What I usually do is that I first remove all inserts, pan everything dead center and bring everything down, so that the set has been reset, then I do the routing. Kick+snare on the first bus, rest of the kit to the second, then bass, then rhythm instruments, then lead instruments, then vocals and then effects. so that makes 6 busses + master.
Then I insert
Mr. Mono (for mono compatibility checks) and a limiter to the masterbus set at -2dbFS, just in case I get too excited and don't notice a thing
Then the first thing I do is that I bring up the kick and make it sound as good as possible, usually first an EQ, then semifast gate, compression with 4-8ms attack and 5:1 ratio, and if it lacks something, I usually try to add it without using samples. Then I adjust the volumesliders so that the combined sound hits to -6db.
Then I mute the kick and bring up the snare, but unlike others, I usually do the lower mic first. I usually first add the eq, then compression and then saturation & distortion plugs. Then I mute it and do the same setup for the top mic except no distortion here. Then I set the top mic level peaks hit -8db level and then I blend in bottom mic so that it sounds good, which usually is at pretty low levels, like -30..-15db
Then I mix the toms and hihats and same thing here, just the basic eq, gate, compression and saturation again. When the whole kit has been mixed, then I add a highpass to the kit-bus at 80hz and then tweak the the reverb sends and add a lot of compression to the busses too.
When it comes to panning, I usually mix everything from the drummers perspective, so hihats are on the left, ride is on the right etc, but I tend not to use very wide drumpanning, hihats+ride at max -+40%, oh at max+-50%.
For the bass, I usually just record the linesound. I bring in the linebass and duplicate it. I highpass the duplicate at 300hz and add a eq boost at 1khz and distortion plug to it. On the linesound I add a lowpass at 200hz (because there usually is only mud between 200-300hz on bass) and adjust the blend so that it sounds good. Then a highpass at 50hz to the bass bus and a general 3:1 compressor at low level to the bus and blend in with the drums so that they sound balanced. If the kick doesn't get through enough, I don't boost it, but instead I add a sidechain compressor to the bass bus so it ducks. You know,
less is more?
Now, as most of you would, I don't mix in the guitars, but instead I put the vocals in now, because they usually (should) sing together well with the bass. If not, there is something wrong with the composition/arrangement. But, some eq, then ALOT of compression, three deessers and another compressor. Who needs dynamics on metalvocals anyways, except for Tool? Then mix in the volume so that it blends in kinda like it seems too loud, because when the guitars kick in, it will most likely be too quiet.
Then I bring up the rhythm guitar panned at dead center, even if it was double/triple/quad tracked. Then I start the EQ:ing only so that it blends in with the mix with the other stuff, no need to EQ if it blends in perfectly, you know? But usually there comes this huge midrange hump that needs to be tamed... When the first guitar is "perfectly fit", then bring up the other guitars and if possible, I leave unnessecary tracks off as it usually keeps the mix more cleaner. When finished highpass the rhythm bus at 100hz.
Then bring up the lead tracks and do the usual EQ stuff again. If it doesnt cut in enough, sidechain compress the rhythm guitar section so that it goes down just enough (no more than 4db compression, as people will notice that!) so that the solo kicks in.
Then go to sleep and come in next day with fresh ears to wonder why this sounds like shit. Then finetune the mix / completely remix the whole thing. When finished and mixed correctly, the whole package should hit peak at ~-4db with ~-20db RMS, which hopefully should be enough headroom for the mastering engineer
How long does a mix typically take you, coming from a mix ready session? Mix ready as in you don't have to beat detective, AT, remove noise or anything.
Seems to take me all fucking day to mix something, I'd like to be able to do it in a few hours.
Two days for me, because I really can't do anything properly in one go. I really have to double check it the next day.
) to not constantly strive for intensity at all times. this is one time you really need to back off and just let the numbers guide you. the overall volume, presence and intensity will come naturally as your mix progresses (especially mastering at the end). 
