Daath’s Crispy Death Metal Guitars: Jens Bogren’s Mix Approach

Ever crank up a Daath track and get your face melted by those razor-sharp, yet incredibly heavy, death metal guitars? There's a science and art to achieving that kind of crispy, articulate, and powerful guitar tone. We got a peek into how acclaimed producer Jens Bogren tackles Daath's guitars, and it's packed with actionable insights you can try in your own mixes. Forget just slapping on a distortion plugin; this is about surgical precision and creative processing.

Jens mentioned starting with great raw tones (thanks, Daath!), but like many seasoned mixers, he often finds himself re-amping. Why? Familiarity with his own cabinet and the desire for a super-processed sound right from the get-go. Let's dive into how he builds that "crispy" yet massive guitar sound.

Laying the Foundation: Initial Tone Shaping and Dynamics

Before diving into the heavy stuff, Jens addresses some foundational elements to ensure the guitars sit right and have clarity.

Taming the "Extra Bite"

Even with good raw tones, there can be problematic frequencies. Jens noted an "extra bite" that was bothering him, specifically somewhere around the 6kHz mark. A little surgical EQ on the individual guitar tracks can clean this up, removing harshness without losing the aggression. This is a common area where fizz can live, so a precise cut here can make a big difference.

Making Space: Bass and Guitars Working Together

One of the classic battles in a metal mix is between the bass and guitars. Jens employs Track Spacer on the guitar tracks, but here's the kicker: it's sidechained to the sub-bass. This means every time the sub-bass hits, the corresponding frequencies in the guitars are subtly ducked, creating space and clarity for the low-end punch without making the guitars sound thin. It's a dynamic relationship that helps each instrument shine.

The Guitar Bus: Cohesion, Saturation, and Snare Punch

Once the individual tracks are cleaned up, Jens focuses on the guitar bus, where multiple guitar tracks are grouped together.

Heavy Saturation for Presence

Jens likes to add some serious saturation to the entire guitar bus. He pushes it to be "quite heavy, almost clipping." This isn't just for distortion; saturation can add harmonics, make the guitars feel more "forward" and like they're jumping out of the speakers, and glue them together.

Letting the Snare Through

Another clever trick on the guitar bus is keying in the snare. Similar to sidechain compression, the guitar bus level is momentarily ducked whenever the snare hits. This small move ensures the snare retains its impact and cuts through the wall of guitars, making it "pop a lot."

Bus EQ: Final Polish

After saturation and snare ducking, Jens might do some final EQ on the bus. This involves removing any remaining annoying top-end frequencies and ensuring the low-end is controlled and tight. For more on overall EQ strategies for metal, check out our guide.

Advanced EQ and Character Building

Jens has specific tools and techniques he prefers for shaping the character of the guitars beyond basic EQ.

Controlled Dynamics with Waves C6

While many reach for Soothe2 to tame harshness, Jens has a different preference: the Waves C6 Multiband Compressor. He finds Soothe2 can sometimes remove too much bite, which is essential for metal. With the C6, he feels more in control. Interestingly, he doesn't just use it for cutting. He likes to boost the low-end and "oomph" with it, but in a controlled dynamic way. This allows for aggression without muddiness.

SSL EQ for Core Tone

For broader tonal shaping on the guitar bus, an SSL-style EQ (plugin emulations are widely available) is his go-to. This is where he makes his main moves: "Do I need more treble? Do I need more mids, some low mids?" He also sets his high-pass filter around this stage, typically using the SSL EQ, to clean up unnecessary sub frequencies.

Adding "Extra Harshness" and Warmth

For a specific kind of character, Jens uses a tool that provides "extra harshness" and a "warm tape emulation." A key feature he utilizes is an "instrumentable mid-range filter." This allows him to pinpoint and surgically remove a really annoying mid-range frequency, then compensate for any lost presence by boosting the treble on the same unit. This is about carefully sculpting the aggressive edge.

Creating Width and Impact

A massive guitar sound isn't just about distortion; it's also about how it fills the stereo spectrum and how it hits the listener.

Mid-Range Widening with Ozone Imager

Guitars are fundamentally mid-range instruments. To enhance their width and presence, Jens uses the iZotope Ozone Imager specifically on the mid-range of the guitars. By widening the mids, the guitars feel larger and are more clearly heard without necessarily being louder.

Leveling and Character with Renaissance Axx

To even out the performance and add a specific compressive character, Jens employs the Waves Renaissance Axx. He notes its leveling capabilities and mentions the "de-third" aspect of its compression, suggesting it adds a pleasing color as it works. This is a great example of using compression for more than just dynamic control in metal.

The Power of Parallel Compression

Parallel processing is a staple in modern metal mixing, and Jens uses it creatively on his guitars. He sends the entire guitar bus to a separate parallel compression bus.

Here’s what’s happening on that parallel bus:

1. Warmth with Tape: He starts by warming it up with tape emulation.
2. Pick Attack Enhancement: A transient designer (like an SPL Transient Designer or similar plugin) is used to bring out the pick attack.
3. Exaggerated Compression: He then "compresses the f*ck out of it" to really emphasize that attack and create a super-dense sound.
4. Targeted EQ Boost: He’ll boost extra mids or treble on this parallel track—whatever he feels is missing from the pick attack's character.
5. Treble Widening with Ozone Imager: Here’s a cool twist: on this parallel compressed signal, he uses the iZotope Ozone Imager again, but this time to widen the treble. This makes the crunchy, aggressive part of the pick attack feel even wider and more present on the sides.
6. Preventive Limiting with L1: Finally, a Waves L1 Limiter (or similar) is used to catch any stray peaks and prevent clipping on this heavily processed parallel signal.

The result? When blended back in with the main guitar bus, this parallel signal adds immense pick definition, aggression, and a controlled, explosive character.

Beefing It Up: The Role of Quad Tracking

Jens is a fan of quad-tracking guitars (recording four rhythm guitar parts – typically two left, two right). For the second set of rhythm guitars in the Daath mix, his approach was specific:

• Focus on Mids: The primary goal for this second pair was to add "extra mids" and "extra beefiness" that might have been missing from the main pair.
• Slightly Lower Volume: He doesn't place this second pair as loud as the first, often bringing them back a bit (e.g., to 90% volume if the mains are at 100%).
• Similar Core Processing: They get more or less the same initial processing as the main guitars (like taming harsh frequencies).
• Different Routing: Crucially, this second quad-tracked layer isn't initially sent to the main parallel compression bus or his outboard gear. It's blended in later to fill out the sound precisely where needed, adding that extra layer of thickness and mid-range power.

Bringing It All Together (And Learning More!)

Achieving Daath's crispy, powerful death metal guitar tone, as demonstrated by Jens Bogren, involves a meticulous, multi-layered approach:

• Strategic Re-amping and Initial EQ: Setting a solid foundation.
• Dynamic Control: Using sidechaining (Track Spacer, snare key-in) for clarity.
• Bus Processing: Saturation for aggression, EQ for shaping.
• Advanced EQ & Character Tools: Precise frequency control (Waves C6, SSL EQ, specialized mid-range filters).
• Stereo Widening: Intelligently using tools like Ozone Imager on different frequency bands.
• Aggressive Parallel Compression: For pick attack and explosive energy.
• Smart Quad Tracking: Layering for specific tonal contributions (like extra mids and beef).

These are techniques you can experiment with right now to elevate your own metal productions. But imagine seeing a pro like Jens Bogren dial in these settings, make these decisions in real-time, and explain why he's doing it, all while working on the actual multitracks from a killer band.

That's exactly what you get with Nail The Mix. Each month, you get raw multitracks from massive songs and watch world-class producers mix them from scratch. If you're serious about taking your metal mixing skills beyond presets and into pro territory, you need to see how these concepts are applied in a full mix context. Want to truly unlock your sound and learn to mix modern metal? Seeing it happen live is an invaluable experience. Dive deeper and join a community of producers all striving to create incredible sounding metal at Nail The Mix.