Avenged Sevenfold's Johnny Christ recently stopped by the Sailor Jerry podcast and spoke with host Matt Caughthran of LA hardcore act The Bronx. In particular, Christ had much praise for producer extraordinaire Joe Barresi, who worked on A7X's 2016 LP, The Stage. The Avenged Sevenfold bassist also confirmed that Barresi is once again behind the board for the band's upcoming LP, which is currently in the works.
"He just did that Slipknot record (The End, So Far), which is incredible. He's always worked with Tool. He's an unsung hero, in a lot of ways. He's not one of those big, flashy names as a producer, I don't think."
Well, he wasn't until just a second ago! But all kidding aside, the man they call "Evil Joe" is certainly no stranger to fans of heavy metal and hard rock, with Christ's references just being the tip of the iceberg. Over his career, Barresi has worked in one capacity or another with acts such as Melvins, Soundgarden, Nine Inch Nails, and a host of others. It's practically impossible to look at your record collection and not have something Joe Barresi hasn't worked on. Go on… we'll wait!
Christ continued by saying "'The Stage' was the first record we worked with him… We had a great time working with him. He's awesome. He can really get into it in the studio with getting the right tones and the right sounds. You go to his place in Pasadena and all those pedals and everything he's got… 'What kind of sound are you looking for?' And he pulls out about 10 different things to get that sound until you get it. And you run it through. It might take you four hours to lay down a five-second part, but it's worth it every time — it's worth it.
"I think one of the important things… Obviously, what he does, just engineering and getting the right tone every time, his knowledge of that over the years is just so great," added Christ. "He brings a lot of what he's learned over the years into a modern way and makes it new every time. I love his sounds; he's so brilliant at getting 'em. But moreover, as a producer, just having… You're working with someone for hours upon hours, that personality has gotta be there. And he's just got this even-keeled fucking demeanor about him always. It's relaxing. When you start feeling all the pressure, he's just still right there with you. And I think that that's such an important, underrated thing for a producer, to have the right personality in there. If we were in there with someone that was high energy or wanted to butt heads back at any point, the records wouldn't get done. We're too stubborn. I'm just being honest. We're way too stubborn. So he just works perfectly with us… He's become a very good friend too. He's an awesome dude."
You can watch the complete interview with Johnny Christ on the Sailor Jerry podcast just below.
