I went away after this album and learnt to mix, and it was this album that inspired me, I was in the dark for a lot of it, but the drums are what really makes this labum amazing.
I got some tips of Jens but he only pushed me to look harder.
2 key things make it what it is, the playing of course and the way they are mixed, subtle characteristics such as samples behind the drums to support and add character which make them poke out and stand out, I have heard divided opinion on the snare drum for example due to its almost electric character, I love it without a doubt, but I blame this album for making me loose the last 9 months of my fucking life.
Oh yea and learning to use those compressors, that was key in controlling the tightness.
The key to a lot of the sound remains in the overheads which give the drums their natuaral character.
But I recommend to others not to look into this album too hard otherwise you too may loose months of your life if your like me!
PS if anyones interested, Check out Nirvana nevermind, thats what stated this whole drum sample replacement, it sounds a lot better on Katatonia possibly due to tiime passed, but Andy Wallace is the king of this sort of thing.
Its all in the playing but its up to the engineer to make Daniel sound like a star rather than just a great drummer - which he does superbly on this album.
