How can a band record a classic album in three days?

Cold As Life recorded Born to Land Hard over a weekend. Here's why they could do that but your band probably can't

Seminal Detroit hardcore band Cold as Life is celebrating the 25th anniversary of their groundbreaking album Born to Land Hard this October. They’re throwing a big show/party with support from legendary bands like Terror, Madball and Mindforce.

Jeff Gunnells, Cold as Life’s vocalist and guitarist, was on HardLore podcast this week ahead of the event. It was a fascinating interview. Cold as Life is one of the craziest bands in hardcore history, and Gunnells shared some great stories from their vault. Highlights included original vocalist Rodney Barger beating up a horse cop and one of their guitar players locking himself in a bedroom for a week and a half in an attempt to master levitation.

Another shocking thing Gunnells shared was how the band recorded Born to Land Hard live-to-tape in three days. Getting your band’s 5 song EP to sound good with that approach is hard, let alone a 45-minute long, genre defining full length album.

The impressive part, for my less technically inclined friends, is both how the album was recorded and how quickly it was done. I would guess the majority of full-lengths you hear are tracked individually. That’s when the drummer goes in, lays down his part, then the bassist comes and records over top of it, then the guitars, etc. until you have a full song. The engineer then mixes all the parts together so they sound good on top of each other. A few more boring technical things happen, and then you get a full song.

Live recording is when the entire band tracks the song at the same time. Depending on the budget, the engineer will mic the instruments separately and mix them after the fact, or put one mic in the room and just let it rip.

There are a few reasons bands choose to go this route. Sometimes, they want to capture a unique sound or chemistry they’ve dialed in during practice, and it’s easier to just play the song live. These type of recordings also sound more “raw” and “organic” if done right. Most of the time, though, live recording is practical. You save time and studio resources, which also saves money.

The downside of live recording is that it’s hard to do right. If a band member fucks up during the course of the song, you have to either start the whole thing over, or just leave the flub in. This usually means a less “professional” sounding performance, especially if the band has limited time to record.

This is why Cold as Life recording Born… in three days is so impressive. The record sounds raw and fierce but also huge and professional. There’s nary a missed note and the playing is tight as can be.

I’m worried people are gonna start thinking they can pull that off easily. The last thing a shitty local band needs is an excuse to record everything in a weekend. The hosts of HardLore were adamant in telling their audience how impossible replicating Cold as Life is, but I’m sure people are going to try.

There’s no black magic behind Cold as Life’s against-all-odds success. They were a band for almost ten years before recording their debut full length. Most of the songs on the record had been released as demos and part of the live set by the point Born… was recorded. The dudes in that band could probably play those tracks backwards in their sleep. Your local heavy hardcore band is not taking their half written songs into the studio and coming out with a Cold as Life quality record in three days.

The Get Up Kids also recorded their debut, Four Minute Mile, in a weekend. I’m not sure if they tracked it live, but if not, they were certainly doing single takes. That record sounds way more like what you would expect from a three-day live recording. It’s sloppy, you can hear the fuck-ups, and the tones aren’t dialed in.

I listened to that record for my emo reviews this week. It’s good. It has the inimitable punk rock charm you want from a live-to-tape recording. Still, in the hands of a lesser band, or a band whose style is less forgiving to sloppiness, those charming idiosyncrasies can turn to unlistenable bullshit real quick.

I actually think heavy hardcore bands should lean into rawer recordings. I would love for more bands to try live recording. But please, take your time with it. Learn the songs. Practice them. Get your live set tight and tuned in. That’s how you end up closer to Born to Land Hard and further from the throngs of unlistenable, half-baked local metalcore nobody wants to hear.