Mixing Animals As Leaders: Taming “Red Miso’s” Low-End & Complex Layers

Let’s be real: mixing Animals As Leaders is a bucket-list gig for any producer who loves progressive, complex, and face-meltingly heavy music. They’re an iconic instrumental trio, and without a vocalist to build a mix around, the entire game changes. The guitars, bass, and drums don’t just support the song; they are the song.

When we got our hands on the multi-tracks for their track “Red Miso,” we knew it would be a monster of a challenge. It’s a masterclass in modern production, but it’s packed with unique hurdles that can trip up even experienced mixers. We’re talking about extended range guitars that live in the sub-bass realm, tones that shift and morph every eight bars, and some of the most intricate drumming you’ll ever hear.

So, let’s break down the biggest challenges in this session and explore some actionable strategies you can use to tackle a mix this dense and dynamic.

Tackling the Challenge of Extended Range Guitars

The first thing that smacks you in the face with this track is the sheer weight of the guitars. Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes are pioneers of the extended range guitar for a reason. These aren’t your standard Drop D chugs; these riffs dive deep into territory normally reserved for the bass guitar.

Managing the Low-End Mayhem

When your rhythm guitars have fundamental notes reaching down into the sub-bass frequencies, you’ve got a problem: mud. That low-end energy can instantly clash with the bass guitar and the kick drum, creating a chaotic, undefined mess.

• Surgical EQ is Your Best Friend: You can’t just slap a high-pass filter on these and call it a day; you’d gut the entire tone. Instead, you need to get surgical. Use a parametric EQ with a narrow Q to find specific pockets of mud, often in the 80Hz-250Hz range, where the bass and guitars are fighting for space. Carve out just enough from one to make room for the other. This isn’t about massive cuts, but precise, delicate sculpting. Getting this right is fundamental to EQ strategies for mixing modern metal.
• Embrace Dynamic EQ & Multi-band Compression: A static EQ cut might work for one riff but kill another. This is where dynamic processing shines. Use a multi-band compressor or a dynamic EQ to clamp down on the sub-bass frequencies (say, 40-80Hz) only when the guitars get overwhelmingly powerful, like during a palm-muted chug. This keeps the low-end controlled without making the tone thin when they play higher-register passages.

The Power of Included DIs

One of the coolest parts of this session is that it includes the raw DI (Direct Input) tracks for the guitars. This is a golden opportunity. The producers noted that they spent as much time dialing in the final amp tones as they did mixing the entire song.

Now you can do the same. Load up the DIs and try to build your own tones from scratch. Can you beat the originals? Use your favorite amp sims—Archetype: Abasi, an Axe-Fx, or a Kemper—and see what you can create. This is incredible practice for developing your ear for tone. You can even hear the pitch-shifted whammy pedal effects printed directly into some of the audio tracks, giving you a target to aim for with your own creative processing.

Navigating AAL’s Dynamic Tonal Landscape

If the low-end wasn’t enough of a challenge, “Red Miso” is constantly evolving. A standard metal song might have one rhythm tone for the whole track. Here, the tones change constantly, from crystalline cleans to glassy mid-gain parts to full-on saturated destruction.

Each Section is a New Mix

You have to treat each part of the song almost like its own individual mix. The EQ, compression, and effects that make the heavy rhythm section sound massive will completely crush the delicate clean parts.

This is where automation becomes critical. You’ll need to automate your EQ to adapt to the changing tones, bypass compressors on cleaner sections, and ride the volume faders to ensure every part has its own space and impact. The goal is to make these transitions feel seamless, guiding the listener through the song’s journey without any jarring changes.

Layering Bass for Maximum Impact

The bass guitar follows the same philosophy of dynamic tones. The session provides multiple layers to work with:

• Bass DI: The clean, fundamental signal.
• Miked Tones: Captured with mics like a Shure Beta 52A and an HEIL PR 20 for different flavors of amp character.
• Octave & Dirt: An octave pedal effect and separate distortion layers that can be blended in.

As a mixer, this is a gift. During a cleaner, more atmospheric section, you might rely solely on the DI and a touch of the miked tone. But when a heavy breakdown hits, you can automate and bring in those aggressive distortion layers and the sub-octave to add immense power and grind that perfectly complements the guitars.

Mixing Matt Garstka’s Intricate Drumming

Matt Garstka’s drumming is a universe unto itself. It’s not just about power; it’s about nuance, with a dizzying array of tiny accent cymbals, stacks, and splashes that are essential to the groove.

Making the Accents Pop

The big challenge is making those small, fast cymbal hits cut through a dense wall of guitars without making the overheads sound harsh or washy. If you just turn up the overheads, you’ll get a mess of bleed.

The solution in this session is the inclusion of spot mics for the hi-hat, ride, and even the individual cymbal stacks. This gives you precise control. You can use gates or manual editing to isolate just the hits you want, then use subtle EQ and compression to make them pop. This lets you place each accent exactly where you want it in the mix, ensuring no part of the performance gets lost.

Crafting Ambiance with Parallel Rooms

This session comes loaded with awesome room mic options that let you shape the drum space dynamically. You’ve got a thunderous parallel room track that’s been heavily compressed, another stereo room, and even a gritty mono room.

By blending these different room sounds, you can change the entire vibe of the kit from one section to the next. You can automate the “explosive” parallel room to come up just during the heaviest sections for maximum impact, then pull it back and rely on the more natural room mics for verses. This is a classic application of parallel compression to add size and power.

Carving Space for Mid-Range Synths

Finally, the track is peppered with cool synth layers. Interestingly, many of them sit squarely in the mid-range. In a normal mix, this would be a collision course with the guitars. But here, since the guitars are tuned so low, there’s a surprising amount of open real estate in the mids.

The challenge is to make the synths sound integrated, not just slapped on top. This involves careful EQ to ensure they aren’t fighting with the guitar-mid presence or the snare’s body. And just like with the guitars, the synth MIDI is included. This is an invaluable look behind the curtain, allowing you to analyze their chord voicings, arrangements, and melodies to inspire your own productions.

Your Turn to Mix Animals As Leaders

Mixing a track like “Red Miso” pushes you to move beyond basic techniques. It forces you to think about dynamic arrangement, sonic layering, and precise automation. From managing sub-bass chaos and multi-layered bass tones to making intricate cymbals cut through, every element requires your full attention.

These are the exact kinds of challenges that will make you a better producer. And at Nail The Mix, we give you the chance to do it yourself. You can get your hands on the full multi-track session for “Red Miso” and put these techniques to the test.

Even better, you get to watch the band’s own Javier Reyes and producer Nick Sampson tag-team the mix from scratch, explaining every single decision they make. If you’re ready to move beyond presets and learn how elite-level tracks are really made, check out our free training on how to Unlock Your Sound. Dive in, download the “Red Miso” multi-tracks, and see what you can create. Happy mixing