Dante Fumo

If classic rock had a mascot, it would be Boston’s 1976 self-titled debut. It’s got everything you want in a rock album—wailing dual-lead guitars, memorable riffs and hooks, airbrushed sci-fi cover art—without being bogged down by pretentious lyrics, extended interludes, drum solos, or that one song the bass player wrote. It may not have the mystique of Led Zeppelin IV or the epic story of 2112, and you won’t hear any synthesizers or flute solos (although there is an eight-minute prog track), but it does deliver a solid 38 minutes of pure, fun rock ‘n roll. Boston is “all killer, no filler” by design, and that can be a good or bad thing depending who you ask. Continue reading →

With its stark black cover and lack of an edgy title, Metallica’s fifth studio album represented a deliberate attempt to veer away from the ‘80s thrash aesthetic and switch things up after the new decade. “We had finished the […And Justice For All] tour about nine months before and we really felt that there was something specific that we wanted to do, which was to sit down and try and write simple songs,” drummer Lars Ulrich says in the Classic Albums documentary Metallica: The Black Album. Continue reading →

Back in Black may be AC/DC’s most well-known and best-performing album, but it can also be a divisive topic among fans. To old-school purists, the band was never the same after their frontman Bon Scott’s death and subsequent replacement with Brian Johnson. But Back in Black produced some of the Australian rockers’ biggest hits (“Hell’s Bells,” “You Shook Me All Night Long,” and of course, the title track) and cemented their status as one of the all-time great classic rock acts. Continue reading →

Nashville-based record label and recording studio South x Sea recently added a new immersive mixing room with a 7.1.4 HEDD Audio monitor system to its East Nashville facility. Before opening the new room to clients, South x Sea invited GRAMMY-nominated producer and engineer Bobby Holland to put the system through its paces by mixing a song from an upcoming project. Having built multiple immersive mixing rigs at his own Pentavarit Studios, helped set up rooms at other studios, and even designed his own studio monitors, Holland was the ideal person to evaluate the new system. After the session, we hooked up with Holland to get his thoughts on mixing in an unfamiliar environment, how he makes mixing in Atmos feel as natural as stereo, and how the HEDD Type 30 MK2 and Type 20 MK2 helped him hear the subtleties of reverb, vocals, and acoustic instruments in an intricate mix. Continue reading →

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to talk about the making of Purple Rain: the album, the film, the song, and how it all came together. After scoring a Top 10 hit record with 1999, tapping into rock audiences with “Little Red Corvette”, and becoming one of the first Black artists to be featured on MTV, Prince was riding pretty high in 1983. But The Purple One always had his eyes on the next prize, and he had his sights set on the silver screen. As the story goes, he gave his manager the choice between landing him a starring role and finding a new job, and after some negotiation, Warner Brothers agreed to back the project. Continue reading →

Located in Robbinsville, New Jersey, BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham is a Hindu mandir (temple) campus established by Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a Hindu socio-spiritual organization based in India. In addition to the temple and its grounds, the sprawling campus features a state-of-the-art multimedia studio designed by Walter Storyk Design Group, a renowned firm whose clients include Bruce Springsteen, Alicia Keys, Whitney Houston, Bob Marley, Green Day, and Jay-Z. Here, BAPS records and mixes everything from traditional Indian instruments and playback singers to video podcasts and multimedia content for the on-site museum.  Continue reading →

“What’s Going On” is one of Marvin Gaye’s best-known tracks, but it also represented a major turning point in his career and a breakthrough for socially conscious music in the mainstream, and that’s just the opening track of an album that still tops Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 55 years after its release. Across a nearly seamless 35-minute masterpiece, Gaye pours out his feelings about war, police brutality, racism, ecological destruction, and spirituality on top of surprisingly laid-back grooves, sumptuous strings, and reverb-soaked percussion.  Continue reading →

Even before all the plug-ins, pedals, plates, and springs we enjoy today, reverb has always been the secret sauce that makes music sound better. From ancient amphitheaters to Renaissance cathedrals and modern concert halls, acoustical reflections have shaped the way we enjoy music for millennia. But about 100 years ago, something changed. Right around the time that optical and magnetic recording were invented, engineers began experimenting with ways to generate artificial reverb to enhance recordings. Reverb technology evolved slowly at first, starting with simple electro-mechanical devices, then advanced rapidly alongside technological breakthroughs like integrated circuits, computers, and spatial audio.  Continue reading →

Although Helios Electronics only existed from 1969 to 1979, the sound of Helios consoles has become legendary thanks to their use on landmark records like Led Zeppelin IV, Are You Experienced?, and Their Satanic Majesties Request. In 2018, three entrepreneurs came together to form a new company dedicated to reviving the Helios Sound: H2 Audio. Founded by the minds behind Acme Audio and Q2 Audio, H2 Audio’s stated goal is “to recreate the Helios sound exactly as it was in its prime; not ‘inspired by,’ but circuit-for-circuit accurate, built with the same quality parts and precision.”  Continue reading →

Released on April 23, 1976, the Ramones’ self-titled first album remains a cornerstone of punk rock and continues to inspire generation after generation. It introduced the Baby Boomers to a whole new genre of music, paved the way for Gen X to invent post-punk, saw a revival among Millennials thanks to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3, and has somehow managed to remain relevant via placements in The Simpsons, the Minions franchise, and even a Pfizer commercial as recently as 2025. Does anyone else’s back suddenly hurt?  Continue reading →