Dave Otero and Archspire guitarist Dean Lamb discuss the production of the band’s album Relentless Mutation.

We also talk pre-production, the importance of work scheduling, and the state of technicality in modern heavy music.

I use my experience from every project I work on, but I look at it through the lens of the project I’m working on at that time, and what they want, and what their fans want, and what’s best going to represent them. - Dave Otero

ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:

6:00 How Archspire and Dave Otero connected, musicianship as more than just a gimmick

15:00 Archspire’s extensive pre-production, and actively working on other aspects of the record during downtime

18:00 Having working hours so that the recording schedule is predictable and as stress-free as possible while working under time constraints

26:00 “Music prison” - cabin fever in the studio and how bands deal with it

35:00 Writing together in a room as a technical death metal band and having real respect for other band members’ opinions, how writing in Guitar Pro can negatively affect songs

54:00 The evolution of technicality in guitar playing, other instruments

1:09:00 How far to go when suggesting ideas as a producer, potentially pushing bands out of their comfort zone

1:15:00 Managing artist preferences against what a producer knows will work

1:20:00 Tracking guitars with a low-gain Podfarm tone in preparation for reamps

1:34:00 Dean on the process of playing fast and recognizing that you likely use completely different muscle groups when you play a riff at different speeds

1:50:00 Orchestral influences and neo-classical metal versus a more authentic orchestral compositional style

2:00:00 Recording real gunshots for Archspire - ‘Callous Will Animate Our Souls’, approaching drum edits for technical metal

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