Andy Sneap

Andy Sneap (born 18 July 1969) is an English musician, songwriter, guitar player and record producer with over 100 albums to his name, most of which have been produced at his Backstage Recording studios in rural Derbyshire. Some of the most critically acclaimed production work on albums include Deliverance by Opeth and Disarm the Descent by Killswitch Engage; for which he earned a Swedish Grammis and a US Grammy nomination, respectively. As a performer, he first built his reputation as one of the guitarists in the British thrash metal band Sabbat, and played with them up until their disbanding. He is currently one of the co-guitarists of the British heavy metal band Hell.[1] In 2018 he joined Judas Priest as a touring guitarist, following long-time lead guitarist Glenn Tipton's diagnosis of Parkinson's disease which conflicts with his touring abilities.[2]

Andy Sneap
Andy Sneap playing with Judas Priest in 2018
Background information
Born (1969-07-18) 18 July 1969
Derbyshire, England
GenresHeavy metal, thrash metal
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter, sound engineer, record producer, guitarist
Instrumentsguitar
Years active1984–present
Associated actsSabbat, Hell, Judas Priest

He is one of the most active music producers in the metal music genre and has worked with bands such as Judas Priest, Accept, Blaze Bayley, Saxon, Opeth, Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy, Exodus, Megadeth, Kataklysm, Kreator, Nevermore, Testament, Carcass, Fear Factory, Overkill and DevilDriver.[3][4][5] Of his production career, Sneap holds the distinction of having been credited as a producer, mixer or engineer on all six of Testament's albums since The Gathering (1999) – including the collection of re-recorded material First Strike Still Deadly (2001) – as well as all seven of Exodus' releases since the live album Another Lesson in Violence (1997).[5] He also mixed Megadeth's show from the DVD The Big Four: Live from Sofia, Bulgaria, also featuring Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax.[5]

Biography

Andy Sneap was born on 18 July 1969 in Belper, Derbyshire, England. He got his first guitar and amplifier from his parents at age 12 as a Christmas present. He started learning guitar with founding Hell member Dave Halliday, who had a huge effect on Andy and left him all the rights to all his songs and equipment in his will following his death.[6] Sneap joined a British heavy metal band called Hydra as the second guitarist when he was 15 years old. But two weeks later, the original guitarist and drummer quit, Simon Negus joined them, and the band's name changed to Sabbat.[7]

After disbanding Hydra and forming a new band, they chose Sabbat as the new name, which came from a book on witchcraft.[7] After one year of rehearsing, they recorded a four-track demo tape, Fragments of a Faith Forgotten. Sneap distributed the demo tape to many record companies, but on listening, Berlin-based recording company Noise Records showed interest and asked for more material. In 1987, Noise Records offered the band a recording contract, but the contract could not be signed until Sneap turned 18 years old in July 1987. So they made a plan to start recording the band's first full studio album, History of a Time to Come. Andy wrote all the music while Martin Walkyier was responsible for the lyrics.[8] Sabbat released the album on 20 April 1988 via Noise Records, which received positive attention from journalists and fans alike.

In January 1989 Sneap and the other band members entered Sky Trak Studio in Berlin to start recording their second album, Dreamweaver, which was a concept album based on the 1983 book by Brian Bates – The Way of Wyrd: Tales of an Anglo-Saxon Sorcerer. Andy wrote almost all of the music except three songs, which Simon Jones also wrote with Andy. The album has come to be regarded as a classic of the thrash metal genre, which reflects Andy's predilection at that time for increasingly lengthy and progressively technical thrash metal songs.

Discography

As a band member
Band Album details Role Source
Sabbat History of a Time to Come
  • Label: Noise Records
  • Release date: 20 April 1988
 Composer, Guitar, Remastering
Dreamweaver
  • Label: Noise Records
  • Release date: 15 May 1989
 Composer, Guitar, Remastering
Mourning Has Broken
  • Label: Noise Records
  • Release date: 1991
 Composer, Guitar
Hell Human Remains
  • Label: Nuclear Blast
  • Release date: 13 May 2011
 Engineer, Guitar, Mixing, Producer [9]
Curse and Chapter
  • Label: Nuclear Blast
  • Release date: 2013
 Composer, engineer, Guitar, Mixing, Producer [6]

Selected production
Year Album details Role Source
1994 English Dogs – Bow to None
  • Label: Impact Records
  • Release date: 1994
 Assistant, Mixing [10]
1996 Dearly Beheaded – Temptation Engineer [11]
1997 Exodus – Another Lesson in Violence Producer [12]
Napalm Death – Inside the Torn Apart Mixing [13]
Machine Head – The More Things Change...
  • Release date: 25 March 1997
 Mixing [14]
1998 English Dogs – All the World's a Rage
  • Label: Impact Records
  • Release date: 25 August 1998
 Producer [15]
Earth Crisis – Breed the Killers Audio Engineer, Audio Production, engineer, Mixing, Producer [16]
Obituary – Dead Mixing [17]
1999 Testament – The Gathering
  • Label: Burnt Offerings, Spitfire (1999), Prosthetic (2008)
  • Release date: 28 June 1999
 Engineer, Mixing [18]
2000 B L A Z E – Silicon Messiah
  • Label: SPV
  • Release date: 22 May 2000
 Engineer, Mastering, Mixing, Producer [19]
Nevermore – Dead Heart in a Dead World
  • Label: Century Media
  • Release date: 17 October 2000
 Engineer, Mastering, Mixing, Producer [20]
Fozzy – Fozzy
  • Label: Palm Pictures / Megaforce Records
  • Release date: 24 October 2000
 Mastering, Mixing [21]
2001 Testament – First Strike Still Deadly Audio Engineer, Mixing [22]
Kreator – Violent Revolution
  • Label: Steamhammer Records/SPV
  • Release date: 25 September 2001
 Engineer, Mastering, Mixing, Producer [23]
Arch Enemy – Wages of Sin
  • Label: Century Media
  • Release date: 2 April 2001
 Mastering, Mixing [24]
2002 B L A Z E – Tenth Dimension
  • Label: SPV
  • Release date: 15 January 2002
 Engineer, Mastering, Mixing, Producer [25]
Killswitch Engage – Alive or Just Breathing
  • Label: Roadrunner
  • Release date: 21 May 2002
 Mastering, Mixing [26]
Arch Enemy – Burning Angel
  • Label: Century Media
  • Release date: 6 March 2002
 Mastering, Mixing [27]
Opeth – Deliverance
  • Label: Koch, Music for Nations
  • Release date: 12 November 2002
 Mixing [28]
Masterplan – Enlighten Me
  • Label: AFM Records
  • Release date: 18 November 2002
 Engineer, producer [29]
2003 B L A Z E – As Live as It Gets
  • Label: SPV
  • Release date: 25 March 2003
 Engineer, Mastering, Mixing, Producer [30]
Arch Enemy – Anthems of Rebellion
  • Label: Century Media
  • Release date: 23 August 2003
 Engineer, Mastering, Mixing, Pre-Production, Producer [31]
Artillery – B.A.C.K.
  • Label: Die Hard music
  • Release date: 15 April 2003
 Mixing [32]
Masterplan – Masterplan Engineer, producer [33]
MTV2 Headbangers Ball
  • Label: Roadrunner
  • Release date: 7 October 2003
 Mixing, producer [34]
2004 B L A Z E – Blood & Belief
  • Label: SPV/Steamhammer
  • Release date: 26 April 2004
 Audio Engineer, Audio Production, engineer, Mastering, Mixing, Photography, Producer [35]
Caliban – The Opposite from Within
  • Label: Roadrunner
  • Release date: 17 October 2004
 Audio Engineer, Mastering, Mixing [36]
2005 Trivium – Ascendancy
  • Label: Roadrunner
  • Release date: 15 March 2005
 Mastering, Mixing, Vocals [37]
Soulfly – Dark Ages
  • Label: Roadrunner
  • Release date: 4 October 2005
 Mixing [38]
Bullet for My Valentine – Hand of Blood
  • Label: Trustkill
  • Release date: 22 August 2005
 Audio Production, Mastering [39]
2006 Kerrang Album
  • Release date: 11 September 2006
 Producer [40]
Into Eternity – The Scattering of Ashes
  • Label: Century Media
  • Release date: 3 October 2006
 Mixing, Mastering [41]
2007 Rise to Addiction – A New Shade of Black for the Soul Audio Production, engineer, Mixing, Producer [42]
Onslaught – Killing Peace Mixing, Producer [43]
Annihilator – Metal
  • Label: SPV/Steamhammer
  • Release date: 16 April 2007
 Mixing, Producer [44]
Megadeth – United Abominations
  • Label: Roadrunner
  • Release date: 15 May 2007
 Audio Engineer, Audio Production, engineer, Mastering, Mixing, Producer [45]
2008 Unearth – The March Mastering, Mixing [46]
2009 Iron Monkey – Our Problem Engineer, Mixing, Producer [47]
DevilDriver – Pray for Villains
  • Label: Roadrunner
  • Release date: 14 July 2009
 Guitar Producer, Mastering, Mixing, Mixing Advisor [48]
Megadeth – Endgame
  • Label: Roadrunner
  • Release date: 14 September 2009
 Engineer, Mastering, Mixing, Producer [49]
2010 Dimmu Borgir – Abrahadabra Guest Artist, Mixing [50]
Accept – Blood of the Nations Engineer, Mastering, Mixing, Producer [51]
Slayer – The Big Four: Live from Sofia, Bulgaria
  • Label: Warner Bros. (U.S.), Vertigo/Mercury (Europe)
  • Release date: 29 October 2010
 Mixing [52]
2011 Arch Enemy – Khaos Legions
  • Label: Century Media
  • Release date: 30 May 2011
 Mastering, Mixing [53]
2012 Testament – Dark Roots of Earth
  • Label: Nuclear Blast
  • Release date: 27 July 2012
 Additional Footage, engineer, Mastering, Mixing, Producer [54]
Accept – Stalingrad
  • Label: Nuclear Blast
  • Release date: 6 April 2012
 Engineer, Mastering, Mixing, Producer [55]
2013 Saxon – Sacrifice
  • Label: UDR
  • Release date: 1 March 2013
 Mastering, Mixing [56]
Carcass – Surgical Steel
  • Label: Nuclear Blast
  • Release date: 13 September 2013
 Mastering, Mixing [57]
XXX: Three Decades of Roadrunner Records Mixing, Producer [58]
2014 Ronnie James Dio - This Is Your Life
  • Label: Rhino
  • Release date: 25 March 2014 (Japan), 31 March 2014
 Engineer [59]
Accept – Blind Rage
  • Label: Nuclear Blast
  • Release date: 15 August 2014
 Mastering, Mixing, Producer [60]
2015 Fear Factory – Genexus
  • Label: Nuclear Blast
  • Release date: 7 August 2015
 Mastering, Mixing [61]
2016 Testament – Brotherhood of the Snake
  • Label: Nuclear Blast
  • Release Date: 28 October 2016
 Mastering, Mixing [5]
2017 Overkill – The Grinding Wheel
  • Label: Nuclear Blast
  • Release date: 10 February 2017
 Mixing [62]
Accept – The Rise of Chaos
  • Label: Nuclear Blast
  • Release date: 4 August 2017
 Mastering, Mixing, Producer [63]
2018 Judas Priest – Firepower Co-Producer (Along with Tom Allom) [5][64]
2019 Overkill – The Wings of War
  • Label: Nuclear Blast
  • Release date: 22 February 2019
 Mastering, Mixing [5]
Killswitch Engage – Atonement
  • Label: Metal Blade
  • Release date: 16 August 2019
 Mastering, Mixing [5]
2020 Testament – Titans of Creation
  • Label: Nuclear Blast
  • Release Date: 3 April 2020
 Mastering, Mixing [5]
2020 John Petrucci – Terminal Velocity
  • Label: Sound Mind Music/The Orchard
  • Release Date: 28 August 2020
 Mastering, Mixing [65]

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