Grave Robber Records 4th Album Here

Posted on 21. Sep, 2011 by Tim Bushong in News

Oh man- has it been over 11 years since Shawn Browning first darkened the doors at TBush Recording? To record this punk opus?

And then this 3 years later?

For some strange reason he always makes the one-hour drive from Fort Wayne to record here- thanks Shawn! (But could it just be for the coffee and scintillating conversation…?)

And now, he and his partners-in-gothic-horror have just finished their 4th Grave Robber  CD, entitled “You’re All Gonna Die” (wait for the punch line…!!!), and I gotta say it’s the biggest and heaviest one yet. And that’s really saying something, given their track record of consistently releasing brutal yet catchy music:

2008, 2009, and 2010

Hey- that’s scary…

As WRETCHED, CARCASS, LAMENTOR , and PLAGUE (plus one new as-yet unnamed member- and no, those aren’t their real names) came in and laid down their ferocious brand of power-punk-pop, I couldn’t help but think that these songs are probably their strongest to date, and this drummer is a slammer. I mean, how many guys can play 16th-note fills this strongly at 200+bpms?

I’ve said it a million times (no hyperbole here!): Give me a great band and it’s waaaaay easier to get a great mix.

We recorded live in the same room, using my “iso-barn” for the guitar cabs and running 2 different bass D.I.’s- a Sansamp and an MXR. We tracked the initial guitar using Lamentor’s Splawn amp, and then overdubbed with my 1981 Marshall JCM800 50-watt combo (as seen on my “Equipment” page) using the old DOD Overdrive pedal. I mic’ed up the 4×12 cab with a Shure 57 and an ADK 51 LDC, being careful to align the diaphragms so as to avoid any phase issues.

The drums were recorded with 57′s on the toms and snare (top and bottom), a Shure SM91 on the kick, and a pair of ‘matched’ (how matched could they really be??) MXL 603‘s for the overheads. A Rode NT-1 was also used to capture the room sound.

Wretched’s “vokills” were all recorded with a Shure 58 into an Aphex 207 mic pre, and then treated with his own preset on a Voxengo Voxformer plug-in- man, I love that thing!

Everything was recorded using my trusty Spirit 328 digital board, into Logic 5 on Windows, and then hybrid-mixed using Logic, UAD and Voxengo plugs, all mixed back through the board.

'Mixmasters' Tim and Shawn!

Hey- you wanna sample a bit? Listen to this:

“Nightbreed” Sample” by Grave Robber

(I’m a sucker for floor tom/snare poundy verses myself…)

I had a real blast making this record, and I’m sure their fans will like it, too…

Until next time, as “Wretched” says: “Be VERY afraid!!!!”

Tags: Fort Wayne, Grave Robber, producer, punk, recording, studio, Syracuse, Tim Bushong