Fredrik Nordström
Section 2
Anthemic, weight-focused section
Slower, half-time section emphasising sonic weight via low palm-muted chugs, kick drum, and floor tom; more rhythmic space and low-frequency emphasis.
Study Stimulus (Section 2)
🔊 Acoustic Hardness
Key Predictors
High spectral complexity combined with dense upper-midrange content creates a textural hardness strongly associated with heaviness perception.
💥 Temporal Punch
This mix has low PM95 and compressed PLR, indicating limited transient headroom. In our studies, hardness—not punch—was the primary predictor of heaviness in dense metal production.
Key Finding: While listeners perceive punch as salient, acoustic PM95 fails to track subjective punch in dense mixes. The production trade-off favors spectral saturation (hardness) over transient preservation (punch).
🎧 Perceptual Ratings
Key Insight: Perceived heaviness and subjective punch show strong correlation (listeners associate them), but acoustic PM95 fails to track subjective punch in dense mixes. This disconnect reveals that heaviness perception in metal is driven primarily by spectral-textural hardness rather than transient impact.
Producer Profile
Standard Hardness cluster; traditional Swedish death metal approach with moderate spectral density.
Aesthetic: Classic Swedish metal production