Skid Row
This record is about us being reintroduced to ourselves, and a lot of credit goes to our producer Nick Raskulinecz; he was and is just [an] incredible force. He’s an amazing producer, a great musician, and a great songwriter. We could not have done this without Nick because, like I said, he made the process of reintroducing Skid Row to Skid Row possible. "
[www.eddietrunk.com]

Korn: Got the Life
James “Munky” Shaffer and Brian "Head" Welch riff about how producer and longtime fan Nick Raskulinecz convinced them to bring back funky, detuned guitars on The Serenity of Suffering:
"[Nick] just had an energy about him. He’s just a guy that you grow to like instantly and we became friends instantly... Nick is all about getting it right. There are no computer fixes, no cutting and pasting. He’d make us do the whole section or even the whole song again. That’s how he does it and it really pays off. There’s no loss of energy... Nick was really the voice of the band throughout the whole record."
[www.premierguitar.com]

Skid Row "Tear It Down" webisode
In this third 'Tear It Down' webisode, Skid Row talk about Nick Raskulinecz and how he influenced the album production process.

Skid Row
Anyone who has heard the album's first single, "The Gang's All Here" from the new album of the same name, already can tell it's the sound of a group rediscovering where it came from. "It was a direction toward our roots," Bolan explained. "We had Nick Raskulinecz, our producer, to thank mainly for that. He wanted to make a bona fide Skid Row album. He grew up a fan and he's a huge producer, so it helped us. "He really got us to focus on being Skid Row again," Bolan said. "I know it sounds strange, but it's really hard, when you've had a career of 30 years, sometimes you just kind of stray away. He (Raskulinecz) brought us back to the way we should be thinking."
[www.gadsdentimes.com]

Geddy Lee Reveals Which Record is Rush's 'Happiest'
"That was our introduction to producer Nick Raskulinecz, and he was such a tonic. Such good energy, so funny. We were in this huge, rambling place near Woodstock and were only there to do the drum parts, but we were having so much fun we just stayed for the entire album. 'Snakes & Arrows' and 'Clockwork Angels' were probably the two most fulfilling recording experiences we'd ever had. It was the happiest period for the band since Permanent Waves [1980]."
[www.ultimate-guitar.com]

Heavy Music Awards 2021
Nick co-produced Code Orange's album, 'Underneath,' which has been nominated for 2 Heavy Music Awards:

BEST PRODUCTION

BEST ALBUM

[www.musicweek.com]

Evanescence studio livestream
Recorded at Nick's Rock Falcon studio, the band shines during a brilliant studio livestream. "While it’s true that nothing can replace the ecstatic power of band/audience interaction, there is something to compensate for it. Quite frankly, the sight of The Bitter Truth producer Nick Raskulinecz air drumming and miming the whole way through their 2003 anthem is worth the price of admission alone. We see you, Nick. We see you.""
[www.kerrang.com]

Halestorm
"Lizzy Hale says: And a very special congrats to Nick Raskulinecz on his 20th Grammy nomination in 2020. Rock and metal would be lost without you, Nick!"
[www.metalheadzone.com]

True Villains
"Nick is very hands on and was very animated during pre-production of the tracks – air drumming and air guitar included," True Villains said. "His hands-on methods really pushed us to getting the best performances we were capable of. We have struggled as a rock band to find someone in Nashville who could capture our sound the way we wanted, up to this point. We really honed in on performance, parts, and arrangements this time around instead of trying to churn out as many songs as possible in a day."
[www.americansongwriter.com]

Billboard's #1 Hard Rock Producer
Nick tops Billboard's Hard Rock Producer chart, week of July 18, 2020.

The Lees of Memory
(ex-Superdrag)
"We've made a bunch of records with Nick over the years--including the first-ever Superdrag demos that wound up on our first two 7"s--but his powers just keep magnifying; he is an actual wizard now."
[www.brooklynvegan.com]

Evanescence
"We're actually going to the studio... with Nick Raskulinecz, who did our self-titled album with us, which is our favorite - it's the band's favorite album."

"Nick is the king of, like, we get in a room with nothing, no production, just with our instruments and jam, he sort of directs the jam, and we go through it and find all the parts that could be better and try out all the ideas."
[www.ultimate-guitar.com]

Code Orange
"We didn't know how to verbally explain it to any producer, but Nick was really good at helping us facilitate and grow some of those ideas. He made us create a better version of the template we had made. We had to beat the demos... and we really loved those demos."
[www.musicradar.com]
"He just helped us to follow our vision because he knows what kind of band we are. He knows what we wanted - as opposed to attempting to water it down or make it more commercial," says Morgan
[www.pghcitypaper.com]

The Best Albums of the Decade: 2010-2019
Nick Raskulinecz worked on 4 of the TOP ROCK ALBUMS of the DECADE:

Deftones 'Diamond Eyes'

Alice In Chains 'The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here'

Rush 'Clockwork Angels'

Deftones 'Koi No Yokan'

[www.loudwire.com]

He also worked on 1 of the TOP METAL ALBUMS of the DECADE:

Ghost 'Infestissumam'

[www.loudwire.com]

Korn
What is it like working with Nick, and how did he push you to try new things?
Munky: It doesn't feel like work. It's like, "Let's go in and have some fun. Come on, man." It's not like clocking in and putting in the hours.
Head: Honestly, he's another member of the band.
[www.premierguitar.com]

Korn
"[Nick] works really well with us. He's like a sixth member of the band when we do records." - Brian "Head" Welch
[www.radio.com]
The first thing that will knock your teeth out, once bagpipe 'n' drum intro "The End Begins" recedes amid Davis's sobs, is the production: KORN have veered from rugged and raw to grandiose and polished and back again numerous times over the years, but it's hard to deny that their finest albums have usually been graced with a big sound. "The Nothing" is sonically huge and destructive, with guitar tones of deeply satisfying thickness and depth and enough bottom-end to make Cthulhu shit himself... this is absolutely one of the best records the Bakersfield quintet have ever made.
[www.blabbermouth.net]
On album number thirteen, KORN have crafted something truly special. When people recount the high points of the band's career, The Nothing will undoubtedly be considered one of them. This is a band we've seen before and the resulting album is near flawless in its execution. For existing fans of KORN, or fans of any genre of metal in general, The Nothing is firmly cemented as one of 2019's must-have albums. [www.distortedsoundmag.com]

Producer Nick Raskulinecz on working with Rush:
'Sometimes I Still Can't Believe It Happened'
RUSH frontman Geddy Lee talked about how working with Nick on "Clockwork Angels" encouraged the band to go back to "the essence of who we are." "For instance, he can sing you every note of every drum lick, you know. He's coming from the same place that we're coming from as musicians - he is a musician, he's got legitimate respect from us - so when he comes in the studio and asks us to try something else, we look at each other and go, 'I don't know about this'. We think for a second, and we respect the guy, so we do it." [www.blabbermouth.net]

Premier Guitar's Rig Rundown
Go inside Nick's Rock Falcon Studio in Nashville, TN, and check out his stuff.

Halestorm
Grammy Nominee "Best Rock Performance"
"[Nick Raskulinecz] producer of the extraordiary... we would've never gotten nominated for a Grammy without you... You never settle for "good" or even "great." One of your mantras being, "never less... always more." You are the first producer we've worked with that isn't caught up in all the industry bullshit and you actually believe that Rock Music is so much more than a career choice, more than a hobby... We love you Nick. It was dark there for a second, thank you for finding the light switch!" [www.instagram.com]

Halestorm
"What he [Nick] did was basically take everything that we love about being in this band-all of our personalities and everything that each of us brings to the table-and then just kind of amplified that... There were so many moments where we were like, "Yeah, that totally rocks," and then Nick would be like, "Oh no, no, no. I've seen you guys live. I'm a fan of your band. I know that you can sing higher... You can play faster... We gotta push it just a little further."[www.premierguitar.com]

According to the band, Raskulinecz always had a drumstick in his hand throughout recording, conducting and conveying his instinctual rhythmic ideas through spastic, onamonapiac outbursts, the kind of non-technical musical communication you may not expect from a producer who's coached such legendary drummers as Neil Peart or either of the Foos' famous stickmen. Arejay Hale was more than up for the task, rising to the occasion and pushing his own boundaries into new territory the whole band got behind. [www.grammy.com]

"We started in the studio with him with nothing and ended up building up this amazing record." [www.blabbermouth.net]

Hard Rock Producer Brings the Noise and Grammy Cred to Music Row
Music Row has sounded a little noisier and more raucous in recent weeks since pre-eminent hard rock and metal producer Nick Raskulinecz set up shop inside the venerable recording studio built for Roy Orbison in 1968... Raskulinecz is looking to shake things up on Music Row, where country music is still the unquestioned king but musical diversity increases by the day.
Atlantic Records Senior Vice President for A&R Steve Robertson, who specializes in rock music, said it's good for Nashville to have Raskulinecz in the thick of Music Row. "I personally love it, because being on Music Row, you're still surrounded largely by country music... To have Rock Falcon Studio and Nick right on Music Row, it helps expand the perception of what Nashville is." [www.tennessean.com]

Rise Against
"Nick is super-nimble in the studio... He can dial up great guitar tones better than anybody. He knows what this amp does, what that mic does - there's no guesswork. You just know you're going to be in good hands with a guy like that." [www.guitarworld.com]

Korn
Speaking about the powerful production of KORN's latest album, 2016's "The Serenity Of Suffering", and the band's plans for a follow-up effort, [Brian "Head"] Welch said: "A lot of that was Nick Raskulinecz. All these bands that you guys hear out in the world, without the producer, we would not be at the level that we're at, as far as sound and how you feel the music - from all the bands. Producers bring it together. They're like the next bandmember. And so we look forward to working with Nick Raskulinecz again - hopefully this [next] record." [www.blabbermouth.net]

Halestorm
"We went in last January with Nick, and we were, like, 'We don't know what to do. We don't have any songs or anything.' And he's, like, 'It's cool. It's cool.' That's his forte," Joe explained. "He did it with KORN, he did it with RISE AGAINST, on their new one, he did it with DEFTONES. This is what he does. He was, like, 'When was the last time the four of you got in a room and wrote together?... Let's start there.' And we were, like, 'Okay.' So we would get a riff and we'd just start jamming, and he'd pop in [and go], 'That was cool. Do that again.' And we were, like, 'Okay.' And [we'd] just start building songs from nowhere. It was great." [www.blabbermouth.net]

"And just sonically, I think it's gonna be the first time that you can actually hear what everybody brings to the table in our band instead of it just being kind of, like, 'Oh, okay, Lzzy sings and there's something going on in the background,'" she said. "Especially considering my little brother [Arejay Hale] as a drummer. Nick is like the drum whisperer. He just loves him, and he's such a drum nerd. He did the last two RUSH records, and he just brought some stuff out of Arejay that we were all in the control room, like, 'How did you get him to do that?' It takes a lot to surprise us with little bro, 'cause we know him so well. He's at a whole other level and he finally has a producer that has the patience and the... I don't know... I wanna say the psychological [laughs]... how to bring that out of him." [www.blabbermouth.net]

Halestorm has been working with a new producer for its next album. Producer Nick Raskulinecz has brought out the true grit of the band.
"He's just a rock dude," Hale said of Raskulinecz. "For the first time, I'm not having this conversation with a producer like I have on nearly every record we've made. I would kind of sit down with the producer and let them know we're a rock band and we wanted to keep that intact. I'm not dogging any of our other producers or what we've done. I've just enjoyed not having those conversations going into the studio with Nick."
The new music is "genuine" and "not contrived," according to Hale. [www.abqjournal.com]

According to frontwoman Lzzy Hale, Raskulinecz "inspired" the band "a lot, because when we got off the road, we didn't really know what we wanted to do with the record, so we kind of came in with absolutely nothing, the four of us in a room. And he just kind of turned to us, and he was, like, 'When was the last time the four of you were just kind of in a room writing together and not afraid to be yourselves?'" she said. "And I'm, like, 'Man, that's been a long time, I think.' So he really gave us this renewed trust in ourselves and what we enjoy in the music that we like and not being afraid to wear our influences on our sleeves, that kind of thing. And he's also... he's just so energetic. Arejay will tell you; he's bouncing around with a drum stick. He's, like, 'Coach Nick' right now." [www.blabbermouth.net]

Halestorm
"We were so incredibly honored to work alongside producer Nick Raskulinecz. He truly helped us bring these songs to life and find a way to make them HALESTORM's." [www.blabbermouth.net]

Korn
[Guitar World]

Korn
Making of 'Rotting In Vain'

Korn
"Metal has gone through an evolution. We went down that road a few years ago, but think with Nick being a producer and a fan, he focused on what we're good at and steered the ship back onto that course, like, the scat Jonathan [Davis, vocals] does, he does that heavy-metal scat. Nick just encouraged all that." [www.blabbermouth.net]

"We needed Nick's help to focus our energy... [Nick] kind of put his neck out there in the sense that we may not like what we're about to hear. He was willing to take that chance and be honest with us. Some of it was difficult to hear, but he was right." [www.loudwire.com]

Dream the Elecric Sleep
"Producers wear many different hats; [Nick]'s like a coach, but is somebody who can listen to what you're doing and say "as a listener, that doesn't make as much sense to me. Why did you do that there?"... Somebody like Nick can come in and say "Yeah, you're right. That is good. But this part needs work." Then just work us through the process of how we make the best album we can make. Working with Nick, we were able to just focus on performances. You end up trusting somebody like Nick... So you say "Nick knows what he's doing. Let's focus on capturing the best of what we can do." That's what Nick brought to the table... It's to take what we thought were good songs and make them better. He's an immensely positive influence... and he wants to make the best damn album he can make. That's the kind of person I want to work with. Somebody who's going to push me to my limits, but not make me feel like sh*t." [www.crashandridemusic.com]

Black Star Riders 'Heavy Fire'
"Nick's a great guy, he's a musical genius. He's sonically very together, has great ears. He's got a great passion for music 24/7, he never switches off."
"The second time around... we know what kind of input he's gonna put into this thing... we know that the equipment is gonna be great."
"We had a lot of respect for Nick (going in to the 2nd album) because of his resume. But the big difference this time is now we trust him."

Black Star Riders 'The Killer Instinct'
On working with Nick Raskulinecz...

Apocalyptica
"[Nick's] a top-class producer... he's a really inspiring guy... he has a lot of technical skills. So he has the tools to make a high-class production.
We did [the album] in seven weeks in the Nashville mountains. We were living there in a small hut close to [Nick's] studio... like some kind of scary-movie kind of hut in the middle of nowhere. It was an ispiring place to make an album." [www.blabbermouth.net]

Rush
Rush's recent work has been affected by the influence of 'Clockwork Angels' co-producer Nick Raskulinecz, who also worked with the band on 'Snakes & Arrows.' "Nick is a very bad influence," Peart told Classic Rock Magazine. "He wants us to be more Rush than we are, it's wonderful, he pushes me in ways I wouldn't dare..." [www.ultimateclassicrock.com]

Evanescence
"Nick is a true passionate rock fan and rock producer," Lee says. "He really pushed the band forward... To get everyone primed for recording Raskulinecz convened a kind of band camp... We started to sound really good, and it gave us the confidence to make the album." [www.pressofatlanticcity.com]

Evanescence
Amy Lee: "My favorite records that came out recently were from Alice in Chains and the Deftones -- and [Nick] produced both. We love working with him -- he makes it so fun. Writing with the band and working with a heavy rock producer has made it more of a rock record." [www.spin.com]

Stone Sour
"Nick, he's cool, man... He's very hands-on. He's very involved with everything from the beginning until the end... he gets you pumped up and he gets you excited about what you're doing... and he's a little bit precise and if shit isn't sounding good we'll go back and do it and do it until it does.." [www.blabbermouth.net]

Stone Sour
"Nick is one of the first people who believed in the potential of this band.... and he outdid himself on this one... His enthusiasm is contagious. The main thing about Nick is, he sits down with you, sees where you want to go, and he'll do whatever it takes to get you there. He'll push you, he'll throw ideas at you, but he doesn't try to make your record his record. He wants every band to be the best band around but to still be themselves." [www.musicradar.com]