Lamb of God Vocal Power: Machine’s Decapitator & De-Esser Tactics

Alright, let's talk about getting those face-melting Lamb of God vocals to sit just right in a mix – specifically Randy Blythe's iconic delivery on "Redneck." We got a killer look inside how producer Machine tackled this during his Nail The Mix session, and it’s packed with actionable tricks you can steal for your own productions. Forget just slapping on a generic vocal chain; this is about thoughtful, aggressive processing that serves the song.

Machine showed off some seriously cool moves, particularly with Soundtoys Decapitator and a clever de-essing approach for doubles. These aren't just "set it and forget it" tips; they're about understanding why you're reaching for a tool and how to sculpt the sound with surgical precision.

Decimating Vocals (In a Good Way) with Decapitator

When Randy Blythe’s lead vocal for "Redneck" – that raw, powerful "This is a motherf***ing invitation!" line – hit the speakers, Machine knew it could benefit from some distortion. His go-to? The mighty Decapitator.

Decapitator as a Channel Strip

Machine often treats Decapitator almost like a full channel strip, not just a simple distortion box. This means he’s not shy about running the signal mostly wet through the plugin. Why? Because when you’re running it wet, the EQ section within Decapitator becomes incredibly powerful and responsive, allowing you to shape the character of the distortion itself. This approach gives you more control than just blending in a bit of fuzz.

Distortion as EQ: Beefing Up the Low End

This is where it gets really interesting. Machine described Randy’s raw vocal as having a "Marshall" characteristic – plenty of crunch and aggression in the midrange, but the low end was comparatively cleaner. To get that truly thick, dominating vocal sound, he wanted to add "beef" to the low end, but not just clean low-end; he wanted distorted low-end for that extra attitude. Think more Mesa Boogie, where the distortion saturates everything, including the lows.

This is the core of "distortion as EQ." Instead of just reaching for a standard EQ plugin to boost low frequencies, Machine used Decapitator to generate harmonically rich low-end.

How he approached it:

1. Isolate the Target: He focused the distortion primarily on the lower frequencies of Randy's voice. The goal wasn't to make the entire vocal fuzzy or unintelligible, but to specifically enhance that low-mid power.
2. Shape with Decapitator's EQ: Using the built-in tone controls (like the "Low" and "High" cut filters and the "Tone" knob) within Decapitator, he could sculpt the distorted signal to emphasize the desired low-end thickness without adding harshness to the mids or highs that were already aggressive.
3. Blend to Taste (The Wet/Dry Knob): While he started mostly wet to engage the EQ effectively, the final touch often involves the "Mix" (wet/dry) knob. This allows you to blend the heavily processed, low-end-focused distortion back in with the original vocal to find the perfect balance. You get the added weight and attitude without losing the core clarity of the performance.

This technique of using targeted distortion for tonal shaping is a game-changer for adding presence and power that traditional EQ alone can't achieve. It adds harmonic complexity and a perceived loudness that helps vocals cut through a dense metal mix.

Taming Sung Doubles: The "Speech Impediment" De-Essing Trick

Lamb of God isn't exactly known for clean, melodic singing, so when sung vocal parts appear, like doubles in a bridge section, they need careful handling to fit the band's aggressive style. Machine shared a brilliant (and slightly brutal) technique for making these sung doubles sit perfectly.

The Challenge: Sibilant Clashes

The main issue with layered sung vocals, especially doubles, is that the sibilant sounds ("s," "sh," "t") can "flam" or clash. If the 's' sounds from multiple vocal tracks aren't perfectly aligned (and they rarely are), you get a messy, distracting 'ssssss' smear that draws unwanted attention. The key here, as Machine put it, is often to "hide" these doubles effectively.

Over De-Essing for a Smoother Blend

Machine’s solution? Aggressive de-essing on the doubled vocal tracks. And when we say aggressive, we mean really aggressive.

The Technique:

1. Target the Doubles: Apply a de-esser plugin specifically to the sung double tracks, not the main lead vocal.
2. Push it Hard: De-ess these doubles to the point where, if you soloed them, the singer might sound like they have a bit of a speech impediment – think lisp-like 'th' sounds instead of crisp 's' sounds.
3. Plugin Power: Machine mentioned trying out a newer de-esser called LIDo for this, but the principle applies to many de-essers (like the popular Soothe2 or FabFilter Pro-DS). The goal is to drastically reduce the sibilance.

Why does this work? When these heavily de-essed doubles are tucked underneath the main lead vocal, their overly softened 's' sounds no longer compete or flam with the lead. The body and tone of the doubles still contribute to the overall thickness and melodic content, but they don't introduce sibilance problems. It’s a clever way to get the benefits of vocal layering without the common pitfalls, helping the doubles blend seamlessly and almost invisibly.

Bringing It All Home

These vocal mixing techniques from Machine are potent because they’re about creative problem-solving. Using Decapitator not just for generic distortion but as a tonal shaping tool for low-end power, and employing extreme de-essing to make sung doubles sit right – these are the kinds of moves that separate pro mixes from the rest.

Want to see Machine break down these techniques and many more on Lamb of God's "Redneck" in full detail? You can get instant access to the entire mixing session, complete with the raw multitracks, over at Nail The Mix. It’s one thing to read about it, but watching a master like Machine work his magic on a track like this can truly help you unlock your sound and take your metal mixes beyond presets.

And if you're looking to dive deeper into how distortion and EQ interact, or how controlled dynamics from smart compression can further enhance vocal presence, there's a whole world of knowledge waiting for you. Give these Lamb of God vocal tricks a shot in your next mix!