Suicide Silence “Wake Up”: Raw Tracks & Brutal Mix Insights

Alright, let's talk Suicide Silence. Specifically, their absolute monster of a track, "Wake Up." If you're into heavy music production, you know the name carries weight – a legacy of pure, unadulterated aggression. Ever wondered what it's like to tear apart one of their songs, piece by piece, and rebuild it from the ground up? Getting your hands on the raw multi-tracks for "Wake Up" via Nail The Mix is like being handed the keys to a sonic war machine. We're diving into what you can expect and how you might approach mixing such a beast.

Unpacking the "Wake Up" Multi-Tracks: What Awaits?

Crack open the session for Suicide Silence's "Wake Up," and you’re in for an intense experience. Expect a barrage of tracks, each a critical component of their signature deathcore assault.

• Drums: You'll likely find a comprehensive setup. Think close mics on every piece of the kit – kick in, kick out, snare top, snare bottom, individual toms. Overheads and room mics will be there to capture the kit's overall image and raw energy. Given the genre's demand for consistency and punch, don't be surprised to find trigger tracks or pre-blended samples alongside the raw acoustic drums.
• Guitars: This is where much of the Suicide Silence magic happens. Expect multiple layers of brutally low-tuned guitars. You’ll probably get pristine Direct Input (DI) signals, giving you ultimate flexibility, and potentially some pre-amped or reamped tones that the band and producer cooked up.
• Bass: The foundation holding down those subterranean guitar riffs. Look for a DI track for clean low-end and possibly an amped or distorted track to help it slice through the dense mix.
• Vocals: Mitch Lucker’s iconic vocals are a force of nature. You'll get the raw main vocal tracks, and potentially some doubles, backing layers, or ad-libs that add to the texture and ferocity.
• Production Elements: While "Wake Up" is known for its raw power, there might be subtle production elements, FX, or atmospheric sounds tucked away. Part of the fun is discovering these hidden gems.

Dominating the Guitar Onslaught

Suicide Silence’s guitar tone is legendary – thick, aggressive, and tuned way down low. Taming and shaping these tracks is a rewarding challenge.

DIs: Your Blank Canvas

Raw DI tracks are gold. They're your unprocessed, clean slate to sculpt the tone from scratch. This is where your favorite amp modeling plugins come into play. Whether you're a fan of Neural DSP archetypes, STL Tones, or something like a classic TSE X50, the DIs give you the freedom to experiment endlessly. Focus on getting a tight, articulate high-gain sound that doesn't turn into a muddy mess.

Sculpting with Reamped Tones

If the session includes pre-processed amp tones, listen to what character they bring. These can be a fantastic starting point or even the main event. You might use them as is, blend them with your own amp sim creations, or use them as a reference. The key is to see how they fit into the overall sonic picture you're building.

EQing the Wall of Sound

With guitars this heavy and low-tuned, EQ is your best friend for clarity and punch.

• High-Pass Filtering: Essential. You need to clear out unnecessary sub-bass rumble to make space for the kick and bass guitar. Start around 80-120Hz, but use your ears – don't thin them out too much.
• Taming Fizz: High-gain amps can generate a lot of high-frequency "fizz" or "hash." Use a surgical EQ (like a FabFilter Pro-Q 3) with a narrow Q to find and notch out these offending frequencies, often found above 6-8kHz. This cleans up the tone without losing aggression.
• Low-Mid Management: The 200-500Hz range can get incredibly muddy with low-tuned guitars. Gentle, broad cuts here can often open up the mix considerably.
• Presence and Bite: Look for frequencies in the upper mids (1.5kHz-4kHz) that can bring out the pick attack and aggression, helping the guitars cut through.

Layering for Maximum Impact

Suicide Silence, like many modern metal bands, often relies on layered guitars for that immense wall of sound. You'll likely have at least two rhythm guitar tracks panned hard left and right. If there are more (like quad-tracks), focus on making them incredibly tight. Even tiny timing discrepancies can be phasey and messy. Sometimes, less is more if the performance isn't perfectly locked.

Engineering the Drum Annihilation

Deathcore drums need to hit like a battering ram – powerful, precise, and cutting.

Kick Drum: The Foundation of Fury

The kick is paramount. You'll often be blending an acoustic kick (or multiple mics like kick in/out) with samples.

• Sample Blending: Use a trigger plugin (like Slate Trigger 2 or Drumagog) to layer in samples that provide consistency and the desired attack/sub. Find samples that complement the acoustic kick.
• EQ: Boost the "click" (4-8kHz) for attack and definition, and the sub-bass (50-80Hz) for weight. Scoop out boxiness in the 300-600Hz range.
• Compression: Use compression to even out the dynamics and shape the transient. A fast attack can emphasize the click, while a slower attack lets more of the initial hit through before clamping down.

Snare That Cracks Like a Whip

A deathcore snare needs to be explosive.

• Top/Bottom Mics: Blend the snare top (for body and crack) with the snare bottom (for sizzle from the wires). Flip the phase on the bottom mic!
• Sample Reinforcement: Just like the kick, samples are your friend for a consistent, powerful snare hit. Choose samples that have the impact you need.
• Reverb: Keep it tight. Short plate reverbs or small room ambiences can give the snare some space without washing it out. Gate the reverb to keep it controlled.

Toms and Cymbals: Clarity in the Chaos

• Toms: Gate them to remove bleed and keep them punchy. EQ for attack and resonance.
• Cymbals: Can get harsh quickly. Use your overheads and room mics for the main cymbal sound. A gentle high-shelf cut on the overheads or individual cymbal spot mics can tame excessive brightness if needed. Be careful not to make them sound dull.

Commanding Mitch Lucker's Vocal Intensity

Mitch Lucker's vocals are iconic and demand careful handling to sit right in such a dense mix.

Taming Dynamics with Compression

Extreme vocals have massive dynamic range. Serial compression is often the way to go:

• First Compressor: A faster compressor (like an 1176-style FET) to catch the aggressive peaks and even things out.
• Second Compressor: A smoother compressor (like an LA-2A-style opto) for overall level control and added thickness.
  Don't overdo it; you want control, not a squashed, lifeless vocal.

EQ for Clarity and Bite

The vocals need to cut through a wall of guitars.

• High-Pass Filter: Remove unnecessary low-end rumble.
• Mid-Range Carving: You might need to make some careful cuts in the low-mids (250-500Hz) on the guitars to create a pocket for the vocals, and then boost the vocals slightly in a complementary range.
• Presence/Air: Add some presence (3-5kHz) for intelligibility and "air" (10kHz+) for brightness, but watch out for sibilance. A de-esser might be necessary.
  Use a good EQ plugin to make precise adjustments.

Adding Dimension: Reverbs and Delays

Subtlety is key.

• Reverb: Short plate reverbs or subtle room sounds can give the vocals a sense of space.
• Delay: Slapback delays or short, rhythmic delays can add excitement and depth. Sync them to the tempo. Try filtering the delays so they don't clutter the mix.

Laying Down the Low-End Law: Bass Guitar

In a mix this dense and low-tuned, getting the bass to be heard and felt is critical.

The DI and Amp Combo

A common technique is to use two bass tracks:

• DI Track: Keep this relatively clean, compress it for consistency, and use it for the solid low-frequency foundation.
• Amped/Distorted Track: This track provides the midrange grind and aggression that helps the bass cut through on smaller speakers and be audible alongside the guitars. You can create this by reamping the DI or using a bass amp sim plugin (e.g., Darkglass Ultra, SansAmp RBI).

Distortion: The Secret Weapon

Don't be afraid to distort the bass (or at least one layer of it). This isn't just for super heavy tones; even a bit of saturation can add harmonics that help the bass translate better in the mix, especially when the guitars are eating up a lot of low-mid energy.

Interplay with Guitars

The bass and guitars need to work together. Often, this means EQing them so they occupy slightly different spaces in the low-mids. If your guitars are thick around 200Hz, try focusing the bass energy a bit lower or higher to create separation. Sidechain compression can also be useful, ducking the bass slightly when the kick hits.

Mix It Like a Pro with Nail The Mix

Getting your hands on the actual multi-tracks for a song like "Wake Up" is an incredible learning opportunity. It’s one thing to read about techniques, but it’s another to apply them to pro-level recordings. You get to hear exactly what went into the raw recordings and then practice shaping them into a finished product.

If dissecting tracks like these and learning directly from the producers who’ve mixed some of the biggest metal albums on the planet sounds like your jam, then Nail The Mix is where you need to be. Every month, you get new multi-tracks from iconic bands and watch the original producer mix the song from scratch, explaining every decision along the way.

To dive deeper into foundational mixing skills and elevate your productions beyond presets, check out invaluable resources like Unlock Your Sound: Mixing Modern Metal Beyond Presets.

Ready to get your hands dirty with these legendary tracks? Head over to the Suicide Silence "Wake Up" NTM session and start crafting your own brutal mix. It's a wild ride, and the skills you'll hone are invaluable. Happy mixing!