Mixing Mitch Lucker’s Vocals: Machine’s Suicide Silence Techniques

Mitch Lucker is a legend. His performance on Suicide Silence’s “Wake Up” is the kind of raw, powerful take that producers dream of getting their hands on. But how do you take an already iconic vocal and make it sit perfectly in a dense, aggressive metal mix without losing its edge?

We got a look inside a session with producer Machine as he tackled this exact challenge. He breaks down a vocal chain that’s both straightforward and incredibly smart, full of actionable techniques you can apply to your own mixes. From clever bussing to achieve vocal clarity to game-changing compression tricks, let’s dive into how he made Mitch’s vocals cut through.

The “Float on Top” Bus Trick: Keeping Vocals Present, Not Overpowering

One of the biggest struggles in mixing heavy music is preventing massive screamed vocals from getting swallowed by a wall of guitars or, conversely, from overpowering the entire track. Machine’s solution is a clever bussing strategy designed to make the vocal “float” on top of the mix.

The “Outsides” vs. “Insides” Buses

• The “Outsides” Bus (Bus 32): This is where the vast majority of the vocal signal goes. Think of this as the main, independent vocal channel that sits wide in the stereo field.
• The “Insides” Bus (Bus 31): This is a parallel bus that gets just a tiny sliver of the vocal signal. This bus is the “glue” that tucks the vocal into the center of the mix.

By feeding only a small amount of the vocal to the “insides” bus, he ensures that when big vocal sections with doubles and harmonies hit, they don’t add a ton of energy to the center of the mix. This prevents them from fighting with the snare and guitars. It’s a brilliant way to maintain vocal presence and power while preserving the clarity of your core instrumental mix.

Crafting the Main Vocal: Density and Aggression

With the routing sorted, Machine builds the core vocal tone with a series of targeted processing moves on the main channel strip.

Start with Smart EQ

First things first: clean up the mud. Machine immediately slaps on a high-pass filter. Screamed vocals carry immense energy in the mids and highs, but they don’t need sub-bass frequencies. Rolling off the low end is a non-negotiable first step to ensure the vocal doesn’t clash with the bass and kick drum. Getting your EQ strategies right is fundamental to a clean mix.

Parallel Processing for Excitement

Here’s where it gets interesting. Machine uses an incredibly extreme compressor plugin, one that sounds like it’s about to explode. He drives it hard, but instead of using it for typical dynamic control, he uses it as a parallel texture tool.

He cranks the compression, rolls off the low-end “body” control within the plugin, and then blends just a tiny amount of this hyper-compressed signal back in with the main vocal. The result is less about compression and more about excitement. The super-dense midrange of the processed signal acts like a harmonic exciter, adding an aggressive edge and density to the vocal without making it sound overtly processed.

Targeted Low-Mid Distortion

To add even more weight, Machine turns to a saturation plugin like the Soundtoys Decapitator. But again, the method is key. He’s not just slapping on distortion.

1. He sets the plugin to 100% wet.
2. Using the tone controls, he focuses the distortion primarily on the low-mid frequencies.
3. He then blends this “low-mid-only” distorted signal in with the dry vocal.

Mitch’s scream is already naturally distorted in the mids and highs. By adding targeted distortion to the lower frequencies, Machine “fills in the holes,” creating a fuller, richer, and denser vocal tone that sits better in the mix without just sounding noisier.

Treating Vocal Doubles and Layers

A huge part of the modern metal sound is layered vocals. Machine’s approach ensures these layers add width and impact without creating a mess. If you want to see exactly how these layers were recorded and processed, you can get the multitracks and the full 5-hour mixing session from Machine himself in the Suicide Silence session on Nail The Mix.

The Aggressive De-Esser Hack for Doubles

For doubled vocal tracks, Machine uses a brilliant trick: he de-esses the hell out of them. By setting a de-esser with a deep range on the vocal doubles, he aggressively ducks the harsh sibilance (“s” sounds) and the sharp initial transients.

This tames the attack of the doubles, so they don’t fight with the lead vocal. You’re left with the body and tone of the doubled performance, which provides width and support, while the main vocal’s articulation remains crystal clear. It’s a simple move that makes doubled vocals sound tighter and wider simultaneously.

Subtle Effects for Space

To give the vocals a sense of space, Machine uses a combination of subtle time-based effects, all blended in at a low level:

• Quick Reverb: A very short, “bathroom-sounding” reverb for a hint of early reflections.
• Slapback Delay: A fast, tight delay to add a bit of rhythmic energy.
• Stereo Chorus: For a touch of movement and stereo width.
• Panned Mono Delay: A simple mono delay, panned slightly off to one side to create subtle asymmetry.

The key is that even with three or four effects running, the vocal doesn’t sound “wet.” Each effect is just a whisper, contributing to an overall sense of dimension and polish.

Expanding the Stereo Image: Dual Mono vs. Stereo Compression

This is a pro-level move for any stereo source, whether it’s a vocal bus, drum overheads, or the mix bus itself. When compressing a stereo vocal group, Machine demonstrates the massive difference between using a standard stereo compressor and a dual mono compressor.

Stereo Linked vs. Dual Mono Unlinked: What’s the Difference?

Machine uses a great analogy: a stereo-linked compressor is like a car with a solid rear axle. When one wheel hits a bump, the other is affected. In a stereo compressor, a loud transient on the left channel will trigger the compressor on both the left and right channels equally.

A dual mono compressor is like a car with modern independent suspension. Each wheel reacts on its own. The compressor for the left channel only reacts to the left channel’s signal, and the same for the right.

Why Dual Mono Adds Width

By letting the left and right channels breathe independently, dual mono compression can create a noticeably wider and more dynamic stereo image. The sound “sparkles” and feels bigger because the two sides aren’t being squashed together. It’s a technique that can make your stereo elements pop out of the speakers.

Learn to Mix Vocals Like Machine

Reading about these techniques is one thing, but seeing them in action is a completely different ball game. Machine’s approach to mixing Mitch Lucker’s vocals is a masterclass in intentional, problem-solving production.

If you’re ready to see how pros like Machine build mixes from the ground up, check out Nail The Mix. Every month, you get access to real multitracks from massive metal songs and watch the original producers mix them from scratch, explaining every single decision along the way. Stop guessing and start learning the tried-and-true techniques that lead to pro-level results and unlock your sound beyond presets.

Want to dive deeper into this exact track? Grab the multitracks and watch Machine mix “Wake Up” from start to finish with your Nail The Mix membership.

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