You’ll be dealing with tightly performed but deeply layered drum tracks that push transient control and phase cohesion to the forefront. Guitars switch from Old World melodic phrasing to hard-chugging midrange walls, demanding constant tonal management. Jonas Renkse’s vocals sit on top of a dense midrange cluster, requiring careful compression and timed reverb peaks to retain intimacy and power.

VOLA’s “Napalm” is a dense, cinematic piece of progressive metal that fuses polyrhythmic riffing, massive low-end, and lush synth-driven atmospheres with surgically dialed-in production. Taken from their 2021 album *Witness*, the track showcases the band at their most dynamic and texturally complex — balancing downtuned guitars with sparkling clean vocals and ambient layers that shift constantly throughout the arrangement.

This session covers real-world scenarios many mixers face: balancing heavily compressed drums that still need punch, enhancing distorted layers without losing transients, surgical midrange work to prevent melodic synths from colliding with the chordal guitar layers, and handling long-tailed reverbs in a track that never sits still. There’s intricate automation throughout, deceptively simple but tightly constructed song form, and a modern tone palate that demands a detailed, nuanced approach to saturation and dynamic control.

Mixed by Jacob Hansen at Hansen Studios, best known for high-impact, surgically controlled mixes for bands like Epica, Volbeat, and Fleshgod Apocalypse, the session is a masterclass in managing density without sacrificing clarity. Jacob’s balance of analog saturation and surgical EQ provides invaluable insight into mixing modern progressive metal that sounds wide without getting muddy.

The multitracks let you reverse engineer Jacob’s approach and tackle advanced challenges like stacking doubled guitar harmonies, automation-heavy vocal rides, and intricate ambient FX design. Download this mix if you want to elevate your control over vibe, contrast, and modern metal polish—all while learning from a mixer operating at the genre’s highest level.