Extreme Metal : November 2009
Extreme MetalArticle Preview :: The SOS Guide To Recording & Producing Modern MetalPublished in SOS November 2009 Technique : Recording/Mixing Extreme metal music demands, and expects, extreme skills from producers and engineers. In this in-depth masterclass we explain the techniques that go into crafting modern metal sounds.
Modern extreme metal is anything but a passing fad. With countless clubs, fan/webzines and mainstream magazines and radio stations nurturing and sustaining the scene, it comes as no surprise that an act as extreme as Slipknot gained the number one position in the US Billboard 200 with their last album, All Hope Is Gone.
Over their career, the band have sold more than 10 million albums worldwide. However, extreme metal remains one of the most challenging styles to produce. The combination of down-tuned instruments, dense and distorted tones, and intense performances presents the engineer with serious challenges when it comes to achieving the required clarity and definition. In this article and next month’s follow-up, I will explain the specific production, engineering and mixing techniques that represent the state of the art in metal recording, with contributions from a number of top producers, engineers and musicians. This month will focus on the often misunderstood and undervalued area of pre-production, as well as the engineering and recording part of the process, with the next month’s article covering mixing. Pre-Production For obvious reasons, a record producer’s natural habitat is assumed to be the recording studio. But it is usual that there is another element to the process of a successful production, and its importance is too often overlooked. Before the band and producer enter the studio, there is likely to be a period of time spent working out the ideas, direction and fine details of the ensuing production. In essence, pre-production can be viewed as designing the project’s blueprint, and along with many other producers, I believe that this is the cornerstone of a successful album or project. A successful producer needs the ability to look beyond the technical aspects of microphone type, placement and processing. A producer’s personal talents and his ability to motivate, inspire and organise cannot be underestimated. As well as being technician, musician and engineer, a record producer may have to be part psychologist, career advisor, songwriter, close friend, lyricist, drill sergeant and therapist. Essential elements to nearly all of these roles are respect, understanding and trust. In turn, this facilitates a fundamental goal of pre-production: settling on a collective vision of what the band are about stylistically and musically, how the album is going to sound and how this is going to be achieved. Having this vision for the final product allows the producer to control and guide the project in such a way as to realise something that will please everyone. Clearly, the vision can be fine-tuned along the way, but clarity during pre-production should ensure that the elusive but essential ‘vibe’ of the project is right. In pop and rock music, pre-production time is often used mainly for song development, working out structures and arrangement changes that will mould the songs into an acceptable format and length for commercial radio airplay. Due to the nature of extreme metal, however, it is unusual that any significant time is needed in these areas. Instead, record producers from the genre will concentrate on the numerous challenges and issues that arise from the intense, down-tuned, rhythmically intricate and often heavily syncopated nature of the music. The Rehearsal Studio The initial meeting will more than likely take place in the band’s rehearsal room. Here, I would want to hear the whole band play through the songs for the project in a relaxed scenario without the expense and pressure of being in a recording studio. As well as assessing whether the band can perform the songs competently and comfortably and that the arrangements work, the relative strengths and weaknesses of the individual performances and musicianship will be evaluated, and comments fed back accordingly. Remember that a producer’s job is not only to maximise a band’s strengths but also minimise their weaknesses, and pre-production is the right time to pull back in a musician who is trying to play parts that are outside his or her comfort zone. At this stage, I will be particularly focused on the drummer, whose performance will provide the foundation of the entire production.
Musicians often won’t notice possible issues whilst they are playing, especially if they have never recorded the material before, so it’s a good idea to make rough recordings of these rehearsal sessions, as any potential concerns will often become apparent to the band on playback. It is not a given that just because the songs work well in a gig scenario, the same will apply in the studio. (It is obviously preferable to be in the same room as the band for pre-production, but when this is not possible, a certain amount of work can nevertheless be done with rehearsal recordings over email.) This is also the right time for the producer to speak with the band members about properly fine-tuning their parts, by experimenting with any ideas that either of them may have: different drum fills, guitar overdubs, vocal harmonies and so on. Obviously, if new ideas come up in the studio, that’s fine, but rehearsal time is usually a fraction of the price of studio time, so working things out at this stage enables the studio time to be used much more effectively. The Project’s Budget It is hardly news that many independent labels are struggling to stay in business, and album budgets have been in decline for many years. This financial pressure directly affects the record producer, whose responsibility it is to manage the budget. Whether producing a project for Roadrunner Records or simply a three-track demo to put up on MySpace, pre-production is the time to save money. It pre-empts any problems that may appear when the studio clock is ticking, saving time, and therefore money, in the process. Right Clicks One of the issues that is usually right at the top of my pre-production priority list is the subject of click tracks, for the drums to be tracked to and for the project generally. In my experience of extreme metal, the use of click tracks is one of the overriding factors that separates a convincing album production from a demo. As producer Russ Russell says, “The threshold of accuracy and tightness that people expect from extreme metal is extremely high.” ...
Published in SOS November 2009 
| Saturday 21st November 2009 December 2009
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