12-06-2012, 08:23 AM
I like the overall feeling of this mix, a relaxed meatiness that really suits this kind of classic metal production. Love the Yngwie-esque chorus/reverb throw at 2:40 -- many a teenage flashback there! 
In general your balancing and effects work shows an intuitive grasp of this kind of style, so a lot of what you've done sounds very natural to me, and the snare in particular really sustains nicely. Good job!
As far as nit-picking goes, I reckon you could probably give the basic rhythm guitars more space in the mix, as they seem rather reticent and veiled at the moment -- especially if you switch to mono. This is particularly evident in the final choruses from 4:03 to the end, where the guitars are practically inaudible in mono, which rather undermines the overall mix dynamics.
Other than that, my main concern is probably the vocal tone, which feels a bit smothered from time to time. While in principle I'm happy to accept that you've made a creative decision to deliberately keep the vocals from coming too far forward, it sounds like you can't quite decide how forward you want them to be throughout the arrangement. So, for example, the section 1:27-1:50 has the vocals rather recessed, while the following section suddenly brings them a lot more upfront. It's not a huge thing to fix, though, as it's mostly just a question of automation. It could be your compression settings that are pumping the vocal levels, but I like the overall sound in that respect so I'd be loathe to tinker too much with what you've got already.
Finally, I wonder whether you might have over-egged the low octaves of the kick drum just a touch. Although it's pretty well controlled as low-end goes, it nonetheless feels like it bogs down the overall mix tonality rather too much for me. Hope some if that helps!
PS. Thanks for the kind words about the book!
In general your balancing and effects work shows an intuitive grasp of this kind of style, so a lot of what you've done sounds very natural to me, and the snare in particular really sustains nicely. Good job!As far as nit-picking goes, I reckon you could probably give the basic rhythm guitars more space in the mix, as they seem rather reticent and veiled at the moment -- especially if you switch to mono. This is particularly evident in the final choruses from 4:03 to the end, where the guitars are practically inaudible in mono, which rather undermines the overall mix dynamics.
Other than that, my main concern is probably the vocal tone, which feels a bit smothered from time to time. While in principle I'm happy to accept that you've made a creative decision to deliberately keep the vocals from coming too far forward, it sounds like you can't quite decide how forward you want them to be throughout the arrangement. So, for example, the section 1:27-1:50 has the vocals rather recessed, while the following section suddenly brings them a lot more upfront. It's not a huge thing to fix, though, as it's mostly just a question of automation. It could be your compression settings that are pumping the vocal levels, but I like the overall sound in that respect so I'd be loathe to tinker too much with what you've got already.
Finally, I wonder whether you might have over-egged the low octaves of the kick drum just a touch. Although it's pretty well controlled as low-end goes, it nonetheless feels like it bogs down the overall mix tonality rather too much for me. Hope some if that helps!
PS. Thanks for the kind words about the book!