Nerding out over Colin Richardson
. . .
Many of us grew up on Colin Richardson’s work. The famed British knob-twiddler produced, engineered, and/or mixed classics by Carcass (Necroticism, Heartwork), Bolt Thrower (…For Victory, The IVth Crusade), Napalm Death (Fear, Emptinesss, Despair; Diatribes), and Fear Factory (Soul of a New Machine, Demanufacture), among others. (See his discography here.)
He has since moved onto literally greener pastures. In recent years he has worked with Trivium, Bullet for My Valentine, Slipknot, and other acts that should not concern us.
But I still nerd out over his work, especially since he almost never does interviews. In this age of Internet instant access, he keeps an extremely low profile. So I was pleased to find some great tidbits on him recently.
. . .
1. A bio of him, written by his manager, that explains his start with Earache and Roadrunner Records.
2. An amazing interview in which he comments on some of the classic records he worked on. (I’m glad I wasn’t just imagining things when I heard Ken Owens’ playing on Heartwork as wobbly!) A few choice quotes:
The thing I remember most about the drums — and what the band would always complain about — was that Ken, the drummer, couldn’t play to a click track. We tried it, and he’d veer off all over the place. His timing was a little roller-coaster, so Bill [Steer] was always chasing the drums when he was tracking, and eventually he worked out a system of premonition when Ken was going to speed up or slow down. We really wanted to use a click track on all the Carcasses, and with each album, we’d hope that Ken had gotten better, but he was so out of time that it was better to go without a click.
[B]y nature, heavy metal should be powerful and have a really good bottom end.
I never compress the rhythm guitars. I like them to breathe. If you want the low end sound — the sound of heavy metal — you need to leave it open.
3. Perhaps the only existing recorded interview with Richardson. He did this regarding a band named Sydonia. I never thought I’d be able to hear his voice – but there it is, under “Colin Richardson’s 1st Radio Interview” below.
. . .
. . .
