Mastering for Rock and Metal Music

I provide specialist mastering for heavy music. Get loud and aggressive tracks that take your music to the next level.

Before and After!

Aslyum City Zoo – Box (Unmastered)

Aslyum City Zoo – Box (Mastered)

“He always delivers perfect results. Great to work with and has a wealth of knowledge. I won’t go anywhere else.”

- Gavin Rourke - deVilorean

Cairns - The Eternal Sea

“The Eternal Sea” demonstrates how we mastered a very dense, black metal song, but still respected the awesome tracking and mixing done at No Studio by Joe Clayton.

“I value his feedback on my mixes, and he’s also very receptive to constructive amendments on his masters.”

- Chris Taylor - Noiseboy Studios

The Trouble with Mastering

Mastering is the final stage of the record making process, but, too often, it is a frustrating experience. You’ve worked long and hard writing, recording and mixing your tracks, only to send them to an anonymous mastering engineer who thinks he knows better than you how it should sound.

A bad master can ruin a mix. It’s not unknown for a non-specialist to think that the music just needs to be loud, even if that produces ugly pumping and unwanted distortion. Almost as bad is the mastering engineer who wants to “put his own stamp” on a track.

However, at Rock and Metal Mastering, your music is being cared for by someone who loves it as much as you do. Yes, we love it loud, but it also needs to sound great. You can also rest assured that your mastering engineer understands that his job is to make a good mix sound better, NOT to fundamentally change its balance or sonic qualities.

What we offer

Stereo Mastering

Get loud, great-sounding masters that can proudly stand on the record store shelves next to the greats.

Stem Mastering

I can sum your stems through my analogue gear. This is a great way to bring a little transistor and tube vibe to a digital mix.

Great service

I'm focused on building relationships. Every artist receives my personal touch, and I'm always happy to share my advice and experience, if desired.

What You Can Expect

Quality

You will receive mastered tracks of the highest quality at whatever sample level and bit depth you request.

Competitiveness

Your mastered tracks will be able to compete alongside your favourite modern heavy music, in terms of both sonic excellence and loudness.

Communication

You will always be able to contact a friendly human being who will listen to what you want and deliver exactly that.

Service

As well as delivering timely, high-quality masters, I am also happy to help with mix notes and music industry advice. I am focused on building relationships in our community, not just a client list.

What They Are Saying

I’ve been recommending Steve to our studio clients for mastering jobs for a while now. I was really impressed with the job he did on my own ‘Cairns’ record and everything he has worked on since. I value his feedback on my mixes, and he’s also very receptive to constructive amendments on his masters.

Chris Taylor Noiseboy Studios

I’ve used Steve for a few projects over the last couple of years ranging from a rock/funk hybrid (Jesus Burgers) to punk/metal (deVilorean), and he always delivers perfect results. Great to work with and has a wealth of knowledge. I won’t go anywhere else.

Gavin Rourke

deVilorean

Steve has mastered all of our projects, and we always use him due to the quality of work and quick turn arounds he provides. He's knowledgeable and responds promptly to any queries we may have, even if it's away from mastering work. We will undoubtably be using him again for future projects.

Joseph Whiting

Asylum City Zoo

Meet Your Mastering Engineer

My career in audio spans over 25 years, giving me the opportunity to work with large organizations, such as the BBC, Channel 4 and Capcom, and a wide range of artists, including Lang Lang, Cairns, DeWolff and Witchthroat Serpent.

I have performed and recorded rock and metal for over 30 years, so you can feel confident that your tracks are being cared for by someone who truly loves the genre.

I am extremely proud to be endorsed by AMS Neve, manufacturers of the world’s greatest recording and mixing consoles.