Aeon Aphelion – “Blind Descent” EP (Co-Production, Mixing, Mastering) *Doom Metal (for SoundWay Studios)

First time working with Aeon Aphelion, a doom metal group from Athens.

Many years ago, we did a live show with Aeon Aphelion and Revolted Masses. That’s when I met the guys, and I actually got their first album, “Visions of Burning Aeons”. I remember listening to this particular album a lot while working at my home studio and really digging it. That’s why I didn’t have any second thoughts when SoundWay studios proposed me to co-produce and mix/master this EP release.

The challenge with this kind of bands is that they have to sound polished and unpolished at the same time! So, no editing to grid, but on the other hand it has to sound tight and professional. We reamped through several amps, vintage and new models and a really nice ENGL cab. I applied my trusty two SM57 technique (thank you Mr. Nordström) as well as a condenser mic to get more detailed bottom end.

A nice surprise was when the band asked to record a bonus track, performed 100% live. I trusted the nice-sounding room of the studio, and asked the guys to plug and play just like they would do in a typical live situation. After some minor adjustments (mainly to get the phase right, as well as the mic bleeding in overheads mics right) I hit record and BOOM, the sound was already there. We did some takes to get the best performance and… that was it. I can also recall that this was the easiest song to mix.

Speaking about mixing, this was not an easy thing to do. Projects tend to be somewhat complicated these days. Not necessarily in a bad way, but gone are the days of a band booking a studio and recording an album from start to finish.  With Aeon Aphelion for example, I got drums and bass tracks already recorded with another SoundWay studios engineer, vocals that were tracked in another studio, and home recorded guitar DI tracks!

Double tracked vocals were mixed almost in equal volume and each track was automated depending the part and vibe of the song. Same goes for saturation and reverb effects, which were extensively used, even on rhythm guitars.

I tend to rely on reference mixes more and more these days. When I was younger, I thought this was a bad thing and that you have to do your own thing. But as I get more experience under my belt, I feel that you have to have a direction. This is natural and something every producer is doing, whether he admits it or not. So, I listened to a lot of music, took notes and borrowed some elements. At the final stage of the mix I tweaked everything to sound solid and nice.

Last but not least, a different mastering for digital and physical release and…done!

Some reviews are already out and state the nice overall sound of the EP. So that’s cool! A nice experience.

Co-produced, Mixed and Mastered in 2019-2020, released in 2020.

Primitive – “Sinner” Album (Production, Mixing, Mastering) *Acoustic Metal

I know this artist from Matter Of Act, a cool Greek band I produced a few years ago. This is his one-man solo project described as Acoustic Metal…and it really is both acoustic and metal, how cool is that?

Once I started recording, I realized that the level of the performance would make my life easier. What you hear in this recording is mainly one take/first take. Most of the times, I would record a second vocal/guitar take just for safety. Same thing goes for editing, I only removed unwanted noises and…editing was done!

From the very beginning we decided to keep it simple and straightforward. Many mics on the acoustic guitar to get as much of the room “sound” as possible. Vocals were recorded with an AKG condenser mic. This is one of the many examples of using TONS of plug ins, without actually sounding “over-mixed”. Sculpting EQ, some compression, some more EQ and some more leveling, saturation, multiband compression, limiting for overall loudness and so many more. A touch of reverb added but, other than that, there are no reverberation FX.

Recorded, mixed and mastered during August 2018.

Wild Machine – “Work It Out” (Production, Mixing, Mastering) *Glam Metal (for SoundWay Studios)

Now this is an interesting project I did a while ago for Wild Machine, one of the few glam rock bands left in Greece. Interesting fact: back in 2004/2005 these guys were the talk of the town, with a growing audience and we even played some shows together when I was 15 years old.

These guys still have it! Drums were recorded with no triggers or samples, a P bass covering the low end, double tracked guitars and a SM7 for the vocalist. Straightforward Rock’n Roll ingredients. Same goes for mixing: I decided to keep away from the typical cheesy stadium rock mix and stick to a more natural (Ac/Dc like) result.

Wild Machine are actually getting ready for their full-length album (entirely recorded at Soundway Studios, where I engineer), and this is a taste of what’s coming. Once the album is out, I am going to post a new article, as the mix will also be slightly different.

Recorded, mixed and mastered in 2018 for Soundway Studios.

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.

Deisidaemonia “Khthonian Hymns” Full-Length (Production, Mixing, Mastering) *Black Metal

Well, I’ve noticed this blog is packed with metal releases, so why not adding another one?
I do work on various other genres, I swear, it’s just that more and more metal bands trust what I do and contact me to produce/mix their work.

Anyway…What do we have here? A unique blend of black metal with heavy metal elements from this one-man band called Deisidaemonia.

Behind all this hides a great musician, Mr. Spathas.
Does the name ring a bell?
Exactly!
The genes have something to do with this, as this is one of the finest examples of cool-sounding extreme music with TONS of musicality in it. Like Father, Like Son.

Let’s get to the technical stuff. All instruments were recorded from scratch, except from the bass, which was brought to me as a DI signal. Guitar was a Gibson flying-V, while a different guitar was used for clean and leads, can’t really remember which one.
Vocals were really interesting to record: Initially I set-up my nice AKG condenser mic, carefully calculating the height, the distance, creating a nice headphone mix for the singer, getting a good balance….
Great sound…but this music demands energy, and this set-up wouldn’t work for the performance I had in mind.. So after a few takes, there was a change of plans: A single hand-held Shure SM57, CRANKED monitors in the room and a f@ck-headphones approach. This setup worked WONDERS. As a result, most of the vocals are continuous takes without any editing (well, maybe only the audio bleeding from the cranked monitors!)

Many details were added to complete the mix, acoustic guitars, synths, gang vocals and various audio samples.

Mixing wise, black metal is a genre that demands character. So, treble-sounding guitars, big and distorted bass sound, reverb on almost every element and sample replacement, nothing out of the ordinary here. This is what I call a “carefully unpolished” mix. Tons of experimentation as well, weird reamping techniques based on the room and not-your-ordinary-EQ on the ENGL amp.

Really proud for the final outcome. I believe I spent more time asking about Mr. Spathas Sr than actually recording, but I could really listen to Deisidaemonia all day. Good times!

Recorded, Mixed and Mastered during 2015.

 

Chronosphere “Red N’ Roll” Full-Length (Vocal Recordings) *Thrash Metal

Lost count on how many times I’ve worked with these guys. One of the most promising thrash metal bands, Chronosphere, are about to release their 3rd full length album, called “Red’n Roll”. The guys contacted me for vocals recording and general guidance on various subjects like mastering advice and cd image of their upcoming album.

The recordings took place some time ago, so I didn’t have the chance to use my newly acquired Shure SM7b. A nice sounding AKG condenser mic was used eventually that really flatters the vocals of Spyros. Add to that the Golden Age PRE73 preamp set almost to extreme, and you can imagine the amount of coloration in the final result. During some loud passages I could here a nice saturation that really helped the vocals to cut-through. Single takes on most of the tracks, a decision that allows all the fine details of each vocal take to be perfectly audible.

As a finishing touch, I also created the CD image for the factory. It’s really weird that many cd duplication factories have only recently started to accept .ddp file formats. But that’s another topic!

Always a pleasure to work with these guys. Recorded during 2015, released in 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.

 

Aetherian – “Scar of Despair” (Production, Mixing, Mastering) *Melodic Death Metal

Second time working with Aetherian, melodic death metal from Greece. “Scar of Despair” is going to be included in their upcoming EP, and it is also released as a single.

Production-wise, I decided to go for a heavy but not over-produced result. All vocals are double tracked, however no heavy editing was involved, as Panos (from Mist of Nihil) really knows how to deliver steady, straight-to-the-grid vocal takes. First time working with ENGL amps for rhythm guitars, and I am really pleased with the result.

What I have noticed lately is that the more I progress as an engineer, the less effects I tend to use on my mixes. This track is an excellent example, only EQ and compression was used on most of the tracks, along with some minor delay/reverb effects to add to the general vibe of the song.

Recorded, mixed and mastered during March 2014.