← Guide / Reference / Metal style reference
Reference
Metal style reference
Thrash, death, black, doom, djent, metalcore, power metal, sludge and adjacent heavy styles.
How to use this list
Each row pairs a style term with a cue line written in the same grammar: what the music is, what plays it, roughly how fast, and how it feels. Copy the cue, then change one thing at a time so you can tell which token moved the result.
Metal entries specify guitar tuning, riff type and drum technique, which together define the subgenre far more than distortion alone.
Combining entries
Vocal style is a separate decision: growls, screams, cleans and operatic highs all belong to different corners of the genre.
If a take drifts away from what you wanted, remove tokens rather than adding more. Long prompts dilute; short, specific ones steer.
| Heavy metal | classic heavy metal, twin guitar harmonies, galloping palm-muted riffs, soaring clean vocals, double-kick accents, 150 BPM, heroic and driving |
| Thrash metal | thrash metal, downpicked tremolo riffs, blistering double kick, shouted aggressive vocals, thin bright guitar tone, 200 BPM, furious and relentless |
| Death metal | death metal, low tuned tremolo riffs, blast beats, guttural growls, scooped guitar tone, 210 BPM, brutal and dense |
| Melodic death metal | melodic death metal, harmonized minor-key riffs, blast and d-beat mix, harsh vocals with clean choruses, 180 BPM, epic and tragic |
| Technical death metal | technical death metal, dissonant sweep riffs, odd meters, hyperspeed double kick, fretless bass runs, 220 BPM, dizzying and precise |
| Black metal | black metal, raw tremolo picking, relentless blast beats, shrieked vocals, lo-fi cold production, 210 BPM, frostbitten and hostile |
| Atmospheric black metal | atmospheric black metal, washed tremolo walls, distant shrieks, reverb-soaked blast beats, ambient synth pads, 170 BPM, vast and desolate |
| Doom metal | doom metal, glacially slow downtuned riffs, mournful clean vocals, heavy cymbal crashes, 62 BPM, crushing and sorrowful |
| Stoner metal | stoner metal, fuzzed-out fat riffs, loose groovy drums, bluesy vocals, vintage amp saturation, 96 BPM, hazy and heavy |
| Sludge metal | sludge metal, feedback-drenched downtuned riffs, screamed vocals, dragging tempo, muddy bass, 78 BPM, oppressive and bitter |
| Groove metal | groove metal, syncopated chugging riffs, pocket-heavy drums, barked vocals, thick midrange tone, 120 BPM, swaggering and punishing |
| Nu metal | nu metal, detuned 7-string riffs, hip-hop influenced drum grooves, rap-sung vocals, scratch accents, 95 BPM, angsty and bouncy |
| Metalcore | metalcore, breakdown chugs, melodic lead hooks, screamed verses and clean choruses, double kick, 165 BPM, cathartic and anthemic |
| Deathcore | deathcore, ultra-low breakdowns, blast beat verses, pig-squeal and growl vocals, tight modern production, 180 BPM, violent and crushing |
| Progressive metal | progressive metal, shifting odd time signatures, extended instrumental sections, clean and harsh vocal mix, 140 BPM, ambitious and technical |
| Djent | djent, polyrhythmic palm-muted 8-string chugs, ambient clean interludes, tight compressed drums, 120 BPM, mechanical and spacious |
| Power metal | power metal, galloping double kick, neoclassical guitar leads, operatic high vocals, orchestral keys, 175 BPM, triumphant and fantastical |
| Symphonic metal | symphonic metal, full orchestra and choir with distorted guitars, soprano lead vocal, 150 BPM, grandiose and cinematic |
| Folk metal | folk metal, fiddle and tin whistle melodies over distorted riffs, group shout choruses, 160 BPM, rowdy and celebratory |
| Viking metal | viking metal, epic minor riffs, horn-like synths, chanted male choirs, mid-paced drums, 130 BPM, majestic and battle-ready |
| Industrial metal | industrial metal, programmed mechanical beats, sampled noise, distorted riff loops, processed vocals, 125 BPM, cold and hammering |
| Gothic metal | gothic metal, mournful guitar leads, velvet clean vocals with female counterpoint, keyboard strings, 90 BPM, dark and romantic |
| Post-metal | post-metal, long dynamic builds, tremolo swells to crushing riffs, sparse screamed vocals, 80 BPM, cathartic and monumental |
| Blackgaze | blackgaze, shoegaze guitar walls with blast beats, buried distant screams, shimmering reverb, 165 BPM, beautiful and bleak |
| Speed metal | speed metal, frantic downpicked riffs, snare-driven gallop, piercing high vocals, 210 BPM, reckless and electric |
| Grindcore | grindcore, ultra-short blasts, scorching noise riffs, alternating growl and shriek, raw production, 240 BPM, chaotic and savage |
| Funeral doom | funeral doom, immense slow-decaying chords, cavernous growls, ceremonial percussion, 45 BPM, funereal and suffocating |
Raw data: /guide/reference/lists/metal-list.json · 27 entries
FAQ
How do I get blast beats?
Name them directly and keep the tempo above about 180 BPM; asking only for extreme metal usually returns mid-tempo double kick.
Do I have to use the whole metal cue line?
No. The lines are built from independent tokens, so you can keep the two or three that matter and drop the rest without breaking the grammar.
Can I mix this list with another one?
Yes — keep one rhythm description, one lead instrument, one production word and a single tempo. Competing rhythm descriptions are the usual cause of muddled results.