| JULY 2008 | |
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NOSTRADAMUS PREDICTS GREAT SOUND FROM JUDAS PRIEST'S DIGICO D5 |
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Classic British heavy metal icons Judas Priest have just embarked on an extensive world tour to promote their latest album, a concept work based on the life of the famous French apothecary and reputed seer - Nostradamus. And with a DiGiCo D5 console mixing the sound, fans are assured that the intricacies of the band’s songs - both new and old - are being reproduced with exceptional accuracy. Despite having worked with DiGiCo consoles for several years in his capacity as system tech with the Foo Fighters, this is the first time that Judas Priest’s front of house engineer (and production manager) Martin Walker has taken a DiGiCo board out on tour himself. “With Judas Priest I’ve always felt that an analogue console is best,” he says. “I’ve tried digital consoles with them before, but somehow they just weren’t ‘right’ for the band. However the difficulty in finding my favoured analogue console prompted me to give the D5 a try this time out.” Sonically, Judas Priest are in interesting territory on this tour - promoting a relatively complex concept album (which is always tricky terrain, just ask Genesis or Pink Floyd) yet very mindful that fans want to hear the classic heavy metal belters of their illustrious past. “The new album, although still very Priest, is very much a soundtrack kind of album,” says Martin. “Its songs are all epic - there aren’t really any three minute pop style metal songs on there, they are all very involved and intricate. “But we’re only just beginning the tour and so the guys are still doing a greatest hits kind of show with a couple of new album tasters thrown in to test the water. The new songs do see the band playing to track, so that's different from all previous stuff I've done with them but, when it comes down to it, it's still Priest.” The FOH audio feeds comprise 48 inputs from the five members of the band on stage, plus four channels of playback for the new songs. “This is the first time Priest have ever used playback, which I'm triggering from a 24 track Fostex hard drive recorder, along with song intros on both CD and on Minidisc,” says Martin. “With many delay and vocal effects and the various playback tracks, it's a pretty full on mixing job. “At the moment I'm using the D5 in a fairly analogue fashion, mixing completely on the fly. When I have used digital consoles in the past I felt that I tried to do too much way too quickly, which may have been one reason I didn't really achieve what I wanted. “So this time I wanted to get totally comfortable with the workings of the desk, and the sound, before I start getting clever with it.” Martin’s ‘analogue’ style of mixing is reflected in his choice of outboard equipment, currently sticking with his tried and tested favourites before he ventures into the world of DiGiCo’s onboard effects. “I’m carrying a Yamaha Rev5, three SPX990s an SPX2000, a Behringer Bassfex, a DBX 120, an Eventide Eclipse and my show saviour, two tc electronic D2 delays!” he smiles. A major advantage of the D5 is DiGiCo’s global rental network. Martin is carrying a D5 throughout Europe, but will then pick one up locally for the USA for those dates. “I’m carrying the local and stage rack everywhere,” he says. “But when we go to the States, I’ll pick up a D5 there, plug in my USB key and I’ll be ready to go. It means that there is no compromise on the sound, wherever we are. The band and fans both get consistency. We can deliver a killer show at every gig, whether it’s indoors or on a multi-band outdoor bill. “After years of using one other particular brand of console I was reluctant to change, but I like the D5 and it sounds good,” he continues. “The main reason I was convinced - other than Lars' input - was after seeing and hearing Bryan Worthern (a hero of mine!) seamlessly move from an analogue desk to a D5. That really made me think hard about it... “I love its size, I love the touch screen and I love the layout. I don't want to tempt fate, but I haven't needed any customer support at all on this tour! In my past experience when working with Foo Fighters, I have had excellent service from a team of people that are genuinely interested in their product not only being successful but actually being liked, too. And I love the very English eccentricity about the people who work for DiGiCo. So, with Judas Priest being a very English heavy metal band, it seems like a match made in rock’n’roll heaven!”
Press Contacts: Sarah James at Gasoline Media |
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