Featuring insights from Swedish producer Ulf Blomberg’s course: From MIDI to Mayhem
Let’s face it: a lot of modern metal productions sound… the same. Super clean. Ultra tight. Triggered to death. Technically perfect—but creatively safe.
If you want your mix to stand out, you need to embrace imperfection, personality, and a bit of filth. Swedish producer Ulf Blomberg gets it—and in his course From MIDI to Mayhem, he walks you through how to break the mould and inject character into your metal production.
Here’s how to get started.
1. Use Unconventional Gear to Add Flavour
“I used a small practice amp for some of the guitars—and it sounded way better than I expected. It gave me the grime I wanted.” — Ulf Blomberg
Instead of always reaching for high-end amp sims or polished plug-ins, experiment with whatever gear you have lying around. A practice amp, a weird pedal chain, a cheap mic—all of these can introduce unexpected textures that give your tone a unique edge.
Ulf shows how lo-fi gear can be reamped and layered with cleaner signals to create an exciting, unpredictable blend. The key is contrast.
2. Stop Relying on Stock Drum Libraries
If your drums sound like every other metal mix out there, it might be because you’re using the same libraries everyone else does—straight out of the box.
In the course, Ulf walks through recording his own drum samples, using whatever gear is available. The result is a human, raw, and punchy kit that breathes inside the mix.
Better yet, he blends these samples with programmed MIDI to keep the feel alive without losing impact. It’s not about perfect timing—it’s about personality.
3. Reamp With Intention
Reamping isn’t just about making DIs louder. It’s your chance to sculpt something gnarlier, dirtier, and more expressive.
Ulf uses creative mic placement, blending amp sounds with DI for added punch, and distorts with purpose. Think less about “tight” and more about “teeth.”
In From MIDI to Mayhem, you get to hear the before-and-after of these tones in context—and then try it yourself using the provided multitracks.
4. Mix Like a Mad Scientist
Clean and balanced mixes are great—but not always exciting.
Ulf’s mix approach is about embracing grit, character, and dirt. He doesn’t flatten everything out. He makes choices that support the attitude of the song, not just the frequency balance.
That might mean letting a midrange growl live louder than it “should,” or carving out more space for a nasty snare tail that bleeds into the guitars. This is the stuff that makes people say: “Wait—what the hell is that?”
5. Practice on Real Material
Theory is fine—but practice is everything.
In From MIDI to Mayhem, you get the full session:
- MIDI drums
- DI guitar and bass
- Ulf’s mix to reference
- And a challenge: submit your own version by April 15th for a shot at winning Hertz Drums 2 + a drum library of your choice.
This is your chance to try the techniques, break your habits, and get a little wild in the mix.
Final Thoughts: Embrace the Filth
Making exciting metal isn’t about throwing out all your technique—it’s about applying it differently.
Start treating your DAW like a laboratory. Be fearless with distortion. Get hands-on with samples. Build something no one else can replicate.
And if you want a blueprint to follow—warts, grit, and all—Ulf Blomberg’s course is the perfect place to begin.
🎧 Take the course → 👉 https://www.kohleaudiokult.com/courses/frommiditomayhem #kohleaudiokult #deathmetal #mixing #production
