Mixing Chelsea Grin Vocals: Eyal Levi’s Aggressive Metal Method

When you’re dealing with the raw intensity of Chelsea Grin’s vocals, you need a mixing strategy that’s just as aggressive and precise. In a revealing Nail The Mix session, Eyal Levi tackled these monstrous takes, transforming them from "angry baby pterodactyl" into a polished, powerful force ready to dominate a dense metal mix. Forget gentle nudges; this is about decisive moves and harnessing the right tools for extreme vocal processing.

If you’ve ever wrestled with aggressive metal vocals that sound thin, uncontrolled, or just plain "off," Eyal’s approach offers some killer insights. Let’s dive into the techniques he used to whip these Chelsea Grin vocals into shape.

Taming the Beast: Initial Vocal Cleanup

Before any heavy lifting with compressors or creative effects, a bit of foundational cleanup is essential. Raw vocal tracks, especially for aggressive genres, can carry a lot of unnecessary information that will only cause problems down the line.

Rolling Off the Rumble: Essential High-Pass Filtering

One of the very first moves Eyal made was to tackle the low-end. He noticed some rumbly lows that weren't contributing anything positive to the vocal sound.

• The Problem: Unnecessary low frequencies (plosives, mic stand rumble, proximity effect) muddying the vocal and eating up headroom.
• The Tool: A simple EQ high-pass filter.
• The Move: Eyal set the filter to cut everything below 100Hz. This is a common starting point for aggressive male vocals, instantly cleaning up the signal without thinning out the core tone.

This quick move ensures that subsequent processors, especially compressors, aren't reacting to sub-bass energy that you don't even want in the final vocal sound.

Extreme Compression for Extreme Vocals

With the low-end cleaned up, it was time for some serious dynamic control. For vocals as dynamic and aggressive as Chelsea Grin's, which Eyal noted were clearly not recorded through a compressor, heavy compression is a must.

Why Go Aggressive? The "Uncompressed" Reality

When vocals are tracked without compression, their dynamic range can be massive. Screams can be incredibly loud while guttural lows or spoken parts might be much quieter. Aggressive compression helps to:

• Even out these dynamic swings, making the vocal sit more consistently in the mix.
• Add character, punch, and sustain.
• Bring forward an attitude that matches the music.

For an in-depth look at how compression can shape your metal tracks, check out our Metal Compression Secrets: Beyond Just Making It Loud guide.

Enter Gain Reduction Deluxe: Crushing it (In a Good Way)

Eyal's weapon of choice for this task was Gain Reduction Deluxe by Joey Sturgis Tones.

• Why this plugin? He specifically chose it for its aggressive character, knowing the vocals needed some serious taming.
• The Key Control: Instead of relying heavily on EQ before compression to shape the tone, Eyal leaned on the "Body" control within Gain Reduction Deluxe. This feature allows you to influence the tonal balance that the compressor is reacting to and shaping, proving incredibly useful for dialing in the core character quickly.
• The Goal: To transform the vocal from its raw, somewhat shrill state ("angry baby pterodactyl") into something more substantial and controlled, yet still ferocious ("an adult pterodactyl that's pissed").

The result was a vocal that was much more in-your-face and consistent, a crucial step for any modern metal production.

Sculpting the Tone with EQ

Compression gets the dynamics under control, but EQ is where you truly carve out the vocal's place in the mix and enhance its desirable qualities. For more on EQ strategies, our Carve Your Core: EQ Strategies for Mixing Modern Metal page has you covered.

Surgical Strikes: Tackling Ugly Mids with Pultec-Style EQ

After the aggressive compression, Eyal reached for a Pultec-style EQ to further refine the tone. He humorously admitted to sometimes confusing plugin names (we've all been there!), but quickly found the one he was after.

• The Problem: Even after compression, some "ugly mids" can make a vocal sound boxy or harsh.
• The Solution: A Pultec-style EQ is great for this. Eyal used it to dip out some of those problematic mid-frequencies. Simultaneously, these EQs are famous for their ability to add a smooth, "expensive" sounding high-end sheen, which can bring out clarity and air.

Sssslaying Sibilance: FabFilter Pro-DS to the Rescue

Aggressive vocals, especially when compressed and EQ'd for brightness, can often suffer from harsh sibilance ("s," "sh," "t" sounds).

• The Problem: Piercing sibilance that's painful to the ears.
• The Plugin: Eyal turned to FabFilter Pro-DS, a popular and powerful de-esser.
• The Technique: He carefully dialed in the de-esser to tame the offending frequencies.
• The Caution: Eyal demonstrated an important point: over-de-essing can be detrimental. He showed how cranking the "Range" control too high gave the vocalist an undesirable lisp. The key is to reduce the harshness without making the vocal sound unnatural. The before-and-after difference was significant, showcasing how crucial effective de-essing is.

Adding Depth and Width: The "Joey Trick" for Doubles

Lead vocals rarely stand alone in modern metal. Doubles and harmonies add power and dimension. Eyal implemented a "Joey Trick" for processing the vocal double, treating it differently than the lead to create a wider, more interesting vocal image.

Beyond Basic Doubling: Creative Processing

The core idea is that the vocal double isn't just a quieter copy of the lead. It's an opportunity to add texture and space. Joey Sturgis's approach, which Eyal adopted, often involves more time-based effects, chorus, and other modulations on the doubles.

Adding Grit: Distortion on the Double

Taking a hint from Joey, Eyal decided to add some distortion to the second vocal track.

• The Plugin: He reached for a saturation/distortion plugin, dialing in a preset like "Angry Vox" (often found in plugins like Soundtoys Decapitator).
• The Purpose: This adds a different kind of harmonic content and aggression to the double, helping it stand out from the lead in a subtle way and adding overall thickness to the combined vocal sound.

Spreading it Wide: Soundtoys Microshift

To further enhance the double and create stereo width, Eyal employed Soundtoys Microshift.

• The Plugin: Microshift is a fantastic tool for creating subtle (or not-so-subtle) stereo widening and chorusing effects.
• The Effect: By applying Microshift to the double and panning it effectively, you can make the overall vocal presentation feel much larger and more immersive. Eyal auditioned different modes within the plugin to find the right flavor.

Performance Polish: Smart Vocal Editing

Even with great takes, sometimes small imperfections can sneak in. This is where smart editing comes into play.

Fixing "That One Awkward Sound"

Eyal encountered a moment where the lead vocal had an undesirable sound at the end of a phrase ("until I die…").

• The Common Problem: A vocalist might make an unintentional noise, a weird mouth sound, or a slightly off-pitch ending on an otherwise great take.
• Eyal's Solution: He checked the corresponding part on the doubled vocal track and found it was clean. He then cleverly copied the clean segment from the double and used it to replace the problematic portion on the lead vocal track. A quick crossfade, and the issue was gone!
• The Pro Tip: This highlights the importance of having alternate takes or doubles. They're not just for thickening; they're goldmines for fixes. As Joey often says, sometimes sending these "stupid sounds" back to the vocalist can be a good (if slightly embarrassing) way to encourage them to be more mindful during tracking!

Taking Your Metal Mixes to the Next Level

The techniques Eyal Levi demonstrated on these Chelsea Grin vocals—from foundational EQ and aggressive compression with Gain Reduction Deluxe, to tonal shaping with Pultec-style EQs and FabFilter Pro-DS, and creative doubling using distortion and Soundtoys Microshift—are all powerful tools you can apply to your own metal productions. These aren't just abstract concepts; they're actionable steps to achieve powerful, professional-sounding vocals.

Want to see exactly how Eyal dialed in these settings and made every decision in real-time? Imagine having the raw multitracks from Chelsea Grin and watching Eyal mix them from scratch, explaining his entire process. That's what Nail The Mix is all about. Every month, you get a new set of pro-recorded multitracks from iconic metal bands and an exclusive, in-depth mixing masterclass from the producer who originally worked on the song or another world-class engineer.

If you're ready to move beyond presets and truly understand how to craft massive metal mixes, it's time to Unlock Your Sound: Mixing Modern Metal Beyond Presets. And for this specific Chelsea Grin session and many more like it, head over to the Nail The Mix sessions page to dive deeper. Don't just read about it; see it, hear it, and do it yourself with Nail The Mix!