AMKEN – “D.A.P.” (Guest/Session) *Thrash Metal

Here is another one that I had completely forgotten to upload. No surprise actually, as I start to believe that only a small percentage of everything I have done is actually uploaded to this blog. Gonna try to change that. Anyway…

This is my guest appearance for Amken, an upcoming thrash metal band from Greece. Vanias, a member of Amken (and a great guy btw) was my student for a small period of time. If I recall correctly, we were working on some parts for him to play tight. The band eventually asked me to participate on their record as a guest, a proposal I gladly accepted.

You can listen to my solo around 02:44. This is something I could write for my band, Revolted Masses, and I am very happy that they liked what I did.

Recorded during 2016.

Metal Hammer Sessions – “Damage, Inc.” (Co-Production, Mixing, Mastering) *Thrash Metal

This song was featured on Metal Hammer’s “GREEK MASTERS OF PUPPETS: 30th Year Anniversary Tribute Album”.

George, our drummer from Revolted Masses, played the drums while members from Chronosphere, Rotting Christ and Exarsis also participated.

This one was brought to me for mixing/mastering with a REALLY strict deadline. I believe I recorded the drums AND mixed the whole thing in just a couple of days. 100% natural drums (no triggers) and ampsims were used, mainly because of time limitations.

Recorded and mixed in January 2016.

Aetherian “The Rain” (Co-Production) *Melodic Death Metal

Here is something I have completely forgotten to write about….I mean HOW could I forget, with nearly 500000 YouTube views so far! Aetherian are back, and this time I helped them with guitar and bass recordings for the song “The Rain”.

Working with these guys is always a pleasure. Recording-wise, there is nothing unusual here, an EMG loaded-guitar straight into a RedEye DI Unit and into a PRE73 mic pre. Oh, and some great riffs!

Some cool people have also teamed up for the final result, like Fotis Benardo (drum recordings) and Jim Evgenidis (music video). The band will put out a new album with LifeForce records in 2017.

Recorded during January 2016.

Crowd:Controlled – “The Path Integral” EP (Co-Production, Mixing, Mastering) *Death/Thrash Metal

Crowd:Controlled is a death/thrash metal band from Athens, and here is their latest EP, called “The Path Integral”. 5 songs and a lot of potential for these guys.

Now, this is probably one of my best-sounding heavy productions ever. It’s really unbelievable what a simple studio change can bring to the ending result: recently I decided to move my main monitors to another spot in the room, and the overall frequency response, stereo image and audio depth have been dramatically improved. Really glad to be able to hear the very low frequencies without a problem, and (obviously) this can REALLY help with the mix.

Real drums, and quad-tracked rhythm guitars on this one, all reamped through a Peavey 6505+ head in my studio.

Decided to experiment with sidechain multiband compression this time, so that only certain frequencies are affected. This technique gave me excellent results on things like kick-bass. Some more cool tricks as well, like parallel de-tuned wide delay on vocals and a ton of distortion on bass, being constantly automated. Once again, I was mixing through my mastering chain, which also helps a lot to get your volume from early on.

The communication with the band was flawless, which really helped the whole procedure. Really happy with the ending result.

Co-produced mixed and mastered during Summer 2016.

The Gleam Of Last Light – “A Fragmentary Passage” (Production, Mixing, Mastering) *Atmospheric/Melodic Metal

Here is a really interesting project from members of Mist Of Nihil. This time they are back with a more atmospheric style, and a fully instrumental song.

I listened to a wide variety of music before mixing this single, which really helped the general direction of the mix. Many Midi Instruments on this one, from violin to piano and strings, to give more character to the final result. No vocals, which made my life easier!

Here’s a tip: before reaching for EQ or compression, you should first try to stick to the very basics: Panning and Volume can make a vast difference. So, I find amazing the fact that you might struggle with surgical EQ for a lead guitar in order for it to be fully audible and clear, but the solution might just be to turn the f ***n pan knob!!

Great project and cool music! Recorded, mixed and mastered during Winter 2016.