Metal productions that rival 'The Big 3'

[James Murphy]

Clayman is a fantastic milestone for metal production, and despite the fact that such things are opinion and subjective in nature, if you disagree with that you are either A: a tasteless buffoon, B: deaf in one ear and can't hear out of the other, C: mentally retarded, or D: all of the above.

Gojira is one of my fave new(ish) bands, and while i enjoy the material on FMTS, the mix is horrid. TWOAF mix kills it. you are welcome to your own opinion on this, but if it differs from mine then your opinion is wrong. don't worry though, it's ok to be wrong.

 

[AXI]

I think Tue Madsen deserves a mention here. The Haunted's "Revolver" and Mnemic's "Mechanical Spin Phenomena" are two of the most punchy metal records ever made imo. I really like his raw yet smooth productions.

Another production that slays is Diablo's "Eternium". One of the heaviest guitar tones ever:

 

[K Odell]

Clayman is a fantastic milestone for metal production, and despite the fact that such things are opinion and subjective in nature, if you disagree with that you are either A: a tasteless buffoon, B: deaf in one ear and can't hear out of the other, C: mentally retarded, or D: all of the above.

Gojira is one of my fave new(ish) bands, and while i enjoy the material on FMTS, the mix is horrid. TWOAF mix kills it. you are welcome to your own opinion on this, but if it differs from mine then your opinion is wrong. don't worry though, it's ok to be wrong.

Agreed

 

[Meisterjäger]

It never gets brought up, but The War Within by Shadows Fall is a fairly impressive mix, I think. The drums sound killer, and whilst the guitar sound isn't my favourite (especially when compared to Stabbing The Drama), it sounds fucking HUGE when The Light That Blinds comes in with that fucking sweep picking.

I mean... FUCK!

 

[MortenDK]

Well for me what stands out in my memory as far as metal goes...and im going way back... Korn:life is peachy, sepultura:roots, Soulfly:soulfly and Slipknots:Slipknot and if I remember right they are all produced by Ross Robinson..... but I could be wrong...kinda lost track of what Ross did after iowa with slipknot but...for me the metal now a days sounds too perfect to me and gets boring quick!...

 

[KeithTidd]

I think Tue Madsen deserves a mention here. The Haunted's "Revolver" and Mnemic's "Mechanical Spin Phenomena" are two of the most punchy metal records ever made imo. I really like his raw yet smooth productions.

Another production that slays is Diablo's "Eternium". One of the heaviest guitar tones ever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptpIUyof8eI

tue didn't do revolver that was fredrik nordstrom. Tue did the dead eye and versus.

 

[beyond dead]

revolver and the dead eye do sound amazing.
clayman is a very unique mix, but I really dont think it is very influential, or jaw dropping! dimmu`s puritanical was VERY influential that time...
I agree with whoever mentioned Testify for my victims! awesome mix!

 

[Line666]

Clayman is a fantastic milestone for metal production, and despite the fact that such things are opinion and subjective in nature, if you disagree with that you are either A: a tasteless buffoon, B: deaf in one ear and can't hear out of the other, C: mentally retarded, or D: all of the above.

Gojira is one of my fave new(ish) bands, and while i enjoy the material on FMTS, the mix is horrid. TWOAF mix kills it. you are welcome to your own opinion on this, but if it differs from mine then your opinion is wrong. don't worry though, it's ok to be wrong.

I dont think FMTS mix is that bad, for sure the kick sound isn't as nice and the snare has that sort of big "tub" thing going on (and I know there are a lot of complaints about that sort of snare round here but I actually prefer it over the more traditional crack on the TWOAF - although there is still a bit of that roundness in that too).

But yeah, I can't dislike the guitar sound in FMTS either (even though it's totally saturated in that crackly distortion) just for the pure win that are the pinch harmonics on that album.

So yes, obviously all this is all the wrong way of thinking anyway

 

[nakedpotato]

I'd go for the Zero Hour - Specs Of Pictures Burnt Beyond production anytime over any of the "top 3" and some of the mentioned in the thread.

 

[AXI]

tue didn't do revolver that was fredrik nordstrom. Tue did the dead eye and versus.

Yeah that's true. I was just thinking about the mix, which Tue did. But I guess The Dead Eye and Versus are better representatives of the Tue Madsen sound.

 

[poidaobi]

Finally listening to STD (heheh STD) by Soilwork. Fucking love it!

 

[NNotN-ENN]

Yeah speaking of Tue, I really love the mix on Gorefest's La Muerte. Some of his mixes tend to be quite slammed, but whether that's a mastering thing is another question..

I'm basically with James on the Gojira front. I think TWoAF sounds amazing. Loads of tight punch, not fatiguing at all. I love the snare. Actually I love everything about it really. FMtS is more of an.... interesting mix I think.
Speaking of Mr Murphy, each newer mix I hear from him is better than the last. I'm really digging it, so hats off!

 

[JeffTD]

The Way Of All Flesh is honestly one of the best sounding productions I've heard in a damned long time... Logan Mader fucking dominated on that!

I know gats/bass/vox were recorded in France, but Logan did the drums/mix and some overdubs. I have no clue what was used on gtrs but I'm inclined to say 5150, just because of the smooth character and their new endorsement, as well as the fact that they did overdubs at Logan's place with a 5150 (green ch/Mesa 4x12).

But yeah, that album is fucking tits. Can't get over it! HUGE vibe with equal amounts of clarity and technical perfection!

 

[slayercannibalsuffohead]

I am going to go out on a limb here, Slayers Seasons, love that raw fill sound that Dave gets on the drums, although the album as a whole is not pristine to the "big 3", it still kills for sheer aggression. I can still remember the day I bought the album in 91 and it still gets played once a weak at my joint.

Machine Heads Burn my eyes, wow, my ears were blessed the first day I heard that.

Fear Factorys Obselete, SHOCK! ............ SHOCK! Thought my speakers shitem selves the first time I heard that.

Exodus, SHKM, AE, FD, IMPACT....... Thankyou Gary! Some of the best sounding guitars I have heard and the lead sounds in Fabulous are still my favourite.

Cannibal Corpses Wretched, KILL and Evisceration, Kill is my fav out of the 3 but dam that band knows how to put it across. Along with Exodus, Cannibals guitar tracks are my favourite sounds since I have been playing. Lead sounds are awesome to, bass as well, drums are well....... sought of muffled but suits the albums, dig it hugely!

Nevermores TGE ........ Enough said.

Dimmu ...... cant remember the album .... I think it was around 2003, but wow again, even though I dont get into that style, man was that clean and punchy

Suffocation self titled, a bit like Seasons, nothing pristine but it puts the aggression across brilliantly well. Love this band and their songwriting abilities (no need for Suffo to have a pristine production, their music is awesome, like slayer, their ability to write far outways the need for a punchy mix!)

Kreators Extreme aggression, falls under the Suffo and Slayers category. Love ventors drum sound.

I know 3/4 of the bands I mentioned dont have the pristine factor, but these albums (apart from the Dimmu one that I cant remember) get played as often today as they did when I first purchased them. For me these are my favourite albums for songwriting ability and production values. I love some bands productions, but the actual song writing lets them down for me, (SOILWORK for instance, no offence anyone) and then there are bands that for me are great songwriters, who happened to not get a great production (EVIL DEAD, DARK ANGEL, VENOM, MEGADETHS early stuff, IRON MAIDENS first 2 etc). The bands with the songwriting ability (opinion only) get 90% of my air time at my joint.

 

[Metaltastic]

What's everyone's feeling on "In Sorte Diaboli," btw? Personally I think that album sounds fucking incredible (mastering not withstanding, but I don't think that's all that terrible either, I've certainly heard albums that clipped worse...)

 

[abyssofdreams]

What's everyone's feeling on "In Sorte Diaboli," btw? Personally I think that album sounds fucking incredible (mastering not withstanding, but I don't think that's all that terrible either, I've certainly heard albums that clipped worse...)

I think the synths and orchestra sound huge, the vocals are awesome too, guitars are okay, bass (is there any??), drums sound shit! That kick is awful.

And finally the mastering sucks the life of it. No punch, harsh topend and way too squashed drums.

 

[Metaltastic]

I dunno, I don't mind the kick, I think it fits, and I love the guitars personally (Engl fucking fury!!) - and like anyone gives a crap about Vortex when he's not singing

And I think the snare and cymbals sound amazing too; excellent definition on the ride and hat work especially! (listen to the first 1.5 minutes or so of "The Conspiracy Unfolds", for example)

 

[Felix Neumann]

What about St. Anger....I really like the kick Haha but that´s the only element.

Call me Sneap fanboy..but I really dig the production of "The Atrocity Exhibition". Am I the only one, who feel like this? The production/mix/master is great!

 

[Ermz]

You can't like that kick but criticize the Organic Hallucinosis one! The kick on In Sorte is even more prominent and obnoxious, but there's hardly any low-end element to match.

 

[abyssofdreams]

Engl it is, hmm.... which one? Very glossy sounding.