ABSTRACT
Over half a century ago, metal music emerged as a genre defined by one fundamental element: heaviness. Since its inception, metal has undergone considerable development, spawning a vast array of styles, subgenres, and sub-subgenres. Despite this diversification, the pursuit of heaviness has remained a consistent thread throughout metal’s history, deeply intertwined with advancements in music technology and engineering practices. Drawing on a creative experiment involving eight of the world’s leading metal producers, this book examines their varied approaches to mixing the same song, ‘In Solitude’. The producers shared their interpretations of heaviness and provided valuable insights into their decision-making processes. Each chapter focuses on a single producer, including unabridged interviews, detailed documentation of their mixes, and contextual information. For those interested in the craft of metal music production, the studio practices revealed here offer an invaluable resource for learning. This introductory chapter provides an overview of the book and summarizes the producers’ conceptualizations of heaviness.
