Fredrik Nordström, the architect of the legendary “Gothenbug Sound” joins us for a very special episode of the URM Podcast.
Fredrik Nordström has worked with heavy hitters like At the Gates, Bring Me The Horizon, Dimmu Borgir, In Flames, Arch Enemy, Opeth, Soilwork, and the list of who’s who top tier extreme metal bands just goes on and on and on. Of course we cover the making of some of those legendary records and his world known “Fredman technique” for miking guitars, but we also delve into topics such as how to give credits, who deserves those credits, the challenges of mixing metal with an orchestra, Fredrik’s multi-amp slaving technique, and much much more.
“What I’ve noticed when I do stuff is I never tell anybody that I’m trying new stuff here. I just do it. Because if you cannot try new stuff, then you cannot develop.” – Fredrik Nordström
ON THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT:
1:59 – What Fredrik thinks of the production landscape now versus a decade or two ago
6:46 – How the At the Gates album had a tight sound and how long it takes for Fredrik to work on albums
14:26 – How it’s not necessarily the tech you have that allows you to make a great record
23:26 – If Fredrik imagined that he was working on albums that would define the next decades of metal and how much time you need to dedicate to your craft
28:29 – Artists needing a leader who is outside of their group to show them the right way to do things
32:30 – How people are shifting away from digitizing everything and how not every little thing needs to be perfect for music to be great
37:54 – How long it took for Fredrik to do Death Kult Armageddon by Dimmu Borgir and what it is like working with orchestras
48:22 – How orchestral instruments can sound weird next to a metal band
50:56 – Whether or not Fredrik automated like crazy on the Death Kult Armageddon mix
52:04 – How good arrangements help when working on an album
58:05 – How there were two camps when it came to Nick Barker and the drum sounds on Death Kult Armageddon
1:03:59 – How Fredrik handled vocal effects for Dimmu Borgir
1:08:31 – If Fredrik knew how big Death Kult Armageddon would be
1:12:03 – How Fredrik started getting work with American bands and expanding out to work with companies
1:17:10 – Why starting a studio could be a bad investment
1:18:37 – Fredrik’s process for training the people who work with him and giving credit where credit is due
1:24:46 – Working with the Architects on Lost Forever // Lost Together and getting good guitar tones on various albums
1:28:42 – What Fredrik’s breakdown is for the cab slaving, multi-amp technique
1:33:40 – The popularity of the Fredman technique for mining guitars and how it’s impacted Fredrik
1:35:19 – What it was like working with Bring Me The Horizon
1:37:44 – Whether or not age matters in an audio environment and why you should keep trying new things in the studio
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