Suicide Silence’s “Unanswered”: Mixing Its Raw, Live Energy

Suicide Silence's "Unanswered" isn't just a song; it's a raw slab of deathcore history. This track, famously mixed by the legendary Tui Madsen for Nail The Mix in November 2019, stands as a testament to capturing lightning in a bottle. What's truly mind-blowing is its origin story: reportedly recorded in about 15 minutes, three takes live, no click track. That "no fucks given," almost punk-rock approach is exactly what gives it an undeniable, infectious energy that so many sterile, over-produced metal tracks lack.

Let's dive into these raw multi-tracks and unbox what makes this recording so special and how you can approach mixing such beautifully untamed aggression. The key here? Preserve that raw power.

Mitch Lucker's Vocals: Pure, Unfiltered Fury

First up, the monumental vocals of the late Mitch Lucker (RIP). Listening to his raw tracks is an experience. You can hear the sheer power and demonic quality in his delivery, even without a lick of mix processing.

Capturing the Intensity On the Way In

From the look of the waveforms, it's highly probable these vocals were hit with some compression on the way in during tracking. This is a common technique to tame wild dynamics and get a more consistent, aggressive vocal sound right from the source. Think of an 1176-style FET compressor, perhaps with a medium attack and fast release, just to catch those peaks and bring up the intensity. This initial squeeze helps the vocal sit powerfully in the mix from the get-go.

Mixing Approach: Let the Demon Breathe

When you get vocals this raw and powerful, the mixing mantra is "less is more." Sure, you'll need some EQ to carve out space and enhance clarity, maybe some subtle saturation, but the goal is to enhance, not to reconstruct. You want to maintain that feeling of him just killing it in the room. Notice the absence of doubles in the raw take; it’s all about that singular, vicious performance.

The Drum Sound: Live, Punchy, and Grooving

The drums on "Unanswered" are a perfect example of a solid, hard-hitting live performance. The setup appears to be pretty standard: kick, snare top, snare bottom, four toms, stereo overheads, hi-hat, an ambient mic, and a dedicated distorted room mic.

The "Human Element": No Click, All Feel

The fact these drums were played live without a click track is a huge part of their power. You can hear the real human energy, the slight pushes and pulls that give the track its groove. This is what makes it slam so hard – it’s played, not programmed.

Mixing Strategy: Don't Overcook It

These drums already sound brutal raw. The high-pitched snare cuts, the toms are resonant, and the overall kit has a fantastic raw energy. The biggest challenge here is to not over-process.

• Embrace the Rawness: Your job is to make them sound huge, but if you start quantizing, sample-replacing heavily, or over-compressing, you'll suck the life right out of them.
• The Distorted Room Mic: That distorted room mic is gold. It’s a massive part of the aggression and glue. Blend it in to taste to add size and power, especially to the kick and snare. It can help the drums feel explosive without resorting to tons of individual processing.
• Parallel Compression: If you need more punch, consider parallel compression. Send your drum bus to an aux track, smash it with a compressor (like a Distressor on "Nuke" or a dbx 160), and blend it back in subtly. This adds energy without destroying the original dynamics.
• Gating (Carefully!): With a live recording, bleed is inevitable. Use gates judiciously on elements like toms if needed, but be careful not to make them sound choked or unnatural. Sometimes a bit of sympathetic snare buzz in the tom mics can add to the live feel.

Guitars: Heavy, Nasty, and Real

The guitars on "Unanswered" are a wall of sound. We're looking at three distinct guitar parts, each apparently mic'd with a "low," "high," and "room" mic. This suggests a potential Left-Center-Right panning scheme, with each position having a blend of these three mic sources. Tui Madsen, who mixed this for NTM, has been known to work with live recordings that feature guitar room mics (like on a previous Mastodon track he mixed for NTM), so this setup isn't entirely surprising.

The Sound: Raw and Unfiltered Aggression

These guitars are not about surgical precision or overly technical playing. They are about delivering sheer weight and a nasty, aggressive tone. They sound undeniably heavy.

Mixing Approach: Embrace the Grit, Not the Sterile

It's tempting to look at raw, slightly messy guitars and immediately want to notch out every resonant frequency and "clean them up." While some EQ work is necessary in any mix, be extremely cautious here.

• Don't Over-Scoop: The classic metal mid-scoop has its place, but if you go too far, you'll lose the body and aggression.
• Tame Fizz, Don't Kill Attack: High-end fizz can be an issue. Use a narrow Q to surgically remove only the offensive whistling frequencies, often above 5-7kHz. Don't just broadly shelve down the highs, or you'll lose the pick attack and clarity.
• Blending Mics: Experiment with the balance of the "low," "high," and "room" mics for each guitar part. The "low" might provide the fundamental chug, the "high" the articulation, and the "room" the space and aggression. The interaction between these can create a massive sound without needing tons of plugins.
• The "Too Clean" Trap: The moment these guitars start sounding too polished, too clean, or even a little sterile, you’ve lost the essence of Suicide Silence. This track thrives on its rawness.

Bass: Bleed Can Be Your Best Friend

The bass setup includes tracks labeled "Bass 1," "Bass DI," and "Bass 2," suggesting two mic'd signals and a direct input.

Proof of a Live Recording: Embracing the Bleed

The most revealing thing here is the audible snare and drum bleed in the bass mic tracks. This is definitive proof of the live, in-the-room recording. Some engineers might panic at this, but don't!

Why Bleed Can Be Good

That bleed, especially if it's not overpowering, can actually help glue the mix together. It adds a sense of space and realism, making the band sound like they're playing in the same environment – because they were!

• Not a Major Concern: The bleed here isn't loud enough to be a significant problem. If anything, it can be a subtle enhancer.
• The DI is Your Clean Slate: If the bleed in a particular section is truly problematic, or if you want a super-defined low-end, you always have the Bass DI track. You can blend this with the mic'd signals, or even use it to trigger a bass amp sim (like an Ampeg SVT model) or a sub-bass generator for more control over the fundamental frequencies.
• Phase Alignment: When blending DI and mic'd bass, always check phase! Misaligned phase can lead to a thin, weak bass sound. Zoom in on the waveforms and nudge one track slightly, or use a phase alignment plugin.

The "No Fucks Given" Philosophy: Lessons from a Raw Recording

This "Unanswered" session is a masterclass in the power of raw energy. It's a reminder that metal production doesn't always have to be about sterile perfection and gridded performances.

The Power of a Great Performance

This band sounds powerful raw. They were clearly well-rehearsed and capable of delivering an intense performance live in the studio. This is the foundation. No amount of mixing can create this level of energy if it's not captured at the source. It’s why they were, and are, such a formidable live act.

Avoiding Sterility in Metal Production

In an era where metal production can sometimes feel overly sanitized, "Unanswered" is a breath of fresh, albeit brutal, air. The imperfections, the live feel, the bleed – these are all part of its charm and power. The goal for any band should be to get good at playing together in a room. When you can do that, you can capture magic.

Mix "Unanswered" Yourself with Tui Madsen on Nail The Mix

There's so much to learn from dissecting these raw tracks. The magic of "Unanswered" lies in its bare-bones, unadulterated power. When mixing, your primary directive is to not ruin it by overdoing things.

If you want to see exactly how a master like Tui Madsen tackles these very tracks, transforming this raw energy into a finished, slamming mix, you're in luck. You can get your hands on these Suicide Silence "Unanswered" multi-tracks and watch Tui mix them from scratch on Nail The Mix.

It’s one thing to read about it; it’s another to see it happen step-by-step, with every decision explained. This is your chance to learn the techniques the pros use to handle raw, energetic recordings and make them hit even harder.

These raw tracks are a fantastic learning tool. They demonstrate the power of performance, the importance of capturing energy, and the beauty of a recording that isn't afraid to be a little rough around the edges. Good luck, happy mixing, and remember to preserve that incredible raw power!

Want to dive deeper into metal mixing and learn from the best in the business? Check out Nail The Mix for monthly multi-track sessions and in-depth tutorials. And if you're ready to go beyond presets and truly unlock your sound in modern metal mixing, we've got you covered. Take what you've learned from these "Unanswered" insights and apply it to your own mixes!