Jens Bogren’s Septicflesh Lead Guitar Mix: Space, Saturation & Clarity

Ever cranked up a Septicflesh track and wondered how those soaring, epic lead guitars sit so perfectly in such a dense, orchestral metal mix? It’s not just killer playing; it's also the mark of a master mix engineer. We got an inside look at how a legend, Jens Bogren (Opeth, Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy), approaches mixing these critical elements, specifically for Septicflesh, in a sneak peek from his session available on Nail The Mix.

Forget just slapping on a random delay; Jens has a refined workflow. Let’s dive into some of his go-to techniques for making lead guitars command attention while still playing nice with everything else, especially those powerful vocals.

Streamlining with Smart Effect Templates

Efficiency is king in a complex mix. Jens kicks things off with a well-organized template for his lead guitar effects, much like he does for vocals. This means having dedicated effect tracks (think sends and returns) pre-loaded and routed, usually sitting above the actual lead guitar audio tracks in his DAW.

This isn't about being rigid; it's about having a powerful starting point. He’ll have his usual suspects for delays, reverbs, and other spatial effects ready to go, then tweak, modify, or even create entirely new chains based on what the song needs. This template-driven approach lets him get to the creative decisions faster.

Crafting Dimension: Jens Bogren's Delay Strategies

Delays are a cornerstone of Jens's lead guitar sound, primarily for creating space and width rather than obvious repeating echoes.

The Go-To Stereo Spread: The Slate Digital Repeater

A common tool in Jens's arsenal for lead guitar width is the Slate Digital Repeater. He often uses a setting that emulates a classic TC Electronic delay unit (he mentions the TC 2500/2290 family).

Here’s the key:

• Mono Send: He sends the lead guitar signal to the stereo delay in mono. This is crucial. It means the delay itself is generated from a centered point, creating an even stereo spread regardless of how the dry guitar is panned.
• Subtle Timing Differences: The left and right channels of the delay will have slightly different delay times. He’s not looking for a ping-pong effect, but rather a subtle, Haas-like widening that adds space around the guitar.
• Clean Repeats: He doesn’t want to hear obvious, degrading repeats; the goal is clean, spatial enhancement.

This setup provides a consistent sense of space that envelops the lead without cluttering the mix.

Classic Mono Echo for Depth: The Space Echo Vibe

For a different flavor of depth, Jens frequently turns to emulations of the classic Roland Space Echo. In the Septicflesh session, he used a UAD Galaxy '74 Tape Echo & Reverb (or a similar high-quality Space Echo plugin).

• Mono Delay with Width: While it's a mono delay at its core, these emulations often have a bit of inherent stereo width or movement from the modeled tape and mechanics, which adds character.
• Timing: For this particular track, it was a quarter-note delay, but he often uses dotted eighth notes or other subdivisions depending on the tempo and feel.
• Pairing for Impact: He might pair this mono echo with other stereo effects to build a rich, dimensional sound, similar to his vocal processing techniques.

Subtle Ambience: Reverb That Doesn't Drown

When it comes to reverb on lead guitars, Jens is often sparing. He’s not a fan of drenching them in obvious, washy reverb tails. Instead, he aims for ambience that creates space without screaming "reverb!"

For the Septicflesh leads, he used a specific Impulse Response (IR) called "Clean Space," which he mentioned was from Cell Studios.

• Shimmery Character: This IR provides a nice, shimmery quality.
• Creates Space, Not Mud: The magic here is that it adds a sense of environment and air around the guitar tone without making it sound distant or undefined, a common pitfall with less carefully chosen reverbs.

If you're looking for this effect, experiment with high-quality, shorter IRs that have a bright, clean character.

Widening and Enriching: Beyond Obvious Chorus

To further enhance the stereo image and complexity of lead guitars, Jens sometimes employs chorus or doubler-style effects, but with a caveat: they shouldn't sound overtly like a typical chorus.

He mentions using specialized widening plugins that can create a sense of dimension. While he referred to "CA effects" (which might be a specific boutique brand or a quick mention), the principle is to use tools that offer subtle pitch modulation and stereo spread.

• Dimension Creation: One technique he uses is to pan the dry, direct guitar signal to one side and a pitch-shifted or time-modulated version to the other. This creates a distinct sense of width and makes the lead feel larger than life.

The goal of all these spatial effects—delays, IRs, wideners—is to make the lead guitar more interesting, prevent it from sounding static ("there is the guitar in the mix"), and give it its own place to shine.

Polishing the Lead Bus: Saturation and Dynamic Control

Jens often routes his lead guitars to a dedicated master bus for some final global processing. This is where he applies broad strokes to help them sit right and cut through.

Adding Harmonics and Bite: Strategic Saturation

A key element on his lead guitar bus is saturation. This isn't about adding heavy distortion, but rather subtle harmonic enrichment.

• Target Frequencies: He typically focuses on saturating the high-mids and top end of the lead guitars.
• Benefits: This technique helps to:
  • Create new, pleasing harmonics.
  • Even out the high frequencies, making them smoother yet more present.
  • Help the leads separate from other elements in a busy mix.
• Plugin Choices: He might use various tools for this, such as the iZotope Exciter or the Aphex Vintage Aural Exciter (similar to what he'd use on vocals), or other dedicated saturators.

Smart EQ strategies go hand-in-hand with saturation to ensure these added harmonics are musical and not harsh.

Making Space for Vocals: Smart Sidechain Compression

One of the most crucial mixing tricks, especially in vocal-centric metal, is ensuring the lead guitar doesn’t fight the vocals for attention. Jens employs a classic technique: sidechain compression.

• The Setup: He uses a "very basic compressor" on the lead guitar bus.
• The Trigger: This compressor is keyed or sidechained from the main vocal bus.
• The Action: Whenever the vocals are active, the compressor gently dips the level of the lead guitars by a small amount (e.g., a few dB).
• The Magic (Psychoacoustics): Because the vocals are simultaneously present, your brain doesn't perceive the lead guitar as "getting quieter." Instead, due to auditory masking, the lead simply feels like it's naturally tucking itself behind the vocal, creating clarity without sounding obviously processed. Jens noted that sometimes he might even push this effect a little harder than you'd think, relying on the masking to keep it smooth.

This is a prime example of using metal compression secrets for dynamic shaping rather than just loudness.

Bringing It All Together (And Learning More!)

So, to recap Jens Bogren's approach to those massive Septicflesh lead guitars:

• Efficient Workflow: Start with well-thought-out effect templates.
• Strategic Delays: Use mono-send stereo delays (like the Slate Digital Repeater) for width and characterful mono echoes (like a Space Echo emulation) for depth.
• Subtle Reverb: Opt for IRs that create space without sounding like obvious reverb.
• Intelligent Widening: Employ subtle chorus/doublers or specialized wideners for dimension.
• Lead Bus Processing: Use saturation (iZotope Exciter, Aphex Vintage Aural Exciter) for bite and presence, and sidechain compression from vocals for clarity.

These are powerful techniques you can start applying in your own metal productions right now.

But imagine seeing Jens Bogren himself implement these concepts, tweak those plugins in real-time, and explain every decision as he mixes an actual Septicflesh track from scratch. That’s exactly what you get with Nail The Mix. Each month, you get the raw multitracks from huge metal songs and watch the original producers (like Jens!) mix them, sharing their complete workflows. If you're serious about elevating your productions, seeing how the pros build these tones from the ground up is invaluable.

You can see Jens mix not only these lead guitars but the entire Septicflesh song by checking out the Amon Amarth & Septicflesh mixing session on Nail The Mix. And if you're ready to go beyond presets and truly Unlock Your Sound, exploring these advanced concepts with guidance from the best in the business is the way to go.