Vocals over metal tracks.....

asi9

New member
Got a question, have any of you ever listened to Disturbed's album "The Sickness"? Or maybe the album by Boy Hits Car, or the new System Of a Down.

Anyway, all these albums have something in common; you can hear the vocals very, very well, but the other instruments don't sound weak. You can hear every word, but the vocals don't seem too loud. You still have really tight, big drums, and meaty guitar and bass tone.

Can anybody give me a few tips and tricks for putting vocals on top of heavily distorted guitar on heavy metal tracks that I may not be aware of? If you've ever heard our band, you'd know that we are a goofy metal band, so hearing the lyrics is a must, but the mix still has to be as beefy as any other metal album you hear (the albums I mentioned above seemed to have accomplished this).

I don't ever want to have to hear the comment, "What's he saying right there?" unless it's simply a problem with diction.
 
are you using compression? That will help keep the vocal up in the mix. Make sure you arent over processing the vocal with EQ or effects.

Other than that hard to say without hearing it.
 
Record the bass direct, scoop the lows (200-400hz) boost ultralows a bit and the HiMids (4-6k).
You have to have a heavy guitar tone to start with so a sm57 alone probably won't cut it so you need a conensor mic aswell.
Pan guitars hard left and right.
Cut the lows from the vocals and boost the frequencies you cut from the bass a bit.
Don't put dist guitars to the center, leave that for bass kick snare and vocals.
Compress heavily.
On mastering stage limit the shit out of the mix.

Keijo
 
I think a lot of this upfront vocal sound comes from simply having very dry vocals panned dead center. Meanwhile, guitars (which seem to "compete" most with vocals) have reverb/delay and off-center panning or at least a delay between left/right.
 
I read an interview with Terry Date once... (Pantera, Prong, Limp Bizquick). He said he used an SM-58 for vocals on most recordings. He then compresses the crap out of the singer's voice to give it presence.
 
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