How to Write a Metal Song

 

 When you sit down to write a metal song, your primary goal will probably be to write some awesome riffs. This is the key element that separates metal from all other kinds of heavy music. But a common mistake beginners make when they start writing is to treat a song as a mere sequence of different riffs. This is where the term “riff salad” comes from. It is used to describe a song that lacks cohesion and seems to be just a bunch of riffs haphazardly thrown together, as one would throw ingredients into a salad bowl.

The remedy to this is what I call “motivic” writing. In classical music a motif is a short but recognizable musical idea that often undergoes different transformations throughout a single piece. Listen to the first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony for an easily heard example of this approach to composition. The famous da-da-da-daaa motif is present in some form throughout essentially the entire movement, though it goes through various harmonic and thematic transformations. This creates a very strong sense of cohesion and flow throughout the piece.

Master of Puppets

This style of motivic writing also tends to be a big part in the songwriting of metal musicians. Take Master of Puppets by Metallica for instance. The song flows along in an extremely natural sounding way, often with an element of one riff being continued in the next riff. 

Here are the initial descending chords that begin the song:

 

This pattern is immediately taken up as an element (the second measure) in the very next riff which also extends this descending chromatic idea all the way down the fretboard.

The pattern in the second half of this riff in then altered slightly to create the very next riff, which has a more dissonant and tritone focused feel:

This same pattern is modified again (hitting the tritone an octave up this time) to serve as a short guitar fill to lead the song into the verse riff:

While initially the verse riff might seem like a completely new idea, it actually takes the sliding idea from the end of the second intro riff and modifies it to work more as a backing verse riff idea:

The pre-chorus is simply a transposition of the verse riff, with the root note moving to F#:

We could go on through the whole song but hopefully you have an idea of what I mean. Finding ways for the different riffs to reference each other in some way is key when one wishes to write a metal song that flows musically.

Electric Eye

Let’s look at one more classic metal song, Electric Eye by Judas Priest. It begins with the iconic main riff featuring a repeating ascending line with a root note that changes every two beats:

After this, comes a pre-verse riff featuring a more steady rhythm and chugging on the low E string:

When the vocals finally enter for the first verse, the riff changes, but it is simply a transposition of the pre-verse riff to the A string:

The pre verse riff follows, this time with vocals over it, before we come to the pre chorus which is an extended and modified version of the initial main riff:

We can see that the pre chorus starts on the C chord first, then goes to the A chord just like in the original riff. But then it moves to a D and finally to a B chord which perfectly sets us up for the entrance of a big chorus.

The chorus doesn’t really contain any ideas that appeared before in the song, but that actually makes it stand out and “hit” harder. The held out chords played in a dotted eighth note pattern create a sense of grandeur and space, in stark contrast with the chugging of the verse riffs.

It’s also helpful to keep in mind song structure while writing. What modifications you make to your motifs is often determined by what function they need to serve in the song. If you need a verse riff maybe try something with a constant picking pattern. If you are at the pre-chorus, figure out a way to build some tension and when to come to the chorus try to write something that will leave space for a hooky vocal melody or pattern over top. This is where having a basic understanding of music theory and harmony can be helpful. Knowing how diatonic chords function within a key will allow you to build and release tension in a musical and natural way.

Conclusion

As you can see, motivic writing can greatly assist when you sit down to write a metal song that is cohesive and satisfying to listen to.  Try listening to some other songs you enjoy and see if you can pick out any motifs that serve as connective tissue holding all the riffs together to create a fully realized piece of music. Looking at sheet music or tabs from websites such as Ultimate Guitar can also really help you discern exactly how the music is constructed. Once you’ve done your homework and analyzed some songs, try to incorporate the insights you’ve gained into your own songwriting. Try to focus on having motifs continue throughout the different riffs while being transformed in various ways to increase the emotion and tension of the song.