JAMES Z. PRODUCTIONS
I craft modern and heavy mixes. Simple as that.
Here’s why I’m fundamentally different than most other audio engineers you’ve come across.
(And it’s not what you think)
Many studios need to make sure they are fully booked and take on enough projects to keep their business running. The engineers are often over-worked and have to make sure they work fast to keep up with the projects.
In contrast, because I have multiple streams of income from my studio, I don’t have to worry about taking on as many projects as possible to make sure I can pay the bills.
This means that your project will have my undivided attention and care. With your input, I will take the time to meticulously craft a unique sound for your heavy music.
No rushing, no templates, no trend-chasing, no cookie-cutter sounds.
You will get a sound that belongs to you.
The Sound of James Z. Productions
…and my process of crafting a sound that is unique to each track.
M = Mixed, Ma = Mastered, P = Produced
Exanimate - “Cast out of Heaven” (M/Ma)
Single
Genre: Ambient Metalcore
Each time Exanimate refine and evolve their style, I evolve my mixing to match as well, and this track is the latest example. The reason why I listed three tracks from Exanimate created at different times is to show how a long-term collaboration with me can significantly benefit the artist. After several years of working together, Exanimate and I have developed a chemistry, where I can easily grasp their visions and deliver the results with much less revisions. They also take my feedback as the audio engineer into account when they write music, creating a magical “engineer-artist optimization,” which results in fantastic final results.
Exanimate - “Wither” (M/Ma)
Single
Genre: Ambient Metalcore
After their debut record, Luminous, Exanimate continued to refine their unique style. With “Wither,” they presented me a much more developed style of composition, which included the addition of more layers of programming—sound effects, synths, strings and so on. As their audio engineer, I knew I had to craft a new and better sound to match. The end result is a mix that highlights their ambient wall of distorted guitars and fast drums while creating an atmospheric feel to the track via the programming.
Exanimate - “Grey State” (M/Ma)
Album: Luminous
Genre: Ambient Metalcore
This track is something else. It’s full of emotions and soul. It’s authentic. It’s a mixture of beauty and grit. I crafted a sound that is unique to Exanimate, that is both heavy and beautiful, both chaotic and refined. While the punchy, crystal-clear drums drive the groove of the song, the guitars create a huge soundscape for the vocals.
Dying Tonight - “Dying Tonight” (M/Ma)
Album: Now Or Never
Genre: Modern Metalcore
An extremely catchy yet heavy modern metalcore song with melodic leads and soaring choruses. To do the music justice, I crafted super punchy drums and beefy guitar tones for the song. You can almost feel that snare drum slam on your chest during the breakdowns!
Epiphany - “Embers” (M/Ma)
Album: Mortal Comedies
Genre: Djent
A groovy, djent-style metal song from Epiphany’s album, Mortal Comedies. Its trendy composition called for a modern djent sound with huge sounding snares, so I gave it heavily saturated guitars and a big drum mix.
Silent Elegy - “Valkyrie” (M/Ma)
Album: Gone with the Wind
Genre: Symphonic Metal
An incredibly epic symphonic metal song from Silent Elegy’s debut album. The band’s style is very close to Nightwish, but I wanted to help them distinguish themselves, so I gave them a rather modernized symphonic metal mix. Huge and punchy drums, prominent symphony, and epic female opera vocals. Despite the sheer amount of tracks in the song, my mix maintained great overall balance among all the elements. Additionally, most of the orchestral elements, such as strings, brass and woodwinds, were sampled with my collection of orchestral sample libraries.
Dusky Star - “Star Scream” (M/Ma)
Album: The Mechanical Deity
Genre: Deathcore
One of the heaviest songs I have mixed. This deathcore song features super low-tuned guitars, pig squeals, low growls, and heavy-hitting drums. I gave the mix really beefy guitars and cold, mechanical-sounding drums. The result is a brutal mix that does the song justice and brings out the soul of the song, which is heavy.
Derev - “Ghost of Guilt” (M/Ma)
Album: Leap of Faith
Genre: Progressive Rock
One of the most progressive and dynamic songs I’ve worked on here at JZP. The progressive geniuses from Derev created a track that musically conveys a narrative and never ceases to captivate me every time I listen to it. Featuring intricate drumming, African percussions, Middle Eastern melodies, and unconventional song structures, the track called for a natural and dynamic mixing style with plenty of automations to highlight different elements of the song at different times. The result is a mix that responds to and enhances the intricacies of the track. By the band’s request, I also created a master that preserves all the dynamics of the track, so be sure to turn it up when you listen!
LOTHAR - “You Have Nothing to Say” (M/Ma)
Single
Genre: Modern Metalcore
A low-tuned, pissed-off heavy-hitter of a modern metalcore banger. I crafted a super gnarly rhythm guitar tone and a huge drum sound that gave the song a highly aggressive energy.
The Will On Kill - “Protected” (M/Ma)
Album: Time Capsule
Genre: Electronic Metalcore
A groovy modern metalcore song with breakdowns that incorporated lots of snazzy EDM elements that make you want to shake up the dance floor and headbang at the same time. I gave it really punchy drums and thick guitar tones, so you can truly feel the impact of the breakdowns, but I also brought out the EDM elements, so you get the amazing experience of an EDM-metalcore eargasm.
Dying Tonight - “Autumn Rain” (M/Ma)
Single
Genre: Metalcore
A genre-blending instrumental metalcore banger that has a Japanese/samurai theme. The song features not only trap music elements, but also traditional Japanese folk instruments. Adding killer riffs and breakdown on top of that, this song is quite an experience to listen to. For the mix, I selected a ENGL guitar tone to make the guitar sound massive, and gave it a larger-than-life drum sound while creating space for the Japanese folk instruments.
Aesthetic - “Horn” (M/Ma)
Album: Endless Warfare
Genre: Metal
Fast riffs and drums, soaring choruses—fans of As I Lay Dying will love this song. For this style, I made sure to not over-polish, and keep the mix natural yet aggressive and in-your-face. I crafted tight and punchy drums, and a traditional metal guitar one with lots of bite and mid-range.
Dead Eyes Always Dreaming - “A World Saturated in Blood” (M/Ma)
Single
Genre: Deathcore
These Michigan metal heads surely know how to create riffs and melodies that make you feel like doomsday is imminent. To convey such a feeling of doom, I created a mix with beefy guitar tones, a clanky bass tone and cold, hard-hitting drums.
Till I Conquer - “Collapse” (P/M/Ma)
Single
Genre: Rock
An emotional and heartfelt rock song touching on mental health. The vocals are the key of the song—I carefully mixed them so they stand out and flow well with the dynamics changes in the song, without being disconnected from the other instruments. I also employed various vocal processing effects, such as Vocal Synth 2, to make the vocals sound bigger than life yet intimate when needed.
What Artists Are Saying
Working with James has been one of the easiest parts of my experience in the industry. He's very quick to get you your product with outstanding quality.
— Eric Wondergem, Guitarist of The Outliers
Great pricing, work’s fast and the result exceeded our expectations.
— Richard Pell, Vocalist of Our Martyred Lady
James Zhan is a real kind, and very well-educated producer mastering engineer. He has amazing input and is thorough at making sure you get a mix/master that you are happy with.
— Dylan Howard, Drummer of The Fulton Incarnate
Very efficient, really pays attention to detail in what the client is asking for. Very easy to work with and very fast with. I will definitely be working with James for future tracks!
— Chris Mifsud, Guitarist of Red Handed Denial
Great, quick results and one of the nicest engineers I’ve had the pleasure to work with! Definitely your go-to guy for all music engineering work!!
— Alec Skyler Journey, Guitarist of Exanimate
Hi! I’m James Zhan
I’m the founder of and audio engineer at the Toronto music studio, James Z. Productions, and I have been mixing and mastering metal music since 2015. I also teach audio production at University of Toronto in Canada.
I know how to get a pissed-off sounding verse and a soaring chorus in metalcore music, how to get a deathcore song to sound dark, cold and chaotic like doomsday is close, and how to create synergy among very different song sections in progressive metal…
Most importantly, I know how to craft a unique, custom sound specifically for your music.
My quality of work has attracted bands around the world—I have worked on dozens of records and numerous singles by bands from Canada, the United States, South America and Asia. Many of the bands toured nationally with the records I mixed for them, and some of them even toured internationally.
All I’m saying is, as your fellow headbanger, I’m here to make you sound good.
Tell me about your project!
Ready to bring your music to the next level with an amazing mix and master? Simply fill out the quote request form below. We will chat and create a project plan for you. Let’s go!
For general inquiries, email hello@jameszproductions.com.