Mixing
Gather, Darkness!, was mixed by Kyle Paradis of New Alliance Audio Productions in Cambridge, MA. We sat down with him (500 miles away) to discuss the work he did on the album and about music in general.
What is your background/training in recording?
I’ve been an audio engineer from quite some time now. I received my Bachelor of Science Degree in Audio and Media Technology in December of 2010 from the New England Institute of Art in Brookline, MA. I have been a freelance engineer based out of New Alliance Audio Productions in Cambridge, MA since 2010. In addition to engineering, I have been a bass player for the last 12 years. I’m currently the bass player for a rock band based in Beverly, called I Was Awake.
Metal: great music or the greatest music?
Funny you should ask. In my humble opinion, metal is both the best, and worst genre of music in the world. Metal has given us some truly groundbreaking bands like Metallica, Iron Maiden, and Blind Guardian; but it’s also given us a far greater number of terrible bands like Attack Attack!
What was the biggest challenge working with a band long-distance?
Communication. When working with a band 500 miles away, you have to work via email. When working with a band in the studio, I can get talk with the band face to face, and make any decisions and changes in real time, with no guess work involved, as the band is there to let me know what sounds right. Working via email is a much more drawn out process. The mixing process would consist of me uploading mixes online, and then waiting on feedback
before I would make any changes, some of which involve a lot of guesswork and my own interpretation of what the band wants (example: lead guitar louder…do i turn it up 3db? 6? 9?) A mix decision that normally takes 5 minutes can take a couple of days, depending on how quickly the band gets back to and I make the change and throw it up online. On the other hand, working via email offers a level of comfort I am not usually afforded. I can make decisions in a room by myself, without any distractions that sometimes come with having the whole band in the studio. It’s a double edged sword.
What was the easiest aspect of mixing Gather, Darkness!?
The easiest part was definitely the overall performance aspect. Whenever I am tasked to mix an album I did not track*, I always worry about the performances I am to work with. Luckily, the performances I received were extremely tight, in tune, and in key, which isn’t always the case. I didn’t have to spend time aligning drum tracks, tuning vocals, fixing guitar edits, etc; and I was able to start mixing right off the bat.
*Gather, Darkness! was tracked in Burning Shadows’ studio, The Halls of Glory.
Which song overall was the most challenging and why?
“Breaking the Sanctuary” was challenging, primarily because of the outro. In the outro, you have the drums playing a lot of fills, bass, 2 rhythm guitars, 4 lead guitars playing complimentary lines which all need to be heard in some way, plus a choir, strings, and orchestra tracks. Being the grand finale of the album, this needed to be the biggest sounding section of the album, but I needed everything to be heard without obscuring everything else. It took a while, but I feel I got everything to punch through as intended.
If some other band out there wants their album to melt faces off, too, how can they get started working with you?
The best way to get in touch with me is through email: kylestevenparadis{at}gmail.com.