Guitars, Vocals, and Mastering - Making sure nothing gets lost

Guitars, Vocals, and Mastering: Finishing Touches for Crowned's "Idolized Self"

Hey everyone! Welcome to Part Two of the track breakdown for Crowned’s new song, Idolized Self. In this post, we’ll dive into the guitars, vocals, and mastering chain that helped shape the final sound of the track. If you missed Part One, where we discussed the drums and bass.

Let’s jump right into the rest of the breakdown! Follow along here!

Guitars: Building the Heaviness

Guitars are the heart and soul of any metal track, and Idolized Self was no exception. We wanted a sound that was not only heavy but also textured and rich with layers, while keeping that signature grit Crowned is known for.

The Gear and Tuning

For most of the rhythm guitar work, I used a Subzero Baritone guitar tuned to drop D-sharp. It features a Seymour Duncan Nazgul pickup, which delivers a crushing, aggressive tone—perfect for the sound we wanted. Fun fact: part of this song is in G-sharp (an homage to some of our older material), before dropping down to double drop D for the massive breakdowns.

We blended different tunings across the track to keep things fresh, switching from G-sharp to double drop D-sharp for added contrast.

Layering the Guitars

To get that thick sound, I recorded four guitar tracks: two on the left, two on the right. The guitars were processed through an Archetype Gojira plugin using the JD Rhythm presets. For added depth, I took the rhythm guitars and pitch-shifted them down an octave, creating an almost subterranean layer beneath the main riffs.

Here’s a breakdown of how the tracks were processed:

1. DI Track: Clean DI recording, run through some light EQ to boost the midrange and cut out unnecessary lows.

2. CLA 76 Compression: This plugin helped shape the dynamics, tightening everything up.

3. Archetype Gojira: I used different Gojira rhythm presets for each guitar track to create subtle differences in tone.

4. Octave-Down Layer: For extra heaviness, one of the left and right tracks was pitch-shifted down an octave, adding an ominous, growling texture.

When you blend all four tracks together, you get this huge, biting wall of sound that’s brutal but still clear in the mix.

Vocals: Layering for Power

Next up, the vocals. We had two vocalists on this track: Aaron (our main vocalist) and Mall Key from Maywin. Both brought a unique intensity to the song, and the challenge was to make sure each vocalist had their moment to shine while keeping everything cohesive.

Aaron’s Vocals

For Aaron’s vocals, I grouped multiple takes together to create a powerful, layered sound. Here’s how the vocal processing worked:

• Butch Vig Vocals Plugin: This preset, called "Clean Lead Vocal," really brought his voice to life.

• Pitch Shifting: I pitch-shifted one of Aaron’s vocal layers down two octaves to give it that demonic, deep growl, then layered it with the original track.

• Stereo Spread: I hard-panned the lower-pitched vocals left and right, adding dissonance and making the vocals feel huge.

McCall’s Vocals

Mall’s vocals followed a similar process, but I focused on creating contrast with Aaron’s voice. His vocals were also pitch-shifted and layered for maximum impact, creating a call-and-response effect in certain sections of the song.

Together, the vocals create a dynamic, brutal sound that’s hard to ignore. The pitch shifts and stereo spread added dissonance and power, while clever use of reverb and delay helped glue everything together.

Mastering: Polishing the Chaos

Once the mixing was finished, it was time to master the track and give it that final push over the edge.

Mastering Chain

1. EQ: I used subtle EQ moves to smooth out the midrange and remove any harshness in the highs. This helped the guitars, bass, and vocals sit better together without clashing.

2. Compression: A touch of compression brought down peaks and helped glue the track together, making it feel cohesive and dynamic.

3. Limiter: The limiter was used to keep everything in check, ensuring there were no unwanted volume spikes while boosting the overall loudness.

The goal here was to maintain the raw, gritty energy of the track while still giving it a polished, professional finish. I wanted it to sound live and in your face without losing clarity or definition.

Final Thoughts

That’s it for the breakdown of Idolized Self! From the crushing guitars to the powerful, layered vocals, and a mastering process that gave it all the polish it needed, we’re proud of how this track turned out.

If you’re interested in more breakdowns or want to hear the full track, you can check out Idolized Self on Spotify, Apple Music, or any other streaming platform. We’re excited to share more Crowned music with you in the future, so stay tuned for more content.