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Mixing process – Part 8.

The 6th and final tune has been here for an hour or 2 now and I have listened closely to it both in headphones and in the stereo (as I always do) and wrote down corrections while doing so. Now Dan’s got the first, huge part of corrections to deal with which is something he will spend the remaining week or so doing. After that it’s time for me to check all the corrections so they have been made according to my wishes and if we find something else to deal with then we’ll deal with it after that session, but this is the major work that needs to be done.

I will also give Tobben the album (after these first corrections have been made) so he can check his drums for eventual wrongly triggered sections or whatever, those small things is something I usually don’t hear, but Tobben knows what he’s played so it’s best to let him have a go at those and make sure it all sounds alright. He’s picky about those things, haha… I hear no errors whatsoever with the drums and they sound absolutely killer. Not to mention the drumming of Golden T, which is fucken phenomenal.

Just amazing work by Swanö. What a production. Now the first big work is completed. Off to round 2.

Mixing process – Part 7.

The 5th track is now in and it sounds fucken great. Just fucken great. I think I might have mentioned this before, but I’m not sure Dan actually mixed a bass for this album. I think he imported a bulldozer and replaced the bass with that. Insanity. Already noticed a few things to change, but overall Dan’s done another amazing mix job. Holy shit, just one more tune to go before the 2nd round takes part and we still have like 3 weeks left of our deadline.

Update: Listened thru the tune for the second and third time, now real loud in headphones, and holy shit – Dan’s really put the twist on a lot of stuff you won’t notice without headphones, that’s for sure. Just like I have asked him to. Some scary shit on this album, that’s for damn sure. The first round of notes for corrections have been made. I am sure there will be some more additions to that list as I give it more listens, but Dan sure is getting the hold of this crap coz it’s not too many things I wanna change.

Now I’ll spin this 5th one during the day to see if I find anything else that needs correcting, and then I will wait for the final track.

Stay tuned for more Armageddon.

Mixing process – Part 6.

The 4th tune dropped in yesterday and after several listens (both in the regular stereo and thru my AKG‘s with real loud volume) this one is so far the one in the need of least corrections. Dan did another amazing job on all accounts and I can’t believe how fucken heavy and amazing it all sounds. Dan’s done exactly what I have told him to add these little small things as he see fit, and he’s not disappointing me whatsoever, haha… It’s insanely nice to work with someone who understands me so well, and what I am looking for, as Dan does.

This particular tune is so fucken heavy and depressing at times you’ll shit bricks. I have mentioned before this complete diabolical atmosphere that surrounds this album on so many levels. Trust me when I say that it’s very, very easy to hear what I am referring to when you listen to this song. And fucken Mike Wead is just raping that guitar on all accounts in the solo department, as always. I can’t believe I have these fantastic people helping me to make this all sound as I picture it, and more.

4 tunes down for the first check. 2 more to go before we launch ourselves into the fun job of working out the details, which is a process that will be repeated for at least a third time, but more like a 3rd and 4th, haha… Dan is off to play in Romania later today so we’ll continue the mixing process next week.

Mixing process – Part 5.

The third track is completed with the first mix and notes for changes have ofcourse been made. Dan’s created some really fucken awesome things in this one that just made me go “whoa!”. Dan knows he’s got free hands with this stuff, I want him to play around with different effects and whatnot, to enhance it even further. Most of the times he’s fucken spot on and I just sit here and smile. Sometimes I have to tell him he’s gone overboard though, haha… Not this time. Dan told em this tune was the hardest to mix yet but eventually he figured it all out as always.

Half of the album’s gone thru the first mix now. Incredible. The great thing is that we have planned to mix it thruout all the way which means I have plenty of time for corrections and whatnot. I didn’t think Dan would be this fast though, leaving me with more time than I thought I would have – meaning I will be able to make it even closer to absolute perfection.

Drummer Tobben talks about his recording experience for album 7 and joining TPH.

“To sum this whole TPH experience for me in one word: exciting!

When I first got the question from K to play drums on the new The Project Hate album I was somewhat divided. One part of me badly wanted to do something else that isn’t fast, brutal and straightforward death metal – which I’ve done for years in both Vomitory and Torture Division – but something that challenged me as a drummer and musician. The other part of me didn’t want to do it because I’m already playing with K and Jörgen in Torture Division. I didn’t want it become infected and perhaps make both bands lose a bit of their credibility. K didn’t get a straight answer from me right away, ’cause I needed some time to think about it. But after a while I thought “fuck it, I love playing with these guys and they obviously love playing with me, so let’s go for it!”. And I knew for sure that the TPH material would challenge the drummer in me.

Said and done, K provided me with the songs one by one as they got created. I have listened so many hours to these songs before I recorded them, that I almost puked on them at times. But the material is very strong and I have looked forward to record this album so much, it’s ridiculous. This has been said before, but I have to point out again that this will – hands down – be the darkest and heaviest TPH album to date. I still get chills down my spine when I hear some specific parts on this album! K has managed to create some exceptional music for this album as well as having both myself and the magnificent Ruby on board now, which definitely have brought new dimensions to the TPH sound.

The recording process for me went very smooth. Because of a lot of different things we had to re-schedule the recording one week earlier than planned. This was not a problem at all, I was well rehearsed. So, a few weeks ago I moved my dearly beloved Tama Starclassic drum kit and my beautiful Meinl cymbals from the Vomitory rehearsal place, some 10 minutes away, to Big Balls Productions new studio in Karlstad/Sweden. Just as with recording my drum tracks for Torture Division, Mats Lindström was a pure joy to work with. He’s very laid back but job-effective and a talented musician so there were never any problems with getting our part of this job done in the best possible way.

After setting up and sound checking the drums on Tuesday evening, we started to record on Wednesday evening. We aimed on nailing one song per night, which we did. On Saturday we did two though, and the last one on Sunday. I have never been this picky before on any recording – not even with my dear Vomitory. I wanted all parts to feel as perfect as I wanted them to, and listening back to it now, I’m very happy that I was that picky ’cause it’s safe to say that I’m very happy with my effort! Most of the “crucial” parts, that I was a little nervous about before entering the studio, were the ones that I nailed on the first take. Bam! Just like that! Very unlike me, haha! Funny enough, I had to struggle a little more with some of the “easy” parts. But it was totally worth all that extra work and time. As I’ve said so many times before to K, joining The Project Hate has made me a better drummer and I guess that’s the best compliment I can give him, me being the drummer in his band.

Now when I’ve heard some clips from the final mix I can just once again state that my drums and cymbals sound so fucken ace, and that makes me very happy as the drum-nerd I am. But also, now everything makes sense when I hear the beautiful voices of Ruby and Jörgen in the music (which I didn’t while recording the drums)! I am so looking forward to get the final product in my hands, put it in my stereo, put my headphones on, turn out the lights, sit back and just enjoy!”