Dokken. Motley Crue. X. Metallica. Poison. Alice Cooper. WASP. Ozzy. King’s X. Just a taste of this producer powerhouse’s impact on the hard-rock/metal world — no wonder his introduction to music was purchasing a guitar in 1962. From his early beginnings as an electronic engineer in Germany — designing and manufacturing studio/stage equipment — to building a 16-track studio in Hamburg in ’79, it was a chance meeting with Don Dokken (who was touring in Germany) that brought this seminal producer to the States — specifically, L.A. After stints as a maintenance engineer at Larrabee Sound and doing live sound with Accept, Wagener truly burst onto the production scene with Dokken’s Breaking the Chains, which helped firmly ensconce metal into mainstream radio play. Thousands of productions (more than 50 million copies have been sold worldwide) and a move cross-country to Nashville later, we can find Wagener sitting comfortably in his WireWorld Studio, a fully digital 5.1 surround production facility for his Double Trouble projects, which have recently included some Greatest Hits albums for Skid Row and Testament, as well as cultivating “young metal blood” from the likes of Karaoke and Hydrogyn.
— Sarah Benzuly, Mix managing editor
Michael Wagener
MULTI-PLATINUM PRODUCER, HAIR BAND ENTHUSIAST