August Burns Red’s Vocal Mix: EQ, Distortion & Up-Front Power

Getting vocals to punch through a dense metal mix without sounding thin or getting buried is a constant battle. When you’re dealing with a band like August Burns Red, known for their intricate instrumentals and powerful vocal delivery, the challenge is amplified. How do you get those screams to sit upfront, consistently, and with an aggressive edge that matches the music? We got a look into how Carson Slovak and Grant McFarland (the masterminds behind ABR’s sound) tackle this, and it’s a masterclass in using a chain of well-chosen plugins to build a colossal vocal sound. You can check out the full session here.

Laying the Foundation: Taming the Dynamics

Before diving into the EQ and effects that give the vocals their character, it’s crucial to get the dynamics under control. In a genre as loud and busy as metal, a vocal needs to be consistently present.

Consistent Power with Compression

Carson kicks things off by ensuring the August Burns Red vocals are heavily compressed. The goal here isn’t subtle dynamic shaping; it’s about really clamping down on the performance to create a solid, unwavering vocal that can sit on top of a loud bed of guitars, drums, and bass. This aggressive compression ensures that every scream, every word, maintains its impact, no matter how chaotic the music gets. If you’re looking to get a deeper understanding of how to make your tracks hit harder, check out these metal compression secrets beyond just making it loud.

Sculpting the Core Tone with EQ

With dynamics locked in, the next step is to start shaping the fundamental frequencies of the vocal. Carson notes that after the initial compression, it’s important to watch your levels; he had to turn down the vocal group fader a bit to prevent clipping as processing began.

Initial EQ Shaping: Softube Active Equalizer

Carson reaches for the Softube Active Equalizer for the initial tonal shaping.

Clearing Mud, Making Space

First up, a common but critical move in a busy mix: cleaning up the low end. He typically carves out some information around the 100Hz area. This is to prevent the vocals from clashing with the bass guitar and drums, which already occupy that space. Overcrowding these low frequencies can quickly lead to a muddy mix. To further tighten things, he rolls off everything below 80Hz with a high-pass filter.

Adding Top-End Sizzle

To give the vocals that top-end sizzle and clarity, Carson boosts 15kHz by a significant 4dB, sometimes even going up to 6dB. This adds that “air” that helps the vocal cut through and feel present. We’ll address taming any excessive sibilance later, but this initial boost is key for brightness. For more strategies on shaping your sound, explore these EQ strategies for mixing modern metal.

Adding Aggression and Character

Now that the vocal is controlled and has a basic tonal balance, it’s time to inject some serious attitude.

Grit and Intensity: Soundtoys Decapitator

For screaming vocals, a bit of distortion can go a long way in enhancing their intensity. Carson’s go-to for this is the Soundtoys Decapitator.

The “Classic Rock Vocals 2” Starting Point

He likes the “Classic Rock Vocals 2” preset as a foundation. This already starts to get the vocal into a more aggressive territory.

“Punish” and Blend: The Key to Controlled Aggression

To really ramp up the aggression, he doesn’t shy away from hitting the “Punish” knob. This might sound insane on its own, and way too intense for practical use. But the trick is in the blend. Similar to how he approaches drum processing, Carson makes a dramatic move with the “Punish” knob and then dials it back using the dry/wet mix knob. This allows him to blend in just the right amount of that intense distortion, giving the vocal serious grit and taking it to another level of intensity without it becoming overwhelmingly fizzy. The result? A vocal that sounds more aggressive and “in your face.”

The CLA Vocals Touch: Waves Signature Plugin

Next in the chain is the Waves CLA Vocals plugin, a favorite of both Carson and Grant.

Subtle Shaping with the “Zul” Preset

Carson uses the “Zul” preset, which he notes is essentially just the EQ curve of the plugin. Even with all other modules off, this preset provides a subtle but effective tonal enhancement that just seems to work.

Air and Dimension: “Tight” Reverb and “Slap” Delay

He then activates the “Tight” reverb and “Slap” delay within the CLA Vocals plugin. These aren’t for long, washed-out effects, but rather to add a little more air and a sense of space around the vocal, helping it feel more three-dimensional. He also gives a tiny boost to the “Sub” and “Bite” controls to further enhance the vocal’s presence and impact. It’s interesting how plugins like CLA Vocals, sometimes initially criticized for being “do-it-all” solutions, have earned respect over time simply because they sound good and deliver results – especially when wielded by pros like Chris Lord-Alge himself, whose CLA-76 (1176 emulation) Carson also utilizes.

Polishing and Control

With all this excitement and high-frequency boosting, some unwanted side effects can creep in, particularly sibilance.

Taming Sibilance with a De-Esser

All those high-end boosts from the Active EQ and the character added by Decapitator and CLA Vocals can make “S” and “T” sounds overly harsh. To combat this, Carson brings in a de-esser.

Finding the Offending Frequencies

He often loops a section of the vocal to really hear what the de-esser is doing and make precise adjustments. This might seem obnoxious, but it’s a crucial step to dial in the de-esser perfectly.

Go-To Preset

The “Mail DSHF” preset (likely from a FabFilter Pro-DS or similar de-esser) is a frequent starting point for him, as it tends to do exactly what’s needed to tame those piercing sibilant sounds without making the vocal sound dull.

Final EQ Tweaks

As a last step in this part of the vocal chain, Carson often adds one more subtle EQ. After all the previous processing has hyped up various frequencies, this final EQ is used to gently take a bit of the edge off the extreme lows and highs that have been introduced. It’s about reining everything in slightly, ensuring the vocal sounds exciting but still controlled and sits well in the overall mix.

The August Burns Red Vocal Chain: Key Takeaways

Crafting these huge, up-front August Burns Red vocals isn’t about a single magic plugin. It’s a systematic approach, layering processing to achieve a specific outcome:

• Control: Heavy compression lays a solid, consistent foundation.
• Clarity & Air: Initial EQ sculpts the tone and adds brightness.
• Aggression: Distortion via Decapitator injects grit and intensity.
• Character & Polish: CLA Vocals adds subtle shaping, space, and bite.
• Refinement: De-essing and final EQ tweaks ensure a polished, controlled sound that cuts through without being harsh.

Each step builds upon the last, transforming a raw vocal performance into a commanding presence that can dominate a dense metal landscape.

Seeing how pros like Carson Slovak and Grant McFarland meticulously craft vocal tones like these for August Burns Red is incredibly insightful. They’re not just randomly slapping on plugins; there’s a clear thought process and a goal for each move.

Imagine getting this level of detail not just for vocals, but for drums, guitars, bass, and the entire mix, straight from the producers who worked on iconic metal albums. That’s exactly what Nail The Mix offers. Each month, you get the actual multi-tracks from massive songs and watch the original producer mix it from scratch, explaining every technique.

If you’re ready to move beyond presets and truly understand how to sculpt professional-sounding metal mixes, it’s time to Unlock Your Sound: Mixing Modern Metal Beyond Presets. And if you want to dive deeper into the specific August Burns Red mix featured here, you can access the full session and multi-tracks at Nail The Mix. Stop guessing and start learning from the best in the business.