ZHZ Podcast: Independent Music, Artist Interviews & The Utah Scene · Zak Davis & Matt Allen

Unveiling 'Black Rock': The Journey of Apophis

·42 min·2 clips

Dave links BlackRock to “some of the bad things that are headed our way” and says the album carries that tension.

1. ZHZ Podcast talks with David Hunsaker about Apophis’ album BlackRock and the Utah rock scene around L-Town Productions. 2. David Hunsaker is the guest, and he is described as a drummer, producer, sonic architect, mixing engineer, and mastering engineer for Apophis. 3. The episode asks what BlackRock sounds like, how it was made, and how Dave applies the same process to recording and mixing. 4. Dave says BlackRock is Apophis’ third album and that it was set to drop at midnight during the recording. 5. He describes the record as more straightforward hard rock than earlier Apophis releases, while still stylized like an industrial album. 6. He says the album includes more live drums, more heavy guitar work, a few industrial tracks, and some progressive elements. 7. Dave says he started getting final mixes about four months earlier and then began replacing them with his own masters. 8. He explains that SoundCloud lets him swap demo, mix, and master versions while keeping counts and fan comments. 9. He says he uses SoundCloud for market testing because he can see what songs get traction, likes, comments, and playlist adds. 10. He names Scotty Francis on bass, Corey on a chorus vocal part for “Narcissist,” and Nick Huff as the primary songwriter. 11. He says the songs were a slow burn over about a year, with live drums and revisions going back and forth during the process. 12. He also says he mixed records for Q, including Spring Tank and Trigger Thieves, while working on BlackRock. 13. Dave gives a one-mic drum tip: stand in front of the kit, find the balance between kick, snare, toms, and cymbals, and avoid placing the mic too high. 14. For guitar, he recommends miking an amp with an SM57 between the dust cap and cone, about two to three fingers away. 15. For vocals, he says an SM57 or SM7 can work well with a pop filter, good gain staging, and a close vocal position. 16. For gain staging, he recommends roughly negative 8 dB to negative 4 dB of headroom. 17. The conversation is informal, technical, and built around quick back-and-forth questions rather than long monologues. 18. Dave repeats that the album is a "big body of work," "sweetly dark," and "not safe," which matches the episode’s direct studio-talk tone. 19. This episode will appeal to indie rock musicians, home recordists, and Apophis listeners. 20. Skip it if you want polished pop coverage or no recording-engineering detail.

As heard by us

A practical look at how Black Rock takes shape through patient, repeat-driven mixing.

Dave Hunsaker gives Apophis's Black Rock a patient, process-first center. The piece stays close to the work of finishing songs: slow mixing, repeated SoundCloud re-uploads, commute-time check-ins, and the way L-Town Productions helps shape the sound.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want the making-of story behind Apophis' upcoming BlackRock, not promo copy.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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