Crafting the Sound of Heavy, Death, and Metalcore

What is it about?

Metal music has evolved into many subgenres, and so have the techniques used to produce it. Our research explores how professional producers craft the sound of contemporary metal. We analysed dozens of hours of video footage from the 'Nail the Mix' educational series, where top producers mix tracks from heavy metal, death metal, and metalcore bands while explaining their decisions. We found that while subgenres have distinct sounds—for example, a more 'natural' feel in heavy metal versus an ultra-precise, 'hyperreal' sound in death metal—production is a creative balancing act. Producers make highly specific artistic choices to achieve core metal aesthetics like 'heaviness' and 'aggression' while still reflecting the unique vision of the band.

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Photo by Krys Amon on Unsplash

Photo by Krys Amon on Unsplash

Why is it important?

While much has been written about historical metal production, there is very little academic research on how contemporary metal records are actually made. Our work provides a rare look 'under the hood' by systematically analysing 'Nail the Mix' video tutorials. This unique data allows us to see and hear producers' decision-making processes in real-time, going beyond just analysing the finished song. We show that modern metal production is a highly nuanced craft. Our key finding is that a producer's choices are driven less by rigid subgenre formulas and more by a sophisticated negotiation between the artist's vision and the producer's own expertise. This highlights the producer's role as a creative artist and challenges the idea that genres are defined by a fixed set of production rules.