Next up on Audioeclectica.com’s 2020 End Of The Year Lists, the Top 10 Producers/Mixers. The stipulation is that, an album/EP had to have been released this year.
Vote for your favorite in the comments section. At the end of the month, I will release the results of the readers poll.
This list is also in NO PARTICULAR ORDER!!!
01) Nick Rowe/Steve Evetts- Greg Puciato: Child Soldier; Creator Of God 02) Billy Corgan- The Smashing Pumpkins: Cyr 03) Mark Nash/Ken Andrews- In Parallel: Fashioner 04) Terry Date- Deftones: Ohms 05) Will Yip- Nothing: The Great Dismal 06) EL-P- Run The Jewels: RTJ IV 07) Josh Wilbur- Killer Be Killed: Reluctant Hero, Trivium: What The Dead Men Say 08) Loathe- Loathe: I Let It In and It Took Everything 09) Shooter Jennings- Marilyn Manson: We Are Chaos 10) Brian McTernan- Be Well: The Weight and The Cost
I was originally going to make a giant list of the best debut albums of all time but, I thought doing an individual series would be more fun and frankly more interesting. There are zillions of great debut albums out there. Some of which are legendary and influential while others are just plain awesome. Some of you reading this might not agree with all the ones I pick and that’s ok. I just really want to showcase some great albums, some that you might have missed and some you probably haven’t listened to in a long time.
There are quite a few bands that really work to create a piece of work that is special. They don’t compromise their artistic integrity just to sell their albums. Instead they grind it out in hope that people will listen and grasp just what they are doing. One of those bands is Dredg. Never one to follow a trend or sacrifice their art for a buck, the guys in Dredg stand by their vision and don’t disappoint. Their third album Catch Without Arms just passed the ten year mark, and it still rocks just as much as when it came out. Catch Without Arms was released on June 21, 2005. This album showed a change to a simpler, and more straightforward musical style for the band but still had a bit of the etherial tinge that El Cielo had. The album was produced by Terry Date (Deftones, Pantera, Soundgarden) and had some additional help from Queensryche guitarist Chris DeGarmo.
Catch Without Arms features great songs such as “Ode To The Sun,” “Bug Eyes,” “Not That Simple,” “The Tanbark Is Hot Lava,” “Sang Real,” and “Jamais Vu.” These songs show the forward movement of the band and it’s members ability to write individual songs. Catch Without Arms is a concept album about opposites, mainly focused on positives and negatives. Each member brings something different to the table. Singer/guitarist Gavin Hayes has a very intriguing voice that makes his lyrics come to life. Drummer Dino Campanella is one of the most underrated drummers in music. His ability is astounding, not to mention his ability to play drums and piano at the same time. This is truly something awesome to watch. Mark Engles has a guitar tone that is his own. It’s melodic and clean that fits perfectly with the nature of each song. Bassist Drew Roulette grooves right along with Dino’s drums, and his bass lines add another element to each song.
Dredg is one of the most underrated bands to come out since 2000. They really know themselves and what they are capable of. Their ability to push the boundaries of their art is uncompromising and satisfying. Give this album another listen and you’ll see why it is an unsung masterpiece
I’ve been a huge Deftones fan since I first remember seeing the video for “Bored.” I thought Adrenaline was a cool album when it came out, then I heard Around The Fur and my excitement level went through the roof. Around The Fur was so powerful. There was a striking difference between this album and their debut. As The story goes, when Deftones went into the studio to make Around The Fur they really didn’t have a set idea of what they wanted to come out with. This time around the guys spent more time in the studio with producer Terry Date. If you listen closely to Abe Cunningham’s drums, you can tell there is a difference on the drum sounds especially the snare, as he began to experiment using different snares on each song. There is also something really intriguing about the quiet to loud dynamics on the album as well. When you have songs like “My Own Summer (Shove It),” “Lhabia,” Around The Fur,” “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)” it really shows the bands growth and ability to write songs that can be heavy yet have a sense of melody without compromising their artistic integrity.
After a break from touring Around The Fur, the band spent a few months locked away in the studio writing and recording what would become White Pony. The majority of this time was spent trying to write songs, and that the writing of a particular song “Change (In The House Of Flies)” was the turning point for the group as they began working as a “band.” There was also pressure from their label to release the album sooner, but, the band decided to take their time making the album that they wanted to make. The band essentially picked up where they left off with Around The Fur by really delving more into melancholia and melody. The album is explosive and beautiful, thus making it one of the bands most mature releases. The inclusion of songs like “Digital Bath” “RX Queen,” (which features guest vocals by Scott Weiland), and “Knife Party,” join in with the vibe that “Change” had in its spaciousness and use of experimentation. The guesting of Maynard from Tool was a great use of a guest vocalist on “Passenger.” Even with all the experimentation and evolution, Deftones still had their heavy touch on a lot of the songs like “Elite,” “Feiticeira,” and “Street Carp.”
Granted these are two very different albums but they are similar in showing a bands evolution. Personally I’ve always been more partial to Around The Fur, for it’s raw prowess, and unforgiving nature. White Pony is a close second though. To me though Around The Fur just really gets me going in such a fashion that I can’t turn it off, or even turn the volume down. Where do you fall on this issue?
audioeclectica 