Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Crescioni.
Hi Alex, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Picking up where we left off in the previous article…I will begin in 2018…
I was slaving away on the second release from industrial metal band Ritual Aesthetic fronted by a good friend Sean Ragan…we had been working on the album for a while and it was a pleasure to have handled mixing/mastering duties. This was released via Cleopatra Records as CD and Vinyl entitled “Wound Garden” It did fairly well and had some sync licensing placements. The single “The Analog Flesh” was accompanied by a sinister music video directed by another friend of mine Vicente Cordero of Industrialism Films.
Releasing a few months prior was an in-depth audiobook project entitled “Stream: Hack Your Consciousness” written by John Klymshyn and Isaac Noir. It was recorded at my private studio Stygian Sound requiring many weeks of sessions to complete. This was a major shift from intense metal music productions but was a refreshing adjustment.
Later in the year was the release of “The Wasteland Chronicles” by Los Angeles death metal band Letum Ascensus. The creator and vocalist Boris Bonillo and I finally came together to complete the mastering for this brutal record. It was later picked up by extreme metal label Gore House Productions.
2019 was the completion and release of the sophomore record from the Los Angeles-based postindustrial noir band Zeistencroix. The recording process took place at 3 studios including ES Audio Recording Studios for drums, Stygian Sound for guitar, bass, overdubbing, and Seahorse Sound Studios for vocals. Having previously worked with the band on their EP entitled “Gemini”, our relationship and trust had grown to the point of being fully emerged into the production on the new material for “GEN Z”. The sessions were very intimate and productive. After I had the honor of engineering, and mixing the record, we sent it off to Paul Abbott for mastering. The band then went to sign a deal with Sliptrick records and “Gen Z” was released October 1st, 2019.
Another highlight of the year was when I was asked to assist music producer Chris Collier on a drum tracking session for metal band Prong. He was performing drums for their EP entitled “Age Of Defiance” and had me take over engineering for him during his immaculate takes. If the task alone wasn’t exciting enough, he booked our session at the one and only KoRn HQ in Bakersfield, the private studio of Jonathan Davis. As a diehard KoRn fan, I was dying on the inside while remaining collected and professional. It was great meeting vocalist/guitarist Tommy Victor and observing his communication with Chris during the tracking phase. To this day I still don’t think Chris realizes what a big deal that day was for me. “Age Of Defiance” released on November 29th via Steamhammer Records.
I also had the pleasure of working with singer/songwriter Richard Patrick of the band Filter. His band was a major influence on me as a kid and helped shape the direction of my guitar playing. He surprisingly reached out in 2019 via Instagram and we met up for a writing session, which turned into multiple. We recorded lots of heavy guitars for new song ideas as well as collaborated on acoustic versions of some of the Filter hits. We even shot a video during the pandemic for the acoustic version of “Welcome To The Fold” directed by Vicente Cordero. It has yet to be released, but I’m hoping something will come of it in the future!
Among many releases in 2020…a major highlight was the beginning of my relationship with young rock artist Alexander Blackstar from France. He had reached out to me through Instagram explaining his visions in great detail. He had grandiose plans for his sophomore album which he asked me to be a part of. We started with the first single which was a cover of “Sweet Dreams” by Beyonce. He would send me his rough demos and I would add elaborate production, mixing, and mastering. “Sweat Dreams” was released on September 5th, 2020, with a flashy music video directed by Joris Favraud. This was just the beginning of the journey…
2020 also saw the completion of another long project I was a part of with the Los Angeles-based heavy metal band Living Darkness. I began vocal overdubs with singer Jeff Aldana for all of the songs on his debut record entitled “The Bishop” at Stygian Sound. During the recording process, there was significant advancement in his vocal delivery and performance while he honed in on his tonal identity. Right out of the gate he had very strong yet controlled projection and a wide range. After we completed the mixing and mastering together, he went to sign a deal with Metal Assault Records and released “The Bishop” on October 9th, 2020.
2021 was an intense year packed full of metal! I was approached by singer Devin Reiche of Los Angeles power metal band Anubis to mix and master a single which was their cover of “Tornado Of Souls”. Fortunately, Devin approved of my efforts, and we went to work on two additional releases that year entitled “Hurricane Of Hate” and “The Great Divide”. In parallel, Sin Quirin (former Ministry guitarist) contacted me to work on a new single for his project 3 Headed Snake entitled “Tyrants”. We had been developing a relationship over the years and finally made the time to get to work. At the same time, Sin and I had begun the development of his newest project entitled SIGLOS, which would kick off in 2022. I was able to maintain a relationship with Cleopatra Records from the Ritual Aesthetic release in 2018 and helped Anubis and 3 Headed Snake initiate collaborations with the label. 2021 was also the year of Alexander Blackstar’s 2nd and 3rd single, and official album release for Stellanera. Amongst many other releases…Sordes Dominum was born…
As I write this in October 2022, there have been more advancements and updates at Stygian Sound, along with additional exciting metal releases. 2022 saw the debut single for Sin Quirin’s SIGLOS entitled “Por Los Siglos” and the 2nd single “Morir Para Vivir”. This has been a major project in the works with a full album worth of material ready to be unleashed. My personal project and musical outlet, Sordes Dominum released its debut dual EPs entitled “Mortalis” & “Immortalis” The best way I can describe it is instrumental symphonic death/doom metal! In addition, was the completion of the sophomore album “Hymns Of Blinding Darkness” by melodic death metal band Our Dying World. A final highlight was Zeistencroix’s third record entitled “Cruxi-Fiction” We recorded top to bottom at ES Audio Recording Studios and Stygian Sound. This time around we had the pleasure of working with Tim Palmer on 2 out of the 5 songs on the EP. Tim mixed “We’re Already Dead” and “Ice Queen” and I was lucky enough to master his mixes. The band signed a new deal with Pavement Entertainment and just announced a tour with Crazytown and Kottonmouth Kings.
To see full credit list or reach out…please visit www.alexcrescioni.com
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
This industry is brutally cut-throat by default. I’ve had many ups and downs…and numerous depressing months of doubt. The main struggle is the drive to keep yourself constantly active and visible. If no one knows you exist it’s impossible to continue to work. As an introverted artist, it’s against my nature to have to speak about myself and what I do on a regular basis, although it’s what is required to survive.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Lately, my most requested services are mixing and mastering, although I’ve been hired to complete a wide variety of audio services over the years. Everything from voice-over and audiobooks, to synth/orchestral compositions. I absolutely love expanding on the framework of an artist’s music and turning it into something epic that they are excited about and proud of.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I’d like to thank Matt Boudreau of Working-Class Audio, Mike Indovina of Master Your Mix, Travis Ference of Progressions, and Ben Wallick of Secret Sonics for inviting me onto their podcasts. It’s refreshing to have the support of other audio professionals in the industry and creating an open dialogue in explorative conversation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.alexcrescioni.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexcrescioni
Image Credits
Alex Crescioni
Vicente Cordero
