You've worked with a lot of major metal and rock bands such as Dimmu Borgir,
the Wildhearts, Napalm Death and Evile as a producer and sound engineer. Did
you decide to become a metal producer consciously or did it just sort of
happen
I never really chose the path, it chose me, I've always just done what pleases me, some metal, rock, electronic, acoustic, even pop music - whatever was around that pushed my buttons really. I'd done a fair bit of metal before working with Simon Efemey (producer of Paradise Lost, Crowbar, Pitchshifter etc...) but it was when I started working with Napalm that things really took off in the world of extreme music. I still produce a lot of other music, it keeps me fresh and excited, I can take ideas from one genre and bring them into another, adding different elements which maybe wouldn't normally appear in that style of music.
What was the first work you got in the industry?
Honestly, I cant remember what was the first, its all a bit of a blur. I've been making music, either performing, recording or live sound engineering since about 1984, after about 10 years of learning and doing it for free I was lucky enough to start getting paid for it, mostly for live engineering, but as the years went on i started to spend more and more time in the studio and was making a lot of demos for bands in the local scene. I had a bunch of engineering credits on albums but i think my first full production credit on a commercial release was for a psychedelic rock band called the Wishplants.
What do you love/hate about your job?
There's not much to hate really, the only thing I can ever moan about is not having any free time. It would be nice to have a rest occasionally and see friends and family but as much as i try to leave gaps in my calendar they seem to fill up rapidly and before I know it I'm working for a couple of months without a day off, but its a very fortunate position to be in really so I can't really complain about it.
Of course the job itself can be stressful at times but honestly what could be better than making music all day every day? There's a million worse jobs in the world I could be doing. I've never had a "proper job", never had a boss, never did anything I didn't want to do and I fully appreciate how great that is.
Which band's record are you most proud of being part of and working on?
That's hard to say, there's so many. All the Napalm Death albums, but in particular the last one "Time Waits for No Slave" - it's such an amazing piece of team work by all of us. And right now the Dimmu Borgir album just came out, it took a huge team of people to accomplish the final result but I think it's fantastic, I'm really proud to have been a part of that.
For Damnation Festival 2010 you've generously agreed to give one of the
lucky bands who've won the opening stage slots the opportunity to win a
chance to record with you. Just explain how it came about and how the
competition will work.
I've been internet buddies with one of the organisers Lisa Coverdale for a few years now, she's such a darlin', and she knows how much I support UK metal and I'm always on the look out for exciting new bands so she came up with the idea of me getting involved so we thrashed out the idea between us. There was a competition for a band to open each of the stages and from those 4 winners I get to choose one to record a track with.
The four bands up for the opportunity to work with yourself (Mutant, The
Construct, Colonel Blast, Diascorium) come from different genres within
metal, what's your favourite genre to work on as a producer?
I don't have a favorite, i just love great bands whatever genre it may be. A few years back i was mostly working on Death Metal but these days i seem to have moved into the Thrash and Black Metal territories a bit more, but the great thing is how everyone is mixing it all up - right now I'm working on the new Samael album which has elements of Black and Industrial Metal mixed in with a lot of other influences. And also I'm recording the new Detrimentum album which I can only describe as highly enthusiastic Black Death Speed Grind.
Have you had a chance to hear anything from the bands yet and do you have a
personal favourite?
Yeah I've been listening to all of the bands and it's a seriously tough decision, they're all really good in their own field, I would seriously love to record all of them. I haven't made my mind up yet, I might just do it by names in a hat to make it fair to everyone.
Have you had any dealings with Damnation before now or is this the first
time and just a one-off thing?
I've been to Damnation before as a guest of bands that were playing but this is the first time I've been directly involved. Is it a one off? Dunno really, I guess we'll see how it goes.
In your opinion what are the essential dos and don'ts if you're looking to
make it as a metal band?
Drink virgins blood, worship Satan!! Work your frickin' ass off, write good songs, and don't turn up to my studio till you've learned to play them properly!!!!! :-D
The lineup for this year's Damnation is complete. As well as those four up
and comers mentioned we've got Discharge, Anaal Nathrakh, Paradise Lost,
Dillinger Escape Plan...what do you reckon, going to be a good 'un?
The lineup is amazing this year - I'm gonna really struggle to catch all the bands I want to see, but it's gonna be a great day for sure. Really looking forward to meeting up with old friends and making new ones so if you see me at the bar come and have a banter.
Now I have to rush as I'm sat in the studio with Detrimentum waiting to record guitars!
