There are definitely guys out there in the same 'field' that are transcending the status quo modern metal productions. Listen to the newest Anaal Nathrakh, or Akercocke's Words That Go Unspoken... That's what I like to hear, if fidelity is a hallmark of your metal. I'm still waiting to hear something that catches my ear from Andy.
Take some risks! Annihilate the norm!
We're definitely in the same boat about that. I still respect Andy's work a lot, but as you said, after Dead Heart... it went really stale. Yes, the Formation Of Damnation is even more sonically perfect than his previous work with Testament, but I LIKED the slightly cluttered mix and grit on the guitars... Now, it's always more of the same.
As you said, take some risks!
Productions that catch my hear nowadays are usually not the overly polished ones, with maybe the exception of Zeuss' and Logan Mader's work. Logan's mix on the latest Gojira is absolutely stunning from that POV, but ironically I don't think Gojira is the right band for that sound... but that's something on its own...
A dude like Jens Bogren does the same studio trickery like Sneap and co., yet the last Opeth and Katatonia records have much more of a natural vibe to them, especially the drums.
Good call on Akercocke... and who mixed it? Neil Kernon did! Neil sometimes gets a lot of smack for the guitar sounds on the Nile records... And I can't disagree more, because he's one of the few guys who tries to capture the sound of the band, instead sculpting the band's sound into HIS sound. Neil is all over the place... and I think that's awesome!
I applaud bands like Mastodon and Death Angel for going a bit outside the box with choosing "rock mixers" (that are very much high profile) like Brendan O'Brien and Nick Raskulinecz, respectively. No fatiguing mixes and masters, no pastic drums... a world of a difference.
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And just a little thought on Shawn Drover's drum performance: Who knows how much freedom that guy has in MegaDave world?