Soulspell Metal Opera (My Latest Mix)

Some big names on that album, tell me Matt how did you score that gig of mixing it?
 
That's awesome man, sounds great. I'm curious as a fellow power metal vocalist, what was it like hearing the Ripper's raw tracks? How hard is he pushing that falsetto? I loved his work in Iced Earth and was just always curious about how much power he throws in it, because it always seems like he's wailing REALLY fucking hard lol.
 
Hey thanks everyone!

That's awesome man, sounds great. I'm curious as a fellow power metal vocalist, what was it like hearing the Ripper's raw tracks? How hard is he pushing that falsetto? I loved his work in Iced Earth and was just always curious about how much power he throws in it, because it always seems like he's wailing REALLY fucking hard lol.

I know what you mean, and I too was very curious to hear his raw tracks. And I remember exactly what my initial thoughts were: "Well that's disappointing." :heh: When I first turned them up (soloed) and had a listen, I thought they were super-sloppy and all over the place: pitch-wise, timing-wise, everything. It seemed like something he had phoned in just for the paycheck. But then, the oddest thing--once I had the entire song imported and turned them up in the context of the music, it sounded absolutely killer. It was very bizarre, and I don't remember having that happen to that degree before. Just shows it's all about the big picture, and obviously he killed it.

One more thing: Ripper doubletracks everything, so there were two tracks of every line.
 
Reamped with a 6505 into a Mesa cab (Traditional cab if I remember correctly). Miked with a 57 (and maybe a 421...it's been awhile so I can't remember for sure). The original tones they had (Laney and Mesa blend) were too muddy for me to really get to work. I think I tried a few amps, and the 6505 seemed to work best for this particular project.
 
Very cool Matt!

Did you use all the double tracked vocals or did you chop them up for one single track?

By the way, your latest album rocks!
 
I think I used them all, with one significantly lower (maybe automating it up in the choruses). It's hard to remember what went on because there were so. many. tracks. It all kinda runs together at this point. :) There was a lot of fixing and pre-printing stuff through my outboard to get it consistent and in a mixable state. Lots of premixing and bouncing down group vocals, choirs, orchestration and the like. Very complicated and very challenging!

Thanks Rich, I appreciate it!
 
Is anyone else dying to hear some raw uprocessed Ripper owens vocal tracks? Hey Matt, you could always PM me one, I can keep a secret!
 
These genres really make for intense mixing jobs, eh Matt? Not surprised you found yourself pre-mixing down to stems a lot. I've done the same thing almost religiously when dealing with music this complex. Saves both CPU power and sanity!
 
Thanks guys!

Ermz: yeah, it's really the only way. Especially when you're talking about choirs and so forth. I had to go back quite a few times and re-bounce if certain harmonies or orchestral instruments needed to be louder in the end, but sometimes that kind of thing is unavoidable as tracks pile up and everything affects the perception of everything else.

Thanks again for the kind words and support, guys...I really appreciate it.