Mixing Bring Me The Horizon Drums: Dan Lancaster’s Core-First Method

Let’s be real. You open up a modern metal session, and the track count is terrifying. A Bring Me The Horizon session? Forget about it. You’re looking at layers of live drums, samples, loops, synths, strings, and a million other things. It’s easy to feel instantly overwhelmed and have no clue where to even start.

Do you start with the intro? Do you try to tame that cool-sounding synth first? According to producer/mixer Dan Lancaster, who mixed BMTH’s incredible song “Doomed,” that’s a recipe for disaster. His approach cuts through the chaos by focusing on one simple rule: find the most important part of the song and make that sound awesome first. Let’s break down his strategic approach to tackling a massive mix.

Ditch the Intro: Find the Sonic Apex of the Song

When faced with a complex arrangement, the temptation is to start at 0:00 and work your way through. But think about it—the processing you need for a sparse, programmed intro is completely different from what you need for a full-throttle chorus where the whole band is firing on all cylinders.

This is why Dan’s first move isn’t to EQ the kick drum in the verse. Instead, he scrubs through the track to find what he calls the “ultimate sonic collection of stuff”—the biggest, loudest, most sonically dense section. In the case of “Doomed,” that’s the chorus. It’s where the drums fully open up, the guitars are huge, and every element is fighting for space. This is your mixing ground zero.

Why the Chorus Is Your Best Bet

This method is a lot like how expert guitarists find the perfect amp tone. They don’t just chug a low E string; they find a “tone riff” that encapsulates the bigger picture of the album’s sound. The same logic applies to mixing. By starting with the chorus, you’re creating a sonic framework that has to work when things are at their most intense.

If you get the drums, bass, and guitars sounding massive and clear in the chorus, chances are those settings will translate well to the verses and bridges with minor adjustments. It’s a top-down approach that establishes a powerful ceiling for your mix.

The Problem with Mixing from the Beginning

If you start with the intro, you’re setting a trap for yourself. You might get a perfect drum sound for that section, but the moment the chorus hits, everything falls apart. That carefully crafted kick sound is now buried, and the snare you compressed for a tight groove sounds weak and lost when the cymbals come crashing in.

This often leads to the dreaded “mix that gets smaller.” The chorus ends up feeling less impactful than the buildup because your processing choices weren’t designed to handle the extra energy. Starting with the loudest section ensures your mix builds dynamically and hits with maximum impact when it matters most.

Build the Foundation: Drums, Drums, Drums

Once Dan identifies the chorus as his starting point, he zeroes in on the most crucial element: the drums. But he doesn’t just start throwing plugins on. The first step is to simply understand what the drums are actually doing.

Step One: Analyze the Groove

Looking at the DAW, Dan can see the story of the drum part. He sees the heavily programmed intro, the transition into a specific snare-roll groove that builds tension, and finally, the explosion into the chorus where drummer Mat Nicholls moves to the open hi-hats or ride cymbal for a full, driving beat.

This musical analysis is key. Knowing the intent of the part helps you make better mixing decisions. That snare roll needs to feel like it’s leading somewhere, while the chorus beat needs to feel like an anchor of pure power. Understanding the arrangement allows you to use your mixing tools to enhance the song’s natural energy flow.

Get the Meat and Potatoes Right, Add the Spice Later

With the chorus looped, the focus is squarely on the core elements. For a band like Bring Me The Horizon, that means the drums, bass, and guitars. Dan’s philosophy is to get the “meat and potatoes” of the track sounding incredible before even thinking about the “extra fancy things.”

All that cool programming, the strings, the pads—that’s the seasoning. It’s essential for the final flavor, but it comes later. Too many mixers get distracted by the ear candy, turning up a cool synth lead way too early. They end up mixing the core instruments around the synth, robbing the track of its power.

Get the foundation right first. Once your drums are slamming and the guitars and bass are locked in, you can start to tastefully blend in the other elements to add texture and depth. This ensures your mix has a rock-solid core.

Putting It Into Practice in Your Own Mixes

You can apply this professional workflow to your own sessions right now. It’s a simple but game-changing shift in perspective that will help you build bigger, punchier mixes.

1. Find Your Core Section: Load your session and listen through to find the most energetic part—usually the final chorus.
2. Loop and Focus: Loop that section. This is your workbench for the foreseeable future.
3. Start with the Foundation: Solo the drums and get them sounding powerful in the context of that massive chorus. Think about your compression to make them punchy and your EQ to make them clear.
4. Build the Core: Bring in the bass, then the main guitars, then the lead vocals. Get this core unit sounding like a finished record.
5. Add the Spice: Now, start blending in the synths, backing vocals, and effects. Since your foundation is already solid, it will be much easier to find the right place for these elements.
6. Work Your Way Out: Once the core section is killer, move on to the other parts of the song, adjusting your settings as needed. You’ll find that you have to do far less work than if you’d started from the beginning.

This strategic thinking is what separates pro mixes from amateur ones. It’s about having a plan and focusing on what truly matters to build a powerful mix from the ground up.

Want to see exactly how Dan Lancaster applies this strategy, plugin by plugin, to get that iconic Bring Me The Horizon drum sound? Members of Nail The Mix get to watch Dan’s entire 8-hour mixing session and can even download the raw multitracks from “Doomed” to practice on their own.

Building a solid foundation is the absolute key to a pro-sounding mix. For a deeper dive into the fundamental strategies that the pros use, check out our free guide, Unlock Your Sound: Mixing Modern Metal Beyond Presets. If you’re ready to learn from the best in the business and get hands-on with real sessions from bands like BMTH, Gojira, and Periphery, see what Nail The Mix is all about.