Metal Music - JamDojo

Metal is about power, precision, and aggression. This guide covers the essential techniques for creating metal sounds and rhythms in Strudel.

The Metal Kick Drum

Metal kicks are fast, punchy, and often doubled. Start with a tight kick sound:

sound("bd bd ~ bd bd bd ~ bd").fast(2).cpm(35)

Double bass drumming is a metal staple. Use euclidean patterns for machine-gun kicks:

sound("bd").euclid(15, 16).cpm(35)

Power Chords

Metal relies on power chords—root and fifth played together. Use low notes with distortion:

note("e2 e2 e2 ~ g2 g2 a2 ~")
.s("sawtooth")
.distort(4)
.lpf(800)
.attack(0.001)
.decay(0.1)
.sustain(0.8)
.release(0.1)
.cpm(35)

Stack the root with its fifth for thicker power chords:

stack(
note("e2 e2 e2 ~ g2 g2 a2 ~"),
note("b2 b2 b2 ~ d3 d3 e3 ~")
).s("sawtooth")
.distort(4)
.lpf(900)
.cpm(35)

Palm Muting

Palm-muted chugs are the backbone of metal rhythm guitar. Short, percussive notes:

note("e2*8")
.s("sawtooth")
.distort(3)
.lpf(600)
.attack(0.001)
.decay(0.05)
.sustain(0.1)
.release(0.05)
.cpm(35)

Accent certain notes for groove:

note("e2*8")
.s("sawtooth")
.distort(3)
.lpf(600)
.gain("1 0.6 0.6 0.6 1 0.6 0.6 0.6")
.attack(0.001)
.decay(0.05)
.sustain(0.1)
.release(0.05)
.cpm(35)

Blast Beats

Blast beats are extreme speed drumming. Alternating snare and kick at maximum tempo:

stack(
sound("bd sd").fast(8),
sound("hh").fast(16)
).cpm(50)

Thrash Metal Beat (180 BPM)

Classic thrash with driving double bass and snare on 2 and 4:

stack(
sound("bd").euclid(8, 8),
sound("sd").euclidRot(2, 8, 4),
sound("hh").euclid(8, 8),
sound("oh").euclidRot(2, 8, 2)
).cpm(45)

Death Metal Groove (140 BPM)

Slower, heavier, with syncopated kicks:

stack(
sound("bd").euclidRot(7, 16, 0),
sound("sd").euclidRot(2, 8, 4),
sound("hh").euclid(12, 16),
sound("rim").euclidRot(3, 16, 2)
).cpm(35)

Doom Metal (60 BPM)

Slow, crushing, and heavy. Less is more:

stack(
sound("bd").euclidRot(3, 8, 0),
sound("sd").euclidRot(1, 4, 2),
sound("hh").euclid(4, 8)
).cpm(15)

With crushing guitar:

stack(
sound("bd").euclidRot(3, 8, 0),
sound("sd").euclidRot(1, 4, 2),
note("e1 ~ ~ e1 ~ g1 ~ ~")
  .s("sawtooth")
  .distort(5)
  .lpf(500)
  .attack(0.01)
  .release(0.3)
).cpm(15)

Black Metal Tremolo

Tremolo picking creates a wall of sound. Fast repeated notes:

note("e4*16 g4*16 f4*16 e4*16")
.s("sawtooth")
.distort(4)
.lpf(2000)
.gain(0.4)
.room(0.3)
.cpm(50)

Djent Rhythm

Modern progressive metal uses syncopated, staccato rhythms:

note("e2 ~ e2 ~ ~ e2 ~ e2 ~ ~ ~ e2 ~ e2 e2 ~")
.s("sawtooth")
.distort(3)
.lpf(700)
.attack(0.001)
.decay(0.08)
.sustain(0.2)
.release(0.05)
.cpm(32.5)

With polyrhythmic drums:

stack(
sound("bd").euclidRot(5, 16, 0),
sound("sd").euclidRot(3, 16, 4),
sound("hh").euclid(9, 16),
note("e2 ~ e2 ~ ~ e2 ~ e2 ~ ~ ~ e2 ~ e2 e2 ~")
  .s("sawtooth")
  .distort(3)
  .lpf(700)
  .attack(0.001)
  .decay(0.08)
  .sustain(0.2)
  .release(0.05)
).cpm(32.5)

Gallop Rhythm

The classic “galloping” triplet feel, made famous by Iron Maiden:

note("e2 e2 e2 e2 e2 e2 g2 g2 g2 a2 a2 a2")
.s("sawtooth")
.gain("1 0.5 0.5 1 0.5 0.5 1 0.5 0.5 1 0.5 0.5")
.distort(2.5)
.lpf(1000)
.cpm(33)

With drums:

stack(
sound("bd").euclid(4, 12),
sound("sd").euclidRot(2, 6, 3),
sound("hh").euclid(12, 12),
note("e2 e2 e2 e2 e2 e2 g2 g2 g2 a2 a2 a2")
  .s("sawtooth")
  .gain("1 0.5 0.5 1 0.5 0.5 1 0.5 0.5 1 0.5 0.5")
  .distort(2.5)
  .lpf(1000)
).cpm(33)

Breakdown

The heavy, slow section that makes crowds go wild:

stack(
sound("bd ~ ~ ~ bd ~ bd ~"),
sound("~ ~ ~ ~ sd ~ ~ ~"),
note("e1 ~ ~ ~ e1 ~ e1 ~")
  .s("sawtooth")
  .distort(5)
  .lpf(500)
  .attack(0.001)
  .decay(0.1)
  .sustain(0.3)
  .release(0.1)
).cpm(20)

Full Metal Track

Combining everything—drums, rhythm guitar, and lead:

stack(
// Drums
sound("bd").euclid(7, 8),
sound("sd").euclidRot(2, 8, 4),
sound("hh").euclid(8, 8).gain(0.6),

// Rhythm guitar (palm muted)
note("e2*8")
  .s("sawtooth")
  .distort(3)
  .lpf(600)
  .gain("0.8 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.8 0.5 0.5 0.5"),

// Bass following root
note("e1*2")
  .s("sawtooth")
  .lpf(300)
  .gain(0.7)
).cpm(40)

Metal Subgenre Quick Reference

Subgenre	BPM	Key Characteristics
Thrash	180-220	Fast double bass, snare on 2&4
Death	120-160	Blast beats, syncopated kicks
Doom	50-80	Slow, heavy, sparse
Black	160-200	Tremolo picking, blast beats
Djent	120-140	Syncopated, polyrhythmic
Power	140-180	Galloping rhythms, major keys

What You Learned

Palm muting uses short attack/decay for percussive sound
Power chords stack root + fifth
.distort() and .lpf() shape the metal tone
Different subgenres have distinct BPM ranges and patterns
Blast beats alternate kick and snare at extreme speeds
Gallop rhythms use triplet accents (strong-weak-weak)