Blackened Death Metal Songwriting Advice

You want to write music that crushes skulls and makes the neighbor kid finally respect your existence. Blackened death metal sits where two terrifying genres meet and bond over sheer intensity. Imagine the icy tremolo of black metal and the annihilating riff weight of death metal. You want atmosphere that feels like a midnight ritual and groove that could dislocate a vertebra. This guide gives you practical songwriting tools, tone recipes, lyrical prompts and studio tips so your songs feel intentional and deadly.

Everything here is written for artists who do not need lectures but do want results. Expect drills you can use in rehearsals, real life scenarios to relate to, and plain language definitions for every technical term and acronym. We cover riff writing, harmony choices, drum patterns, vocal approaches, tuning and tone, arrangement, production tips and mixing moves you can try without selling a kidney.

What Is Blackened Death Metal

First things first. Blackened death metal is a hybrid genre. It blends black metal traits like tremolo picking, shrieking or raspy vocals, cold atmosphere and raw textures with death metal traits like low end heaviness, complex riffing and often brutal growled vocals. Black metal gives the song its frost. Death metal gives it its gore. Together the combination can be both sinister and technically satisfying.

Term to know: tremolo picking. That is rapid repeated picking of a single note or chord on guitar to create a continuous, buzzing texture. Term to know: blast beat. That is a drum pattern that usually emphasizes fast alternating strokes between snare and kick drum to create a relentless pulse. If you cannot imagine a blast beat yet, picture a machine gun played by a drummer who is fueled by coffee and existential rage.

Core Aesthetic Goals

Decide what mood you want. Blackened death songs can be icy, ritualistic, apocalyptic or cavernous. Your aesthetic choices will drive the riff language, vocal delivery and production approach. Pick one primary feeling and two secondary feelings. Keep those in your pocket as you write so the song does not wander into soft rock by accident.

• Primary feeling could be cold menace, cosmic horror, revenge, ritual trance or violent beauty.
• Secondary feelings can be melancholic lead lines, militaristic marches or bleak ambience.
• Reference tracking means listening to three songs that capture the vibe you want and labeling what you like about them in concrete terms. Do that before you compose riffs.

Songwriting Framework

Blackened death songs benefit from contrast. Use contrast to make heavy parts heavier and atmospheric parts colder. Contrast keeps listeners engaged. Use a simple framework to avoid writing twenty minutes of noise with no payoff.

• Intro for atmosphere, or a riffal hook that signals the song identity
• Verse for brutality and forward motion
• Bridge or middle section for shift in feeling or tempo
• Lead melody or solo for human expression
• Final section that reclaims the main riff and ends with weight

Guitar Riffing Essentials

Riffs are the architecture. In blackened death metal you want riffs that are sinister and intelligent. Here are core riffing approaches that work and why they work.

Tremolo chord textures

Use tremolo picking on minor and modal chord shapes to build a cold veil over the mix. Classic black metal tremolo often uses power chords or partial chords played on higher string registers for a hollow sheen. In blackened death combine that tremolo texture with a lower register death metal riff to keep clarity and weight.

Chromatic and diminished motion

Chromatic passing tones and diminished intervals create tension and unease. Move between a root based riff and little chromatic climbs to make the ear uncomfortable in a delicious way. That discomfort is what keeps the listener on edge.

Palm muted low end and open ringing highs

Alternate between palm muted low notes that deliver punch and open ringing tremolo on higher strings. The contrast between muffled percussive low hits and shimmery high notes is signature. Practice palm muting so your low notes have attack and clarity. If you palm mute too hard you will lose note definition. If you palm mute too little the riff will flub in the live mix.

Displaced accents and odd groupings

Try writing a phrase that feels like three plus two. For example play five sixteenth notes then a rest then a blast. That rhythmic displacement sounds jagged and modern. Remember to keep the drummer in the room when you write weird groupings. Drummers appreciate forewarning.

Harmonic choice: minor, phrygian and harmonic minor

Minor scale is your bread and butter. Phrygian mode adds a dark, Spanish flavor with a flat second scale degree. Harmonic minor gives that classic sinister raise in the seventh that creates a leading tone into minor harmony. Mix and match. Use harmonic minor for lead motifs and phrygian for chuggy riffs.

Examples of Riff Building Workflows

Try these workflows during practice to generate usable riffs fast.

Workflow A: The Two Layer Method

1. Record a simple low end pattern with palm muted root notes while counting a basic pulse.
2. Play a tremolo picked chord progression above it to create texture.
3. Remove the low end and write a fill or transition that connects the last note of the tremolo section back to the low riff.
4. Loop and refine dynamics and accent placement until it feels like a single organism.

Real life scenario: you have five minutes between practice spots and a phone. Lay down a pocket riff on your phone and add a tremolo layer as a mood sketch. Come back later and the idea will either still feel heavy or become a prank your brain forgives you for later.

Workflow B: The Pinch and Pull

1. Pick two chords or notes one fret apart that sound slightly wrong together.
2. Create a phrase where you pinch on the downbeat and pull to the other note on the upbeat.
3. Add a chromatic descent or ascent as a pivot into the next section.

This method thrives on small moments of tension. Use it to write bridges and short transitions that feel required rather than ornamental.

Drums and Percussion

Drums are the locomotive. In blackened death the drums can either run as a terrifying machine or breathe as a ritual heartbeat. Learn common patterns and then break them on purpose.

Blast beats explained

Blast beats are often used at high tempo to create a wall of sound. There are several blast beat variations. The classic blast places the snare on every downbeat while the kick matches it. The alternating blast splits snare and kick on different subdivisions. Term to know: BPM stands for beats per minute. A blast at 220 BPM feels different than one at 320 BPM. Choose tempo to match the song mood.

Groove and pocket

Even in extreme music groove matters. A riff played at an exact tempo with a drummer who sits slightly behind the beat creates heaviness. Teach your drummer phrases slowly and then speed them up with a metronome. Use simple pockets for chugging riffs and reserve blast for climactic sections.

Percussive textures

Add tom fills, gong hits, bell patterns or measured cymbal washes for atmosphere. Black metal influence brings bell tolls and distant snare rolls. Use those textures sparingly so they punctuate rather than clutter.

Bass Work That Serves the Song

Bass is the glue. In many blackened death tracks the bass can either mirror guitars or create independent movement that adds harmonic clarity.

• Follow the root for heavy riff sections to ensure low end impact.
• Create counter melodies under tremolo passages to add warmth or menace.
• Use small fills to signal transitions. A simple chromatic slide can read huge in the mix.
• Term to know: DI stands for direct input. That is a clean signal captured from the bass without an amp. Combine DI with a mic on the amp for weight and character.

Vocal Approach and Techniques

Vocals carry a lot of the song identity. Blackened death offers a range: deep guttural growls from death metal, higher guttural textures, raspy shouts, and blackened shrieks which are higher and colder. Decide what fits the mood.

Growls versus shrieks

Growls are low and thick. They work for blunt statements and brutal sections. Shrieks or screams are high and cutting. They work for ritual lines and atmospheric peaks. Many singers combine both within a single performance to create contrast.

Breath and phrasing

Learn to place breaths in musical spots. If a song has a long blast section, consider slicing vocal phrases so the singer can breathe without losing intensity. Use a noise gate on the vocal track in the studio to clean up breaths later. Term to know: DAW stands for digital audio workstation and refers to recording software like Pro Tools, Logic, Reaper or Ableton.

Writing lyrics for these vocals

Keep lines short and punchy when growled. Use slightly longer, more poetic phrases for shrieks or spoken parts. Match the syllable stress to musical accents so the hardest words land on the hardest beats. If you have a sentence that is too long to scream, break it into two or simplify the language.

Lyrics and Themes

Blackened death metal lyrics can explore darkness, mythology, existential dread, anti religious sentiment, cosmic horror and nature in ruin. Avoid the bait of cliché imagery unless you own it with a new twist. Real life scenarios help produce memorable lines.

Make it specific

Instead of writing monster ate the city try writing the city with specific detail. Name a street sign, a smell, a cracked fountain. Concrete details make grand themes feel lived in and not like a Halloween costume.

Use poetic devices

Alliteration, assonance, internal rhyme and repeated motifs create chants and ring phrases that listeners can repeat. Use a ring phrase at the end of a chorus or as a closing line. A ring phrase is a repeated line that anchors the song. It works for both shoutable lines and whispered hooks.

Real life lyric prompt

Imagine arriving home after a long tour. The mailbox contains a torn photograph and a single letter with no return address. Describe the photograph and the action you take with the letter. Keep verbs strong and sensory detail present. The result will be personal and strangely bleak.

Song Arrangement Tips

Arrangement decides what the listener experiences in which order. In extreme music arrangement can be a subtle art that shapes emotional arc. Use space and return motifs to make sections meaningful.

• Open with a strong guitar motif or bell toll so fans recognize your song quickly
• Alternate brutality and atmosphere to avoid monotony
• Use a bridge to introduce a new scale or tempo as an emotional turning point
• Bring back the intro motif at the end to close the circle

Silence and negative space

Silence can be a weapon. A single bar of rest before a blast or before a vocal entry can make the following moment land like a mace. Use small spaces deliberately. Listeners expect non stop violence. Surprise them with a quiet moment and then return to the slaughter.

Tuning and Gear Choices

Tuning influences the song mood. Lower tunings give more body to riffs. Common tunings for blackened death are drop A, drop B and C standard depending on vocal ranges and guitar setup. If you are not sure what your guitarist can handle, test songs in D standard first then drop further if needed.

Gear choices matter but technique matters more. A rusty amp with good playing can sound better than a high end amp with sloppy performance.

• Pick an amp or amp simulator with tight low end and present mids
• Use a scooped mid sound for tremolo textures if you want cold shimmer
• Consider a second amp or cab for scooped highs and a separate tracked cab for mids to blend
• Term to know: EQ stands for equalizer. That is a tool to adjust the relative levels of different frequency ranges

Tone Recipe for Guitar

Start with a high gain amp setting and then cut gain to maintain note definition. Too much gain makes tremolo pick washes turn into mush. Shape the EQ to emphasize low end for riffs and highs for tremolo shimmer.

Suggested starting point on a typical amp model or plugin:

• Bass 55 percent to 65 percent for low end weight
• Mids 40 percent to 55 percent depending on clarity needs
• Treble 60 percent to 70 percent for sheen on tremolo
• Presence or brilliance at small increments for cut

Use reverb on lead guitars and minimal reverb on rhythm tracks to keep the rhythm focused. Add a plate or hall on solo sections for epic flavor.

Production and Mixing Tips

Production will either sell your songs or make them anonymous. You do not need a massive budget to make a convincing blackened death record. You need focus and clear choices.

Layering guitars

Record multiple takes of rhythm guitars and pan them left and right to create width. Keep a center mono track with a slightly different tone for presence. Double your lead guitar for thickness or add a harmonized copy a few cents off for an unsettling feel.

Drum recording and sample blending

Capture the real kit then reinforce kick and snare with samples for consistency. Term to know: FFT stands for fast Fourier transform. You do not need to know how it works to use it, but you will encounter FFT based analysis tools in spectral editing and noise reduction plugins.

Vocal layering

Record multiple takes of the same scream or growl. Blend them to taste. Use a low level of saturation or tape emulator to add grit. Use parallel compression to make vocals punch through without losing dynamics. Parallel compression means duplicating a track and compressing the duplicate heavily then blending it back in under the original.

Low end management

Make room for the bass and kick. Sidechain the bass slightly to the kick or apply transient shaping so the kick hits with authority. Avoid doubling bass at the same octave as the guitar low string unless you want a very thick wall. A focused bass line with a small melodic movement will help the riffs breathe.

Mastering the Songwriting Habit

Consistency beats inspiration. Make a routine where you write one riff, one vocal line or one lyric page a week. Small amounts compound. The goal is to have a library of usable parts rather than waiting for lightning.

Practice drill: The 20 minute riff

1. Set a timer for 20 minutes
2. Start with a tempo and tuning
3. Write one riff that could open a song
4. Layer a tremolo part above it and a short drum idea
5. Save the session and move on

Real life example: You are on your lunch break with six minutes before the next meeting. Play a loopy palm muted motif for five minutes and hum a vocal phrase. Record it on your phone. Later you will have a seed for a full song.

Collaborating With Bandmates

Bring structure to collaboration. Share a demo with the skeleton idea and a clear ask. For example say write a second riff that contrasts with this one or write a vocal melody in this range. Be specific. Nobody wants to stare at a raw demo and guess your intention.

Use a shared folder or cloud drive for demos. Label files with the song name and a clear tag like idea riff verse riff tempo BPM 220. Term to know: BPM again stands for beats per minute and tells musicians the tempo to play at.

Common Mistakes and Easy Fixes

• Problem: riffs that are too busy and lose groove. Fix: strip the riff to its root idea and play it with a drummer at slow tempo until the pocket appears.
• Problem: tremolo textures that sound muddy. Fix: cut low frequencies from the tremolo track and boost high mids for clarity.
• Problem: vocals buried in the mix. Fix: create space with sidechain compression or cut competing frequencies in guitars around the vocal range.
• Problem: songs that never resolve. Fix: add a ring phrase or a harmonic change in the last third of the song that gives the ear a final landing point.

Songwriting Exercises

The Ritual Montage

Write a piece of lyric that strings together ritual images. Give each line a distinct object. Match each line with a short tremolo motif. The result will read like a chant and sound like a blackened temple.

The Two Minute Blast

1. Pick a tempo between 220 and 300 BPM
2. Write a single blast beat section and cycle three chord positions under it
3. Stop at two minutes and label the file as a potential verse or intro

The Mood Swap

Take a riff you like and change the mood by altering the scale. If it was minor change to phrygian. If it was phrygian try harmonic minor. See how tiny scale swaps change the emotional temperature.

Live Performance Tips

On stage the energy is the product. Rehearse transitions until they are automatic. The worst thing is a perfect song that collapses because the band has to check each other between changes.

• Count out loud at the end of measures during practice so you do not rely on visual cues
• Use a simple cue for tempo changes like a kick pattern or a cymbal hit that everyone can lock to
• Keep one stage mic for bell tolls or spoken lines to avoid swapping gear during the set

How to Finish a Song Fast

Finish songs by stopping edits at the clarity point. Create a checklist and use it every time. If a change does not increase the core feeling, do not make it.

1. Does the song have an identity riff or motif that is recognizable in the first 30 seconds? If no then add one now.
2. Are the sections distinct in energy? If not, add a bridge or reduce instrumentation in one section for contrast.
3. Is the lyrical message clear in one sentence? If not simplify.
4. Make a demo rough mix and play it for one trusted listener. Ask what line or riff they remember. If they cannot remember anything then the song is not ready.

Common Terms and Acronyms Explained

• BPM. Beats per minute. The tempo of the song. If you tell your drummer BPM 240 you mean two hundred forty beats per minute.
• DAW. Digital audio workstation. That is the software used to record and edit music. Popular examples are Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Ableton Live and Reaper.
• DI. Direct input. Recording the clean signal from an instrument without a mic. Useful for bass or to reamp later.
• EQ. Equalizer. Tool to shape frequency content. Use it to cut mud or boost presence.
• Tremolo picking. Rapid repeated picking of a single note or chord to create a sustained texture. Common in black metal.
• Blast beat. Fast drum pattern that often places snare and kick in quick alternation to create a relentless pulse.

FAQ

What tempo should I use for a blackened death song

There is no single tempo. Use high tempos like two hundred thirty to three hundred BPM for relentless sections. Use mid tempos like one hundred twenty to one hundred eighty BPM for heavy chugging grooves and mid paced marches. The important thing is contrast. If your whole song is the same tempo the listener will fatigue. Map tempo changes in your form plan and practice smooth transitions.

How do I write a killer tremolo riff

Start with a simple chord progression in a minor or modal scale. Play chords high on the neck for shimmer and keep the notes clear. Add a low palm muted guitar or bass to provide body beneath the tremolo. Use small chromatic movements or dissonant seconds to create tension. Record multiple takes and choose the one that feels like it could haunt your dreams.

Can I mix shrieks and growls

Yes. Many singers switch between register types for texture. Use shrieks for high, ritual moments and growls for low brutality. Train both and plan breaths. In recordings you can stack both to create a monstrous hybrid voice. In live settings pick the style you can perform consistently for the entire set.

Action Plan You Can Use Today

1. Choose a primary mood for a new song. Write one line that sums that mood in plain speech.
2. Set a tempo and tuning. Record a two minute jam with a palm muted low riff and a tremolo layer above it.
3. Write a vocal phrase that fits over the riff. Decide on growl or shriek for that phrase.
4. Add a bridge that uses a different scale or tempo for contrast. Keep it short and necessary.
5. Make a rough demo and play it for one trusted listener. Ask them what they remember. Use their answer to tighten the motif.