Zug, CH (December 12, 2023)—Progressive metal is an international phenomenon, and for proof, one need look no further than the trio Gracchus, whose members hail from Switzerland and New Jersey. While they may be separated by an ocean, the group is united in its love of both heavy riffs and Audix mics, all of which came into play when the group recorded its latest EP, Infectious.
Gracchus is no studio project either, as founder/singer/rhythm guitarist Bernhard Schnellmann and drummer Allan Murphy—both from Switzerland—and lead guitar player Jeff Elrose dive into gig mode often as well. Schnellmann recalls that his first use of an Audix mic was due to a gig nightmare. “The first [Audix] mic I bought was the OM7, the live vocal mic,” he says. “I’d had another mic, and we had this gig in a weird club. There was a hot light on the mic, and due to the moisture in it, it sort of started boiling and just broke. I was like, ‘I want something high-end that doesn’t sound muffled, cuts through the mix, and that any audio engineer can work with.’ My sister bought the OM7 for me and said, ‘Now every time you play, you’ll have something from the family around.’ I loved how it sounded and we stuck with it.
“The OM7 has such good rejection as well,” adds drummer Murphy. “It rejects most of the ambient sound around the intended source. If I point it right at me, then the drums aren’t as loud, which is important because sometimes I sing and don’t want my kit bleeding into my vocal.”
The band has equal regard for the workhorse i5, with Schnellmann pointing out, “It will play a major role in Jeff Elrose’s guitar sound. He likes a very brilliant top end. The i5 doesn’t sound shrill but it captures that perfectly, but keeps the heaviness, you know? We’ll use it live on his cabinet and in the studio, we plan to pair it with the A133 to be able to blend two mics.”
Audix’s new PDX720 mic is intended for use as a studio mic, but that hasn’t stopped the band from experimenting. “We have used the PXD720 already on both vocals and even guitar,” says Schnellmann. “Obviously, vocals are its main application. It will probably be my main studio vocal mic going forward.”
