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.

The Overture

Spencehammer

When I set out to write an orchestral introduction to the album, I had a clear idea of whom I wanted to rip-off.  Týr’s introduction to Ragnarok is a beautiful synthesis of the many melodic themes on that album.  Since Greg [the main songwriter of the rest of the album] had provided me with a wealth of melody with which to work, I had ample material for variation.

Often when I’m at work, or during a boring conversation, I’ll be listening to music in my head.  Sometimes, I’ll run across some gaps in my memory, so I’ll just make up an appropriate part to go in place of that which I’ve forgotten.  Other times, I’ll just add stuff in.  This is essentially what I did during the process of writing “Hymn To Sathanas” (which I always think of in my head as “Intro A Sathanas”); I took main thematic elements from each part of the album plus variations on what I thought those themes were (it gets loud at practice and I can’t always hear right), and wove them together into an epic, 4 minute overture.

So I have this sheet music, all composed and ready to go, but an orchestra of around 60 players is hard to throw together.  This is where Tim [Regan, Burning Shadows guitarist and recording engineer] and Kyle [Paradis, who mixed the album] step in to save the day.  Through exhaustive (insert technical something) and using (wires? Engineers?) they came up with appropriately epic patches for the Savage Philharmonic’s* debut performance.

As a drummer, I’ve always dreamed of making myself obsolete by recording samples of all my percussion equipment so that I can just synthesize it and get replaced by RVG’s drummer [RVG is a drummerless zombie metal band].  The sad truth is that this will never happen because 1. I’m far too lazy and 2. MIDI percussion sounds cheesy.  So, to avoid cheesing up “Hymn To Sathanas”, I decided that we needed live percussion (or at least live unpitched percussion…except for the gong.)  Gregory “Paukenfaust” Mueller stepped in and recorded a phenomenal bass drum part, as well as other section instruments.  I handled snare drum and, of course, triangle.  Kirk, we’ll get you on the next one.

Finally, once all the recording and MIDI selection and Kyle’s tireless mixing efforts were complete, we sat down to play “Hymn To Sathanas” directly into “A Thousand Lies”, as is intended…and realized that it was in the wrong key by a half-step.  So, Tim proudly donned the Hero’s Headphones, tweaked a bunch of stuff that I don’t understand and sent it off to Kyle for yet another mix.  Kyle equipped himself, I can only imagine, with the Mace of Mixing and beat the tune into submission.  So now, over a year after beginning recording sessions on this album, the music is at long last mixed and ready for mastering.  I can happily admit that the delay will be well worth it in the end.

*Savage Philharmonic name subject to change.  The Savage Philharmonic is now holding auditions for all positions.

Day 20

Recording: Additional Drums, Keyboards

Tim

Drums? Did you do that forever ago? Yes. Yes, we did. The drums at the very beginning of the album simply weren’t thunderous enough, it was decided. So, we added 4 more layers of booming toms. There are something like 20 tracks of drums at the beginning now. You’re welcome.

As for the keyboards, this is one of the most interesting parts of recording. We generally don’t have anything entirely specific in mind for keyboards when we get ready to record an album. Dave has an incredible ear for this, thanks to his conservatory training. We added keyboards in wherever they fit. We definitely don’t try to shoehorn them into passages they don’t belong.

The amount of keyboards as the album progresses is the opposite of the background vocals. There are more keyboards as time goes on. I like to think of it as our protagonist lifting the veil and crushing the powers that be as he gains power and purpose.

As we were wrapping up, we stumbled upon two fantastic patches that fit perfectly at the very end of the album. One was a tremolo orchestra patch. Clearly this was perfect for the final note of the album. As for the other patch, you’ll just have to listen for it, also at the end of Part III. I will divulge that it was found under the “orchestral percussion” patch.

Day 19

Recording: Background Vocals

Tim

This recording session was one of the easiest we have had. Background vocals are scattered here and there on the album, but Tom had already laid most of the groundwork during the lead vocal recording sessions. We doubled some of Tom’s harmonies with Greg (pictured above), we doubled some more of Tom’s part with Tom, and of course I did my patented say-one-word-gruffly-so-I-can-get-a-vocal-credit-on-the-album move. Listen for it in Part II.

As the album progresses, the amount of diverse background vocals decreases. This was unintentional, but in terms of the story, it makes perfect sense, almost as if we planned it. (As the album progresses, the protagonist realizes the plight of the many and takes it upon himself to topple the Hierarchy.) The variation of the background vocals becomes less as you listen, but the complexity of Tom’s harmonies becomes much greater. It’s really a neat effect.

Day 17

Recording: Greg’s backing vocals

Greg

$2.49 Swedish meatballs and lingonberry sauce at Ikea? Best recording session so far.

Tim

Tom had fallen ill with the plague, so we laid down some backing vocals for Part 1 so as not to waste a day. Of course backing vocals never take as long as lead vocals, so we had plenty of time to journey to our local Ikea and feast upon Swedish meatballs of victory!

Day 18

Recording: Lead Vocals

Tim

Tom, having recently conquered the plague, returned to the vocal chamber with a vengeance! We started with Part 3, which has a vast “clean” part in it. These would require the best tone, so we laid down the vocals for this before the hours of epic intensity to come later had taken their toll on Tom’s tone. Part 3 also involves a large Choir of Tom later in the song. To his disbelief I insisted on recording many layered tracks of vocals in this part. We’re not on the level of Blind Guardian’s A Night at the Opera, but it is in reach. The end of the song and album involves a large crescendo starting with just Tom and a clean guitar, and ending in all out armies of sonic destruction. We spent a while on this part, as nailing this part would be important to tie the entire disc together.

After a refreshing lunch at a local establishment, we wrapped the up the day churning out Part 2. Paradoxically, Part 2 is simultaneously the longest song on the album and the one with the least vocals. The vocal parts are rather straightforward in a Primal Fear sort of way. There is quite a bit of variation stylistically in this song, as well, but not on the level of Part 3.

Day 15

Recording: Lead Vocals

Tim

Greg and I have locked Tom in the Vocal Chamber. He will only emerge upon completion of the vocals for the whole album. Although it sounds to me like he’s forgotten the lyrics. Nowhere in any of the songs are the phrases “Help!”, “Get me outta here!”, or “You bastards!”

Tom

I told Tim to leave the goddamn armor, dragon innards, and various other spoils of plunder EXACTLY where they were, but does anybody listen to the vocalists? Of course not. So fine, have it your way, cur! I will stand here hold a C10,000 (it exists, look it up) until your chamber hinges shatter, like so many fragile posers! I demand satisfaction! Doubt me? I’ll do it all day! We won’t get a damn thing done! I’ve got water!

…It was at this point it dawned on me, we had neglected to install a bathroom in the Vocal Chamber (of Steel!) Forward thinking bastards….

Day 16

Recording: Lead Vocals

Tim

Isolation in the vocal recording chamber has begun to take effect. Tom has summoned all sorts of amazing harmonies that can only be conjured when one has spent days in a sensory deprivation-type booth.

Let us pause the Studio Diary here to see how the guitars went.

Day 13

Recording: Lead Guitars

Greg

We had initially attempted to start recording leads and solos a week earlier with the same equipment used for the rhythm tracks, albeit with some minor adjustments to amp settings and the addition of an EQ pedal.  When the results proved unsatisfactory,  I decided to spend the week rooting through various amps, effects and guitars until we nailed down the right tone.  Ultimately, I managed to achieve this rather simply by swapping the ESP Viper for my neck-thru Mockingbird.  And so we were now able to resume our magical journey of…um, going on a journey that, like, involved magical things.  I mean, I guess it could have also been an incredible journey, except that most cats and dogs don’t really know how to play metal.  So perhaps not.

We spent about six hours completing all lead melodies and solos for the first two tracks and the cover.  To get a better idea of how things were coming along, we played the tracks for a random sampling of people to get their opinions.  I’d like to clarify that these interviews were in no way staged or edited for content:

Tom Davy:  Awesome!

Dave Spencer: Breathtaking!

Greg’s mom: Turn that down and take out the trash.

Grocery store clerk: Sir, will you be paying by cash or credit?

Some poser:  Mmmm hmmph mmphm hhmphm mmhmhp!

Sorry about that last guy.  He couldn’t speak very clearly because we’d just melted his face with our awesomeness.  But he seemed pretty happy for a guy who’d just been rushed to the ICU.

Day 14

Recording: Lead Guitars

Greg

SO MANY GUITARS.  HARMONY BONER EPICNESS OMGWTFBBQ.

Day 11

Recording: More Rhythm Guitars

Tim

Attempting to match the awesomeness of Greg’s rhythm parts myself is just like trying to slay a dragon with naught but fishhooks. Greg’s sound was perfect, his playing was perfect, and now I had to do the same.

The first task: finding an equally face-melting (yet complimentary) tone as Greg’s. I shall not reveal our extremely mysterious method used to achieve this, but mind you, it was a success.

The next task: tracking with the same exacting precision as Greg. As in all metal albums, a lot of the rhythm guitars are simply doubled. In some bands (such as Iced Earth), one person simply plays both rhythm guitar tracks. This is not so in Burning Shadows; Greg and I each play our guitar tracks separately. Throughout the album there are many rhythm parts where Greg and I part ways and play different guitar lines, as well. This is where the tone of the two rhythm guitars becomes important. My sound must fit well alongside Greg’s, but it must be its own entity when the guitars do their own thing.

With a great deal of effort and caffeine, my rhythm parts went by without much despair. In fact, I’m amazed I got my hand to move that fast in “Part 2”.

Dragons slain and fishhooks bloodied, I returned to my chamber victorious that night.

Day 12

Recording: Clean Guitars

Tim

It’s Presidents’ Day, which means I have the day off. For our fans outside of the US, Presidents’ Day was originally a day to honor George Washington’s (and later, Abraham Lincoln’s) birthday. Now it is celebrated as a day off of work so you can take advantage of sales at furniture stores. It’s also a good day to record some clean guitars.

Good clean guitar tones are somewhat elusive. We have discussed the face-melting tones of the rhythm guitars, but usually the face-meltingest amps don’t necessarily provide the best sounds for clean guitars. Live, I usually leave all my clean guitar sounds to my Boss GT-10, essentially taking my amp’s preamp out of the equation. In the studio, I decided to go down a similar — but not identical — path. However, my GT-10 is in the shop (too much metal for one floorboard), so I made use of my GT-6, which is slightly better than half as good!

To spread out and thicken the sound a bit, it’s important to use stereo effects. In this case, I used light flange and light chorus. Now comes the tricky part: playing the parts flawlessly in one take. If you have to do a punch in, it might end up sounding weird because you might be punching in at a different part of the flange cycle. Many many takes and lots of cussing later, the clean parts for the whole album were done, and I was off to buy a new credenza.

Day 9

Recording: Greg’s Rhythm Guitars

Greg

The evening was spent setting up mics and amps until that sound was attained.  You know, that sound.  All rigs have one; few successfully find it, and we weren’t expecting to before the night was over.  I mean seriously, no one ever finds the G-Spot on the first try.  That actually reminds me of an embarrassing story I’ll tell you about later if there’s time.

Now, the thing to keep in mind here is that we were looking for a tone that would melt faces.  The guitars on the first album left a few sunburnt, and everyone else was too tan for that, so we really had to step up our game.

Day 10

Recording: Greg’s Rhythm Guitars
Warm-up: Assorted power chords and minor scales

Greg

We continued to tweak the guitar tones until we felt that your face could be adequately melted.  And we knew that would take a lot of work because, frankly, we really don’t like you.  Please buy our album!

Anyway, we knew the recording process would be a little different from the last album due in part to the nature of the riffs.  With most of our previous recordings, we would simply divide the guitar recording process into two parts: rhythm and solos, each with their own separate tones.  These songs contain a number of more layered riffs and melodies over top of the basic riffs, and the longer instrumental sections frequently blur the lines between these melodies and what we’d usually think of as traditional solos.  Therefore, some experimentation with additional sounds for each part will likely be necessary.

By the evening we had successfully laid down all basic rhythm tracks for the album and the cover tune.  Hold on to your face while you still can, chump.