Grohl said that when the record label asked Nirvana to record 1991's Nevermind, they sent them to the then-expensive a $600-a-day "really cheap dump in the Valley" that also happened to house a gorgeous sounding, one-of-a-kind old analog Neve board and an exceptional organically-acoustic room. In the digital boom of the early '90s, finding that sort of rich, old-school sound was rare, but once Nevermind was released other bands like Tool, and Slipknot wanted to record their albums at Sound City Studios.

Imminent closure of the space was halted when business started booming and Grohl credits the studio with shaping the way modern music sounds now through the medium of Nevermind.

"Had we recorded that record in a different way," Grohl elaborated, "The music wouldn't have sounded the same. And if it didn't sound the same, it might not have had the same impact."

"The thing about that Neve board is that it has such a personality," agreed Taylor, who recorded Iowa with Slipknot on that board. "No two albums sound the same coming out of that board because of the different love that you put into it, the different variables."