Swedish mix engineer Stefan Boman has built a reputation for bringing clarity and dimension to some of rock and metal’s most complex productions. Based at Stockholm’s legendary Atlantis Studios as well as part-owner, his discography spans Roxette, Avicii, Kent, Ghost, The Cardigans, and countless others. When Swedish metal icons Opeth began work on “The Last Will and Testament,” Stefan saw an opportunity to push the progressive metal legends into immersive territory.
“We decided quite early that it would be a Dolby Atmos project,” Stefan explains. “I was mainly pushing for it because I know their music would suit Atmos really well. There are a lot of things going on.”
The result is a record that sounds traditional and authentic to the band in its sonic approach, yet translates beautifully into spatial audio thanks to Stefan’s tasteful reverb treatments and LiquidSonics surround plugins. We caught up with him to discuss how he approached mixing Opeth in Dolby Atmos.
Strategic Reverb Placement
The album’s production philosophy was classic progressive metal. “We had this idea that the album should be really dry, and when we use reverb, it would be a big contrast to the default dry sound,” Stefan notes. “We had reverbs on certain keyboards and vocals and lead guitars, but I don’t think we had any reverbs on the basic drums and the rhythm guitars.”
This selective approach extended to specific moments: adding reverb to a single timpani hit before a quiet section, or applying room treatments only to featured elements rather than the entire mix. Nothing groundbreaking, just thoughtful, musical decision-making that happens to translate exceptionally well into an immersive format.
Transparency in Dense Mixes
“There’s so much information in metal usually, so I try not to overdo it with reverbs or choose carefully what things I’m feeding into the reverb,” Stefan emphasises.
This is where LiquidSonics plugins prove indispensable.
“I think LiquidSonics is really suitable for it because there’s so much tweaking possible that they feel really transparent. With metal, you have to be careful not to blur things up. They need to be clear for it to work in metal.”
Stefan Boman’s studio for mixing Opeth in Dolby Atmos is centred around an Avid S6 surface and Genelec monitoring.
One of the Go-To’s: Sunset Chamber in Seventh Heaven Professional
For Stefan, workflow efficiency doesn’t mean sacrificing quality. “I’m one of those guys that 90% of the time I use the Sunset Chamber preset in Seventh Heaven Professional. It’s quite useful,” he reveals. “As a starting point, I have four or five reverbs that are like, ‘oh, it’s this one, this one, this one.’ That’s my basic palette of reverbs.”
But Stefan isn’t limited by presets. “I quite often use a few reverbs, so it could be a short wood room and a plate,” he adds, demonstrating the layering approach that gives his mixes depth without sacrificing clarity.
Early Adoption of Spatial Audio
Stefan’s commitment to LiquidSonics extends beyond a single product. “I’ve used LiquidSonics reverb plugins pretty much since I started mixing in Dolby Atmos because you guys were really early supporting Atmos and other spatial formats. I think I have them all, and I think they’re all in my templates.”
His arsenal includes Lustrous Plates Surround, Cinematic Rooms for shorter reverbs, and HD Cart, all integrated seamlessly into his workflow. The ability to transition from stereo to Atmos while maintaining consistent reverb character proves invaluable:
“Even though I have the Bricasti M7, I really like the idea of being able to do a stereo mix and then go into Atmos, keeping all the same settings.”
Pioneering Immersive Production
After a couple of years working in Dolby Atmos, Stefan still embraces the format’s creative potential. “That’s one of the things I really like about Atmos: this feeling of exploring, making up techniques. Everything is not really set yet. You’re sort of feeling like a pioneer even though it’s not that early.”
For mix engineers interested in Stefan’s detailed approach to the stereo mix of the Opeth album, he’s released an in-depth mixing course available at Kohle Audio Kult, offering a comprehensive look at his techniques and process.
