The album that changed my life was Metallica's "Kill 'Em All".

Wikimetal (Daniel Dystyler) : Hey guys, starting another episode of Wikimetal, me, Daniel Dystyler, along with my friends Nando Machado and Rafael Masini. And today we're here in a wonderful place, Norcal Studio, with an illustrious guest whom I'll introduce shortly. A music producer with extensive experience as a composer, partner in Norcal Studios, where he leads a team of creators and music producers for advertising and film, passionate about guitar and also plays other instruments. Graduated in audio engineering from California State University. Brendan Duffey, welcome to Wikimetal.

Brendan Duffey : Thanks guys.

Wikimetal (Nando Machado) : It's great to be here with you, Brendan, and to start our conversation I'd like you to explain to our listeners and viewers how you started working in production?

BD : When I was a kid, I started playing in a band. Actually, I was a singer because I was a classical pianist, I didn't play guitar, nothing like Heavy Metal, wow! I was really into Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Venom, Testament, anything with a skull on the cover, I bought it. And over the years I discovered that I was always the one doing the sound at the shows, that I knew my stuff on the mixing board. A friend of mine named Nick Corvell, we bought a 4-track Tascam cassette tape recorder back in the day, I think I was 13 or 14 years old, that's where it started. At 16 or 17, I started tinkering and going into studios to try my luck. At 18, I went to college, my first college in Sacramento, I started studying Recording Arts, I started doing live sound almost 3 days a week to earn money. A few years later I went to Chico State University to study Recording Arts. And I was working in a studio, already recording a bunch of Punk Rock bands, all underground, nothing extremely big. Back then I was playing shows with everyone, RunDMC, Testament, all the Bay Area bands, which was an honor for me. Most nights I was on stage with the guys I'd listened to my whole life, right there beside me. I gave up live music after a while and only went into the studio after I graduated from Chico State. I moved to Canada for a while, worked in a studio recording classical and jazz music, and my wife went back to Brazil, so I followed her. Thanks to the great producer and engineer Lampadinha, I started working at Estúdio Midas with Rick Bonadio and right away I started recording CPM, Charlie Brown Jr., Rouge, BR'OZ. Two years later I opened Norcal; I wanted to do Metal and Hard Rock. My experience with Rick was wonderful for seeing how the music industry works, but to really say when I became a music producer, it's not something I can pinpoint, like, "It was on such and such a day with such and such an album." It was years and years and years after watching everyone else do it, and then suddenly, "Oh, I'm producing!" I've done a lot. There are projects I did years ago in California that I might have been producing, but honestly, I think I started here.

W (DD) : And I'll let Rafinha ask now, but just for the people who are listening and watching, we're talking to Brendan precisely because of his whole history and especially because of his strong presence in our scene, in Metal.

W (Rafael Masini): Brendan, do you have any producer who serves as an inspiration to you, a great example in the world of Metal, or any album that, in terms of production, you listen to and say, "My God, this is a masterpiece"?

BD : Wow, there are so many! As for producers, I end up following more the people who taught me how to do audio, which started with a guy named Laurence Herman who's from my city. In the production world he's nobody, but in my world he was the guy who taught me everything, from how to make cables to how to record.

W (DD) : A teacher for you, right?

BD : Yeah. Another one is Sylvia Massy Shivy, who did the first three tours. I worked with her for a while, and it was an incredible experience because she opened the doors of her studio, gave me the alarm code, and said, "Figure it out." I made a big album with her, and the rest of the time I was in her studio mixing things on the mixing boards; she always showed me around. Here, Lampadinha, Paulo Anhaia, Adriano Daga, who is my production partner—I always make my albums with him because it's something, I believe that working with someone else always gives you a "pull-up" to make something better, you think in a different way. But I can talk about albums that changed my life. I think production is one thing; it's more focused on the musical aspect. There's the part of an album where the sound is amazing, that kick drum sound, you know. The album that changed my life was Metallica's Kill 'Em All; we played guitar on that album. I believe it's almost the best Thrash Metal album of all time; I think the album is incredible, there isn't a single bad moment on it.

W (DD) : Yeah, there really isn't one.

BD : Sepultura Arise, I remember, I jumped the wall of my school to buy that record. It was the first time I really listened to and liked Death Metal, a week later I was buying Morbid Angel.

W (DD) : Did you fall into this world?

BD : Yeah, I fell into that world.

W (NM) : Back then, did you imagine that one day you would come to Brazil?

BD : Ah! Sepultura was incredible back then, you'd walk into a store and half the wall was covered in Sepultura. Right now, Andreas Kisser is recording in my studio.

W (DD) : Oh, today, right? Right now. This instant. He's here in the other room.

W (RM) : Yeah, I found him, I went to move the car that was blocking his entrance here.

W (DD) : That's great. And you just mentioned some records, and on our show, besides chatting, we also listen to music, and today you're going to be the music producer for our show, you're going to choose. So we're just going to give you some guidance on what kind of music to choose. The first question is the one we ask all our guests, everyone goes through this question, it's not an easy question, which is: Imagine you're anywhere with your iPod on shuffle mode and you have millions of Heavy Metal songs and you're listening to one, two, three, suddenly a song comes on and you can't help but "You can't refrain yourself," you have to headbang wherever you are, you go crazy. What song is that for us to listen to?

BD : Into The Pit – Testament

W (NM) : Brendan, you've worked on many albums as a producer, some as a sound engineer, and mixed some tracks. What are the differences between these types of work? Sound engineer and producer?

BD : As a sound engineer, I follow the music producer's requests, so I have to find the right sounds, understand what he wants, take care of the editing, record something well so the producer doesn't have to keep looking at the screen. He thought about the musical aspect. It's basically the job of recording the way the producer asks. You put in the mixes and everything else to achieve the sound he's looking for.

W (NM) : Do you think there's any difference in Brazil? Because in my mind, at least, the producer abroad is a sound engineer. Or is that not necessarily the case?

BD : Nowadays, if you don't mix the two, you die.

W (NM) : But there are producers in Brazil who don't know anything about sound engineering, right?

BD : I like to work on both sides because I know how to get that sound. I don't have the patience to let the other person do it; for me, it has to be both of us, we have to have knowledge of both sides. I have some older friends who are producers; they come here, record with me, and let me do the technical part while they do the music production. You have to trust the other person too. It's almost like a marriage.

W (RM) : Brendan, do you think that studying in the United States and being exposed to music there has a significant influence, that it actually makes a difference in your work?

BD : I don't think it actually has anything to do with the United States. I studied a lot, played piano, saxophone, bass, guitar, I studied, I have a degree in music. I think the education there is very strong. People open the doors to information, I never worked in a studio where a guy hid what he was doing, he always…

W (DD) : Do you have a lot of access to information?

BD : Lots of access. It's happening here now, I think people are more open to YouTube and everything, it's easier. So nowadays, maybe 15 years ago we had that difference, but nowadays I think…

W (DD) : It doesn't do that much anymore. And taking this thing about Brazil and the rest of the world. Is there a Brazilian Metal style in terms of production, or do you think that national bands here, when they record an album, are basically only inspired by international sounds, or is there a Brazilian style?

BD : I don't think so. Sepultura is a sound. And there are many bands like Sepultura. I think that even taking away the fact that it's Brazil, it's Metal. That's something I think is very important.

W (DD) : Metal breaks boundaries.

BD : If the album is well done, you'll go after it, saying, "Wow, I liked this album, I want to do this one." You're praising someone else's work. I always hoped, "Damn, I'd love to make an album like Dead Heart In A Dead World," Andy Sneap nailed it, that album was incredible. Another one he did was Testament – ​​The Gathering, which for me is one of his best works.

W (DD) : He's been in a lot of bands now.

W (NM) : He made Accept the last one too.

BD : Which is very good, and if I'm going to copy it, I'll try to do the same thing; it's inspiration, like, I liked it, I'll go for it. I think it's something…

W (DD) : A guideline.

BD : Yeah. It's always a positive thing. We got into Metal because of that, listening to that album. Nothing is truly original these days, you can explore a path, "I want to make a song with this band and with the sound of that band," I think that's a positive thing because you also have to remember that a band today, like Forka, which is an underground band here, is very good.

W (DD) : It happened at National Pride just recently.

BD : Yeah. If someone becomes a fan of theirs, it's a step towards becoming a fan of Korzus, which is a good thing. I like Forka, I like Korzus, it guides people to the right place.

W (DD) : Legal.

Bands that incorporate influences from other genres are the ones that end up standing out.

W (NM) : And speaking now of the difference between musicians and artists. You've worked with many international artists like Mike Mangini, Billy Sheehan, Tim "Ripper" Owens, and with many Brazilian bands. Does the Brazilian musician have any distinguishing features compared to the foreign musician, or do they simply obey the producer, or are there any differences or similarities?

BD : Every musician is generally different. I think Brazilian musicians aren't different in that sense. Maybe different because you can't compare Billy Sheehan to a guy in a small band that's just starting to record.

W (NM) : Andria Busic too.

BD : The Andria Busic…

W (NM) : He's a great bass player.

BD : He's a great bassist. Andria's behavior in the studio when we made Bravo, compared to Billy Sheehan, is almost the same. The guy respected us a lot, we respected him, we argued a little to get the sound of the album right, but in general, I think the problem itself is the value that each one has. Billy knows that people value his work. I think especially older bands like Dr. Sin, Korzus, those guys have more. I think people need to value these people more. Andria Busic is a phenomenal bassist, an incredible musician, a singer, one of the best in the country, I can say. The guy is excellent. The Busic brothers themselves, I think we need to have a movement to remember them.

W (NM) : To value.

BD : The Metal scene here needs to be valued because Dr. Sin, I believe, is still one of the Metal bands that are like Viper, Dr. Sin, Korzus, Sepultura, Krisiun – those are the "stones" of Metal here. Just remember the value of each one and they're still making amazing albums. Dr. Sin hasn't released a single bad album that people say, "Damn, what a load of crap." Korzus' last album, my God!! That album is so good.

W (RM) : Discipline Of Hate.

BD : For Thrash Metal to listen to often while commuting.

W (RM) : And let's get this straight, we're talking about albums, about music, it's music time on the show. I know you've produced many albums that you're proud of. But I want you to choose a song, from an album that you're very proud of having produced, from a band that you really like, for us to listen to here on Wikimetal. Name the band and the song.

BD : This would be my last production to be released, it's for a band called King Of Bones, the song is called We Are The Law.

W (DD) : Brendan, based on your experience and everything you've done, do you think Metal remains a very closed universe, or is it more open for bands to bring in elements from outside the Metal world, like Sepultura did in the 90s? How do you see this, and have you also had experience producing albums that used elements from outside, different from what is traditional in Metal?

BD : I think that all the changes that happened in Metal, like Roots or Opeth, bands that bring influences from other genres, are always the ones that end up standing out a little. Mastodon, for example, is a normal Metal band and over the years it's become a really successful band. I think it deserves the space it has because it always brings a different spice to our world, but I also like the fact that Metal is a somewhat closed world. Not that everyone will like it, so much so that Metal doesn't get much airplay on the media. Many times I think it helps a little because when people make an album they don't have that talk of "Oh, cut it out because it won't play on the radio," "Do this!".

W (NM) : More free, right?

W (DD) : More freedom.

BD : The talk about Metal is "Dude, make it more brutal," "It's too soft." I think that often ends up being less concerned with the market, more concerned with their influences. Of the albums I've done, an old one that was really cool was with a band called Chipset Zero, the album is called Red-O-Matic, we did samba percussion, a bunch of stuff, it was fun, it's not the most original thing in the world. But who cares? The result was cool. Kind of like a Brazilian Slipknot. Andre Matos himself brings in Angra too, many elements that, let's say, aren't normal in the Power Metal world.

W (DD) : Traditional.

BD : You end up losing some fans because you're not singing about dragons and Gandalf, but you bring a little something new.

W (DD) : Cool. That's really cool, isn't it, Nando, that he talked about the freedom that Metal has because it doesn't need to be commercial.

W (NM) : It's really cool. I think prejudice within Heavy Metal only gets in the way, right? Look, the creators of Heavy Metal, Black Sabbath, they mixed jazz with rock, so there's no reason to have that prejudice. I mean, of course you're not going to mix just anything for no reason, but external elements, as long as they have musical quality, I don't think there's any problem with them, right?

W (DD) : Even on Never Say Die, Ozzy's last album, there are some country elements in one song, so they really did mix things up.

W (NM) : And you have to listen to other types of music too. We already interviewed Zakk Wylde, who talked a bit about this, we asked him about it and of course you have to have an open mind to listen to other types of music so you can absorb what that style has that's good and sometimes apply it to your own style.

BD : But I think you can also see that through age. When I was 13, 15 years old…

W (NM) : It was just Metal.

BD : It was true, man. If it wasn't Slayer, it was crap. And then I was playing jazz, classical, I started listening to things, and suddenly an album by a band called At The Gates, Slaughter Of The Soul, came out. That album changed my life when I bought it. I remember buying the first In Flames album, and when Swedish Metal arrived it was completely different. Man, it was lighter, actually. It wasn't Morbid Angel.

W (RM) : And how do you see Metal today, not only in Brazil but in the world? Do you think the current state of Metal favors the emergence of new bands?

BD : The fact is that Metal took a downturn around 2000, big bands like Testament, Corrosion of Conformity, everyone went downhill. I think the market was saturated in a way and people were kind of fed up. Like Metallica, who had a huge release with the Black Album, it was a huge hit, and then, bam, it fell. At those times, people started making good albums again, because what everyone was copying – Megadeth, Metallica – those bands of the time, all died. Even Pantera disappeared, and at that time Slipknot emerged, Nu Metal arrived, Korn… I'm not a fan, but it was a huge movement. This was thanks to Roots. After Roots came out, in the United States there was a completely different Metal movement. I wasn't a fan, but many bands came out at that time and started to grow again, Korn, to this day, is one of the biggest Metal bands in the world, whether you like it or not, they fill stadiums all over the world. So I think there has to be this constant ebb and flow for new ideas, otherwise everyone ends up copying each other. You saw that with nu-metal; at the end of nu-metal there was Papa Roach and a lot of other things, and the bands that started it, like Deftones, those guys are still around, but those who came to the end don't have much of a market because it's already saturated. Not saying they're bad, but I think whoever created the idea can still do a little better.

In the metal scene, a woman who produced a major star today is Sharon Osbourne.

W (NM) : Brendan, we've been seeing a huge difficulty in Brazil, and abroad, in finding new idols, new big artists, even festival headliners and everything. We always see the big names, bands that have been around for 30 or 40 years, headlining, and it's the same in Brazil: André Matos, Sepultura, Viper, Korzus—bands that have a long history. Who do you think are the big names today that will be the Iron Maiden of the future, or the Korzus of the future, in Brazil and abroad? Do these representatives, the new generation, even exist?

BD : I hope it exists. It's difficult, it's always difficult to say this because the bands that do this are the bands that emerge from the underground. Let's say that nowadays a band from São Paulo, the city of São Paulo, that you can't deny is booming is Project46. The band's show is incredible, the band's album is incredible. I believe that in the heavier metal world they will stay for a long time, to fill the space left by Krisiun, Claustrofobia, those guys. Shadowside is another band that I believe will succeed, they've been around for a while, I think they have a chance to become something bigger, they just need the market to accept them. Because one thing that I think was bad, on one hand, last year at Rock in Rio, Gloria played, the people here have to give space to national pride, the band is on the main stage, it's getting dark, the band played an incredible show and the crowd is booing, because it's kind of emo, I don't know what.

W (NM) : But the sound isn't emo at all, right?

BD : The lyrics have a little bit of that, the guy sings this way, there's a truth side to them that he'll never accept.

W (DD) : Do you think something similar will happen with Kiara at the next Rock in Rio?

BD : I hope not. We have to…

W (DD) : We have to show appreciation, right?

BD : It doesn't matter how the band got here, if you don't like them it's a matter of taste, but you have to root for them a little, because they have fans. The band has fans.

W (DD) : What Brendan is saying is what we always talk about here at Wikimetal, instead of dividing our movement, which is already small by nature, and creating a bunch of tiny movements that have no real strength, our idea is always to add to it so that one movement helps another, one band helps another, and the public really tries to push the movement forward, because in the end it's all Metal, right?

W (NM) : Do you think there's less prejudice against bands of varied styles abroad, or is that true zero also present there?

BD : Ah, true zeros are everywhere. They're the most common type, guys with strong opinions. We need true zeros. People who are your fans, and loyal fans at that. I think the internet has increased the power of the so-called "true zeros," but the market here is still based on older bands, and it's difficult for people. They don't even want to believe in bands like Sepultura, André Matos. This is already a difficult market for them here, so imagine for a band that's just starting out. People have to think about creating new markets, new ideas, creating something on their own, something that nowadays doesn't have a record label embracing the cause, pushing it forward.

W (NM) : And putting money.

BD : You really have to do it, so the movement is more "roots." But when you manage to get those fans, they'll stay.

W (RM) : Let's talk a little about your musical side. How are you doing? Do you have a band? Do you play occasionally? Just at barbecues with friends? Do you plan to do a show, release an album? How's the musical side going?

BD : Lately I've been playing a lot of keyboards, ALT-S, F1. I used to play with a band called Chorume with a group of friends, but due to lack of time, my life decision was to focus more on music production, so I abandoned that. Nowadays, no, because I'm old, I'm 35, I have a son, another one on the way. I really enjoyed being in bands, but right now I like seeing the younger generation and remembering, "Wow, it was so cool when I played Metal in the United States with my friends, did some small tours, played in crazy places, there was nobody there." I like watching shows nowadays, not that I don't like playing, but I lack the time.

W (DD) : And since you dedicate so much more time to music production and engineering and everything else, and to do such high-quality work as you do, it's clearly a lot of characteristics, a lot of things coming together, but if you had to choose one characteristic that makes a music producer good, what characteristic is that? What characteristic best defines a music producer? What's the gold standard?

BD : I think that one thing isn't enough; you need patience and you have to truly love making music.

W (DD) : Patience and really liking what you do, right? Cool!

W (NM) : Brendan, now for a question everyone watching must be wondering: What did you come to Brazil for?

BD : I'm in love with a Brazilian woman, so… I was living in Canada when she had returned to Brazil, and we lived together during college. When I mentioned that the temperature outside the studio was -30 degrees Celsius with wind, and it was Carnival here at the time, she was on the beach drinking beer and said, “You can come here. I'm not going there.” So…

W (DD) : That's a great reason.

BD : So I sold my car, I sold all my audio equipment, I thought it was a complete abandonment, I was going to teach English, and I ended up staying here for 6 months getting married, of course, and I went looking for a studio again.

W (NM) : So how did you get started in music here in Brazil?

BD : I was hired….

W (NM) : You obviously had a very good resume, right?

BD : Yes! I did a kind of funny interview with Lampadinha, I called drums cockroaches, I barely spoke Portuguese. My friend who is now a great friend of mine, one of my teachers in the audio world, hired me as an assistant at Midas studio. I immediately started working as an assistant on big rock album recordings here, I met everyone, made a lot of friends, met owners of good production companies in the country, Paulo Anhaia, who I think is cool, he's a great metal producer too.

W (NM) : He's also a musician, an excellent bassist and singer.

BD : And personally, he made Madame Satan then, I think it's a phenomenal album.

W (NM) : A band from Belém do Pará

W (DD) : A girl, right, who sings.

BD : I'm a big fan, I really like it.

W (NM) : He was the bassist for Monster, right?

W (DD) : Yes.

BD : I ended up going into the studio back then, but here in Brazil I'm here for my wife.

W (RM) : And speaking of which, I'm going to skip a few questions here, since you mentioned your wife who brought you to Brazil, let's take that as a starting point and tell us who you consider an important woman in Rock, in Metal, nationally or internationally, which is a world much more dominated by men, but there are many important women. Who do you think is a great woman?

W (NM) : And there are more and more bands with women every day, right? I don't know if there are women producing records as well.

BD : Yes, Sylvia Massy Shivy who did Powerman 5000.

W (NM) : He even made ToyShop.

BD : ToyShop is. There's Angela Gossow, her joining Arch Enemy I think changed Death Metal in general. A woman I've always been a fan of is the bassist from Bolt Thrower, really cool. I think those were the women's movement, but it turns out women like Metal, now more are getting into it. There's Doro who's more Hard Rock, Christina Scabbia from Lacuna Coil, wow, so many female artists are entering the scene these days. To say one is more important than another is difficult. In the Metal movement, a woman who produced a big star today is Sharon Osbourne.

W (DD) : It was extremely important, wasn't it?

BD : Very, very big. She supported Cold Chamber, a lot of bands. There are a lot of people who support Metal without you knowing, like the woman who signed Deftones, Madonna, she's the one who put the money behind Nu Metal, but regarding women in Metal nowadays, I think you have to choose the big ones who are in the bands to influence others to join.

W (DD) : Cool, and Brendan, everyone who plays—I'm a mediocre guitarist, I play a little too—but everyone who plays, when they pick up the instrument, usually has one or two riffs that are natural to start playing. I play Seek & Destroy every time I pick up the instrument. What riff do you like to play so we can hear this song here on Wikimetal now?

BD : Seek & Destroy.

W (DD) : So Seek & Destroy on Wikimetal.

W (NM) : Brendan, we usually interview musicians and artists and we ask them what advice they would give to a beginner musician. Now I wanted to ask you, as a producer, what you would say to a kid who wants to study or learn how to work with music production?

BD : Ah, for music production, you have to play every instrument possible, listen to a lot of music, not just Metal, listen to everything you can. On one hand, music is about patience and playing what you like, I think that's the most important thing for a producer. There's no point in making music you don't like, because you're not going to sit down every day for hours and hours and play what you love. It's a job, music shouldn't be a job, it should be a passion. It's about getting really good at an instrument, doing it that way, enjoying it. I love doing this, thank God every day when I wake up, I go to my studio to record an album, to make music, even if I don't like the music I'm recording, at least I'm investing in it.

W (DD) : Okay Rafa, so to wrap up our episode, what's missing? Our traditional giveaway.

W (RM) : Promotion! An album produced here by Brendan, which was André Matos' last one, The Turn Of The Lights, autographed by André himself. It's simple, just send an email to info@wikimetal.com.br answering the following question:

BD : What is the name of my studio?

W (DD) : Brendan asked the question, what is the name of Brendan Duffey's studio, send it to info@wikimetal.com.br and what will you win, Nando Machado?

W (NM) : A copy of The Turn Of The Lights, André Matos' latest album, autographed by the great André himself, and a tip: the album was recorded at Brendan Duffey's studio.

W (DD) : Where are we here?

W (NM) : Well, I hope you enjoyed this conversation with the great producer Brendan Duffey. It was a real pleasure having you on Wikimetal.

BD : Thanks a lot.

W (NM) : And whenever you need anything, count on us. We're here. Brendan Duffey on Wikimetal!

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