was just the thing I needed. That gave me extra time to plan the vocal tracks, which really paid off. Appreciate the listen and kind remarks.
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
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Terrific production! Reminded me of one of rayc's Doomsday pontifications (a good thing). Also reminded me of "In the year 2525", though musically very different. BGVs were excellent, really fleshed out the production well. Great work! Thank you, Rob! Any favorable comparison to Ray's music flatters me but disses Ray. His stuff his sublime. "In the Year 2525" was a cool song that I remember well from back in the day. Guess they were WAY ahead of their time. Whoah! Whoah! Glad you enjoyed the tune!
Last edited by DC Ron; 09/30/25 02:53 PM.
DC Ron
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Ron & R.W. Excellent use of BIAB Guitars. Good BAND all around. Love those drums, too... Solid production and mix. The piano is tucked in perfectly. COOL BGVs all over the place. Nice vocal. Clean and clear. I thought they could use significantly more reverb (for this style music) "The army tank is stuck upon the marble entrance steps Outside the tank the bodies are charred like charcoal briquettes Inside they suffocated from all the poisonous gas Others in the distance were somehow turned right into glass" Originality oozes from every pore. on my 5th listen... fj Floyd, THANK YOU for the listen and the nice review. Can't be responsible for side effect of long term exposure to this song. Be careful! Those drums are NOT anything like what I usually think of in terms of percussive backing, but I settled into the rolling toms and now quite like them. Great point on the vox reverb. If I change anything it will be the vox levels and FX. I'll attribute and oozing originality to by brother's lyrics. Mom always like him better, and I can see why. Ha!
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
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“Solar radiation kicking up a notch or two
The sky at daybreak looking a peculiar shade of blue
The EM pulse and radiation, hard to put us down
Close the windows, lock the doors, let’s all hide underground”
Yikes!
Excellent contemplative lyrics and delivered with the perfect production for the vibe.
And the band? Another fine example of the power of BiaB in talented hands.
The hard hitting mix sounded loud (but not too much so) on the monitors.
BIG soundstage.
Great vocals and the Beatles like sound of the BGV’s was a perfect accompaniment for this anthemic like production.
The big and bold opening and then the stark big ending chord really worked well with the lyric
Powerful and we enjoyed it!
J&B J&B, THANKS for the listen and nice review. "Beatles like" is not something I hear every day (or ever) so...appreciate it! Glad ya'll enjoyed the tune.
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
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Hi Ron,
Great production.
The fat background is exceptionally good.
I'll try it out myself on a song sometime ;-)
Maybe the vocals could have been mixed a little quieter.
But I listened to it on my computer.
Good work, Ron.
Andi ;-) Thanks, Andi! Vocal levels are the mix detail that vexes me the most. Sometimes I think these vocals are too loud, sometimes I don't. Seems to depend at least partially on playback source, but some of that is just whatever I'm focused on at that moment. Weird. Anyway, glad you enjoyed the production!
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
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Powerful audio and lyrics, I liked Peace, we’ve celebrated it
Piece by piece by piece
Donny THANK YOU, Donny! Hi Ron, Well, you had me right from the opening with those BIG guitars  Excellent write, and excellent performance, I especially liked the BGV's, very effective. Love the chorus! Enjoyed this one, listened a few times. Thanks, Dave! BGVs are a lot of fun. I think of them like guitar fills, sing a "lead" line first, double it, then find a second line to voice either above or below, and double it. It's shockingly simple but can sound really nice. Glad you enjoyed the tune!
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
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Ahhh man, I didn’t want that song to end…which is a good thing because I’m going to have to listen to it again.
I’ve only been on this forum for a couple of months and I’m staggered by the quality of original songs being produced. Yours is no exception. I’ve just listened to three in a row and they’ve all been great. Your vocal is perfect for the subject matter, it has a raw edge and that’s good, it gives the lyrics gravitas. And the backing harmonies were great, loved the aahhhs. The music and production itself, whilst not hard rock still carried a strength and weight which added to the songs impact and subject matter.
Great song Ron… gonna take another listen straight away.
Kind regards.
Edit… That opening is sensational…and it is hard rock. Love the doubled opening vocals too…man!! THANK YOU! So nice that you appreciate the tune and the pseudo "hard rock" production. If I had a real hard rock voice I'd have no doubt sung this one very differently, but we work with what we have, don't we? This BiaB RealStyle is quite cool, and it was fun to build the song with it.
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM
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