How to Write the Lyrics for a Metal Song

2024 Author: Samantha Chapman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 09:13

The motto of metal music is: "Now that you don't believe in anything, find something worth believing in". When it began to develop with Black Sabbath, metal music hit society's most basic beliefs about politics, religion and morality. Although the words emerged through screams and shouts, the lyrics were more than just gory verses. They embodied the counterculture for those who rejected the free love movement of the 1970s but failed to adapt to social norms. More than looking at metal as a traditional song, it is easier to associate this genre with epic, narrative or dramatic poems. That said, here's the eight-step wikiHow on how to write lyrics for a metal song.

Steps

Step 1. Understand the meaning behind metal music

Metal is considered a "counterculture", in the sense that it is opposed to the "normal, functional and banal culture dominant in society [and], being outside what was in power, the counterculture exponents claimed to be able to see what was real ". So before you start writing, erase any preconceived ideas about a particular topic.

Step 2. Choose a topic

Metal music focuses on the darker topics that correspond to the heaviness of music and shuns the "popular" beliefs of society. Topics often challenge the listener's political, religious, emotional, philosophical, and / or social beliefs. Pick a topic you have experience with or have a strong relationship with - it will make the rest of the process much easier.

Popular topics of metal songs include war, personal anguish, mental illness, mythology, tragedy, death, hatred, intolerance, corruption and love

Step 3. Gather your ideas on the topic

After you have chosen the topic, you should take the time to articulate your thoughts about it. Unlike popular music, metal derives from real "truths" rather than perceived "morals" or popular "beliefs" on the subject.

1. Start from the "company point of view".

   Think of what the culture promotes as the correct "belief" or "morality" in the debate on that topic. It will be easier if you can find a belief that is counterintuitive, paradoxical or illogical, such as "war for peace", "murder for religious reasons" or "blaming the victim".

2. Show the difference with experience-based examples.

   Take a real-life example, personal or fictional, that challenges the current belief behind this argument. How did your experience challenge society's point of view?

3. Take note of any other reasoning, point of view, or fact regarding this topic.

   What kinds of things do people say about the subject? What promotes these beliefs? What are the consequences of this ethical belief? Who suffers the consequences?

4. Find a "truth" within the argument.

   Based solely on examples that challenge that view, what truths can you logically derive from them? This truth will become the main thrust of your song.

   

   Step 4. Start weaving the basic elements of the song together

   Unlike the rest of popular music, there is no standard format, such as "verse-chorus-verse-chorus". Instead, create your structure based on the topic. Is there an important message that can be repeated? Do you want to provide a conclusion to the listener? Here are some basic elements of the dramatic structure you can put in:

   • What is the crescendo?

     What examples or personal experiences can you include to get the listener to agree with the main "truth" of your song?

   • What's the climax?

     Can you create a moment in which the listener can reject the social norms or the absolute "morals" to which he adhered?

   • What is the conclusion?

     What did these examples teach the listener? What have you learned?

   

   Step 5. Develop and articulate the lyric composition

   Do not strictly follow "metric schemes" or "poetic rules". Many popular metal songs don't necessarily rhyme or follow traditional rules. Instead, just weave together the fundamental elements you created in the previous step. Tell your "story" to the listener.

   

   Step 6. Consider using one or more literary devices to add depth to the song

   Literary figures that work particularly well in metal music include personification, allegory, imagery, symbolic image, metaphor, and synecdoche. Some useful ways to find out which tricks will work with your topic:

   • What popular images are associated with that topic? (Metaphors, allegories, personifications, councilors, etc.)
   • What observations can you draw from this topic? (Symbolic images, etc.)
   • Is there any narrative or mythological text from which you can draw something? (Metaphors, allegories, etc.)

   

   Step 7. Develop the sound to accompany with the lyrics

   

   Step 8. Review the song and, if necessary, correct it

   Sometimes the music doesn't go well with the sound. Then play the music and sing the lyrics to find out where these discrepancies lie. Then correct the music or sound to match the emotion that supports what you say and hear.

   Method 1 of 1: Example: Black Sabbath's "War Pigs"

   

   Step 1. Black Sabbath intended to create the metal counterculture

   Their fans were often made up of a youth deprived of the right to vote who felt no connection with the free love movement of the 1970s or the social norms of that period. They dealt with topics that directly concerned these young people and what was happening in the world at the same time.

   

   Step 2. They chose the subject of war

   This argument was perfect for a time when the United States used military force to achieve political change. Through this choice, they could speak out against the basic "American" beliefs that underpinned the war effort.

   1. Social beliefs: society believed that war would bring peace.
   2. Experiences: war generates more pain, suffering and destruction. Politicians start the war because they don't have to face those tragedies themselves.
   3. Other remarks: who fights is the poor, people die en masse, generals guide the soldier towards certain death.

   4. The truth : politicians have the power and abuse it.

      

      Step 3. Black Sabbath then began to weave these basic ideas together in the song "War Pigs"

      They focused less on the metrics, giving more attention to creating an intense story with a crescendo, climax and conclusion.

      1. Growing up: "Generals Gathered in Their Piles", "Bodies Burning in the Fields" and "Evil Minds Planning Destruction" are all examples of realistic experiences and observations that the Black Sabbaths have employed.
      2. Climax: "Politicians are hiding" and "Wait until their day of judgment" provides support through examples: in the end the politicians will be found guilty of what they did.

      3. Conclusion: "Now, in the dark, the world stops spinning" and "War pigs no longer have the power" make it clear that, eventually, people will rise up and take power back from the hands of politicians. This provides a solution to the problems that have arisen in the crescendo.

         

         Step 4. Black Sabbath began to articulate these basic elements of the song together

         They found ways to assemble the lines and create a "story". They linked the crescendo to the climax with the line "Oh, Lord, yes!" which heralds the conclusion of the day of judgment.

         

         Step 5. Literary devices were employed to add depth to the song

         The Black Sabbath transformed these facts and experiences concerning the war into something more meaningful and symbolic through literary devices. They intertwined these ideas throughout the song, focusing primarily on the literary figure of the personification of the "pigs of war".

         • Popular images of "tanks", "cars" and "battlefields" are all references featured in the song.
         • Observations are also represented such as the masses being brought together and a game of chess being played.
         • The song uses fictitious and mythological images such as "sorcerers" and "witches".

         Advice

         • Don't throw the texts you create in the trash - you may not like them now, but they will come in handy later for future projects.
         • Listening to some metal bands while you write could help your fluency. If you want a thrash song, listen to Metallica. If you want a massive but emotional song instead, listen to Disturbed or Stone Sour.
         • It is helpful to "not think" about what you are writing. Instead, let it come out on its own.
         • If you have writer's block, stop for a while or get someone to help you think about something.
         • Don't worry if your lyrics sound bad to you - others may love them.