YOUR QUESTION:

07/21/2024 Nelz

There's something I've always wondered about the tracking/overdubbing process for metal bands that have guitar solos, and since you now have the Easter Bunny recording under your belt I can ask you your thoughts.

What is it like (mentally, emotionally, whatever) when you're out on the floor with the rest of the band recording the basic tracks, you guys all know the songs really well because you've been rehearsing and touring them, but then when you get to the guitar solo section of a song there's no solo to keep the energy and feel of the music up? Does that fuck with the feel of the music to have those "empty" or "naked" sections, or does it not matter because in the studio everyone is more concerned with precision and details anyway? I find it a fascinating conundrum--to be in the studio trying as best to match the energy and force of a live audience performance, but then the blistering, fiery solos that are integral to propelling the music forward are suddenly absent and there's just this aesthetic hole. Unless I'm misinformed and Spruance soloed during basic tracking as if it were a live performance, and then later overdubbed the rhythm guitar parts that had dropped out?

Thanks for your time!

MY ANSWER:

It’s a lot different to lay down the rhythm track for a solo in a metal setting than say, in jazz. That might be obvious, but the intensity and emotional roller coaster of a metal song is really built into the structure. The narrative of the riffs are what guide the direction of the song. The solo is icing on the cake but also can add or sort of post-direct that narrative depending on what is played. I don’t remember but it’s possible Trey did a few scratch solos live, but he would have had to been isolated for that to work. There isn’t much interacting with a metal soloist except maybe from the drummer, and sometimes if a solo really pushes something, we can always go back and retrack the basics, or parts of the basics. Technology is our friend.