Nevermore - Dreaming Neon Black

[batmura]

Hey Neil,

It's me again . I was wondering if you could talk a bit about your experiences while recording, mixing and producing Nevermore's DNB which I consider quite possibly your most kick-ass job along with the Spiral Architect disc.

What do YOU think of the sound on the album? How did you go about recording it?

Any memories you'd like to share with us?

Cheers,
Murat

 

[NK]

I was pleased with the way the album came out. Personally I think it was my best work with the band, and I really liked the material a lot.

As with ASU, POE and IM, we did the album down in West Texas, at Village Productions (the name would of course change to Sonic Ranch a few years later). By then I was living in TX, so for several years I was doing all my work there. The album was a bit rushed though as the budget ended up being reduced from that for POE for some reason. I think we did the entire thing in 17 days, from top to bottom, including the mix, which I think I got 3 days for. Still, I remember we had a lot of fun doing the record. I always enjoyed working with Nevermore - great bunch of lads. Lots of wacky zany fun with the NM chasps.

As far as the end result, I don't have any issues with it, because as yet I've never encountered the problems others have mentioned on any of my systems. The album was mastered in HDCD which potentially is a louder mastering process than the normal 16 bit process, so I can only presume that some systems couldn't handle the extra volume generated by the 24 bit mastering process, producing some weird distortion or something.

As far as recording techniques, I don't think I did anything particularly out of the ordinary on that album. Also, as we had less time to make the record than on POE I can certainly remember putting in longer days on DNB just so we could get it all done. That said, it's still MY favourite of the four releases that I produced for the guys.

Neil K.

 

[DEADHEART]

I have to say the "mood" that the production gave this album is mind blowing!
It was exactly what the music called for, very dark and brooding. Cheers mate, it's a masterpiece.

 

[NK]

I have to say the "mood" that the production gave this album is mind blowing!
It was exactly what the music called for, very dark and brooding. Cheers mate, it's a masterpiece.

Thankee veree much koind sir!!

:Spin:

Neil K.

 

[ArtisanBass]

DNB is my favorite production of yours. In this era of modern metal, this one still feels very heavy but like an ALBUM.

 

[NK]

Thanks a lot Mike. Very much appreciated.

Neil K.

 

[DEADHEART]

Thankee veree much koind sir!!

:Spin:

Neil K.

No problem! So how exactly did you capture that "dark" vibe through out the album?

 

[NK]

Dunno..it must have been an accident...

:hotjump:

Happy New Year man! How are things with you these days?

Neil

 

[BenMech]

DNB is my favorite production of yours. In this era of modern metal, this one still feels very heavy but like an ALBUM.

Yeah, oddly none of the three albums NM did post-Auslander have been as strong IMO. The heaviness of DNB corresponds more to the storyline and rage against suicidal or cult insanity than to the way the instruments sounded, but Neil and NM really hit that point home good.

Then again, Kernon thinks I'm an arse kisser

 

[DEADHEART]

Dunno..it must have been an accident...

:hotjump:

Happy New Year man! How are things with you these days?

Neil

And the master hides well his secrets...

All is good on this end. Time to promote the crap out of our CD! In case you didn't see the reply over on our forum, just let me know where to send you a CD. We are writing the material for the next album, I just hope we can have it out by the end of the year, no more of this three years to release an album crap!!! Speaking of the next album, do you know anyone that can record and produce a metal band in Chicago?




Cheers,
JOHN

 

[NK]

Speaking of the next album, do you know anyone that can record and produce a metal band in Chicago?

Weren't we talking about this a while ago? I do know a couple of people actually...

:Spin:

Neil K.

P.S. - thanks for the offer of a CD. I'll email you.

 

[DEADHEART]

P.S. - thanks for the offer of a CD. I'll email you.[/quote]

sounds like a plan!

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

It's funny because I've heard several people say that PoE sounds way better than DNB. I've never understood this--to me, DNB is one of the best metal albums from writing all the way through production. I really agree with the above comments you guys posted...

Not to start comparisons but while I love Sneap's production on This Godless Endeavor I would love to have heard what Neil would have made it sound like, especially considering how a lot of the guitarwork is reminiscent of DNB.

 

[Ermz]

I totally agree that DNB has a better production sound than PoE. I haven't been into Nevermore's older material for long (only a few months) but DNB is quickly shaping up to be my favourite album of theirs musically, and also in a production sense.

Whilst I like the nice, clean-cut, modern sound that Andy gives to records, I have to say that all his work tends to sound a bit too similar for my liking. What I like about Neil's work with Nevermore is that it seems to bring out more character from the band themselves. The production sound on DNB totally suits the material, IMO.

Great job Neil, I'm just loving this more the more I listen to it.

 

[ArtisanBass]

DNB is my favorite Nevermore album. But I do like quite a bit PoE.

 

[NK]

Glad you're enjoying it guys. Thanks.

 

[silverwulf]

It's funny because I've heard several people say that PoE sounds way better than DNB. I've never understood this--to me, DNB is one of the best metal albums from writing all the way through production. I really agree with the above comments you guys posted...

That's interesting. While I wouldn't say that the production is necessarily better on either recording, I do personally like POE better overall as an album. I love the songs, and most of all, I love the denseness and the wall of sound created by Neil and the guys with how the guitars and bass mesh together. POE, along with Metallica's Black Album, has some of my favorite heavy guitar sounds on record to date.

 

[Ermz]

Although I have to say I've noticed the ocassional digital clip or two on DNB. One pretty noticeable one is at the start of 'I am the Dog'. But I guess that's what happens when the mastering engineer isn't careful enough.

 

[NK]

Although I have to say I've noticed the ocassional digital clip or two on DNB. One pretty noticeable one is at the start of 'I am the Dog'. But I guess that's what happens when the mastering engineer isn't careful enough.

Other people have talked about this about DNB. This was the only Nevermore album to use HDCD technology for the mastering, which allows a 24bit signal to reside in a 16bit disc, and when the 24 bit flags are detected by the HDCD chip in the CD/DVD player the program is then expanded to it's original fidelity. The only issue with this is that the disc ends up being a little hotter and so on some equipment clipping has been noticed. On newer gear with more headroom built in, apparently those artifacts are not noticeable. I've never heard them myself, but I know that others have commented on the album distorting their systems at times. It's a shame, and I hold myself accountable as it was my decision to use the HDCD process, which I have used many times for the mastering of my albums over the years (since 1998 in fact).

 

[silverwulf]

Wow, that's interesting! I never realized that. I've listened to DNB on a lot of different systems, and oddly enough, I did notice that one some systems, there appeared to be a little bit of digital clipping. Granted, it wasn't a lot or anything, and I didn't notice it on all systems, so I just assumed the issue was on my end. Had no idea it could have been caused by the mastering process.