Mixing Modern Prog Metal: Deconstructing Intervals’ “Lock And Key”

Instrumental prog-metal is a whole different beast to mix. When you remove vocals, every single instrument steps into the spotlight. The guitars become the lead singers, the bass has to carry melody and groove, and the drums need to provide a rock-solid, dynamic foundation. It’s a challenge that pushes your mixing skills to the limit.

We’re diving deep into the multi-track session for “Lock And Key” by the masters of modern instrumental prog, Intervals. With their producer Sam Giana at the helm for this month’s Nail The Mix, this session is a treasure trove of pristine recordings and a perfect playground for crafting a massive, intricate mix. Let's break down what’s inside and how you can approach mixing this beast.

The Raw Ingredients: A Look Inside the Session

Opening up the DAW for this track, the first thing you notice is how clean and organized everything is. This isn’t some chaotic mess; it’s a professional session ready for you to get to work. You’ve got the drums up top, a touch of percussion, a killer bass track, a mountain of guitars, and some synths to round it all out.

A Breath of Fresh Air: Real, Punchy Drums

In an era of hyper-realistic samples, it’s incredibly refreshing to see a full set of beautifully recorded and edited live drums. The feel and energy of a real performance are hard to replicate, and this session has it in spades. The transients are crisp, the shells have body, and everything is perfectly aligned, giving you a powerful, clean foundation to build upon. This is where your mix starts. Getting the kick and snare to punch through while keeping the cymbals smooth and detailed will be your first big task. A great drum sound starts with balancing the shells and overheads, followed by some thoughtful compression strategies to add a bit more smack and sustain.

The Unsung Hero: That Groovy Bass

Through all the dazzling guitar work and complex rhythms in “Lock And Key,” the bass is the undisputed anchor. It’s not just holding down the root notes; it’s weaving its own melodic lines and locking in with the drums to create a seriously groovy pocket.

For a mix like this, the bass needs to be both solid and audible. You want it to fill out the low end without turning into mud, and you need its melodic contributions to be heard clearly on smaller speakers. This often involves splitting the bass signal into 'low' and 'grit' tracks, or using a saturator to generate harmonics that help it cut through.

The Guitar Playground: Printed Solos vs. Raw Rhythm DIs

Here’s where it gets really interesting. Intervals are known for their meticulous guitar tones, and this session gives you a unique choice. The lead and solo guitars are delivered as fully-processed, printed tracks. They’ve already done the hard work of crafting these tones, so you can drop them in and enjoy the soaring, expressive sound they achieved during tracking.

However, the rhythm guitars are mostly provided as raw DI (Direct Input) signals. This is a gift for any mixing engineer. It means you have total freedom to shape the core of the song's sound yourself. Do you…

1. Try to perfectly match the album’s rhythm tone?
2. Create a completely new tone that serves your vision for the mix?

The choice is yours, and it’s the perfect opportunity to flex your tone-crafting muscles.

Crafting Your Own Intervals-Style Guitar Tones

With those clean rhythm DIs, your amp sim collection is your best friend. Modern prog calls for a tone that is tight, articulate, and saturated, but not overly fizzy or compressed.

Starting with the DIs

Fire up your favorite modeler. A plugin suite like the Neural DSP Archetypes is perfect for this, letting you mix and match amp heads, cabs, and pedals. To get in the Intervals ballpark, look for an amp model based on a modern high-gain classic. Think versatile, clear, and punchy. The real magic, though, often comes from the impulse response (IR). Experiment with different IRs, like those from Bogren Digital, to find a speaker/mic combination that provides the right low-end thump and mid-range character without harshness in the top end.

Surgical Shaping with EQ

Once you have a raw tone you love, it’s time to make it sit in the mix. This is where smart EQ moves come into play. Don’t just scoop out all the mids—that’s an old-school move that can leave your guitars sounding thin and weak. Instead, use a parametric EQ to:

• High-Pass Filter: Cut out unnecessary sub-bass rumble below 80-100Hz to make room for the kick and bass.
• Tame the Fizz: Use a narrow band (high Q) to find and notch out any harsh, fizzy frequencies, often found between 4kHz and 8kHz.
• Carve Space: Make gentle, wide cuts in the low-mids (250-500Hz) to prevent muddiness and help the bass and snare punch through.
• Add Presence: Find the sweet spot in the upper-mids (around 2-3kHz) to add bite and help the notes articulate.

Blending with the Printed Leads

Make sure your custom rhythm tones play nicely with the pre-processed lead tones. This means paying attention to levels and EQ. The leads should sit on top of the rhythms, but they should sound like they’re in the same room. Use shared reverbs or delays to create a cohesive space for all the guitars.

Your Chance to Mix "Lock And Key" and Win Big

Reading about it is one thing, but doing it yourself is how you truly learn. With Nail The Mix, you get the chance to download these exact multi-tracks and put your own spin on "Lock And Key."

Even better, every month we host a mix competition, and the prize package for this one is absolutely insane. One lucky winner will walk away with:

• A J-Z Microphones Black Hole B-2
• Arousor and Big FrEQ from Empirical Labs
• Three Neural DSP Archetypes of your choice + one bass plugin
• The entire oeksound collection
• Licenses to Audible Genius and Sonarworks
• The GGD RS Drums Library
• Plugins from JST and Drumforge
• The Impact Studios Bass Bundle
• A Bogren Digital IR Pack
• A free master of your song from Mike Kalajian at Rogue Planet Mastering

That’s a pro-level studio upgrade, just for mixing an incredible song.

At the end of the month, you get to watch the original producer, Sam Guana, mix the track from scratch in an exclusive, multi-hour livestream. You’ll see every plugin, every fader move, and every decision he makes, explained in real-time.

Ready to tackle this prog-metal masterpiece? Grab the Intervals multi-tracks and get started today!

Mixing a track of this caliber is an incredible learning experience. It forces you to be precise, creative, and intentional with every move. If you want to go beyond presets and truly unlock your sound, there's no better way than working with world-class material.

Join the Nail The Mix community, get your hands dirty with these files, and show us what you’ve got. We can’t wait to hear your mix