Great breakdown. Zakk really is at the top of the game at the moment for modern metalcore. Guy dominates every genre he works in, absolutely ridiculous talent & ears.
He also mixes water parks which is more alternative, but he mixes them so incredibly well. Maybe won’t like the music but the mixing is god tier intricate
I noticed that there was also a very cool panning part with the guitars on the breakdown. It gave some variation to the whole breakdown section. This was a very useful video. Thanks, Jordan for making these!
Anyone commenting some variation of "I think this sounds bad" is missing the point: the A-list rock band who hired this engineer to mix their album thinks it sounds good. So good that they hired him to mix some of their live performances as well. Mixing is not about satisfying the ego and sonic preferences of the engineer: it's about the artist's preferences, and serving their songs.
THIS. If the mix engineer who did this keeps getting hired- it means they’re serving the artists and giving them what they want. Period, and that’s the job! The point is to not completely reimagine a piece of music with “your” sound. Ask to do a remix if that’s what you’re after. Also: Ironically people keep saying the music here is over compressed and it’s really not compared to modern pop music. You can look at the wave forms and see the crest factor is actually pretty dynamic section to section. Some sections are significantly quieter than other others- and that’s dynamics. I’m not a modern metal fan so I have no dog in this fight, but I’m a professional musician and producer so I do know what I hope for in a mix engineer
Absolutely. If the point is to get clients and make a living, serving the artist how they want to be served is the shortest, most lucrative path. And that level of versatility and flexibility by itself is impressive.
I appreciate Michael Brauer’s approach, which seems to summarize a lot of what you’re discussing here. The brain can only focus on three elements at once. So what are the three elements that are most important in each section? Mix with that sort of approach, and the song will be a journey and come to life.
Thank u for all your content! My mixes got way better since i found your Channel. Its hard to find good good content on UA-cam. It took me a while to realize that there was a lot of nonsense in relation to mixing videos.
Its clear to my ears that in the "horns" song (@5:00) the biggest trick that gives space to the vocals is that the highest line of the horn is removed - or at least some of the high line notes. So its not that the volume is turned down that makes the difference but the fact that there is space made in the orchestration that makes the necessary space for the lead vox to be heard in the mix and create that "lower volume" effect that you're talking about. Apart from that your point about dynamic mixes is very correct.
The problem is that most of latest releases mixed by Zakk sound kinda the same because of the same drum samples at least, same production tricks. And those records sound more like one big record divided into parts
Crazy haha! The mix really stood out to me in Little Wonder off this album! Turns out Zakk did another album I've been into recently too by nothing, nowhere! Nuts! He's got his hands in a good amount of work. Super talented dude.
Awesome. I dig architects. Honestly i have been using your cheat sheet and not being precious with movements, my mixes have been so much better. Love what you do bro😎
The bass guitar is 80% of that " listen how heavy and pushed in front the guitars are on this drop " [ 9:26 ] The bass and kick along with another instrument [ like a block being hit, not like a real instrument ] has been added to each thump in that drop section. Mono tells all.
I get some vibes from Mnemic's first two albums, and also Soilwork's Figure Number Five. I'd love to hear your thoughts on albums from the pre-over-processed era.
Great video breakdown! But I’ve gotta say, I found the album a real letdown - most songs sound similar, there’s little memorable moments / choruses and it all kinda just passes you by, for lack of a better term. Here in the UK, this album was marketed & heralded as the saviour of rock but it just didn’t do anything for me.
Cool little fun fact but during the intro of Animals not only are there normal left and right rhythm guitars but there is left and right quad track of just a amp head without the cab impulse, giving it that fuzzy synth sound!
Modern metal production seems to have reached a point of no return. Every element has to be as loud, nasty, pumped up, overprocessed, cranked up, majestic, massive, colossal, as it can possibly get, in order to stand up against all the rest elements, and supposedly, cut through the Mix. Sad evolution. Makes production way more important than the song itself.
It depends on what it's considered "modern". Also, I think it's a trend that's happening. Kind of like putting WAAAY too much reverb on the snare drums in the 80s and using a Roland Juno synth. Personally, I don't like these mixes that much either. I like having things in their place, having room to breathe, thinking "how would this feel if I was in the room hearing". This seems way too cramped next to your ears, there's no air
It's genre-dependant. This is modern metal, but there's also stoner rock/metal for example and different punk stuff wich needs less work and raw sound. There's a place for every sound/production. Just make great music and people will listen.
I agree the guitars sound massive on this album and it’s well mixed. IMO however it’s a bit overproduced…everything is super quantized to the point of sounding fake (especially the drums). Were live drums actually recorded for this album or were they programmed? I honestly can’t tell, and that’s a bad thing lol. I like music made by humans.
Totally agree man. Though I think because the drum part is so simple and not human sounding in the first place it makes it harder for the brain to distinguish between something real or programmed. I do think the machine like sounding drums in this track help drive it though, but each to their own! :)
@@callumvernon7053 yeah I can see how it works for the industrial vibe they’re going for, it just doesn’t do it for me. Simple is fine, but if he were to say play a bit behind the beat during those breakdowns they would sound even more massive.
Dan does track real drums, and really fucking well, he honestly is a human metronome. However when Nolly mixed Holy Hell (the Architects album before this one), Nolly said that they choose to either sample replace or agument the drums as a stylistic choice to suit the album. Same thing hendrik udd said about All our gods and Lost together albums as he did a nail the mix tutorial on an architects song a while back.
Sounds too compressed to me. Hardly any difference in tone of snare and kick. Judging by the waveform looks like hitting the limiter way too hard as well. Just my opinion. Not knocking it, it’s just not the kind of mix I like.
Daily listener to metal/prog streaming while driving around like you stated listen to tracks for what sounds good and what does not - Plini tracks jump out at me - that's what I'm shooting for in my recording's - researching who recorded him and any insight I can get (homework) as you said. Found his master engineer who did some youtube video's - I think he created or had a part in the flatline software which I used also on my last recordings/mastering - Plini does much of his tracking himself and his bass player does alot also (research)
I suspect one of the reasons that the mixer has been able to get the mix so great with the guitars fairly loud is that Architects tend to use a lot of downtuned guitars. I think Josh Middleton plays LTD Baritone, rather than his usual ESP. With the guitar down and out of the vocal range, you can push it up and not muddy the song. And the bass will probably be slung even lower. It might be that there's more effort keeping the kick and bass out of each other way, maybe using multiband processing to duck one of the other so they don't clash. Plus it's quite a dead, punchy kick.
This channel is invaluable especially for the DYI artists and best of all, it's for heavy music. I know I am new to the channel, but if I may suggest something... Could you please go a bit through how the punchy breakdowns Hollow Prophet or Lorna Shore are mixed? Thank you for the video and all the effort you are putting here for us!
As always very good content brother, more recent mixes are full-on to say the least. I think the stage was set by Devin Townsend. Personally I am a little tired of the over sincere EMO metal vocals, t’s reminiscent of a teenage boy whining at his parents. These mixes bring to mind the Monty Python sketch Mr Creosote, one more wafer thin mint 😂 how much more can be squeezed in before BANG!? THANK YOU for such wonderful tutorials STAY SAFE 🙏🏻 love from London 🇬🇧 UK
songwriting aside, the dynamic EQ on the breakdown is effective yes but also disproportionately patched in. stuff like this is why I don't take this movement seriously.
Zac mixes are amazing!! He crushed it on the New Bring Me The Horizon EP, Machine Gun Kelly, etc.. I found about him this year with the Architects album too..
That first mix was slammed to the rim with over-compression. The beat on the first song is somehow resembling Gojira's arrangements. Also I think this decades old trend of getting the kick to sound as if your head is inside the kick drum is overly exaggeration on the kick... yeah, even for metal is quite clichè nowadays.
The mixing/mastering of the past 5+ years hurts my ears. I don't get why this super sharp, compressed hissing style has become a thing. Is it because everyone listens on mobile device speakers?
Yeah. It's definitely audiocultural; the so-called "Loudness Wars" is over, and thus mixing/mastering engineers have started to overly boost either the midrange or air.
I think it stems from the unconscious idea that all genres of music should be mixed the same way, at least in terms of equalization curves and compression, but that’s not always true. A pop or hip hop mix with boosted “air” frequencies is probably going to mean the hi-hat is shinier and vocals sound crisper. On an aggressive distorted guitar driven song? There’s a lot of nastiness that lives up there, boosting it might be a big mistake, and over-limiting (loudness) tends to introduce even more nastiness up there. The top and bottom of the spectrum start to noticeably artifact first. It’s just a recipe for harshness with already distorted music IMO. The problem of loudness and genres transcends artistry though to be honest. I’m an alternative/pop rock producer and when I send demos to managers/labels there is an expectation that they be as loud as the mastered songs they’ll compare it against. Which is a TERRIBLE thing for mixing and mastering in general. I refused to do it for a while and managers were boosting my rough mixes with the Audacity “loudness” parameter before sending them to the suits, destroying my mixes. So I had to relent to keep working :/
The sound quality is good, but I'm not a big fan of brickwalled mixes. Looking at that waveform at the beginning... no dynamics, no room to breath. I understand in the age of tiny low quality earbuds and weak smart phone amplifiers volume is important but most (not all) recent metal and prog-metal final mixes are too slammed / too brickwalled for my taste... Your videos are great btw, I've been learning a lot with them 👍
funny how he mentions he likes that the guitars are a bit forward. Most instructors say that guitars are typically too loud because most metal musicians are guitarists mixing their own music haha
I noticed that too. I don't like how the professionals are going back to amateur mixing. My first terrible mixes sounded like this. Guitars loud and totally smashed, just a white noise, and drums buried in the mix.
The automations are very good. The amount of triggering and the mastering make it sound like plastic to me, all I can see is quantized samples. Still, many people like it this way, so good for them.
Let’s put it this way, if a modern metal song by a big band drops, there’s about a 60% chance that it’s done by Zakk. So assume it’s Zakk every time and you’ll be right most of the time lol
The drums in the breakdown in Impermanence get a big room and parallel compression volume boost. You can hear the china has a massive ambience. Overall, this is such a great album
great mix is faith no more angel dust, focus on the classics . If the song is not that great there is not much to say to the mix. Hard is to mix a great song because there you have more responsibility
I honestly thought the vocals weren't up front enough in the chorus of the second song you played. The chorus was kind of cheesy and poppy to begin with, but I think he should have leaned into that and had louder vocals.
I have been recording music for almost forty years now and started off as a tape op. I have seen both recording and performance change over the years to be almost in complete contrast to how I started. Let me tell you that recording all analogue to tape to a finished product was a lot of the time as much as a happy accident and in the lap of the gods as it was professionalism. That being said, I never got to the end of any project thinking it ever sounded anything other than how it was meant to sound and right. I feel we have come so far in the tools we use these days to record but end product has a synthetic element to it that I just cant seem to shake off no matter where I work. This Architects record you use as an example has it in spades to my ears. No disrespect but its achingly generic music to my ears so I wouldn't listen to it for more than it takes to hear that annoying synthetic thing in modern recording. I definitely think there is a third element that comes from digital on digital on digital on digital. Funnily I don't notice it as much on recorded live music but music loses so much life when its recorded to click and in segments. My opinion is track with as little digital equipment as possible and as live as possible and play the whole song as a take with the whole band. Mix the record like its a real breathing thing, not a digital file to be manipulated and don't over process the sounds. We did that in the eighties and it was horrible then too. If you record a record right it should need hardly any processing. Also young people are obsessed with compression and its choking your records. If you need a compressor so badly you messed up the recording, learn to mic properly and play your instruments better, it will make your records last for forty years unlike the forty minutes they do now. I enjoy your work more than most as you have the stripped down approach and tell the truth. Thanks you.
On the volume jump in Impermanence, would it be possible that, instead of doing the volume automation (assuming it was a volume automation) in the mix, would it be possible that it couldve been done during the mastering phase? To me (a noob mixer), if the volume automations were done within the mix, it could be possible that the master buss compressor (assuming there is one) would be slammed a bit harder and more pumping would occur as a result of that. That's my thought on it though, I could be very wrong. As always, great videos man! Cheers from the Philippines!
I don't think it's done in mastering, as the vocals keep the same level as before. I wouldn't worry about the mastering compressor. As long as it is a good one, it will handle a bit of volume push and precisely if there's a bit more pumping, it will also help achieve this aggressive character :)
The mix was too compressed for me, the highs are too open (part wise), the vocals are butchered. The stereo field is quite narrow for todays standard and the upper mids are a bit muddy, probably due to the compression. It's a good mix, don't get me wrong - but it has many weaknesses that others don't have.
Idk but this mix hurts my ears. Listening to 10 seconds is okay but I don’t think I could listen to an hour of this. Sure, it sounds big and punchy but holy fuck is it brick walled.
Modern metal production is awful add to it quantizing and fixing every little human error renders records to be lifeless + live performances of those over produced auto-corrected and heavily compressed bands are awful experience... well i was born in the 70´s and witnessed the golden age of rock/metal, hence i cant really enjoy this modern formula rubish.
Can't agree. Way too compressed, he trapped into the loudness war. Drums sound artificial, which I am convinced, they are. Not real drums, some samples.
Great breakdown.
Zakk really is at the top of the game at the moment for modern metalcore.
Guy dominates every genre he works in, absolutely ridiculous talent & ears.
He also mixes water parks which is more alternative, but he mixes them so incredibly well. Maybe won’t like the music but the mixing is god tier intricate
Huge Architects fan, so it’s awesome to see this breakdown.
The comments are a good reminder as to how subjective production can be lol
I noticed that there was also a very cool panning part with the guitars on the breakdown. It gave some variation to the whole breakdown section. This was a very useful video. Thanks, Jordan for making these!
Anyone commenting some variation of "I think this sounds bad" is missing the point: the A-list rock band who hired this engineer to mix their album thinks it sounds good.
So good that they hired him to mix some of their live performances as well.
Mixing is not about satisfying the ego and sonic preferences of the engineer: it's about the artist's preferences, and serving their songs.
+1000, couldn't be more accurate here honestly. I don't like the mix either, but it's not my music, so, not my call.
THIS. If the mix engineer who did this keeps getting hired- it means they’re serving the artists and giving them what they want. Period, and that’s the job! The point is to not completely reimagine a piece of music with “your” sound. Ask to do a remix if that’s what you’re after. Also: Ironically people keep saying the music here is over compressed and it’s really not compared to modern pop music. You can look at the wave forms and see the crest factor is actually pretty dynamic section to section. Some sections are significantly quieter than other others- and that’s dynamics. I’m not a modern metal fan so I have no dog in this fight, but I’m a professional musician and producer so I do know what I hope for in a mix engineer
Absolutely. If the point is to get clients and make a living, serving the artist how they want to be served is the shortest, most lucrative path. And that level of versatility and flexibility by itself is impressive.
It's brickwalled, squashed, and has basically zero dynamic. This is the epitome of the loudness war.
But hey, I guess some like this sound
@@elguitarTom agreed !
Ooph those low mids are so omnipresent, yet never quite excessive - I love a fully smashed low-mid dynamic range more and more every day
I keep clicking on your vids and I know why, they're really good! This mix is stellar, those horns are sick and this song rocks!!! Subbed, bell rung!!
I appreciate Michael Brauer’s approach, which seems to summarize a lot of what you’re discussing here. The brain can only focus on three elements at once. So what are the three elements that are most important in each section? Mix with that sort of approach, and the song will be a journey and come to life.
Thank u for all your content! My mixes got way better since i found your Channel. Its hard to find good good content on UA-cam. It took me a while to realize that there was a lot of nonsense in relation to mixing videos.
Do a breakdown of why the Loathe record sounds so groundbreaking
George lever is an incredible producer / mixing engineer!
Seconded!
I agree ^
George Lever duh.
Please please do more vid like this🙏🙏 I was always wondering how the great engineer hears the mix
Its clear to my ears that in the "horns" song (@5:00) the biggest trick that gives space to the vocals is that the highest line of the horn is removed - or at least some of the high line notes. So its not that the volume is turned down that makes the difference but the fact that there is space made in the orchestration that makes the necessary space for the lead vox to be heard in the mix and create that "lower volume" effect that you're talking about. Apart from that your point about dynamic mixes is very correct.
The problem is that most of latest releases mixed by Zakk sound kinda the same because of the same drum samples at least, same production tricks. And those records sound more like one big record divided into parts
Crazy haha! The mix really stood out to me in Little Wonder off this album! Turns out Zakk did another album I've been into recently too by nothing, nowhere! Nuts! He's got his hands in a good amount of work. Super talented dude.
Beside the mix, the topics you mention here gave me a LOT of info for my next moves on a mix. Thanks Jordan!
Awesome. I dig architects. Honestly i have been using your cheat sheet and not being precious with movements, my mixes have been so much better. Love what you do bro😎
The bass guitar is 80% of that " listen how heavy and pushed in front the guitars are on this drop " [ 9:26 ] The bass and kick along with another instrument [ like a block being hit, not like a real instrument ] has been added to each thump in that drop section. Mono tells all.
Someone asked me the other day what I thought the best mix of the year was.. this was my answer. Glad I wasn't the only one who thought so.
The mixes he puts out are seriously top notch
Loving the content and the way you present it! You rock dude!
I'd love to see more videos like this!
You should check out George Lever mixes!
I get some vibes from Mnemic's first two albums, and also Soilwork's Figure Number Five. I'd love to hear your thoughts on albums from the pre-over-processed era.
Back this hard. This is the way
Well thanks for explaining why I gravitated to listening to Animals so much this year!
Great video breakdown! But I’ve gotta say, I found the album a real letdown - most songs sound similar, there’s little memorable moments / choruses and it all kinda just passes you by, for lack of a better term. Here in the UK, this album was marketed & heralded as the saviour of rock but it just didn’t do anything for me.
Cool little fun fact but during the intro of Animals not only are there normal left and right rhythm guitars but there is left and right quad track of just a amp head without the cab impulse, giving it that fuzzy synth sound!
Dude I tried everything but that to try and replicate that 😂
@@blankspace1242 wanted to try that out too!
Another delicious episode , thanks for this ..
Modern metal production seems to have reached a point of no return. Every element has to be as loud, nasty, pumped up, overprocessed, cranked up, majestic, massive, colossal, as it can possibly get, in order to stand up against all the rest elements, and supposedly, cut through the Mix. Sad evolution. Makes production way more important than the song itself.
It depends on what it's considered "modern". Also, I think it's a trend that's happening. Kind of like putting WAAAY too much reverb on the snare drums in the 80s and using a Roland Juno synth. Personally, I don't like these mixes that much either. I like having things in their place, having room to breathe, thinking "how would this feel if I was in the room hearing". This seems way too cramped next to your ears, there's no air
It's genre-dependant. This is modern metal, but there's also stoner rock/metal for example and different punk stuff wich needs less work and raw sound. There's a place for every sound/production. Just make great music and people will listen.
@@pedrosilvaproductions Take back what you said. There is nothing wrong with verb'd snares and junos.
“Technology before me is good. Technology after me is bad”
For me, Kurt Ballou is mixing heavy music in a way that sounds soooo much better than this.
I agree the guitars sound massive on this album and it’s well mixed. IMO however it’s a bit overproduced…everything is super quantized to the point of sounding fake (especially the drums). Were live drums actually recorded for this album or were they programmed? I honestly can’t tell, and that’s a bad thing lol. I like music made by humans.
Totally agree man. Though I think because the drum part is so simple and not human sounding in the first place it makes it harder for the brain to distinguish between something real or programmed. I do think the machine like sounding drums in this track help drive it though, but each to their own! :)
@@callumvernon7053 yeah I can see how it works for the industrial vibe they’re going for, it just doesn’t do it for me. Simple is fine, but if he were to say play a bit behind the beat during those breakdowns they would sound even more massive.
Programmed drum can't even make the sound up to this level.
@@marcmusic8301 they absolutely could.
Dan does track real drums, and really fucking well, he honestly is a human metronome. However when Nolly mixed Holy Hell (the Architects album before this one), Nolly said that they choose to either sample replace or agument the drums as a stylistic choice to suit the album. Same thing hendrik udd said about All our gods and Lost together albums as he did a nail the mix tutorial on an architects song a while back.
Sounds too compressed to me. Hardly any difference in tone of snare and kick. Judging by the waveform looks like hitting the limiter way too hard as well. Just my opinion. Not knocking it, it’s just not the kind of mix I like.
It works for the music. A more organic/dynamic style wouldn’t fit nearly as well.
In metalcore genre ,over Processing is the key
love it!
Great video. Love this band this new album is 🔥 top notch production
Daily listener to metal/prog streaming while driving around like you stated listen to tracks for what sounds good and what does not - Plini tracks jump out at me - that's what I'm shooting for in my recording's - researching who recorded him and any insight I can get (homework) as you said. Found his master engineer who did some youtube video's - I think he created or had a part in the flatline software which I used also on my last recordings/mastering - Plini does much of his tracking himself and his bass player does alot also (research)
Impulse Voices is easily one of the best sounding albums I've heard in ages.
I suspect one of the reasons that the mixer has been able to get the mix so great with the guitars fairly loud is that Architects tend to use a lot of downtuned guitars. I think Josh Middleton plays LTD Baritone, rather than his usual ESP. With the guitar down and out of the vocal range, you can push it up and not muddy the song. And the bass will probably be slung even lower. It might be that there's more effort keeping the kick and bass out of each other way, maybe using multiband processing to duck one of the other so they don't clash. Plus it's quite a dead, punchy kick.
It can be a really good mix, but if the music is boring most people wouldn't enjoy
total haha
Big fan of Structures' new song which was also mixed by Zakk.
This channel is invaluable especially for the DYI artists and best of all, it's for heavy music.
I know I am new to the channel, but if I may suggest something... Could you please go a bit through how the punchy breakdowns Hollow Prophet or Lorna Shore are mixed?
Thank you for the video and all the effort you are putting here for us!
agree with the drum level tho...yes ...AND the simplicity is good
As always very good content brother, more recent mixes are full-on to say the least. I think the stage was set by Devin Townsend. Personally I am a little tired of the over sincere EMO metal vocals, t’s reminiscent of a teenage boy whining at his parents. These mixes bring to mind the Monty Python sketch Mr Creosote, one more wafer thin mint 😂 how much more can be squeezed in before BANG!? THANK YOU for such wonderful tutorials STAY SAFE 🙏🏻 love from London 🇬🇧 UK
Worst. Vocals. Ever.
Another great video! Thank you!
I’m curious what Software you use for screencapture ?
Check out 2020 release by Lamb of God. Super aggressive and clean mix. Super powerful. Josh Wilbur mixer, producer...
songwriting aside, the dynamic EQ on the breakdown is effective yes but also disproportionately patched in. stuff like this is why I don't take this movement seriously.
Zac mixes are amazing!! He crushed it on the New Bring Me The Horizon EP, Machine Gun Kelly, etc.. I found about him this year with the Architects album too..
Golden vid, thanks! :D
That first mix was slammed to the rim with over-compression. The beat on the first song is somehow resembling Gojira's arrangements.
Also I think this decades old trend of getting the kick to sound as if your head is inside the kick drum is overly exaggeration on the kick... yeah, even for metal is quite clichè nowadays.
It does sound good, almost too good.
Anyone know what that mixing board is?
The mixing/mastering of the past 5+ years hurts my ears. I don't get why this super sharp, compressed hissing style has become a thing. Is it because everyone listens on mobile device speakers?
Yeah. It's definitely audiocultural; the so-called "Loudness Wars" is over, and thus mixing/mastering engineers have started to overly boost either the midrange or air.
I think it stems from the unconscious idea that all genres of music should be mixed the same way, at least in terms of equalization curves and compression, but that’s not always true. A pop or hip hop mix with boosted “air” frequencies is probably going to mean the hi-hat is shinier and vocals sound crisper. On an aggressive distorted guitar driven song? There’s a lot of nastiness that lives up there, boosting it might be a big mistake, and over-limiting (loudness) tends to introduce even more nastiness up there. The top and bottom of the spectrum start to noticeably artifact first. It’s just a recipe for harshness with already distorted music IMO. The problem of loudness and genres transcends artistry though to be honest. I’m an alternative/pop rock producer and when I send demos to managers/labels there is an expectation that they be as loud as the mastered songs they’ll compare it against. Which is a TERRIBLE thing for mixing and mastering in general. I refused to do it for a while and managers were boosting my rough mixes with the Audacity “loudness” parameter before sending them to the suits, destroying my mixes. So I had to relent to keep working :/
The question is what is mixers decision and what of the artist?
how do you think: does Zakk use sidechain to duck guitars?
1:50 , if that isn't a straight rip off of the breakdown from domination (pantera), I don't know what is.
Oh come on. It's a basic rthythm that's been used millions of times.
@@mrcoatsworth429 yeah probably, my bad dude.
@@yeeshanmalik8353 No problem, man. Oh, and The Mirror by Dream Theater stars the same way;)
@@mrcoatsworth429 Yes it is a similar groove. But man that songs slaps way harder than architects ever will
Do a breakdown for LANDMVRKS Lost in the Waves. I absolutely love the mix on that album.
The sound quality is good, but I'm not a big fan of brickwalled mixes. Looking at that waveform at the beginning... no dynamics, no room to breath. I understand in the age of tiny low quality earbuds and weak smart phone amplifiers volume is important but most (not all) recent metal and prog-metal final mixes are too slammed / too brickwalled for my taste... Your videos are great btw, I've been learning a lot with them 👍
I love your vids but since i make future bass im worried if anything would apply to me
funny how he mentions he likes that the guitars are a bit forward. Most instructors say that guitars are typically too loud because most metal musicians are guitarists mixing their own music haha
I noticed that too. I don't like how the professionals are going back to amateur mixing. My first terrible mixes sounded like this. Guitars loud and totally smashed, just a white noise, and drums buried in the mix.
The automations are very good.
The amount of triggering and the mastering make it sound like plastic to me, all I can see is quantized samples.
Still, many people like it this way, so good for them.
Great video 👌
So you got the UF8?
might be a dumb question but, how do you tell what engineer is mixing who these days? i can never seem to find it.
Let’s put it this way, if a modern metal song by a big band drops, there’s about a 60% chance that it’s done by Zakk. So assume it’s Zakk every time and you’ll be right most of the time lol
how much gain reduction the bus comp does on those mixes in your opinion ?
Might be going as far as 8dB
and yet he absolutely butchered the vocals on this album which kills the whole mix for me.
Is this song by Rammstein ?
Architects
BMTH do set the style of this modern metal sound
There’s a snare?????
The drums in the breakdown in Impermanence get a big room and parallel compression volume boost. You can hear the china has a massive ambience. Overall, this is such a great album
Has Gregory Scott From Kush said, balance is boring. Hahaha.
Mix sounds huge,just not my type of metal. Awesome mix though. Alot to be learned from this. Thank you Jordan.
Unfortunately, hyper-compression in the master and overproduction ruined it. Sorry.
I guess it's subjective. I don't really like how it sounds.
great mix is faith no more angel dust, focus on the classics . If the song is not that great there is not much to say to the mix. Hard is to mix a great song because there you have more responsibility
I honestly thought the vocals weren't up front enough in the chorus of the second song you played. The chorus was kind of cheesy and poppy to begin with, but I think he should have leaned into that and had louder vocals.
the whole thing felt muddy to me.
No clarity on those choruses.
I have been recording music for almost forty years now and started off as a tape op. I have seen both recording and performance change over the years to be almost in complete contrast to how I started. Let me tell you that recording all analogue to tape to a finished product was a lot of the time as much as a happy accident and in the lap of the gods as it was professionalism.
That being said, I never got to the end of any project thinking it ever sounded anything other than how it was meant to sound and right. I feel we have come so far in the tools we use these days to record but end product has a synthetic element to it that I just cant seem to shake off no matter where I work. This Architects record you use as an example has it in spades to my ears. No disrespect but its achingly generic music to my ears so I wouldn't listen to it for more than it takes to hear that annoying synthetic thing in modern recording. I definitely think there is a third element that comes from digital on digital on digital on digital. Funnily I don't notice it as much on recorded live music but music loses so much life when its recorded to click and in segments.
My opinion is track with as little digital equipment as possible and as live as possible and play the whole song as a take with the whole band. Mix the record like its a real breathing thing, not a digital file to be manipulated and don't over process the sounds. We did that in the eighties and it was horrible then too. If you record a record right it should need hardly any processing. Also young people are obsessed with compression and its choking your records. If you need a compressor so badly you messed up the recording, learn to mic properly and play your instruments better, it will make your records last for forty years unlike the forty minutes they do now.
I enjoy your work more than most as you have the stripped down approach and tell the truth. Thanks you.
Well that's only your definition of what 'good music' has to be.
@@bw2937 It's just my experience and opinion, make of it what you will, or not.
Well said
This mix sounds very generic. The sound of those drums is cringe. I do love the screams in that last track though :-)
On the volume jump in Impermanence, would it be possible that, instead of doing the volume automation (assuming it was a volume automation) in the mix, would it be possible that it couldve been done during the mastering phase? To me (a noob mixer), if the volume automations were done within the mix, it could be possible that the master buss compressor (assuming there is one) would be slammed a bit harder and more pumping would occur as a result of that. That's my thought on it though, I could be very wrong.
As always, great videos man! Cheers from the Philippines!
I don't think it's done in mastering, as the vocals keep the same level as before. I wouldn't worry about the mastering compressor. As long as it is a good one, it will handle a bit of volume push and precisely if there's a bit more pumping, it will also help achieve this aggressive character :)
@@marcpeiron_studio Ooooooo fair point. Makes more sense now! Thanks for the insight!
He mixes on a laptop and EARBUDS !! This is an insult to the whole audio community XD XD forget faders and bass traps etc. just skills.
The mix was too compressed for me, the highs are too open (part wise), the vocals are butchered. The stereo field is quite narrow for todays standard and the upper mids are a bit muddy, probably due to the compression. It's a good mix, don't get me wrong - but it has many weaknesses that others don't have.
But it has a tone of vibe, which ultimately made the album connect well with their audience and become a huge success
That kick has so much weight. I'm jelly
Nope, everything here is so oversaturated to the point of general fuzziness. Tiring listening.
is your background a chromakey? Just wondering. Good video btw
I personally think it sounds amazing but that second section you showed us i feel like the drums are crazy quiet. However I am listening on my phone
i hate the reverb ...too much on drums and too much on guitar ....urrhgh ..awful
Damn. I didn't know your preference really matter at all. Lol
@@marcmusic8301 well, if his doesn't, yours doesn't either.
@@mrcoatsworth429 i have never commented to any band such as, 'dude, turn down the fader of your guitar. because your tone sucks'.
I haven't listened to music for pleasure in 15 years...it's always been critical listening since then...it kinda sucks at times lol
In the topic of "best mix of the year", IF I had to choose something, I'd go with the new track from Jinjer
I can barely hear the drums ,buried by everything else. This is not a very clear mix at all. Not for me.
WOW, thats sound... generic
Idk but this mix hurts my ears. Listening to 10 seconds is okay but I don’t think I could listen to an hour of this. Sure, it sounds big and punchy but holy fuck is it brick walled.
true it sounds very good but way t0o good for my taste, wouldn't listen to this
did you get paid to say these things??
haha you can listen but try to do it, you cant apply it if you cant topdown mix like a boss
Modern metal production is awful add to it quantizing and fixing every little human error renders records to be lifeless + live performances of those over produced auto-corrected and heavily compressed bands are awful experience... well i was born in the 70´s and witnessed the golden age of rock/metal, hence i cant really enjoy this modern formula rubish.
Not sarcasm, just interest. Can you show well-mixed songs in your opinion? TOP 5 :)
Is it bad if i find this stuff super generic?
Can't agree. Way too compressed, he trapped into the loudness war. Drums sound artificial, which I am convinced, they are. Not real drums, some samples.
u guys need to listen to real SONGS!
Sounds like an AI made song, super fake
Too much talking, I lost hearing the mix