How to Write Pagan Metal Songs

You want music that sounds like a forest fire and a strange hymn at the same time. You want riffs that feel ancient but tuned for the mosh pit. You want lyrics that smell like moss yet sing like an incantation. Pagan metal blends black metal, folk elements, melodic metal, epic arrangements, and a reverence for myth and nature. This guide gives you everything from lyric craft to riff mechanics to production tricks so your songs feel ritual worthy and arena ready.

Everything here is written for artists who want practical steps, not vague mysticism. Expect clear workflows, concrete examples, and exercises you can use the same day. We will cover themes and research, lyric voice, melody and scale choices, guitar techniques, drum patterns, folk instrumentation, vocal approaches both harsh and clean, arrangements, production tips, and how to stay respectful when using cultural traditions. Definitions and acronyms are explained with real life scenarios so nothing feels like mysterious wizardry.

What Is Pagan Metal

Pagan metal is a branch of heavy music that fuses metal with themes, instruments, and melodies from pre Christian or indigenous beliefs. Many bands draw on folklore, nature worship, seasonal cycles, and ancient myths. Musically, pagan metal can include harsh vocals, clean singing, acoustic passages, folk instruments, modal melodies, and a wide dynamic range that moves from intimate to cathedral loud.

Think of it like your loudest friend who also collects antique maps. You get the intensity and the details. On one track you have blast beats and tremolo guitars. On the next you have a flute solo and a communal chant. The glue is mood and authenticity.

Core Elements of Pagan Metal

• Lyric themes rooted in myth, nature, ancestors, seasons, rites, and historical events.
• Folk instrumentation such as flutes, bagpipes, hurdy gurdy, fiddle, nyckelharpa, and hand percussion.
• Guitar tone and techniques like tremolo picking, melodic minor phrasing, and harmony leads.
• Vocal variety from raw harsh vocals to chant like clean vocals and gang shouts.
• Dynamics and arrangement that move between intimate acoustic moments and crushing heaviness.
• Cultural research and sensitivity to avoid appropriation while honoring sources.

Choose a Thematic Core

Before any chords, pick a single strong idea that will anchor the song. This is the thematic core. Say it like a one line mission statement. Keep it human and vivid. If you cannot say it in one short line you probably have too many ideas.

Examples

• The last winter before the sun returns.
• A ritual to wake the river from sleep.
• Two sisters divided by a border and a storm.

Turn that line into a title or a repeated phrase that can sit in the chorus or the main chant. Titles in pagan metal often read like epithets, single images, or ancient sounding names. Short is powerful here. If you can imagine someone in a woodsmoke soaked pub shouting it back to you you are on the right track.

Research and Cultural Responsibility

Pagan themes pull from specific histories and living traditions. Do research. Use primary sources when possible. Read folklore collections, speak with cultural practitioners, and avoid inventing details that mimic sacred practices as a marketing trick.

Explanation of cultural appropriation

Cultural appropriation happens when you take elements of a living tradition and use them out of context for entertainment without respect, credit, or care for how those elements matter to the people who practice them. A good real life scenario is a friend wearing another friend s wedding ring to a party as a joke. It is awkward because the object has meaning the wearer does not own.

Practical rules

• Credit sources in liner notes or on your website.
• If you use a ritual text or a prayer translate it accurately and ask permission when possible.
• Prefer inspiration from pre Christian folklore that is public domain rather than living liturgies unless you collaborate respectfully.
• Collaborate with musicians from the tradition you are drawing on. Pay them. Give rights and credits appropriately.

Lyric Writing for Pagan Metal

Your lyrics need to feel like a story, a spell, or a myth told around a fire. Clarity matters even when the language is ornate. Millennial and Gen Z audiences want authenticity not fake mystique. Avoid filler phrase that sound like a medieval movie trailer. Use specific images, tactile details, time stamps, and sensory language. Keep verbs active and present tense often works well for immediacy.

Voice and Perspective

Decide the narrator. Is it the last elder telling a tale, an elemental voice like the sea, a historical figure, or a collective voice for a tribe? Each choice shapes pronouns, diction, and line rhythms. A first person voice can create intimacy and a vow feeling. A third person epic voice can feel mythic and cinematic.

Language Choices

Many pagan metal bands use native or ancestral languages. Using a real language can land deeper emotion but it requires accurate translation. Explain terms in liner notes or on your website to help listeners connect. Real life scenario: If your grandmother used a dialect word for a ritual and you use it in a song you must ensure the meaning survived that family use. Ask. Verify. Repeat correctly.

Imagery and Metaphor

Prefer concrete images. Instead of saying I am lost in grief try The bog keeps my footprints like a secret. Use metaphor to layer meaning without confusing the listener. Triadic listing works well in folk storytelling. Use three rising images to build momentum then land the emotional punch.

Melody and Mode Choices

Pagan metal melodies often use modal scales. Modes are scale patterns that predate the modern major minor system. Common options include Dorian, Phrygian, Mixolydian, and Aeolian. Each mode gives a distinct color.

Quick mode guide with everyday analogies

• Aeolian is the natural minor. Think of a rainy November afternoon. It is moody and familiar.
• Dorian is minor with a raised sixth. It feels wistful but hopeful like a campfire song with a baritone hum.
• Phrygian has a flattened second that creates an exotic and tense flavor like a closed door in a stone hall.
• Mixolydian is like major but with a bluesy twist. It sounds roarty and communal like an alehouse chorus.

Modal mixture is your friend. Combine a Dorian verse with a Mixolydian chorus to move from introspective to triumphant. Use the minor types for cold forest scenes. Use major leaning modes for victory chants and processional sections.

Melodic Writing Tips

• Sing on vowels to find strong phrases. Record yourself and keep the parts that feel easy to chant.
• Use simple melodic motifs that can be repeated and varied. Think of a three or four note tag that returns in different instruments.
• For chant parts keep the range narrow so the group can sing it live. For solo melodies you can stretch further for drama.

Guitar Riffs and Harmony

Riffs are the backbone. In pagan metal you want riffs that sound ancient and grounded. That often means open string drones, modal fingerings, chromatic passing notes, and layered harmony leads.

Tremolo Picking and Picking Texture

Tremolo picking means playing a single note or interval rapidly with alternate picking to create an urgent texture. Use it over sustained chord beds or during black metal influenced sections. Practical tip: tune down a whole or a fifth to give tremolo picking more low end bite without losing clarity.

Chord Voicing and Open Strings

Open strings create drone like textures. Play a melody on the higher strings while letting a low open string ring. This gives the sense of ritual drone that connects to folk instruments like the bagpipe. Try E minor drone with a melody in Dorian on the higher strings.

Lead Harmony and Counterpoint

Two part harmonies work incredibly well. Use thirds or fourths depending on mode. Modal harmony can create parallel motion that sounds antique. Counterpoint where one guitar plays a descending line and another an ascending line gives the music a weaving feel. Think wolf and river crossing paths.

Rhythm and Drums

Drums in pagan metal need to serve both force and ritual. You will use blast beats and double bass for fury, and tom patterns and percussion for tribal drive. Dynamics matter more than speed alone.

Blast Beats and Their Use

A blast beat is a fast pattern where the snare or snare like sound lands almost constantly. Use blast beats for passages of fury and for contrast. Real life scenario: blast beats are like sprinting uphill. Save those sprints for moments that demand maximum threat or release. Too many sprints tire the listener.

Toms and Tribal Grooves

Use tom patterns to create ritual feeling. A repeated tom ostinato can feel like a heartbeat. Layer hand percussion such as frame drums, bodhran, or shakers for texture. Have sections where the drum is mostly toms and ritual percussion before the guitars reenter. That creates cinematic tension.

Time Signatures and Groove

Most pagan metal sits in common time but odd meters can add an ancient lilt. Try 7 4 or 5 4 for a walking ritual step. If you use odd meters do not overcomplicate. Keep a repeating motif so listeners can latch on. Real life scenario: a 7 4 riff feels like walking on uneven steps. If you add a steady drum pulse the audience learns to step in time fast.

Bass and Low End

Bass should be massive but not muddy. In heavy parts lock with the kick drum. In folk or acoustic parts follow the harmony and add melodic fills. Consider using a fretless bass for gliding passages when you want a more organic sound that matches bowed folk instruments.

Playing Style

• Pick or pick with fingers for attack when you need cut.
• Use slides and small hammer on fills to bridge folk melodies and metal low end.
• Consider octave doubling with guitars for chorus power.

Vocals: Harsh, Clean, Chant and Everything In Between

Vocals in pagan metal are a spectrum. Harsh vocals convey anger, doom, or the raw voice of nature. Clean vocals carry melody, memory, and communal lines. Chants and group shouts give ritual authenticity. The key is to use contrast so each vocal style has impact.

Harsh Vocals

Harsh vocals include growls and screams. Technique matters for longevity. Learn proper diaphragmatic support, avoid throat strain, and consider lessons or coaching. Record multiple takes for texture. Layering a mid range scream with a low growl can sound monstrous and human at once.

Definition of terms

• Growl is a low guttural vocal that emphasizes the chest register and uses false cord vibration.
• Scream is a higher harsh sound that uses more throat edge and overdrive.

Real life scenario: Your voice is like a car. If you rev too hard without warming up you will ruin the engine. Warm up. Learn placement. Hydrate.

Clean Vocals

Clean singing in pagan metal often uses an epic, slightly raw tone rather than polished pop vibrato. Think of a folk singer who grew up on open air chorus. Use open vowels, chest resonance, and slight grit to fit the dense mix. Harmony singing and choir stacks are common. Keep the melodies singable live for fans to join in.

Chant and Group Vocals

Chant parts can be simple repeated phrases, often in a native language or ancient form. Make them easy to sing. Use call and response to create a communal moment. Record a group of friends for authenticity or use doubling tricks in the studio to simulate a crowd.

Folk Instruments and Arrangements

Add folk instruments strategically. They should feel like characters in the story, not wallpaper. Arrange them to speak during breaks and to double melody lines during quiet moments. Use acoustic interludes to reveal lyric details that would be lost in full metal fury.

Instrument Choices and Their Roles

• Flute works as a lyrical voice for wind and river scenes.
• Fiddle gives dance like energy and melodic hooks.
• Hurdy gurdy creates sustained drones and medieval color.
• Bagpipes provide heroic processional moments but use them with care due to cultural specificity.
• Percussion such as frame drum and bodhran adds ritual pulse.

Recording tip: mic acoustic instruments well. Use a condenser mic for detail and a dynamic mic for punch if you are close recording. Blend both for air and body.

Song Structure and Dynamics

Song form in pagan metal is flexible. Many songs are through composed meaning new material keeps appearing. Still, a reliable template is useful.

Suggested Structure

• Intro with signature motif often acoustic or ambient.
• Verse one with guitars and restrained drums to tell the story.
• Chorus or chant that states the core promise or ritual line.
• Verse two with added layers and a rising dynamic.
• Bridge or instrumental passage with folk solo or dramatic tom pattern.
• Fury section with blast beat and tremolo riffs.
• Acoustic coda or choir to close with memory.

Contrast is essential. If the entire song is loud it becomes background noise. Use quiet passages to create weight and allow the heavy parts to feel cathartic.

Harmonies and Orchestration

Layering harmonic elements can give your song a cinematic sweep. Use string arrangements to add mournful weight. Brass and choir pads can turn a chorus into a battlefield hymn. Keep arrangements supportive. A dense orchestration that competes with the riff will muddy the message.

Practical Orchestration Tips

• Arrange strings to follow the vocal melody in the chorus and provide counter melodies in the bridge.
• Keep low orchestral instruments out of the guitar low mid range to avoid mud. Let them sit under the bass.
• Use sparse hits from choir stabs for emphasis instead of constant pads.

Production and Mixing

Production is where your composition turns into a ritual. Pagan metal production needs clarity so folk instruments read through dense distortion. Balance is key. We want power without loss of detail.

Guitar Tone and Tracking

Use multiple guitar tracks for thickness. Record rhythm guitars with different amp settings or mic positions to create stereo width. Double track leads and slightly vary timing and tone. Keep a clean DI for reamping options. Real life scenario: Track one DI, track two heavy amp, track three lighter amp. Blend them in the mix like making tea from different leaves.

Vocal Recording

• Record harsh vocals with a dynamic mic to tame sibilance. Use a pop filter sparingly.
• Record clean vocals with a condenser to capture air and detail. Use slight compression while tracking for consistent levels.
• Layer chants and doubles. For crowd feeling record many takes or invite friends and mic them naturally in a room with reverb.

EQ and Frequency Management

Carve space for folk instruments with subtractive EQ. For example reduce guitar energy around 2 5 kilohertz when a flute or fiddle needs presence. Use high pass filters on non bass instruments to free low end for bass and kick. Avoid boosting too many things at once.

Reverb and Ambience

Reverb sells space. Use plate reverb on vocals for a classic metal sheen. Use hall reverb for slow choir or string sections to create cathedral size. For ritual atmosphere add a subtle room reverb on acoustic instruments so they breathe. Consider convolution reverb with impulse responses of caves or halls for authenticity. Real life scenario: an impulse from a stone church will make your chant feel ancient even if recorded in a bedroom.

Compression and Dynamics

Retain dynamics. Use compression to glue parts but not to squash the life out of the song. Use parallel compression on drums for punch. Use light bus compression on guitar stacks to keep them together without removing transient attack.

Mixing for Live Playback

Think about what matters in a live setting. Make sure the chant frequencies are clear. Ensure the snare and tom patterns cut through. Test mixes on phone speakers since many listeners will first hear your song on social media in compressed formats. If the folk instrument disappears on a phone consider adding a mid range enhancer or doubling the line with a brighter instrument.

Songwriting Exercises and Workflows

Write and demo quickly. Pagan metal rewards ideas that keep momentum. Use these drills to generate material fast.

One Image Song

1. Pick a single strong image like a frozen river or a ruined tower.
2. Write four lines that describe it from different senses sight, sound, touch, and smell.
3. Turn line four into your chant or chorus phrase.
4. Compose a riff that repeats while you recite the lines and refine.

Modal Swap Drill

1. Write a short riff in Aeolian minor.
2. Play the riff again but change the top melody to Dorian. Listen for how mood shifts.
3. Use the first mode for verse and the swapped mode for chorus.

Instrumental Conversation

1. Write a two bar melody for flute and a two bar answer for guitar. Repeat and expand.
2. Record both parts and listen for where they fight. Edit so they complement each other like two people telling the same story.

Common Mistakes and How To Fix Them

• Too much ornamentation Fix by returning to the core phrase. Trim extra fills that distract from the chant.
• Folk instrument buried Fix by clearing competing frequencies and automating level boosts in key moments.
• Overused blast beats Fix by reserving blasts for the most intense moments and exploring tom or groove sections instead.
• Vague lyrics Fix by replacing abstract words with physical details and time crumbs.
• Unsafe vocal technique Fix by slowing down practice, taking lessons, and using proper support to avoid injury.

Rehearsal and Live Tips

Rehearse transitions. The live audience will remember the moment the band drops from full distortion to a single acoustic guitar. Make that drop tight. Teach the group chant to the crowd early by having the vocalist lead call and response. Use simple cues so the band can sync tempo changes without a click. Real life scenario: place a distinct cymbal hit before a tempo change. The audience hears it and the drummer can lock the new pace.

Release Strategy and Presentation

When you release a pagan metal song provide context. Include liner notes, backstory, and translations for any ancestral language. Fans appreciate being invited into the myth. A short video showing the instruments or the research process is gold. If you used cultural material credit and link to sources and collaborators.

Action Plan You Can Use Today

1. Pick a thematic core and write a one sentence mission statement for the song.
2. Choose a mode for verse and a contrasting mode for chorus.
3. Write a short chant phrase that states the core promise in plain language.
4. Create a two bar riff that repeats and build a second riff for the chorus that lifts in range.
5. Add a folk instrument line that either doubles the chant or answers the lead riff.
6. Record a quick demo with phone level quality and listen for where the folk instrument disappears. Adjust the arrangement.
7. Play the demo to three friends and ask what image stayed with them. Edit lines to emphasize that image.

Pagan Metal FAQ

What scales work best for pagan metal

Modal scales such as Dorian, Phrygian, Mixolydian, and Aeolian are common because they create ancient flavors. Use modal mixture to move from introspection to triumph. If you want a darker edge try harmonic minor phrases sparingly for exotic spice.

Can I use traditional music from other cultures

Yes if you do so respectfully. Research the tradition, credit sources, and whenever possible collaborate with artists who practice that music. Avoid copying sacred chants for shock value. Treat cultural material like a living person you would not want to offend.

How do I record folk instruments affordably

Use a single quality condenser mic and good placement. Record in a room with natural reverb. If you cannot hire a player consider sample libraries but disclose samples in credits and tweak them to sound human.

Should I tune down for a heavier sound

Tuning down is common because it gives riffs more weight and lets the vocals sit easier. Try tuning down one whole step or drop tuning to fit the vocalist. Keep intonation in mind and adjust string gauges accordingly.

How do I make chants that audiences can sing

Keep chants short, repeatable, and in a limited range. Use simple vowels and consonants. Teach the chant on stage with a call and response before the big section. A three syllable phrase often works perfectly live.

What is a tremolo pick and when should I use it

Tremolo picking is fast alternate picking on a single note or interval to create an urgent texture. Use it in atmospheric or furious sections. Save it for moments that need sustained intensity.

How do I balance loud guitars and quiet folk instruments in the mix

Use subtractive EQ to carve space for each instrument. Automate levels so folk instruments rise in quieter passages and sit as a texture in heavy parts. Mid range boosts can help a flute cut through distorted guitars on small speakers.

How important is stage presentation for pagan metal

Very important. Costuming, lighting, and symbolic props reinforce the mythic atmosphere. Keep it tasteful. Props and attire should respect the cultures you reference and enhance the emotional arc of the performance.

How do I keep lyrics from sounding cheesy

Be specific. Replace abstract lines with tactile details and time crumbs. Avoid generic medieval words just for vibe. If a line sounds like a fantasy calendar quote you need more lived detail.

Where should I post translations and explanations

Put them on your band website or in streaming service booklet links when possible. Fans love background stories and it increases engagement. Short posts on social platforms with a recording clip work well too.

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