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Christian Donaldson mixes "Phoboohile" by Cryptopsy
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Few death metal tracks are as brutal, iconic, and technically demanding as Cryptopsy’s “Phobophile” off their landmark 1996 album *None So Vile*. With its swinging Theremin-introed piano, frantic blastbeat-driven tempo shifts, and inhuman guttural delivery from Lord Worm, this track has become a genre-defining moment in extreme metal history. The session combines ultra-fast double-kick programming, wildly dynamic tempo mapping, and borderline-impossible transitions—making it a goldmine for advanced producers looking to deep-dive into controlled chaos.
This Nail The Mix session features veteran death metal producer Christian Donaldson, guitarist of Cryptopsy and head of Studio Plasma in Quebec. Known for his crystal-clear yet punishingly aggressive mixes, Christian walks through his reconstruction of the original 1996 track using the album’s raw multitracks. It’s one of the few opportunities to hear—and mix—real instrumentation from a defining second-wave technical death metal record, minus the era’s analog limitations.
Technically, this session covers precision alignment of hyperdense drum performances, low-mid coherence during fast tremolo riffing, layering ambient reverb in an otherwise dry aesthetic, and up-front vocal treatment in a mix with minimal “pocket.” You’ll see how Christian retains aggression and percussive detail while giving space to distinctive passages like the piano breakdown, within the context of tonally rich extreme metal.
Download the multitracks of “Phobophile” and step into a raw production environment that challenges your definition of mix balance, energy control, and stylistic filter. This is a chance to grow your chops on a pivotal work in death metal history with one of the genre’s leading producer-performers.
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