Still Flying - blackcapaudio mix (Update: two years later)

[Blackcapaudio]

Hey everyone, first time posting here!
Here's my version of the track, found this one kind of tricky even though it's a genre I used to love back in the day - didn't realise it was so difficult to mix. 

Nothing crazy going on here, although I'm not limiting as hard as perhaps I should be looking around here at other mixes? Just some eq, compression and a little delay and reverb here and there. It sound ok but I feel there's mistakes that I just don't know are there so any help is really appreciated!

Also will confirm upfront that yes I realised the guitars and vox were off grid and put them in their correct spot 

Happy mixing everyone!

[Roy]

You didn't upload the mix.

[Blackcapaudio]

Weird, I'll reattach down here now - maybe as I went back and edited the spelling after posting took it off perhaps

UPDATE: fixed! Sorry about that, my bad!

[Blackcapaudio]

TWO YEARS LATER....

I thought I would take another swing at this one as it was my first post on this forum a long time ago and found it a real struggle back then. To be fair it is still a struggle and probably the most challenging multitrack I've come across in here so beginners beware!

Anyways, here is attempt number 2. I feel happier with this one as I feel I understand the mixing style of the genre a little more in terms of controlling the dynamics of the instruments etc. I always found the snare the hardest thing on this mix because it both needs punch and also a tail and also be tight and also have space around it. So difficult to get right and gel with the rest of the band so I semi-tucked it into the wall of guitars a lot but feel it's more of the style in this one.

As a lot of people have said the vocal is a tricky beast to tackle in this track - I wanted it to be as upfront as possible without being grating and also had some fun trying out various fx and crafting more and less space around it depending on the section. There are some sections that need a little sweetening with automation near the end to catch some words etc. that I haven't gone back and fixed yet but the base of it is there. I also tried to create a gang vocal effect for (what feels like) the call and response lines in the chorus, it didn't work fantastically but you get the idea with this.

Tonally I pushed the whole mix kind of bright to really push the energy of the track and also put a lot of bottom end in with the bass that *may* be overkill but it's fun sounding. Breakdown section I had some fun with fx as well to try and create contrast as the style is so drum sample heavy that when it first breaks down it just sounded strange. So the solution seemed to be just totally change the vibe of the mix there for contrast and then start bringing it back in.

I've definitely gone for a more "wall of sound" approach than others here who seem to have a better handle on creating tight, interlocking drums and guitars. I tend to lean more "early-00's" in my approach sometimes but that's just a personal preference and shows what I grew up listening to. I was coming of age in the loudness wars and it shows itself sometimes  

Anyways here it is for comparison to my OG post all those years ago. Thanks!

[Blackcapaudio]

I'm willing to admit this mix is still getting the better of me after all this time....