Symphonic metal, a sub-genre of metal music that incorporates symphonic or orchestral elements, has a big sound with a lot of moving parts and band members.
However, one Sanford musician is making it all by himself in his home recording studio.
Amjad Syed, a longtime Midland area resident and Dow High School graduate, has been exploring a creative outlet through his love of metal music. Recording under the name Belet Seri, he records every part of the music himself, outside of enlisting help for vocal tracks.
Syed has lived in the Midland area since about 1981 and, like many others, developed a love for metal music in the 1980s. After he learned how to play guitar, making music naturally followed.
His first musical project was Aceldama, a thrash metal trio that began around 1991. After releasing two albums over the course of a decade, the band split up around 2001.
Syed began to seriously home-record music about three years ago as a side project away from his career in full stack developing and programming. He records the music almost entirely by himself, but does outsource vocal duties to singers he finds online.
To this day, “Belet Seri” has released about 25 singles, one of which was recently played on the Z93 FM radio station. Syed said his project is akin to bands like Nightwish and Epica.
The Daily News spoke with Syed about his music and how he records this big-sounding genre in his office space.
MDN: How long have you lived in Sanford?
Syed: We moved out here in 2013. Before that, I lived in Midland. I actually have been in the Midland (area) since 1981. Before that, I lived in Iowa.
Is that where you are originally from?
(I am) originally from Pakistan. I was born there and I moved here when I was 1. My dad was a psychiatrist, so he lived basically on hospital grounds. It was basically an insane asylum, so it was kind of interesting. Saturday mornings, we saw Dad in a white coat chasing someone around the house.
How did you first discover metal music?
It was probably the early 80s, that whole scene just came out (then). My first actual exposure to metal was probably Ozzy (Osbourne) and Fastway, some of those early 80’s bands. Then the whole thrash scene happened in San Francisco, so that was cool, too. But my first big influence was Randy Rhoads from the Ozzy era.
What did you do music-wise after you left Aceldama?
I did not do much as far as that goes. I dabbled with (making music), a lot of it came from home studio stuff itself. As equipment software got better, you were (able to do) a lot of stuff out of your house. That is when I discovered symphonic and European metal.
What got you into symphonic metal?
The first time I heard Nightwish, I was blown away because of the operatic-style vocalists. Symphonic metal is fairly melodic and there is a lot of stuff going on. It was like nothing like I have heard here (in the U.S.).
What makes a good home studio for recording music?
(Some) people put panels up that deaden the sound in their (recording) rooms, and that is a proper studio. I do not have any of that here, so sounds bounce off the walls. Basically for me, I use a couple of different sets of speakers so I can hear the difference. I have headphones, I have studio monitors and I have (ear)buds. Then, there is the car test where I listen to recordings in the car. If (something) sounds muffled, you need to redo it.
What are some benefits from recording at home rather than a studio space?
Cost. You can retake as many times as you need. For me, with guitar and bass, I can have as many retakes as I want. Then, with MIDI and stuff, you can (insert) a lot of different virtual instruments. I have violin in almost all my songs now, at least two sets of keyboards and then two sets of guitars and a bass.
You play analog guitars for the recordings. What other instruments do you create digitally?
Pretty much everything else. The drums on them are sampled, but guitar and bass would be the only live instruments besides vocals, and everything else is virtual. I did have an actual violinist come in to do one song with me.
Symphonic metal has a big sound, it has big production, lots of members, and lots of moving parts. How do you replicate that in a home studio as essentially a solo artist?
It usually starts with guitars and a riff and (then you) keep adding to it. Drums, find some kind of melody with it, and then add on the violin.
There is usually at least six, seven instruments going at a time. That is hopefully enough to keep people interested. For me, I want to be able to produce something that I can play with my mix of the bands I listen to. I want to sound almost the same production-wise.
People can listen to “Belet Seri” on YouTube, Bandcamp and SoundCloud.
