Biohazard – Reborn in Defiance

Biohazard, originally from Brooklyn, joined forces with distinguished producer/engineer Toby Wright (Alice in Chains, Korn, Metallica, and many more) after a long recording hiatus. Circumstance had it that I was moonlighting at Firewater Studios in LA at the time, assisting and engineering for Biohazard’s guitarist Billy Graziadei. So I had the luck to be asked to assist at the sessions for Biohazard’s new album, Reborn in Defiance. Kick ass!

We all got together at the incredible Ocean Studios in Burbank, CA for the initial band tracking sessions. The big live room with brick walls is just amazing for rock drums. Danny Schuler, Biohazard’s drummer, definitely made that room shake! I had the chance to really dig into the process of choosing and placing microphones for energetic drums and learn from Toby in terms of creating a great vibe. And the four guys totally gave their all during those sessions. We later continued with lots of overdub sessions at Firewater Studios, where Toby hauled in a ridiculous collection of vintage gear.

The result to my ears is Biohazard’s best-sounding record and I’m honored to have played a small part in it. Unfortunately though, the record was never released in North America due to a legal dispute within the band. Bassist Evan Seinfeld left the band more or less right after the album was done. However, the album did get released in Europe on Nuclear Blast and other parts of the world. You can get an idea of the sound by checking out the SoundCloud player below.

From angrymetalguy.com:
“If you dig heavy, groove-laden tracks and hardcore or were ever a Biohazard fan, I think it’s worth checking this record out. With Evan Seinfeld gone, it seems like this is going to be a one time deal, but Reborn in Defiance definitely taps into what made this band really special when they started out. It’s weird seeing them older and thinking of them as being sort of more melancholic than in your face, but that Brooklyn cocksure “HEY! FUCK YOU BUDDY!” swagger definitely still counts for something.”

Learning from Billy and Toby has undeniably defined my approach to recording heavy rock music. When recording electric guitars for example I like to blend several signals from multiple guitar amps to one track if possible. If you have an analog console, that’s the way to go. Once set up this turns out to be a super fast workflow that allows creating huge sounds on the fly. So whenever I record guitars here at the Satellite or at other studios I like to go that route – whether I have an analog desk to work on or just with a simpler hybrid setup. The renowned producer/engineer Vance Powell (Jack White, The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs) once said to me: “Lack of commitment is the destruction of good music!”. That’s definitely something I strive to avoid. So I’d much rather work to craft killer sounds right away that melt your face off and commit to those. You can find out more about my philosophy of recording here by the way.