Lorna Shore’s Vocal Attack: Josh Schroeder’s ‘To The Hellfire’ Mix

Will Ramos's vocal performance on Lorna Shore's "To The Hellfire" is undeniably iconic, showcasing an insane range and brutal delivery that left jaws on the floor. But how do you take such a powerful raw performance and make it sit perfectly in an already dense and aggressive mix? We dove into a session with producer Josh Schroeder to see exactly how he tackled these monstrous vocals, revealing his thought process behind the layering, processing, and dynamic shifts that make them hit so hard. Get ready to explore the techniques used to make these vocals both an overwhelming force and a clear focal point.

The Foundation: Heavy Lifting Before the DAW

Josh emphasizes that a significant portion of the vocal sound for "To The Hellfire" was sculpted before the signals even hit his Pro Tools session. Will's vocals were tracked with a healthy dose of hardware compression and saturation, likely from gear like a Neve preamp/EQ, and even some clipping. This "heavy lifting" upfront means the raw tracks already possessed a significant amount of control and character – they were "beautifully compressed and clipped," providing a solid, blown-up starting point that Josh enjoys. On the individual vocal tracks within the session, there's often little to no additional EQ or compression; the groundwork was laid externally.

Crafting the Core Vocal Tone: Bus Processing Essentials

With the raw tracks already sounding pretty potent, Josh focuses his in-the-box processing on the main vocal bus, where all of Will's lead vocal tracks are routed. This is where the overall character, clarity, and fit within the mix are refined.

Taming Harshness & Boosting Grit: De-essing and Enhancement

First up on the bus is a combination of de-essing and enhancement. The goal here is twofold: to bring forward the "disgusting texture" and grit in Will's voice that makes it so unique, while simultaneously taming any problematic 's' or 'shh' sounds that can become harsh or distracting, especially with such aggressive vocals. It's about finding that balance where the aggression is present but not annoying.

Sculpting with EQ and Multiband Compression

Following the initial enhancement, some strategic EQ and multiband compression come into play.

• Multiband Compression (Initial): A touch of multiband compression is used subtly, not to drastically alter the sound, but to prevent certain frequency areas from building up and clashing with other instruments. You'll see this approach across many elements in Josh's mixes – it’s about maintaining clarity in a dense soundscape. For more on taming frequencies, check out our EQ strategies for modern metal.
• Sculpting EQ: Further EQ is applied to brighten the vocals and add some more low-end roll-off, fine-tuning the core foundation.
• FabFilter Pro-MB (for Stacks): A key piece of the puzzle, especially as vocal layers build up, is another instance of FabFilter Pro-MB. This multiband compressor becomes particularly active during sections with heavily stacked vocals, like choruses. As layers are added, frequencies inevitably multiply and can start to "take some of the starch out of the drums" or compete with the bass. The Pro-MB on the master vocal bus dynamically ducks these problematic buildups only when they occur due to stacking, keeping the overall vocal presence powerful yet controlled. This is a crucial technique for managing density; learn more about dynamic control with our metal compression secrets.

Adding Width and Space: Doublers and Reverb

To give the vocals a larger-than-life feel and help them sit in their own space:

• Vocal Doubler: A vocal doubler is used across the main vocal bus to widen the stereo image, making the vocals feel broader and more enveloping.
• Light Compression: Another subtle compressor is on the bus, mainly to catch any overly aggressive peaks that might poke out too much, thus slightly reducing the overall dynamic range for consistency.
• Reverb (Waves New York Plate): For ambience, Josh turns to a classic: a plate reverb, specifically mentioning the "good old Waves New York plate." This isn't about drenching the vocals, but giving them "a little bit of space away from all the other instruments" so they don’t sound overly dry and disconnected.

The Art of Vocal Layering & Dynamic Contrast in a Dense Mix

"To The Hellfire" is a relentlessly intense track, and maintaining listener engagement without it becoming monotonous or overwhelming requires creative use of dynamics, especially with vocals. Josh masterfully manipulates vocal layers and their stereo placement to achieve this.

Building Intensity: From Mono Stacks to Wide Breakdowns

Josh often starts with a more focused vocal image, even when layering. For instance, he might have a main vocal with another layer underneath, but he'll route these through a stereo bus in a way that keeps their spatial occupation relatively mono. This keeps the verse vocals tight and punchy.

Then, when a section like the first breakdown hits, he pans these layers out wide. This shift from a narrower image to a wide, multi-layered vocal attack creates a huge dynamic impact. You go from two or three more centered vocals to a wall of sound that fills the stereo field, making the breakdown feel even bigger. This approach also allows intricate guitar parts in sections like the pre-breakdown (labeled "nasty" in his session) to occupy the stereo field more, as the vocals are kept "stacked and narrow." In the breakdown, where the guitars are often chugging simple rhythms, the vocals can open up and take center stage across the stereo spectrum.

Sleight of Hand: Transitioning with Tempo and Fades

One of the biggest challenges is managing these intense, layered sections and then transitioning back to something smaller, like a pre-chorus, without it sounding weak. Josh uses a "sleight of hand" technique. When the song features a stark tempo change, all attention is drawn to that shift. He uses this moment of misdirection to subtly fade out some of the wider vocal layers. He also introduces delay throws on the vocals during these transitions, further smoothing the change and creating a sense of movement into the next section. The listener is "bedazzled by the whole tempo change," making the reduction in vocal layers almost unnoticeable.

Performance and Processing: Thinning Out for Impact

To further aid these transitions, especially when moving from a massive, low-ended vocal section to a pre-chorus that needs to feel smaller before a huge chorus, Josh might discuss with Will the performance itself. For example, asking Will to "swing it way high" at the end of a heavy, layered part. This natural thinning of the vocal timbre, as Will moves from lows to highs, is then enhanced with processing. Josh can use EQ to further thin out these transitional high vocals, push them back with more reverb, and create a sense of them floating into the "stratosphere."

This allows the following pre-chorus to hit with a more focused, mid-heavy single vocal that still feels powerful because of the contrast created. You’ve effectively "gotten away from all this layering" to reset, allowing the pre-chorus to feel full with just one primary vocal, setting the stage for the chorus where you can "dump every single vocal layer trick in the book."

Bringing It All Together for Lorna Shore's Monumental Sound

Mixing Will Ramos's vocals for Lorna Shore's "To The Hellfire" is a masterclass in balancing raw power with intelligibility and dynamic interest. Key takeaways from Josh Schroeder's approach include:

• Solid Foundations: Getting a compressed, saturated, and even clipped sound before the DAW.
• Strategic Bus Processing: Using de-essers, enhancers, EQ, and multiple stages of multiband compression (like FabFilter Pro-MB) on the main vocal bus to control stacked layers and ensure clarity.
• Creative Layering & Panning: Manipulating the number of vocal layers and their stereo width to create dynamic shifts between song sections (e.g., narrow verses, wide breakdowns).
• Smart Transitions: Using elements like tempo changes and delay throws as "sleight of hand" to subtly reduce layers and guide the listener into new sections.
• Vocal Performance Guidance: Working with the vocalist to use their range to naturally create tonal shifts that aid in transitions.

These are the kinds of detailed, real-world techniques that separate good mixes from great ones. Applying these concepts can elevate your own heavy vocal productions.

Want to see exactly how pros like Josh Schroeder dial in these sounds, make critical EQ decisions, and automate effects on real songs from bands like Lorna Shore? At Nail The Mix, you get the raw multitracks every month and watch world-class producers mix them from scratch, explaining every move. Dive deeper into the Lorna Shore "To The Hellfire" session with Josh Schroeder and see these techniques in action. If you're ready to move beyond presets and truly understand modern metal mixing, check out our comprehensive guide: Unlock Your Sound: Mixing Modern Metal Beyond Presets. Imagine having access to the actual session files and seeing how every plugin, every fader move contributes to the final monumental sound. That’s what you get with the Lorna Shore NTM session.