Genuine question for producers......

[tarbh666]

I have been pondering this a lot lately as I have been listening to a lot of underground death/doom/black and newer heavy metal bands like In Solitude and Portrait. When you guys get to the mixing stage, do you go for the cleanest most clinical inhuman sounding end product or do you go for a "vibe" that is reflected in the music/lyrics/image of a band. I find myself really getting into the more "occult" sounding bands that are drenched in reverb with no drum replacement or re-amping that don't necessarily all play like or have the skill of the likes of Jeff Loomis/Petrucci etc... It seems more refreshing and enjoyable to listen to than stuff that has been quantized to death. What do you all think????

here's an example of what I'm getting at, might not be to everybodies taste but you might understand what I'm trying to get across

 

[crillemannen]

For me it is all about vibe. I have turned my back on the clinical stuff. I like separation and perfection in terms of performance but vibe is definitely a big factor for me

 

[AEL89]

Just need to serve the vibe of the music really. Sometimes it has to be clinical, sometimes the other end of the scale. I definitely prefer vibier mixes. Crack the Skye or Watershed are 2 good ones in the heavier realm.

 

[musickey]

Vibe for me as well.....Really gettin sick of "musicians" that cant ever remotely come close to replicating what was done with big bucks in the studio, in a live setting....Fuckin charlatans...and becouse of that i find myself listening to more and more Doom metal type bands, just seems more genuine to me anymore.

 

[-Noodles-]

I've always been a champion of the vibe over a perfect take.
A perfect take won't sell records.

 

[tgs]

I mainly work with this kind of music, and I actually produced the latest Portrait album so it's cool to see you mentioning it!

I always go for whatever I found most suitable for the band. Not surprisingly (I hope), for Portrait I basically listened to nothing but "Don't Break the Oath" for a month and tried to get in that vibe.

I take different approaches for bands depending on what result we're after. Sometimes it's clinical and sometimes it's very rough. The problem usually comes when bands think that they can play sloppy, record quickly, but get an impeccable result. But this usually goes into the preparation part of the production, which I think is extremely important. If the bands know what to expect from whatever budget they have, you'll have a much easier time with them in the studio.

 

[Terminus]

I mainly work with this kind of music, and I actually produced the latest Portrait album so it's cool to see you mentioning it!

I always go for whatever I found most suitable for the band. Not surprisingly (I hope), for Portrait I basically listened to nothing but "Don't Break the Oath" for a month and tried to get in that vibe.

I take different approaches for bands depending on what result we're after. Sometimes it's clinical and sometimes it's very rough. The problem usually comes when bands think that they can play sloppy, record quickly, but get an impeccable result. But this usually goes into the preparation part of the production, which I think is extremely important. If the bands know what to expect from whatever budget they have, you'll have a much easier time with them in the studio.

Awesome, you did the latest Desultory record, I love that band and am so glad they decided to put a new one out.

I love the minimal underground production styles, for me it's the band's music that's the deciding factor...all the new Darkthrone records from the last 6 or so years are raw as fuck but still feature enjoyable music and production imo.