Bannockburn - IRONWORK

[IRONWORK]

I loved Blitzzz's mix of this, and I planned only to check out what the raw tracks were like, but in the end I couldn't resist having a go at mixing it.

I wanted to dial back on the "exciting" overhyped high-end of most modern metal production styles, so for the guitar sound I mainly used the guitar DIs into Scuffham Amps S-Gear which I bought recently and really like.

But I must admit I find it much harder to mix and master extreme metal than any other music genre... Which is a shame because it's one of my favourite genres.

Here, on reflection, I think the snare is too loud, there's some boxy build-up (bass needs better eq-ing), and probably too much mix buss compression.
Comments/improvement suggestions/your tips for mixing/mastering [in particular] black metal would be very welcome!

[Blitzzz]

These are scuffham amps? Hmmm, I never liked the tones I was able to get out of them - especially out of the Wayfarer. But the guitars in your mix doesn't sound bad, to be honest. Regarding the overhyped high end: You do need a little bit more high end to be competitive these days. The overheads are too low and need to be louder & brighter. It's just what the fans expect. Snare and kick levels are okay (listening on my headphones in the office - real world check so to say), but the snare gets annoying in the second half of the song. It has to much "tack tack tack" for my taste ... but again, I´m a fan, and I´m expecting a certain sound (Slate Kick 10 and Snare 13 and 5150s)

Overall you need more clarity in the lows. It just sounds muddy down there. Is the bass causing all the mud or are the guitars also a part of the problem? It's also totally okay to not choose a clicky kick but I can't hear the kick in your mix. That's were good ref mixes come in handy. You don't have to push 2k or 3k on the kick like crazy; just enough that the kick is a little bit more present in the mix. I´m also guilty of not mixing very bright (because it's very hard to get it right without sounding harsh) but I've been working on that lately.

A tip: Tokyo Dawns Slick EQ M has a very nice feature: the meta filter. You have direct control over brightness, hardness or equal loudness with the big knob in the middle. You can't do drastic things (it's a mastering eq), but it can get you in the right ballpark without fiddling with 50 faders. You can also analyse your ref mixes and apply those eq curves to your mix which can be VERY helpful if you just don't know why the ref mix sounds so different compared with your mix. Even with this function, it doesn't make massive changes to your mix because - again - its a mastering eq. What it does: It shows you that your low end is too loud, or the high end needs a cut at 8k or so. I know that Ozone, Fab Filter and others also have that kind of eq analysing features but SlickEQ does that in a very pleasant, smooth way where Ozone can get very radical and harsh if you don't know what you are doing. And again, the meta filter is very, very helpful if you want to change the "colour" of a mix without destroying it completely.

check the vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU86QXUisuE