How to Write Viking Metal Songs

You want thunder, sails and a chorus that makes a bar full of strangers pretend to row. You want riffs heavy enough to bruise the nordic fjords and lyrics that smell like mead and midnight fires. Viking metal is not a costume choice. It is a mood, a vibe and a storytelling engine that mixes fierce metal energy with folk soul and saga scale. This guide gives you everything you need to write Viking metal songs that hit like a pillage and stick like a war chant.

Everything here is written for busy musicians who want to sound huge without wasting years doing trial by fire. Expect practical riffs, lyric templates, vocal workouts, production tricks, arrangement maps and real life scenarios so you can write, record and play songs that feel authentic. We will explain technical words and acronyms when they appear so you are never left guessing. Think of this as your longship navigation chart for songwriting.

What Is Viking Metal

Viking metal is a style of heavy music that blends the aggression of black metal, death metal and traditional heavy metal with folk sounds, epic lyrical themes and narrative storytelling rooted in Norse myth, history and landscapes. It is not a single strict genre. It is a family of choices that include slower epic sections, anthemic choruses, chants, folk instruments and lyrics that read like saga excerpts.

Origins and major influences include early black metal bands adding folk elements in the late eighties and early nineties, the evolution of Scandinavian melodic death metal and bands that leaned into Viking themes and epic structures. Bands like Bathory introduced Viking imagery and songwriting scale. Amon Amarth combined melodic death metal grit with Viking themes to build an arena friendly version. Enslaved moved between black metal roots and progressive epic writing. All of these are reference points not rulebooks.

Core Elements of Viking Metal

There are recurring ingredients that make a song feel Viking. Use them selectively and with intention.

• Epic riffing that balances heaviness with melodic motion. Riffs can be stomping and repetitive to build ritual energy.
• Chantable choruses or gang vocals meant for audience call and response.
• Folk motifs such as simple melodies derived from traditional scales played on acoustic guitars, fiddles or synths.
• Story driven lyrics that use names, place crumbs and time crumbs to create a scene.
• Vocal contrast between harsh vocals like growls or shrieks and clean singing or chanting.
• Arrangement with dynamics that lets small acoustic moments feel like the calm before a raid.

Terms and Acronyms Explained

We will use terms that metal people throw around like confetti. Here is a cheat sheet so you do not nod and pretend you understand.

• Tremolo picking is quick repeated picking of a single note or two notes to create a buzzing high energy texture. It is common in black metal but also useful for atmospheric Viking passages.
• Blast beat is a very fast drum pattern where snare and kick hit in rapid fire to create an intense rush. It is a drumming technique not a dance move.
• Growl refers to low guttural harsh vocals usually used for verses or narrative lines. Use for anger and menace.
• Scream refers to higher pitched harsh vocals that slice through the mix with urgency.
• Gang vocals are group shouts or chants recorded with multiple people or doubled to sound large like a crew.
• Modal scale is a scale that is not strictly major or minor. Modes like Phrygian and Dorian give a folk or ancient feel.

Find Your Core Promise

Every great Viking metal song has one line that is the soul of the song. It is the thing people will shout back. Before you write a single riff, write one sentence that states the song promise in plain speech. Make it vivid and bold.

Examples

• We sail at dawn to take back the sun.
• My oath is iron and my enemies sleep.
• The longship remembers every name.

Turn that sentence into a title. Short and visceral is best. If you can imagine someone raising a beer and screaming that title, you are on the right track.

Song Structures That Work for Viking Metal

Viking metal often prefers big forms. Songs can be long and cinematic. Still you want a map so each part has a job. Here are three reliable forms.

Structure A: Saga Form

Intro motif, Verse, Pre chorus chant, Chorus, Verse two, Chorus, Bridge epic, Solo, Final chorus with gang vocals and fade or coda. Use this when you tell a multi scene story.

Structure B: Raid Form

Cold intro with battle drums, Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Breakdown with acoustic part and spoken word, Big final chorus with repeated title and gang vocal call outs. Use this for tight anthems that want immediate impact.

Structure C: Longship Epic

Atmospheric intro, Theme statement with folk instrument, Long build with alternating heavy and acoustic sections, Mid song instrumental with chant, Climactic chorus, Minimal coda with one line repeated. Use this for cinematic tracks where mood beats melody.

Riff Writing for Viking Metal

Riffs are the backbone. They must be memorable and serve the song. Viking metal riffs usually blend simple intervals, minor modes and rhythmic repetition so the listener can chant along after one listen.

Riff Ingredients

• Power chords and single note motifs played on thick tone guitars.
• Intervallic motion using fifths and minor thirds for a raw ancient feel.
• Melodic lead lines that echo folk melodies over a heavy rhythm.
• Rhythmic patterns with stomps, triplet gallops or simple straight eight notes.

Practical riff exercises

1. Play an open string drone on the low E and improvise a minor scale melody on the A string. Keep it simple and repeat a short phrase four times then change one note on the fourth repeat.
2. Write one two bar riff that uses only three notes and plays with palm muting. Repeat the riff and add a second harmony guitar an octave above for the second repeat.
3. Create a gallop pattern with pulse kick drum on one and two and snare accents on the triplet. Let the riff lock to the kick pattern for a riding feel.

Melody and Modes

Viking metal borrows from folk. Modes like Dorian and Phrygian and the natural minor scale are allies. A Phrygian feel gives a darker ancient taste because of the half step between the first and second degrees. Dorian has a raised sixth that gives a melancholic but hopeful color.

Try this

• Write a chorus melody in natural minor with long vowels on the title word to maximize singability.
• Counterpoint the chorus with a simple folk fiddle motif that follows the chorus chord leaps.

Lyrics That Feel Like Sagas

Viking metal lyrics live in scenes. Avoid vague self help lines. Use names, places, objects and times so the listener can imagine a camera. The voice can be first person or third person narrative depending on your story. The language can be modern and blunt or poetic. The key is to commit.

Lyric devices to use

• Time crumbs like midnight watch or low tide that anchor the narrative.
• Place crumbs like the fjord mouth, a longhouse, the rune field.
• Object details like an iron ring, a broken oar, a salted cloak.
• Ring phrase repeat the title phrase at the start and end of the chorus for maximum memory.

Before and after examples

Before: I am brave and I will fight for my people.

After: I braid my beard with a shard of flagstone and roll the names into my palm like seeds.

Before: We leave tonight and we will win.

After: At dawn we push the longship out and the oars cry salt. The horizon is a blade we aim at.

Prosody and Singability

Say your lyrics out loud at normal speed. Mark stressed syllables and place them on strong beats in the music. Viking metal loves long vowels on the chorus for belting and short percussive words in the verses for narrative push. If a strong emotional word falls on a weak musical beat you will feel friction on the first chorus. Change the line or move the melody.

Vocal Techniques and Exercises

Vocal contrast is a signature. Harsh vocals deliver aggression. Clean singing carries the anthem. Neither is a free pass for bad technique. Learn basic breath support and placement before you try to sound like a berserker.

Harsh vocals

Growl technique uses false vocal folds to create a low pitched distortion while protecting the true vocal folds. Learn from a vocal coach before you try extended takes. Do warm ups and do not scream cold.

Clean singing

Keep clean chorus lines simple. Use open vowels like ah and oh which help sustain big notes. Double clean vocals for a bigger chorus and layer a third harmony an octave higher on the final chorus for pay off.

Gang vocals and chants

Record several people doing the chant and double them at different distances from the mic. Pan them across the stereo field. If you are alone, record many passes of the same line with different attitudes and stack them. This creates the feeling of a crew shouting at the prow.

Drums and Rhythm

Drums are the heartbeat. Viking metal drums often switch between mid tempo stomps and faster sections. Use dynamics. A quiet tom pattern under a spoken verse creates tension. A full on blast beat is a storm moment.

Common drum patterns

• Stomp is a slow heavy beat with emphasis on one and three that invites crowd foot stomps.
• Gallop is a triplet based pattern that gives a riding sensation. Think cavalry but with more leather.
• Blast is the fast snare and kick pattern for maximal intensity. Use sparingly so it means something.

Bass That Anchors

Bass should lock with the kick drum and fill the low end so the guitars can live in the midrange. Use distortion on the bass lightly to make it cut through in dense mixes. Simple repeating bass motifs can become anthemic if they lock to a vocal chant.

Folk Instruments and Texture

Fiddle, nyckelharpa, flute, mouth harp and accordion add color. If you do not have players, use high quality sample libraries. The trick is to write folk motifs that sound complementary to your metal riffs. Do not shoehorn a folk instrument into the mix unless it has a clear role.

Use acoustic guitar or piano for intimate passages. A lonely acoustic intro that returns in the bridge gives the chorus weight.

Arrangement Tips for Epic Impact

• Introduce a signature motif in the first 15 seconds. It can be a chant, a melody or a drum pattern. Bring it back as a sign post.
• Alternate heavy and quiet to create drama. The eye remembers contrast. The ear remembers contrast too.
• Add one new element per chorus such as choir, extra guitar harmony or brass. The accumulation tells a story.
• End with repetition of the title or ring phrase layered over a fade or a sudden stop. Repetition turns into ritual.

Production Secrets That Make Songs Sound Huge

Production can make or break your Viking metal moment. You can write a world class chorus and have it sound like a jam in a garage if the production fails. Here are practical studio tips you can use even on a tight budget.

Guitar tone

Dial a thick mid forward distortion and stack rhythm guitars. Record three passes per part and pan left center right for width. Keep one rhythm guitar very dry in the center for weight.

Drums

Replace or augment the kick and snare with samples if you need punch. Use parallel compression on the drum bus to bring out attack while keeping dynamics. For toms, use short room reverb to capture the cavernous feel of a hall without washing the mix.

Choirs and ambience

Small short choir patches recorded dry sit well under the chorus. Add a long hall reverb send that is filtered so the low end stays tight. Too much reverb muddies the low end and kills the stomp.

Vocals

Use a clean main vocal take, then add double takes and octave harmonies. For harsh vocals, use a deesser to control excessive sibilance and a short plate reverb to give presence. Use automation to push the vocal forward in key moments.

Mixing tips

• High pass unnecessary frequencies under 40 hertz to clean the sub rumble.
• Cut low mids around one to three hundred hertz on guitars to make room for vocals and bass.
• Use mid side processing to widen the guitars while keeping the low end solid in mono.

Writing Workflow That Actually Works

Stop trying to write the perfect epic on the first pass. Use a repeatable workflow to build momentum.

1. Write one sentence that states the song promise. Make it your title or chorus seed.
2. Make a two minute riff loop. Record the riff clean even if it is sloppy.
3. Improvise vocal lines on the riff using pure vowels for two minutes until a melodic gesture appears.
4. Place the title on the catchiest melodic gesture and build the chorus around it.
5. Write verses as scenes. Use object details and time crumbs. Keep each verse adding new information.
6. Record a simple demo with basic drums and one guitar. Listen and mark the moments that made you want to raise your fist.
7. Layer and arrange. Add a folk motif, a gang chant and dynamic contrast. Mix a rough balance and sleep on it.

Performance and Stagecraft

Viking metal is a spectacle. Stage presence matters. Costumes can be subtle like a leather cuff and a chain necklace. Props can be as simple as a banner with a rune or a long table for an intro ritual. Think of transitions and how to create moments that let the audience participate.

Real life scenario

You are playing a mid sized metal bar with an early slot. The room is warm and the crowd is polite. Start your set with a short acoustic motif that sets the mood. When the drums hit you have the contrast to command attention. During the chorus have the crowd chant a short title phrase. Teach it in the first chorus by singing it twice and pointing. The crowd will feel ownership and will come back for the final chorus.

Marketing and Building an Audience

Viking metal fans are passionate community members. Storytelling carries beyond the music. Use artwork, merch and social posts to extend the saga. Short behind the scenes videos showing how you wrote a lyric or recorded a fiddle take build authenticity. Release a lyric video with runic imagery. Pitch to playlist curators who curate metal and folk metal collections. Play festivals where fans come to sing along.

Real life scenario

Create a mini documentary, five minutes long, about the making of your title track. Show research into a Norse myth, a kitchen table riff session, a choir recording and a rehearsal pass where the gang vocals catch. Post it to your channels and tag bands that inspired you. Fans share that kind of story because it feels sincere and shows the human work behind the myth.

Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them

• Too much cliché. Fix by adding a specific object or moment that only your story could produce.
• Overproduced folk parts. Fix by keeping folk instruments audible and not burying them under heavy guitars.
• One dimensional vocals. Fix by adding a clean chorus or a spoken bridge to create contrast.
• Flat arrangement. Fix by planing a clear build and adding one new element per chorus.
• Poor pacing. Fix by moving one payoff earlier. If the big chorus does not land until four minutes in, try moving a shorter hook into the first minute.

Songwriting Exercises and Prompts

The Longship Prompt

Write a chorus using only three lines. Each line must include an object. The title must be the last line and repeat it twice. Time yourself for ten minutes.

The Saga Camera Pass

Write a verse. For each line write the camera shot in brackets. If you cannot imagine a shot, rewrite the line with more object detail. Aim for cinematic images.

Vocal Contrast Drill

Record one verse with harsh vocals and the chorus clean. Do five takes of each. On take three of the chorus add one harmony. Pick the best performances and comp a final vocal using the strongest phrases.

Examples You Can Model

Theme: Oath to the fallen crew.

Intro: A slow bowed fiddle motif over distant drums like a tide breathing out.

Verse: The boards remember your boots. I throw your cloak into the salt and call your names into the mast.

Pre chorus: We sharpen promises in the moonlight. Steel listens better than hope.

Chorus: Raise the oar, call the names, hold the vow. Raise the oar, call the names, we do not bow.

Theme: A raid at dawn.

Verse: The harbor sleeps like a beast with one eye closed. We cut our ropes and let the moon go second.

Chorus: Dawn is a spear and we are wind. Row with me until the sky breaks.

FAQ

What tempo works best for Viking metal

There is no single tempo. Viking metal thrives on contrast. Many songs pair mid tempo stomps for verses with faster double bass sections for intensity. Use tempo to tell the story. Slow tempos create ritual. Faster tempos create battle motion.

Do I need to sing in Old Norse

No. You can write in modern language and include a few Old Norse words for flavor. If you do use Old Norse do your research and avoid cheap runic memes. Authenticity is about respect and storytelling not just words for shock value.

How do I keep folk elements from sounding tacky

Let folk motifs serve the song. Simple melodies work best. Do not layer excessive novelty instruments. Keep the recording clean and place folk parts where they add emotional clarity. A single fiddle line under the final chorus can do more than a full folk orchestra badly mixed.

Can I write Viking metal on a budget

Yes. Use quality amp simulation software, free or affordable sample libraries for folk instruments and record gang vocals by doubling your own voice. Good writing and arrangement matter more than an expensive studio. Save the big spend for a single element like a real fiddle or a proper drum kit if possible.

How do I avoid cultural appropriation

Do research, be respectful and avoid parroting sacred texts without context. When you reference myths or history, credit sources in your liner notes or posts. If you borrow real rituals, acknowledge them. Fans respect honesty.

Action Plan You Can Use Today

1. Write one sentence that states your song promise. Make it the chorus seed.
2. Build a two bar riff loop and record it for five minutes.
3. Improvise vocal lines on vowels for two minutes and mark the gestures that feel big.
4. Place your title on the strongest gesture and convert it to a three line chorus.
5. Draft verse one with two concrete images and a time crumb. Do a camera pass for each line.
6. Record a demo with one guitar and a drum loop. Teach the chorus chant to a friend and get them to sing it twice.
7. Mix a rough balance and select one add on such as a fiddle to re record or a choir sample to layer in.