Avenged Sevenfold singer M. Shadows says that pop ‘production’ is to be blamed for the downfall of metal and rock music.
While Aerosmith’s Joe Perry proclaimed a few days ago that rock music was very much alive and kicking, Avenged Sevenfold member M. Shadows begs to disagree.
In a recent tweet, the singer claimed that ‘pop production’ had brought about the downfall of rock and metal music.
“Hot take: Sampled drums and the ‘loudness war’ have been the largest contributors to the downfall of rock and metal. The listener does not need to know exactly what that is to subconsciously feel it. Rock should not have ‘pop’ production.” he said.
By ‘loudness wars’, Shadows was referring to a trend in production where audio levels on recordings are increased to make the track louder. While it contributes to volume, it risks compromises the quality of the overall.
In his replies to fans, Shadows – who is currently working on a new Avenged Sevenfold album along with the band – also objected to drum sampling, a technique where previously recorded drums replace the live play in the studio.
According to Shadows, separating elements like this compromised a rock track, where the mood of the room contributes to the overall effect of the song.
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“If the drums have been replaced w samples and you cant hear the room… and the levels on the master have been pushed to squeeze out all dynamics… those records are fucked,” he said in a different tweet, before expressing regret that such techniques had now become the standard.
Music, he said, needed to have personality.
“A lot of the old tricks in sampled form programmed to perfection take out any and all personality. Music needs to have personality.” he tweeted.
He isn’t against all pop-production, though – in a tweet later on, he praised the arrangement on Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories.
“BTW… a perfect example of a “pop” record being produce and mastered brilliantly is Daft Punk Random Access Memories. Just all around production perfection IMO.” he said.
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Check out M. Shadows’ tweets on rock and metal music:
Hot take: Sampled drums and the “loudness war” have been the largest contributors to the downfall of rock and metal. The listener does not need to know exactly what that is to subconciously feel it. Rock should not have “pop” production.
— Shadows (@shadows_eth) July 13, 2022
