ORCHESTRALMETAL.COM
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Welcome to orchestralmetal.com, where you'll find Jon Phipps MA, a composer and guitarist sought-after by bands and producers from all over the international metal scene for his skills and expertise in virtual orchestration, composition, and songwriting consultation.
He has worked on chart-smashing albums that include '1755' and 'Extinct' by Moonspell, 'Under The Red Cloud' by Amorphis, 'Altar' by The Gift, and 'Reduced To Flesh' by Hatesphere. These records have been mixed and mastered by legendary titans of production, such as Jens Bogren, Tue Madsen, and Brian Eno. You can hear these releases and many more that Jon has worked on in the portfolio further down the page, and you can also check out condensed highlights in the showcase if you're short for time! |
SHOWCASE
2019 & 2018 samplers coming soon - these will include the orchestral parts from the Hatesphere and Ravenous albums that you can hear in the portfolio below the showcase, as well as other material that is yet to be released by Alchemia (Brazil), Terra Odium (Norway), and Nephylim (Netherlands).
2017
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This is a sampler of highlights from '1755' by Moonspell, which Jon worked on very closely with both the band and their producer Tue Madsen in the pre-production, choir arrangement and orchestration stages of the production process in Portugal.
The album opens with Jon's orchestral version of the Moonspell song 'Em Nome Do Medo', which is originally from their album 'Alpha Noir'. At the close of the album, we hear a dark and twisted cover of the Brazilian 80s pop classic 'Lanterna Dos Afogados' by Os Paralamas Do Sucesso. |
In this collection, you can hear contrasting clips of orchestrations for Evadne (doom metal, Spain), DragonForce (speed metal, UK), and The Gift (alt pop, Portugal). Jon worked on these albums remotely, for the producers Sergio Peiro Molina, Jens Bogren, and Brian Eno respectively.
The strings for 'I Loved it All' by The Gift involved doubling a pre-recorded live string quartet with virtual players, to encapsulate the best of both the virtual instruments and the real performance. |
2016Here we have some very sombre and melancholy strings arrangements for the Swedish doom band Trees of Eternity, and ethereal choir polyphony for the British post-hardcore band Human Future, both haunting and harrowing in equal measure.
The Trees of Eternity album was produced by Jens Bogren, and so was the Kreator track, which was a special limited edition bonus song that was released on vinyl in support of the album 'Gods of Violence' by Germany's veteran thrash overlords. For this song, Jon created war-like brass and percussion parts that add to the ferocity and intensity of the track. |
2015Selected orchestral moments from 'Extinct' by Moonspell (Portugal), 'Under The Red Cloud' by Amorphis (Finland) and 'Secret Garden' by Angra (Brazil) make up this collection.
Jon worked on these albums for Jens Bogren, and travelled to Fascination Street Studios in Sweden to develop the orchestrations for 'Under The Red Cloud' and 'Extinct' in person during the final stages of the production process. |
2014 |
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The album 'Garden of Dystopia' by Divine Disorder (Kuwait) is what started Jon on his journey as a virtual orchestrator for metal bands, as he was initially hired to perform a session guitar solo on one of the songs (which can be heard on the guitarist page), but he also ended up taking over the virtual orchestrations for the album as well.
Jens Bogren mixed this release, and was impressed with the orchestrations that Jon had created for it, so this led to their collaboration on the other albums mentioned previously. Brett Caldas-Lima of Tower Studio, France mastered this disc, and continues to work with Jon on new projects in 2019. |
PORTFOLIO
You can either click on the album covers below to hear the tracks on YouTube, tap the titles for Spotify playlists, or use the embedded players to hear the songs that Jon has worked on as a virtual orchestrator.
HATESPHERE
'Reduced to Flesh'
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RAVENOUS E.H'Eat the Fallen'
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MOONSPELL'1755'
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MOONSPELL'Extinct'
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AMORPHIS'Under The Red Cloud'
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ANGRA'Secret Garden'
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TREES OF ETERNITY'Hour of the Nightingale'
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THE GIFT'Altar'
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EVADNE
'A Mother Named Death'
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DRAGONFORCE
'Reaching into Infinity'
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KREATOR'Earth Under the Sword'
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DIVINE DISORDER
'Garden of Dystopia'
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HUMAN FUTURE
'Flat Earth Blues'
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I'LL BE DAMNED
'Road to Disorder'
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Additionally, Jon has collaborated with the bands Terra Odium (Norway/USA), and Devilment (UK) in a more involved creative capacity, providing pre-production on songs for Devilment's 'The Mephisto Waltzes', and operating as a full-time member of Terra Odium on orchestration duty. The Terra Odium album will be released later in 2019.
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Follow the blog for updates on Jon's music-making exploits, and feel free to get in touch with him if you would like to discuss working together on your next creative project. You can also contact Jon through the social media links at the bottom of this page.
Elsewhere on this website, you will be able to find examples of Jon's compositions, session guitar playing, and music transcriptions, as well as reviews of his services from satisfied clients.
Elsewhere on this website, you will be able to find examples of Jon's compositions, session guitar playing, and music transcriptions, as well as reviews of his services from satisfied clients.