ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION: Scott Burns

[JayKeeley]

To say that Scott Burns has produced many important albums over the years is an understatement, and yet I feel like he might not be acknowledged enough for his efforts. Indeed, conducting a search for him on Google doesn't really return much, other than occasional spot mentions for the individual albums he might have had involvement with.

Royal Carnage have had several discussions in the past about creating a feature for him (and our favourite albums he produced) but we just never got round to it yet (along with other features). In the meantime, I thought we could at least dedicate a thread to the guy's impact on the scene, at least in the realm of death metal.

Some of my personal faves:

Sepultura - Beneath the Remains & Arise
Pestilence - Testimony of the Ancients
Death - Individual Thought Patterns
Obituary - Cause of Death
Cancer - Death Shall Arise

I can't quite put my finger on it, but the stuff like Sepultura, Pestilence, and Obituary has a creepy ambience to it. It's weird, but it's one of those few times where the album cover art matches the music contained within perfectly.

Of course, other honorable mentions can go to his efforts with Malevolent Creation, Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, Atheist, Cynic, and of course, Deicide.

For a discography, check: http://shopping.yahoo.com/p:Scott%20Burns:1927046356age=overview and click on 'discography'.

Thoughts?

 

[J.]

I've never been a "production" stickler. Nordstrom, Skogsberg, Burns, Tagtgren, it just doesn't matter to me.

 

[IOfTheStorm]

Of course the best album he ever produced is
Psychotic Waltz - Mosquito
But his sound is not as "warm" as i want

 

[jimbobhickville]

Arise had an awesome production, as did Individual Thought Patterns and Cause of Death. I like the stark sound. Warm sounds are for prog rock or psychadelic stuff, not for death or thrash metal.

Best producer I've ever heard, though, is Arjen Lucassen. The sound on his Ayreon discs is bloody fantastic (how does he get that amazing bass tone on Flight of the Migrator?).

 

[lurch70]

Burns was good for his time. He was fortunate enough to be working with great bands. He had a knack for creating a very "live" sound. Some would describe it muddy, I guess ... but it worked well for the genre and the time.

What has he done lately? Is he still involved in metal?

 

[JayKeeley]

What has he done lately? Is he still involved in metal?

As the death metal craze died out in the 90's, his knack for getting that 'Florida' sound started to fade. I think he worked recently with Gordian Knot.

 

[Henrik Main]

He produced many great bands, sure, but to call him a "master with the knobs" is the definition of exaggeration. Suffocation's "Pierced From Within" has incredibly shit production, the early Cannibal Corpse records sound very thin, same goes for early Malevolent Creation and Deicide. "Tomb Of The Mutilated" is still one of my favourite albums, but that's due to the actual songs and not the production.