How to Write Metal Songs

You want riffs that split the sky and a chorus that turns a crowd into a single animal. You want drums that slam without losing pocket. You want lyrics that feel like hard truth set on fire. Metal can be theatrical or minimal. It can move at blast speed or crawl like doom. The common thread is intention. This guide gives you a repeatable system so you can write heavy songs that survive rehearsal, studio, and stage.

Everything here is practical. You will define a core promise, pick subgenre DNA, write riffs with purpose, design rhythm maps, shape sections that hit early, craft lyrics that land, handle screams without wrecking your throat, arrange for clarity, and edit with a ruthless ear. You also get drills, before and after lines, a full song skeleton, and an FAQ with schema for your site.

Choose Your Metal DNA

Metal is a big city with many neighborhoods. Pick a lane for each song so your choices agree.

• Heavy Metal favors gallops, melody hooks, and heroic chorus shapes.
• Thrash runs on downpicked riffs, fast tempos, and sharp social bite.
• Death Metal uses low tuning, blast beats, chromatic movement, and growls.
• Black Metal leans on tremolo picking, hypnotic harmony, and atmosphere.
• Doom slows the earth. Big sustain. Weight over notes.
• Metalcore blends breakdowns, midtempo punch, and shout along hooks.
• Djent and Prog explore syncopation, extended range guitars, and odd meters.

You can blend flavors. Decide the primary vibe in one sentence and let it guide structure, tones, and lyric stance.

Define the Core Promise

Write one line like a text to your band. This song exists because __. Keep it in plain speech. The promise drives every decision from tempo to scream placement.

Examples

• I refuse the script. I choose my own cost.
• Grief turned me into iron and I will use it.
• The system rots people. We will not rot quietly.

Turn the promise into a title that sings on a long note or shouts on a downbeat. If you can chant it while stomping, you have a keeper.

Guitar: Riff Engineering

Riffs are hooks with teeth. A great riff is memorable at whisper volume and dangerous at stage volume. Build them like slogans. Two bars with a turnaround that marks identity.

Five reliable riff shapes

• Gallop pick pattern that rides a single note, then hits a power chord on the one.
• Pedal point on a low string with moving dyads on a higher pair of strings.
• Chromatic walk that descends by semitone into a big chord release.
• Syncopated chunk with rests that let the kick punch through.
• Tremolo melody that outlines a mode while drums shift gears under it.

Write six riffs in ten minutes. Record them quickly. Walk to the kitchen. Hum the one you still remember. That is your logo. The others can become verse patterns or B parts.

Tuning and Tone Without Snobbery

Pick tuning for feel and register. E standard delivers bite. D standard and C standard give weight without mud when arranged well. Seven and eight strings extend range. Use them for contrast and voice leading, not for constant low note carpet bombing.

• Rhythm tone should be tight and mid forward. Too much gain makes mud. Focus on right hand control.
• Lead tone can sustain with a little delay. Keep top end smooth so melody sings above the wall.
• Bass tone needs grind in the mids. Let guitar own fizz. Let bass glue kick and guitar with definition.

Rhythm Section: The Engine

Metal worships rhythm. Precision matters. Energy matters more. Lock the drummer and rhythm guitars first. Then let bass decide where glue lives.

Kick and snare jobs

• Kicks outline riff accents and set stamina expectations. Write executable patterns. If it is unplayable clean, rewrite.
• Snare delivers conviction. Ghosts add flow. Big hits mark section edges and lyric punches.

Tempo and meter

• Choose a tempo that lets the riff breathe and the singer deliver words with intent.
• Odd meters are welcome when they serve the hook. Give the audience a repeatable cell like 3+3+2 so bodies can follow.

Harmony and Color

Metal harmony lives between minor modes and chromatic colors. Use theory as a toolbox, not a prison.

• Natural minor gives home base darkness.
• Harmonic minor adds teeth with a raised seventh that loves classical flavored lines.
• Phrygian gives instant menace with a flat second. Phrygian dominant adds exotic spark.
• Diminished and tritone movements add dread in small doses.
• Parallel borrowing can flip a chorus bright without losing weight.

Write the melody first if the song wants an epic chorus. Write the rhythm first if the song wants a pit. Either way, harmony should highlight the title, not bury it.

Structure That Hits Early

Heavy songs win when identity arrives fast. Choose a map and mark the first time the title lands.

Riff Intro → Verse → Pre → Chorus → Verse → Pre → Chorus → Bridge or Solo → Breakdown → Final Chorus

Balanced and friendly for most lanes.

Blast Intro → Verse → Chorus → Verse → Chorus → Blackened Bridge → Outro Tremolo

Great for blackened flavors and soaring endings.

Hook First → Chorus → Riff Drop → Verse → Pre → Chorus → Breakdown → Tag

Perfect for metalcore and live crowd teaching.

Write a Chorus That Survives a Loud Room

Your chorus should feel inevitable. Short lines. One idea. Title landed early then rung again at the end. Melody can soar or chant. Either way, leave a pocket of silence before the last title hit so the crowd can shout it.

Chorus recipe

1. State the promise in one line that fits in one breath.
2. Prove it with a small image or action.
3. Return to the title clean and let drums grin.

Verses That Move Like a Camera

Verses do not need a college thesis. They need motion and detail. Show a room. Show a hand. Add one time crumb. The listener should see a scene and understand why the chorus matters.

Before: I feel rage and the world is broken.

After: Night shift buzzer eats my sleep. The boss calls me kid while counting my bones.

Before: I found strength inside my pain.

After: I taped my knuckles and learned the door fights back when you push with love.

Breakdowns, Slams, and Drops

Breakdowns are not filler. They are decisions. Write one with a purpose. Use silence like a weapon. Design the rhythm so a crowd can stomp in time.

• Metalcore breakdown often uses half time with syncopated chugs and a simple vocal tag.
• Slam can be slower and uglier by intent. Use sparingly so it stays effective.
• Drop everything but drums and voice for two beats before the tag. Rooms live for this moment.

Lyrics That Hit Like Steel

Metal lyrics can be mythic or street level. Both win when they show life. Use concrete nouns and verbs. Keep big ideas behind images that cut.

Before: You cannot control me.

After: You sold me a collar. I learned to pick locks with my teeth.

Before: The system is corrupt and evil.

After: The boardroom laughs while the night crew clocks out into rain that smells like pennies.

Metaphor works when it touches ground. If a line reads like a poster, replace it with a picture that could sit on a shelf in a real kitchen or a real factory.

Vocals Without Damage

Harsh vocals are instruments. Protect your throat. Use breath support, false fold engagement, and resonance, not raw strain. Warm up. Hydrate. Rest. If a line hurts during practice, rewrite the line or the key so technique can win.

Placement tips

• Put the harshest delivery on words that carry the decision. Save stretched vowels for important nouns in the hook.
• Stack gang shouts on the last chorus for live energy. One note. One word. Many feet.
• Clean vocal lines can make the heavy feel heavier by contrast. Earn them with lyric clarity.

Arrangement for Clarity

Heavy does not mean busy. Arrange like a team sport. Give each part a lane.

• Guitars split duties. One holds riff. One plays counter lines, octaves, or harmonies. Avoid both living in the same midrange for entire songs.
• Bass follows the root during speed and leads fills into section changes. Small slides sell attitude.
• Drums write transitions. A bar of toms or a ride bell says the next thing is coming. Plan those bars on your lyric sheet.
• Keys and textures can live under intros, bridges, or outros. If they fight the vocal, mute them.

Prosody for Punch

Prosody means the natural stress of your words should line up with musical stress. Speak the line at normal speed. Clap the natural accents. Put those on strong beats or long notes. If your key word hides on a weak beat, change the melody or rewrite the phrase. This one idea will level up your writing more than extra pedals ever will.

Rhyme That Sounds Like Boots on Concrete

Perfect rhyme is useful at turns and titles. Family rhyme and internal echoes keep verses musical without sing song. Rhythmic rhyme where consonants land on the snare can feel heavier than a clean end rhyme that ignores the groove.

The Pit Test Edit

Run this edit pass before you show the song to anyone.

1. Underline every abstract noun. Replace with an object, an action, or a smell.
2. Circle your title. Move it earlier in the chorus and ring it at the end.
3. Cut one riff. If you cannot cut any riff, combine two into a call and answer inside a single section.
4. Check singability of the hook at low volume. Whisper it. If it hooks there, it will hook loud.

Write Faster With Three Drills

Riff sprint

Set a timer for eight minutes. Write eight two bar riffs. No tone changes. Record. Keep the one that survives silence. Trash the rest. This builds taste and momentum.

Lyric snapshot

Write five lines that include an object, an action, and a time crumb. Example. Steel sink. Blood on a knuckle. Tuesday at dawn. Pick two lines for your verse.

Breakdown factory

Clap 3+3+2. Write a three word tag that lands on the last two claps. Test out loud. If your friend joins by bar two, print it.

Before and After Lines

Theme: Refusing the script.

Before: I will not follow your rules anymore.

After: Your handbook ate my name. I fed it back a match.

Theme: Grief into resolve.

Before: I have been through pain and now I am stronger.

After: I wore the ashes on Monday and learned they do not weigh as much as a promise.

Theme: Systems that grind people.

Before: The system is bad and people suffer under it.

After: The elevator stalls between floors while the boss emails a smile.

Solo Philosophy

Solos should say what the lyric cannot. Build from a motif. Start with a bend that quotes the vocal rhythm. Climb. Leave one bar of silence before the last chorus so the vocals return like a verdict. If the solo repeats information, shorten it or turn it into a harmonized hook the crowd can hum.

Example Metal Song Skeleton

Title: Handbook of Matches

Riff Intro: Two bar pedal point in D standard with a chromatic turnaround. Kick mirrors accents. Snare marks the two and the four with tight ghosts.

Verse 1: Night shift buzzer eats my sleep. Vending light counts my ribs. Your clipboard smiles like a blade and asks for gratitude.

Pre: I learned the door. I learned its hinges. I learned my name is not your key.

Chorus: Handbook of matches. Teach me the spark. Handbook of matches. I write my mark.

Verse 2: The foreman calls me kid while his watch drinks minutes. I tape my knuckles and the clock looks away first.

Pre: I learned the door. I learned its hinges. I learned my name is not your key.

Chorus: Handbook of matches. Teach me the spark. Handbook of matches. I write my mark.

Bridge: Whisper guitars with tremolo melody. Lyric. We are not your parts. We are the fire drills you forgot.

Solo: Eight bars. Motif answers chorus rhythm. One last bend holds while drums drop to toms.

Breakdown: 3+3+2 chug. Tag. Strike. The. Page. Crowd answers on page.

Final Chorus: Handbook of matches. Teach me the spark. Handbook of matches. I write my mark.

Tag: Strike. The. Page.

Recording Order That Saves Sanity

• Scratch map with click and guide guitar. Mark bar counts and all stops on the lyric sheet.
• Drums first for feel. Comp takes for pocket over perfection when pocket sells the song.
• Rhythm guitars double left and right. Do not copy and paste. Play it again so human micro drift builds width.
• Bass next to lock with drums and kick decisions that already exist.
• Leads and textures after core foundation is clean.
• Vocals last with doubles on hook words and gang shouts planned in the chart.

Live Writing Considerations

Metal lives on stage. Write with bodies in mind. Leave a two beat gap before the last title hit so the room can yell it. Write a call for the breakdown and a clear motion cue. Plan a dead stop or a ride out. Decide this on paper so rehearsal is fun instead of a debate.

Common Mistakes and Fast Fixes

• Too much gain. Reduce gain. Tighten right hand. Make space for drums and vocals to punch.
• Overwritten drums. If kicks scribble on every sixteenth, nobody breathes. Aim for patterns that bodies can follow.
• Chorus buried. Put the title early. Simplify melody. Thin guitars for one bar under the hook.
• Lyrics in slogans. Replace with scenes and small actions. Smell the room. Taste the metal.
• Breakdown fatigue. One great breakdown beats three forgettable ones. Earn it with arrangement and silence control.

Action Plan You Can Use Today

1. Write one sentence that states your promise. Turn it into a short title with friendly vowels.
2. Draft six two bar riffs. Pick the one you keep humming. That is your logo.
3. Choose a structure. Mark the first chorus within one minute.
4. Write verse one as a two shot scene with a time crumb.
5. Build a chorus in one sentence. Place the title early and ring it at the end.
6. Design a breakdown with a chant tag that fits 3+3+2 or a clean half time feel.
7. Arrange lanes. Guitars split jobs. Bass glues. Drums write transitions.
8. Run the pit test edit. Replace abstractions. Cut one riff. Whisper test the hook.
9. Record a simple demo. Ask two trusted ears what line stayed. Fix only for clarity or lift.
10. Print and move on. Songs teach the next song.

Metal Songwriting FAQ

How do I write a metal chorus that still feels heavy

Keep the language short and the vowels open. Land the title on a strong beat or a sustained note. Thin guitars for a bar under the hook so the voice punches through. Add a single harmony or gang shout on the last line. If you want melody, let it rise only a step above the verse so the shift feels earned. If you want chant, use a four to eight syllable line that fits on one breath. Test it at whisper volume. If it works quietly, it will crush loud.

How can I use odd meters without losing the crowd

Group the meter into repeatable cells. 3+3+2 or 2+2+3 feels natural because the body can count it on steps. Teach the pattern with rhythm guitar and kick together for two bars before the vocal enters. Keep the chorus in straight time unless the hook itself is built on the cell. You want brains to relax while necks move.

What makes a breakdown actually land

Contrast, space, and a clear human job. Drop to half time or remove cymbals to create a hole. Write a chant tag that a crowd can yell on beat without reading a lyric sheet. Leave two beats of silence before the tag so adrenaline pops. Arrange bass and kick like a conversation instead of mud. Stop before boredom arrives so the final chorus feels like victory instead of a chore.

How do I write metal lyrics that are angry without being corny

Trade slogans for scenes. Give the listener a smell, an object, and a consequence. Anger becomes interesting when it has a target and a cost. Use verbs that move. Use nouns that cut. Save big adjectives for the one place they matter. Read the verse out loud at conversation speed. If it sounds like a real person could say it, keep it. If it sounds like a poster, rewrite.

How do I keep vocals healthy while screaming

Warm up gently. Use breath from the belly and let resonance do the work. Aim air toward the mask rather than the throat. Keep hydration steady. Rest when raspy turns to pain. Track harsh parts in short punches and comp. If a note demands strain, change the key or the vowel. A healthy voice sounds heavier than a damaged one because it carries tone and pitch inside the grit.