What I'm interested the most with this new record more than anything are the lyrics, melodies and vocals. They've always begun with the intrumental part first and add the vocals later so it would be interesting to see how it is this time around. I'm always hyped for a new LP record but, I think I may be more hyped than ever.
Yeah, I have to say that was probably one of the biggest disappointments. I remember that a few of us were really excited when he was named as the engineer, as Manny Marroquin is actually quite a fantastic mix engineer and normally would've been a great choice for an LP record. But then we got LIVING THINGS and the album was a muddy indecipherable mess. We couldn't even really hear the strings that they made a big deal about on I'll Be Gone. The issue is where to put the blame. The mixing, the mastering, or the band. Brian Gardner's master of Dr. Dre's '2001' is credited as one of the first hip-hop records to enter the Loudness War. But then I realized that he's mastered pretty much EVERY Linkin Park album (with the exception of THP) and LT is the only album that sounds rough the entire way through. So it was probably a bad mix by Manny, and Brian did the best he could do with the crap mix. It should be stated though that both Meteora and parts of ATS suffer from clipping issues at parts (and he contributed to both those records), so who knows who is really to blame here. The mix on LIVING THINGS could've been dog shit, or the mastering could've introduced some clipping after the fact. Or it could've been a depressing combination of the two and a failure all the way around. Who knows. Sadly, quite a few of LP's albums have had brickwalling issues. Really hoping the band (and label) understands that winning the 'Loudness War' is not an achievement, and that they focus more on dynamics than 'loud' sounding music this time around. A really good and well written album, could seriously be destroyed by a shitty mix or master. They spent 66 weeks on this record...they should spend a decent amount of time making sure the final product is flawless.
I wish i could hear all those mixing/mastering details. I simply can't understand what you guys are talking about. I have to train my hearing, i guess.
A bad mixing can kill a really good live song. If you want an example, compare the first live play of Coldplay's Up&Up and then the studio version.
Probably one of the reasons it remains a favourite of mine. It's super crisp, especially compared to the first two records.
It's also just crisp because there's far less layers to it than most of LP's discography. It's also why WFTE sounds like it was mixed so well. It wasn't muddied by too many super different sounds
Agreed. It may be sparse in the beginning but about midway through, once the bass and drums come in...the song gets fairly busy.
They're a bit chaotic yes, but they're all (for the most part) very well mixed and mastered. The only track I feel could've spent a little more time getting mixed was The Catalyst. It's a fantastic song, but an absolute muddy mess at parts.
Agreed. Though in my opinion that's where the mixing of the song weakens the most. And I think the song generally is very well mixed.
Weren't there like a YT video where some mixing engineers and music producers discussed the craft of Waiting For The End? I love the mixing and production on ATS overall. Especially WFTE is just a masterpiece IMO.
If this is out there I'd love to see it. Hearing other people talk about mixing interests me because I have to do it myself for all of my own music.
If you're talking about this, it'll cost you. There's also this article but it talks about the bridge more than the final section.
There was an episode of Pensado's Place on Youtube where they talk specifically about mixing of Waiting For The End, but I can't find it anymore...