Veteran Metal Producer ANDY SNEAP Reflects On Past Year

British producer extraordinaire (and former SABBAT guitarist) Andy "I Pissed On Colin Richardson's Hotel Room Desk" Sneap has posted the following message on his official web site:

"Well, it's come to the end of the year and 2005 has been nothing but a blast. Great fun, good times and some killer albums made. AS I LAY DYING, EXODUS, NEVERMORE, TRIVIUM, ARCH ENEMY, BIOMECHANICAL, TESTAMENT, KREATOR, CALIBAN amongst others, all coming by, and it seems any fears of things slowing down after I expanding the studio to the farm have been put to rest.

"Probably one of the most challenging projects I've worked on in a while was the Roadrunner 25th anniversary album, 'Roadrunner United'.

"Colin (Richardson) was originally drafted in to mix most of this but as things went on, it became apparent how much work was involved with this, so it was nice to be asked and actually good fun, trying to make so many different recordings, musicians and styles fit together and seem like a cohesive album. Did we manage it or not?….I think so, there's obviously 55 (and counting) different opinions on the mixes but it was an interesting concept, one that took a lot of hours, dedication and hard work by all involved.

"I pity the next label that tries to copy this idea.

"This all cumulated with the show in NY a couple of weeks ago, which was amazing, such good fun. It gave me chance to catch up with a lot of old friends, put names to faces, do some sightseeing and meet a lot of the people involved with the album and label.

"I've seen a couple of shows recently that have left me smiling, restoring my faith in metal. The newly revamped EXODUS being one, it seems to be 50/50 when you ask people whether they prefer 'Tempo of the Damned' or 'Shovel Headed Kill Machine'. Though the opinion seems pretty solid that they managed to put out a great album despite all the problems. Personally, I love 'Shovel Headed Kill Machine', it still has that EXODUS feel to me, I've been a fan since day one and probably have a better insight into the internal goings on of this band than most, which is why I'm so happy to see Gary [Holt, EXODUS guitarist] still out there tearing it up. I have to say though, it was a shame not to be able to get to SF to track the guys this time, 'Tempo' was one of the most surreal, fun experiences I've ever had whilst doing any album.

"I also went to see my old buddies CANDLEMASS in Bradford (with DESTRUCTION). The first time I met these guys was when I played Birmingham Hummingbird (now The Academy) back in '87, though I was a fan before that. Both SABBAT and CANDLEMASS then played the Dynamo Open Air in '87 with EXODUS headlining, and here we all are (well, nearly all) 18 years down the line still with a passion for one type of music \m/ metal \m/. And as corny as it sounds, that's what made me smile seeing both these bands, DESTRUCTION also. There's no ego's or delusions of grandeur, these guys are out there playing because they love it.

"I've spoken to the CANDLEMASS guys on and off about working with them, and finally we've managed to book sometime in the new Polar Studios in Stockholm from February 24th, just to record 2 or 3 new tracks for a possible EP release sometime next year. I have a feeling this recording could be quite heavy…..

"Other things coming up… I'm due to start the mix on 36 CRAZYFISTS' new album mid January, some KREATOR and ARCH ENEMY live stuff also this following month and also a new band for Sony called EXIT TEN that I've just done a couple of weeks recording with, a slight departure from the norm style wise for me, but I'm sure you'll be hearing quite a bit from these guys in the future. There's plenty more on the horizon also, but it's a bit too soon to mention other projects.

"Congrats to the TRIVIUM guys for doing so well this year, with the 'Ascendancy' album just picking up album of the year in Kerrang! and going silver in the U.K. It's been an interesting album to watch grow in the U.K. The thing that struck me when I went to see both them and BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE was how young the crowd was. Most of the kids going to these shows weren't even born when 'Ride The Lightning' was out and Cronos and Thor were battling in the pages of Kerrang! So I guess we are seeing things come full cycle again with the influences of the past 20 years thrown in.

"Can you tell I'm feeling old these days?? lol. I'm confident 2006 will be just as much fun, I'm looking forward to it."

Check out Sneap's pictures at this location.