Metal vocal mixing chain: Slate VMS, Waves ADT, Soothe2 & Valhalla VintageVerb (ft. Allegaeon)

Let’s talk about mixing modern metal vocals. When you’re dealing with a vocalist as dynamic as Allegaeon’s Riley McShane—who can shift from guttural lows to soaring highs and aggressive, distorted screams—getting the vocals to sit right is a massive challenge. You need power, clarity, and consistency without crushing the life out of the performance.

In a deep dive for Nail The Mix, legendary producer Dave Otero (Cattle Decapitation, Archspire, Flatbush Zombies) pulled back the curtain on how he sculpted the massive vocal sound for Allegaeon. Forget vague concepts; we’re breaking down the specific plugins, settings, and techniques he uses to take raw vocal tracks from good to gargantuan.

Building the Foundation: Mic Emulation and Preamp Weight

Before you even think about reverb or delay, the core tone has to be solid. Dave starts his vocal chain by shaping the fundamental character of the raw tracks.

His weapon of choice here is the Slate Virtual Microphone System (VMS). Even though the vocals were tracked with a bit of hardware compression on the way in—something Dave admits isn’t the “technically correct” way to use mic modeling—he prioritizes the feel and sound he’s used to. It’s a great reminder that if it sounds good, it is good.

After auditioning a few options, he consistently lands on the 251 mic model from the VMS. This classic emulation provides a crisp-yet-full sound that works well for Riley’s voice. To give it a little more body, he adds a touch of the Neve preamp modeler from the same Slate suite. This isn’t about heavy-handed saturation; it’s a subtle move to add a bit of weight and low-mid heft to the vocal, helping it stand on its own in a dense instrumental mix.

Creating Epic Width with Vocal Doubles

A single mono vocal can sound small in a modern metal production. To get that huge, immersive sound, Dave relies on stereo doubles. The sessions include multiple takes labeled “60 double” and “100 double,” which are meant to be spread wide in the stereo field. But he doesn’t just pan them; he uses a specific plugin chain to create an authentic and massive stereo effect.

The Go-To Widening Plugin Chain

This isn’t about a simple stereo spreader. Dave builds the width with a powerful two-plugin combination on his double tracks.

Step 1: The Waves ADT (Automatic Double Tracker)

First up is the Waves ADT. This plugin is designed to mimic the classic studio technique of creating artificial doubles. The ADT has “floating playheads” that randomly modulate the timing and pitch of the double, making it sound more like a separate performance and less like a static, sterile copy.

Step 2: The Waves S1 Imager

While the ADT creates the doubling effect, the Waves S1 Imager is used to physically push that sound further out into the stereo field. By placing it after the ADT, he takes the already-doubled signal and enhances its width, making the 60% and 100% doubles feel like they’re wrapping around the listener.

Taming and Polishing on the Vocal Bus

Carving with Corrective EQ

First up is some surgical EQ using the ultra-flexible FabFilter Pro-Q 3. He makes two key moves here that are fundamental to any clean vocal mix:

1. High-Pass Filter: Dave immediately carves out the unnecessary low-end mud and rumble with a high-pass filter. He uses a Pro-Q 3 shortcut (double-clicking at the low end of the spectrum) and sharpens the slope to aggressively remove everything that isn’t essential vocal information.
2. Taming “Pokiness”: He identifies and gently dips any “pokey” or resonant frequencies in the mid-range that make the vocal sound harsh or honky. This isn’t a broad scoop, but rather a precise cut to clean up the tone before it hits any other processors.

Dynamic Control with oeksound Soothe2

Riley’s voice has a ton of that awesome vocal cord distortion when he pushes it, but that can create a build-up of harsh, peaky frequencies in the upper-mid range. A static EQ cut would thin out the vocal during softer passages. The solution? oeksound Soothe2.

Soothe2 is a dynamic resonance suppressor that only kicks in when those harsh frequencies appear. Dave uses it on the vocal bus to transparently control that mid-range bite, ensuring the vocals stay smooth and listenable whether Riley is singing softly or screaming his lungs out. He notes that he usually sticks with the “Ultra” resolution setting in the plugin, which provides great results without the major CPU hit of oversampling.

Adding Depth with Reverb and Delay

Subtle Plate Reverb

For reverb, Dave reaches for a go-to: Valhalla VintageVerb. He pulls up a “Vocal Plate” preset and dials in the mix and decay time to add a sense of space and dimension. The goal isn’t to wash the vocal out in a giant hall, but to give it a subtle tail that helps it blend into the mix and feel more polished.

The “Always On” Quarter-Note Delay

A signature part of Dave’s vocal sound is a baseline quarter-note delay that’s tucked just underneath the main vocal. He uses the Slate Repeater Delay for this, highlighting its useful features like tonal “Color” options and, most importantly, built-in high-pass and low-pass filters.

He makes a crucial move here: he almost always low-passes his delay returns, setting the filter around 10kHz. This removes the harsh “s” sounds and high-frequency sizzle from the delay trails, allowing the effect to add depth and rhythm without cluttering the mix or sounding obvious. It’s a simple trick that adds a professional sheen.

See The Full Mix Come Together

These techniques—from mic emulation and stereo widening to dynamic EQ and filtered delays—are the building blocks of a world-class metal vocal mix. They represent Dave Otero’s years of experience in crafting powerful, clear, and impactful sounds.

Watching him dial in the Slate VMS, set up the Waves ADT and S1 Imager, and surgically tame the mix with Pro-Q 3 and Soothe2 is one thing. But seeing how he automates every element and makes it all work with thundering drums and guitars is the next level. If you’re ready to move beyond presets and see how the pros do it, Nail The Mix gives you a front-row seat. You can get the raw multitracks and watch the entire 8-hour mixing session by checking out Dave Otero’s Allegaeon session right here. Dive in and see him build this incredible vocal mix from the ground up, explaining every single move along the way.