How to Write Slam Death Metal Songs

You want your song to sound like a bulldozer in a graveyard. You want riffs so heavy they change the gravity in the room and vocals so viscous they need a warning label. Slam death metal is not subtle. It is a full body experience. This guide gives you everything from guitar tone and riff construction to drum patterns, vocal tools, arrangement strategies, lyric modes, and production moves you can use right now.

Everything here is written for working musicians who want brutal results. Expect practical workflows, short exercises, and real life scenarios that show how to turn an idea into a pit worthy song. We will explain the jargon so you do not have to memorize a glossary. If you are short on time, use the action checklist to build a slam track in a weekend.

What Is Slam Death Metal

Slam death metal is a sub style of death metal that emphasizes crushing, slow to mid tempo riffs, groove heavy breakdowns, guttural vocal techniques, and an almost percussive approach to guitar playing. While traditional death metal often leans on speed and technical displays, slam uses weight and repetition to get the listener to groove while being assaulted by heaviness.

Roots come from the late 1990s and early 2000s when bands fused death metal themes with hardcore influenced break parts. The result was music that feels like a series of violent hugs. Think brutal riff blocks, sudden drum hits, and breakdowns that invite crowd movement that looks like controlled chaos.

Core Ingredients of a Slam Death Metal Song

• Riff centric writing that values rhythmic impact and syncopation.
• Guttural vocals often with low pitch and high throat compression.
• Drum patterns that combine blast beats with pocketed grooves.
• Breakdowns that act like hooks.
• Lyrics that range from gore and horror to dark humor and social commentary.
• Production that prioritizes low end clarity and transient punch.

Guitar Riffs That Crush

Your riff is the song. Make it hit like bad news. Slam riffs are usually slower than death metal leads. The trick is to make fewer notes feel heavier. Focus on rhythm and tone more than speed.

Tuning and string choice

Lower tuning adds mass. Common tunings include drop A, drop B, and drop C. Drop A means tuning the lowest string down enough to get that cavernous low note that makes chests rattle. Use heavy gauge strings to keep tension so notes feel thick. If you play electric, sets labeled for low tuning or seven string gauge sets on six string guitars will help. If you use a seven string, the low B string is a popular root for slam riffing.

Real life scenario: You wake up at 2 a.m., tune to drop A and record a one minute riff that stuns your roommates. They complain less when you promise pizza later.

Riffing principles

• Play with space. Silence between hits helps the accents land harder.
• Use palm mute as a rhythmic tool. A choked low note can feel like a punch.
• Favor simple intervals like power chords, minor seconds, and open fifths to keep the sound dense.
• Alternate picking is fine. Down picking on slow grooves can make every stroke heavier because of the consistent attack.
• Syncopate. Position accents off the expected beat to create a wobble that forces the listener to react physically.

Exercise: Take a four bar loop at 90 to 120 BPM. Play a single note on beat one. Silence the rest of bar one. In bar two, play three staccato palm muted hits that land on the second half of the beat. Repeat and vary dynamics. Record the loop. If your amp makes the windows rattle, you are on the right path.

Lead playing and solos

Leads are less about speed and more about texture. Use pinch harmonics, squeals, and long bends to add flavor. A short atonal run that returns to the riff feels more impactful than ten seconds of scales. Consider using wah, tremolo arm dips, and controlled dissonance to keep the vibe unsettling.

Bass That Lives Under the Riff

The bass in slam is not sitting politely under the guitars. It is a second low engine. The trick is to lock the bass to the kick drum so the low end punches without mud. Use a DI track for low clarity and a driven amp or saturation plugin for grit.

Technique tip: Play with a pick or with fingers. A pick gives attack. Fingers give roundness. Compress the DI to tame peaks and add a tiny bit of low mids to make the bass audible on small systems.

Drums That Make People Move

Drummers in slam need both speed and a sense of pocket. The genre trades constant blast beat velocity for a mix of meter smashing and groove. Learn to be a human metronome that can drop bombs at the right second.

Common drum pieces

• Slow to mid tempo blast segments for tension. Blast beat is rapid alternation between snare and kick at high tempo. Blast beat is often abbreviated as BB in chats. We will not use shorthand without explanation.
• Slam hits or breakdown hits where the drummer hits a pattern that locks with guitar accents and usually emphasizes toms and kick.
• Double bass pockets that add weight while keeping tempo.
• Half time sections that let the riff breathe and the crowd breathe with it.

Real life scenario: You are in practice and the drummer plays one slower pocket between riffs. The room stops, then the people move. That moment is the breakdown. Never underestimate its power.

Programming drums for demos

If you program drums in your DAW which is a digital audio workstation or a piece of software for recording and arranging music, use samples with realistic attack and room sound. Keep ghost snare notes subtle and avoid quantizing everything to the grid unless you like machine perfect sound. Humanized timing sells groove.

Vocal Techniques That Seal the Deal

Slam vocals are diverse within a limited palette. The common elements are low gutturals, high screams, and textures like pig squeals. These are not magic. They are techniques that require practice and proper care for the voice.

Guttural basics

Guttural vocals use the false vocal folds and throat compression to push sound into the lower register. Breathe from the diaphragm. Do not force air through the throat. Use short phrases and rest between takes. Hydrate. If it hurts, stop and use less compression.

Real life scenario: You try a 20 second demo of full guttural vocals without warming up and you wake up with a sore throat. Now you know why warming up like an athlete matters.

Pig squeals and high textures

Pig squeals are a style where the vocalist shapes the mouth and tongue to create a high pitched, squealing tone with added distortion. They can be used as accents or small hooks. If you want to learn them, start with light experimentation and quality coaching videos from professionals who focus on safe technique.

Processing vocals

For production, record a clean dry track at the highest quality your setup allows. Then layer doubles, add subtle saturation, and use EQ to cut mud around 200 to 400 Hz. Add a low shelf if you want body. Use a short bright delay or flange for creative effect if it fits the mix. Keep reverb tight because too much will wash the aggression away.

Lyrics and Themes

Slam lyrics can be gore based. They can also be absurd, satirical, or socially angry. The important part is that your words match the music. If the riff is petty revenge, consider witty gore. If the riff is oppressive, write tragic imagery. If you want to avoid violent content, explore metaphors and existential dread that feel intense without explicit gore.

Writing process for lyrics

1. Pick the emotional center. This is one short sentence that tells the main feeling of the song.
2. Collect images and verbs. Slam likes physical verbs. Think of concrete actions.
3. Create a title that is a single visceral phrase. Titles can be gory, clever, or brutally honest.
4. Write a chorus that repeats a lethal line. The chorus is your crowd moment. Repeat and simplify.
5. Use verses to add detail and escalate. Keep lines short for vocal clarity.

Example title idea: Eastern Clay. That is ambiguous. Now make it violent, or make it about a city crumbling under weight of debt. Both will work if they fit the music.

Song Structure That Keeps Aggression and Interest

Slam songs often use non traditional structures. Keep sections tight. The goal is to keep the listener clenched and release at moments where the breakdown gives payoff.

Common structure template

• Intro motif that grabs attention in one to eight bars.
• Riff block one that establishes groove.
• Short bridge or fill that changes texture.
• Riff block two with variation.
• Breakdown that acts like a chorus hook.
• Optional solo or lead passage used sparingly.
• Final heavy groove and tag that repeats the breakdown or main riff.

Keep songs typically between two and four minutes. Slam thrives on repeatability. If you make it longer, add distinct textures to avoid drowning the listener in sameness.

Arrangement and Dynamics

Dynamics are your secret weapon. Use thin textures to build and big textures to smash. A one guitar intro followed by two guitars, a fat bass, and a drum fill moments later makes the second hit feel larger than it actually is.

• Drop instruments to create space before a breakdown.
• Add percussion hits and toms to make transitions feel cinematic.
• Layer vocal ad libs in later sections for extra aggression.

Production Tricks That Make Riffs Punch

Production in slam focuses on low end clarity and transient sharpness. You want the kick drum and bass to coexist without smearing. You want guitar to be heavy but not muddy. You want vocals to sit on top without losing grit.

Guitar tone

Start with a tight low end. Cut mud around 250 to 400 Hz if the guitars are boxy. Boost presence around 1.5 to 3.5 kHz to help the attack cut through the mix. Use cab simulation for character. Layer a high gain amp with a slightly lower gain amp to create thickness.

Bass and kick relationship

Side chain the bass to the kick or use transient shaping to give the kick room. Another method is to tune the kick or use a subkick sample that harmonizes with the lowest guitar note. The goal is a single cohesive low impact rather than two competing subs. If your mix feels like oatmeal, separate the frequencies and carve space with EQ.

Drums

Use samples to augment live hits. Replace or layer the snare with a sample that has the right crack and body. Tune tom samples to match the guitar root when toms are used as hits during breakdowns. Keep overheads natural but not overwhelming. Compress bus drums to glue the parts together but avoid over compressing so the transients remain alive.

Vocal chain

Typical chain: EQ, de esser, saturation, compressor, short room reverb or plate, and a short delay for thickness on selected lines. Use parallel compression for grit. Duplicate the vocal and saturate the duplicate aggressively. Blend to taste.

Writing Workflows That Actually Produce Songs

Follow these workflows depending on your starting point. Each method is a repeatable path from idea to demo.

Starting from a riff

1. Record your riff as a loop. Keep it simple and record at least eight bars so you can arrange later.
2. Play with variations. Change a palm mute, add a rest, add a tiny pinch harmonic as a punctuation.
3. Find a complementary second riff that contrasts rhythmically.
4. Place a breakdown after the second riff. Use space then hit hard.
5. Write a rough vocal line that follows the breakdown. Keep it short and repeatable.
6. Record a guitar DI, bass DI, drum programming or live drums for a demo feel.

Starting from vocals

1. Record a vocal phrase with rhythm but no pitch worry. Treat it like percussion.
2. Find a guitar or drum groove that fits the cadence of the vocal. Lock them together until the groove feels inevitable.
3. Build the riff around the vocal hook. Use the riff to emphasize the strongest syllables.

Lyric Exercises

Short drills keep the words fresh and specific.

• Object exercise. Pick a gross or mundane object. Write five verbs it can do to cause harm. Use one in a title.
• One line chorus. Write one brutal line that repeats. Make it a stomp. Add a second line that gives a small twist.
• Camera pass. For each verse line, imagine a single camera shot. If the image is fuzzy, edit the line to be more visual.

Mixing Tips for Slam

Mix with references. Pick three songs in the genre and A B them against your mix. Check low end, snare snap, and vocal placement. Use metering tools for sub frequencies but trust your chest feeling when you play the mix on cheap headphones and in a car.

Tip: When your mix collapses on small speakers, raise the mids on guitars slightly and reduce sub energy. You want clarity across systems.

Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them

• Too many notes. Fix by simplifying the riff to the essential hits and leaving space.
• Mix mud. Fix by cutting competing low mids and giving each instrument its range.
• Vocals buried. Fix by reducing competing guitars during vocal lines and adding a subtle frequency carve around 1.5 kHz to the vocal.
• Breakdowns that are predictable. Fix by changing meter or adding a tom roll before the hit to create suspense.

Real Life Band Scenarios and Solutions

Scenario: The drummer cannot hold half time at the practice speed

Solution: Slow the tempo in practice. Use a click at the desired feel and record a loop of the riff. Have the drummer play along to the loop at slower BPM. Gradually increase speed. Practice the transition from fast to half time repeatedly. Use a metronome with subdivisions so the drummer can feel the intended placement.

Scenario: Your riffs sound thin at home but heavy in the amp

Solution: Capture the amp with a close mic and a room mic. Blend DI with the amp mic. Add subtle saturation to the DI to simulate cabinet character. When you listen on headphones the blended tone will translate better to other systems.

Scenario: Vocal takes sound sick but not intelligible

Solution: Clean up the mix around the vocal with a narrow EQ dip on guitars where the vowel energy lives. Add a parallel vocal chain where the duplicate track is compressed and slightly saturated to lift presence. Use short automation to bring the vocal forward on key words.

Release and Promotion Tips for Slam Bands

Slam thrives in community spaces. Share a brutal one minute clip that highlights the breakdown. Use video of live crowd reactions because slam is physical and that sells the vibe. Consider releasing a vinyl or cassette for the fans who want physical weight. Play local shows with hardcore and death metal bands to reach the people who will mosh.

Real life tactic: Film a short rehearsal clip with a dramatic slow motion of the crowd or of a drummer hitting a big tom. Post to social media with a caption that teases the title lyric. People love glimpses more than long stories.

Action Plan You Can Use This Weekend

1. Create a two chord loop in a low tuning at 90 to 120 BPM.
2. Write three rhythmic riff ideas and record them as DI loops.
3. Pick the heaviest riff and build a second contrasting riff.
4. Create a breakdown that repeats a simple rhythmic hit. Make it land like a bar stool to the face.
5. Write one chorus line that repeats. Record guttural guide vocals with rest between phrases.
6. Program drums or record a practice kit and lock the kick to the bass. Export a rough demo.
7. Mix quickly with reference tracks. Export and share a 60 second teaser to gauge reaction.

FAQ

What tempo is best for slam death metal

Common tempos range from 70 to 140 BPM. The style favors slow to mid tempo so the riffs can breathe and deliver impact. Sometimes bands will move between faster blast beat sections and slow slam parts. Think in terms of feel rather than an exact number. A slow tempo with heavy palm muted hits can feel heavier than a faster but thin riff.

How do I learn guttural vocals safely

Start with warm ups. Use diaphragm breathing and avoid throat squeezing. Study tutorials from experienced extreme vocalists who explain technique safely. Start with short phrases and increase duration over time. If you feel pain, stop. Consider seeing a vocal coach who knows extreme styles. Hydration and rest matter more than persistence when your voice is new to these techniques.

Do I need expensive gear to make slam sound good

No. A decent guitar, a well tuned low set of strings, a simple amp or amp simulator, a reliable drum sampler, and a good microphone will get you a lot of the way. A great song and good tone choices matter more than a six thousand dollar rig. Use practice time to dial in sound before upgrading gear.

How long should a slam death metal song be

Most land between two and four minutes. Shorter songs keep energy high and replay value strong. That said, there are successful longer tracks if each section brings new textures and purposeful dynamic changes. Aim for impact and avoid filler.

Can I write slam without a drummer

Yes. Program drums with realistic samples and humanize timing to avoid a robotic feel. Many bands write demos with programmed drums then replace or upgrade them later. Focus on feel and groove first. A good programmed drum performance can guide the band toward a better live arrangement.