Overground vs. underground
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Photo by Ben Thomas |
In interviews, Fenriz often makes the distinction between "overground" and "underground" sound. (See, for example, here and here.) "Overground" is synonymous with "mainstream," i.e., clean, modern production. "Underground" is the raw, dirty sound on Nuclear War Now! and Hells Headbangers releases. Fenriz militantly prefers "underground." On Darkthrone's Myspace blog, he features a new (and sometimes old) band each week. Invariably, the bands sound like the '90s never happened. Like Darkthrone now, their albums usually sound like demos. Unlike Fenriz, I don't want metal to sound like punk — I want it to be massive and sometimes inhuman — but I appreciate what he is doing. He is championing truth in sound.
I wish metalheads were more cognizant of this. We all know that production is important; more than any other kind of rock, sound is essential to metal. But metalheads are too accepting of what labels feed them. The most popular bands usually have slick, hyper-compressed sound. So do up-and-coming bands on big labels. They come billed as the next new thing, but they sound just like the last band produced by Andy Sneap/Jason Suecof/Tue Madsen. I can't tell these bands apart anymore. Metal production has become such an assembly line that records have no sonic quirks anymore. The basslessness of ...And Justice for All; the bassfulness of Severed Survival; the angry, redlined sound of Roots — such idiosyncrasies don't happen now. Metal, as rock music taken to extremes, is supposed to be a bastion of rebellion. Instead, it has somehow become OK to sand off the edges and embrace homogeneity. I can't help but feel that the machines have won.
That said, overground sound is not per se bad. Sometimes it is appropriate for the material. Overground music should get overground sound. Underground music should get underground sound. A goth metal band with two guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, female singer, and male growler that no one cares about — that plastic surgery disaster needs more plastic surgery to fix it. Kreator's last two albums are much more precise and ornate than their primitive early records. Their slick production fits them.
Goatwhore - The All-Destroying
Animosity - Bombs Over Rome
However, one possibility remains under-explored: overground music getting underground sound. (Underground music getting overground sound is metal's curse right now.) Erik Rutan did a fantastic job giving Goatwhore's Carving Out the Eyes of God raw, meaty sound. Why couldn't he have given that sound to Cannibal Corpse's Evisceration Plague, which sounds sleek and clean? Granted, Cannibal Corpse are much more technical than Goatwhore, but there has to be some sort of happy medium. Kurt Ballou, who normally produces dirty, round-sounding hardcore punk, produced Animosity's Animal. Animosity were a technical band, yet Ballou made them sound natural, almost live. Then there's Zao, who actually cut The Fear Is What Keeps Us Here live in Steve Albini's studio. The sound is alive, urgent, and by far my favorite out of Zao's discography.
Here are my top ten favorite records this year in terms of sound. (Their music is quite good also.) Jack Endino recorded two of them, 3 Inches of Blood and Skeletonwitch. If you know these records, you can easily discern my taste. I like dry, robust, natural-sounding records.
3 Inches of Blood - Here Waits Thy Doom
Coffinworm - Great Bringer of Night
Complete Failure - Heal No Evil
Converge - Axe to Fall
Goatwhore - Carving Out the Eyes of God
Keelhaul - Triumphant Return to Obscurity
Skeletonwitch - Breathing the Fire
Slayer - World Painted Blood
Slough Feg - Ape Uprising!
Weird Owl - Ever the Silver Cord Be Loosed
What are your sonic preferences, and what records fulfill them?
27 Comments:
I like the organic approach like Zao's The Fear.... I think Slayer's new one sounds a little too dry for my taste. Maybe I haven't let it soak in enough.
I like Converge's approach, but when I turn it up LOUD (like we all do with metal), I can't hear the parts. It sounds like a jumbled mess. Maybe my stereo just sucks.
I guess I prefer the 'fat' production like The Red Chord's new one.
My favorite albums are the ones where I DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT THE PRODUCTION. Albums like The Blue Record and Wormrot's Abuse come to mind this year. The albums sound natural, without tinkering or bastardization of the sound. I'm not wondering about compression or redlining, and I'm not wondering if the band will sound completely different live.
In the end, I guess I prefer when an album sounds like the band is playing it live. If a band sounds the same live as they do in the studio, it's a win for me.
i'm a big fan of j robbins (government issue, jawbox, etc) and how he makes band sound. there's a natural clarity to records he produces without making anything sound synthetic.
enjoyed the g johns sound (the who) and how it's not about having 95 microphones on an instrument.
Isis finally got the best production of their career with "Wavering Radiant." So massive yet detailed. Clifford Meyer's Rhodes/B3 work really pops out properly for the first time ever.
Sometimes reading Fenriz is far more enjoyable than listening to Fenriz. I remember him saying that back in the 80's many bands had to go into their local studio and work with people who knew nothing about metal. Most got their own individual sound just by this.
ah, good point. i feel some bands sound better with dryer production, like dillinger escape plan's calculating infinity. Although the band says they were disappointed with the overall tonality, i think what makes that record special is the way they got certain parts to sound.
Sanford Parker & Kurt Ballou have become my fav. for up and coming bands, their selection in band is always something i'd enjoy listening to
but I'd love to hear David A. Sitek's approach to a metal record and who he'd select to work with.
other then that Sanford Parker has put out some of the best metal releases to me in these past years.
I think if Dave Sitek produced a Metal record, it would come out sounding like Peter Gabriel (The guy who recorded the new Baroness did a great job, however). Jack Endino is one of the best things happening in rock and roll. The bespectacled nerdy dude from Big Black ain't so bad, either.
I just got that Slayer record yesterday, and I think it sounds a bit over-compressed. It sounds just on the verge of distorting the whole time. Like my speakers are almost going to blow. Now, there are lots of variables here because I got the vinyl, but my needle was clean and my speakers are good. I'd like to hear it on CD to see if there's a difference. Side note - major labels need to include a download code in their vinyl, too. It's not just collectors buying their releases on vinyl.
There's nothing clean about metal; it's a dirty genre. When I first heard ...And Justice For All, I actually liked the dry sound, it fit the overall sense/theme of the record-- grey, stale, lifeless alienation--of people and their institutions (sorry Newsted). It's why I'll never listen to Rick Rubin garbage (Reign In Blood notwithstanding). Steve Albini's production on so many records in so many genres stands out because he adapts his style (dry snare, huge bass (and bass drum, etc) to the style of the band so well. From Zeni Geva (huge fan) to Weedeater to High On Fire, he just makes good sounding records. And he is fiercely underground. Plus he has the great Bob Weston as a sidekick and producer in his own right. I think overcompressed and neutered records are the result of overcompressed, neutered bands.
Fenriz would probably hate this, but I still think the first Darkthrone album was the best (though Transylvanian Hunger is a close second).
I second the call for appropriate production, rather than "always slick" or "always gutterpunk". Dirty noise because you think that's "How Black Metal Must Be" doesn't do it for me, though I like no-fi production when it's appropriate.
"Let a thousand flowers bloom", as Chairman Mao said. There's room for both Wold and Wolves in the Throne Room, so to speak. (There might even be room for recent Darkthrone albums, somewhere...)
albini has screwed up a few bands - the job he did on om's pilgrimage is not so hot, for example - but is overall so great at what he does that he's essentially an outlier.
the only thing i don't like about the coffinworm demo's sound is that the bass and kick are fighting too much for space, but the rest of it sounds great.
Jason - If you like dry sound, why do you hate Rick Rubin's work? His trademark is dry sound. Music aside, Blood Sugar Sex Magik sounds dry and amazing. Also, ...And Justice For All sounds extremely clean.
Robert - The new Slayer record is mastered too loudly, so it is over-compressed. While that removes all atmosphere from the record, it puts the super-dry mix in your face, and I like that.
Path - Over-loud mastering is probably also to blame for the Converge mush you mention. Ballou knows how to separate instruments.
ben - I'm looking forward to J. Robbins recording Coliseum next year.
Anonymous - I am unfamiliar with David Sitek's work. What are his production characteristics?
Interesting piece. I used to prefer dry,clean production (Demanufacture, Far Beyond Driven) for the 'crunch' factor; as I've got more into black metal, I enjoy muddier, filthier production...but I think that, for example, 'The Great Southern Trendkill' is so effective because of the tension between the dirty, chaotic riffage and the clarity of the sound. However,'Grind Madness at the BBC' presents early Napalm Death in a new light for me, as the production effectively ruins 'Scum' (lacks edge), whereas on the aforesaid compliation, the increased clarity makes it sound dangerous. Then again, the production on 'Nattens Madrigal', awful by any objective standard, really adds to the atmosphere. I suppose, then, it depends on genre.
I've had a few pints, so this may well have been a rather unfocused contribution. But I enjoy the blog.
Personally, I don't feel that production makes an album - it only has the potential to break it. Sure, the album might sound completely different in the hands of two producers with different aims, but either way it is the music that will determine how much enjoyment can be derived from it.
I don't think I really have a preference for any particular style. I am ok with whatever the artist or their producer chose to implement, provided they don't do something specific to screw it up. Kick drums that go 'tick' instead of 'thunk' are perhaps the one thing I won't stand for :)
Arsis - A Celebration of Guilt
Prominent Drums, the Bass drums are LOW pitched yet still have full attack at warp speed, and thick layered guitars.
I liked Billy Anderson's work in the 90s. My fave albums by Eyehategod, Neurosis, Brutal Truth all done by him. They bring the dirt but let you hear everything as well (and of course he can get some booming bass).
Colin Richardson and Terry Date are well known obviously, and they i think invented the "rip your face" off overslick production you hear on so many "overground" metal releases today. Only thing is, Carcass, Napalm Death, and even Pantera made better music than the bands today, so that's why it worked then but doesn't work now.
Alot of people also forget how much technology has come in the past 15 years alone. High end microphones and audio filtering have come a long way, but so has "media" that initial takes are recorded on. Preserving the intial sound recording during a studio session is relatively easy and better than even a few years ago. These factors are what are changing the sounds of albums today, because now you can hear the pick rubbing the string, in your face, as the guitar is played, even in a loud setting.
Whatever happened to Mark Dodson or Alex Perialas (or Scott Burns for that matter)?
Alex Perialas runs Pyramid Studios in Ithaca, NY. He recently did the new At War album, which has excellent production. In an interview, Glen Benton said that Scott Burns is a computer programmer now. I have no idea what Mark Dodson is up to.
i'd say the new infernal stronghold lp and split ep with gatt may be my favorite production jobs this year. it just sounds like the poorly equalized embodiment of chaos.
Invisible Oranges - check out Return to Cookie Mountain for some of David Sitek's trademark sound
even though many hate the production on Krallice's s/t, i feel Collin Marston did a great job on that particular album
Invisible Oranges - found this interview of Sitek for that particular album
http://remixmag.com/artists/remix_smoke/
I like the sharp sound of thrash when not applied to actual thrash bands. Also I appreciate clarity a lot more than most metalheads I've talked to, I like to be able to tell what the chords are and what harmonies the guitarists are playing.
Generally my tastes in metal production follow my tastes in metal: I prefer idiosyncratic sound that is memorable and purposeful than generic loud and servicable.
My biggest gripe (besides fried mastering) is when vocals are too high or there's nonexistent bass guitar without a good reason for it. Generally levels errors, then. The actual texture and tone of the instruments can be whatever the band feels suits them, but the levels need to be right.
Anon - Thanks for that Sitek interview. It was fascinating to read. I will definitely check out that record.
Krallice's first album has a strangely rounded sound, which I am on the fence about. It's robust enough, but I wish the overall attack were sharper.
not all Nuclear War Now material is very rough and dirty. The Nocturnal Graves album had a very dry and natrual tone to it, but sounds quite excellent. The instruments are well-seperated with nothing overly dominating in the mix and the guitars have a satisfying crunch to them without sounding too muddy or trebley
Totally agree about World Painted Blood sounding great - such an impressive record. Best Slayer in years, no question. You can stream the record on their Myspace page if you haven't heard it yet.
WPB's "moveon.org" lyrics are immediately appealing, yet infinitely rewarding. Def in my year's best.
Hey Cosmo! Greg Pratt here, I write for metal mags as well. Just wanted to say I'm super stoked to see this piece about production.
Sometimes I put on an album just to listen to how it sounds (a very non-metal example would be the second Weakerthans disc... god damn that sound rules). I fully agree with your thoughts here, big and raw, Kurt Ballou-ish production rules, little mistakes rock, etc. Drum sticks hitting snare rims... that stuff rules.
Too much modern production is just goofy sounding. Not sure why anyone ever thought death metal drums should sound like that.
Keep up the good work. Drop me a line at gpratt at islandnet dot com if you ever wanna talk shop.
Cheers,
Greg
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