5 Free Chorus Plugins That Crush on Metal Guitars

Chorus and metal. The two might seem like an odd pairing, like a Les Paul and a cup of tea. But dig into some of the most iconic metal tones of all time, and you’ll find chorus lurking in the shadows, adding that special sauce. From the searing leads of Zakk Wylde and Dimebag Darrell to the swirling clean tones of '80s thrash and the textured atmospheres of modern prog, chorus is an essential tool.

But let’s get one thing straight. Chasing the "perfect" plugin can be a massive waste of time and money—a classic case of Plugin Acquisition Syndrome. The truth is, your skills as a mixer matter infinitely more than your plugin folder. A great free chorus in the hands of someone who knows what they're doing will always beat a $200 boutique plugin used blindly.

So, instead of draining your wallet, let’s focus on the good stuff: killer-sounding chorus plugins that cost you nothing. Here are five of the best free chorus plugins you can download today and start using to add width, depth, and character to your metal mixes.

Why Even Bother With Chorus in Metal?

Before we dive into the list, let's quickly cover where a chorus effect actually fits into a heavy mix. At its core, a chorus works by duplicating your audio signal, slightly detuning it, and delaying it by a few milliseconds, all modulated by a low-frequency oscillator (LFO). This creates the illusion of multiple instruments playing at once, resulting in a sound that’s thicker, wider, and has a sense of movement.

In a metal context, you can use it for:

• Iconic Lead Tones: This is the big one. Slap a chorus on a high-gain lead patch to get that instantly recognizable, '90s-era liquid sustain and stereo spread.
• Widening Clean Guitars: Turn a mono clean guitar part into a lush, stereo soundscape. Perfect for intros, bridges, or any time you need to create space and atmosphere.
• Subtle Rhythm Thickening: Use it sparingly on a heavy rhythm guitar bus to add a touch of width. Be careful here—too much can smear the transients and create phase issues.
• Making Bass Cut: A touch of chorus on a bass guitar, especially one played a pick, can help it slice through a dense mix and add some upper-mid grind.
• Synth and Pad Textures: If you use synths in your productions, chorus is your best friend for adding life and movement to static pads.

The List: 5 Killer Free Chorus Plugins

1. TAL-Chorus-LX

If you’re after that classic, instant ‘80s sound, look no further. The TAL-Chorus-LX is a legendary free plugin that flawlessly emulates the chorus section of the Roland Juno-60 synthesizer. It’s dead simple to use, with just two buttons for two different chorus modes and a simple mix knob.

Why it’s great for metal:

• Instant Vibe: For those Metallica-esque clean intros or any time you need a vintage clean tone, this is the one. It has that sound right out of the box.
• No-Fuss Simplicity: There are no confusing parameters. Just turn it on and see if it works. This lets you make creative decisions quickly without getting bogged down in tiny adjustments.

Actionable Tip: Don't just stick it on guitars. Try it on a Rhodes-style keyboard part or a synth pad underneath a heavy riff section to add an underlying layer of melodic texture.

2. Acon Digital Multiply

On the other end of the spectrum is Acon Digital Multiply. This isn’t a simple one-trick pony; it’s a modern, versatile chorus that can go from subtle widening to full-on detuned chaos. It uses a phase-randomizing filter on each of its six voices to avoid the comb-filtering artifacts that can plague lesser chorus plugins.

Why it’s great for metal:

• Subtle Widening: Because it’s designed to be clean, you can use Multiply for subtle thickening on things like rhythm guitar busses or even vocals without it sounding obviously “effected.”
• Creative Sound Design: Crank the modulation depth and rate, and you can create some wild, dissonant textures perfect for industrial metal or horror-style sound design intros.

Actionable Tip: Use the built-in EQ to filter out the low end of the chorused signal. This prevents the effect from turning your low-end chugs into a muddy, phasey mess, keeping the palm mutes tight while widening the mids and highs.

3. Kilohearts Chorus

Part of the excellent Kilohearts Essentials bundle (which is all free), the Kilohearts Chorus is a workhorse. Like their other plugins, the UI is clean, simple, and resizable. You get all the essential controls—Rate, Depth, Delay, Width, and a Mix knob—without any of the fluff.

Why it’s great for metal:

• Clarity and Control: It’s a great middle-ground plugin. It gives you more control than the TAL-Chorus but isn’t as overwhelming as more complex options. Perfect for dialing in a specific amount of spread on a lead guitar.
• Low CPU Usage: It’s incredibly light on your system, so you can stack multiple instances without worrying about your DAW grinding to a halt.

Actionable Tip: Automate the "Rate" parameter on a clean arpeggiated guitar part. Start with a slow rate and gradually speed it up as the song builds into a heavy section for a cool transitional effect.

4. Blue Cat's Chorus

Blue Cat Audio has been offering solid free plugins for years, and their Chorus is no exception. It’s a very deep and tweakable chorus that can create anything from a light shimmer to a wild, bubbling vibrato. It can generate up to 1000ms of delay, letting you push it into flange and delay territory.

Why it’s great for metal:

• Deep Customization: If you're a tweaker, you'll love this. The ability to precisely control the delay time and modulation shape lets you tailor the effect to perfectly fit the tempo and feel of your song.
• Stereo Power: The "Spread" knob is fantastic for controlling the stereo image of the effect, letting you go from a centered, almost mono chorus to an ultra-wide wash.

Actionable Tip: Assign the Depth and Rate knobs to a MIDI controller. "Playing" the chorus in real-time on a sustained ambient guitar track can create evolving textures that feel organic and alive.

5. Azurite by Distorque

If you want a lush, multi-voice chorus that sounds rich and expensive, Azurite by Distorque is a fantastic find. It’s a multi-voice chorus with 2, 4, 8, or 16 voices that can create incredibly dense and smooth modulation.

Why it’s great for metal:

• Lush Atmospheres: For post-metal, shoegaze-influenced black metal, or any genre that relies on huge walls of sound, Azurite excels. The multi-voice architecture creates a wash of sound that’s hard to achieve with simpler chorus units.
• Low-Frequency Control: It includes a "LFO HP" (High-Pass) knob that filters the low end out of the modulator, which is crucial for keeping your tone tight and articulate.

Actionable Tip: Use the 8 or 16-voice mode on a send/aux track. Send your clean guitars to it, then put a long, shimmering reverb after the chorus in the chain. This creates a massive ambient wash that you can tuck underneath the main mix.

Beyond the Plugin: It’s How You Use It

Grabbing one of these freebies is a great first step. But remember our main point? The tool is secondary to the skill. Some of the most revered producers in metal, like many of the Nail The Mix instructors, could produce an earth-shattering mix with nothing but stock plugins because they’ve mastered the fundamentals.

The Danger Zone: Phase and Parallel Processing

Chorus plugins, by their very nature, mess with phase. They create a copy of your signal and delay it. If you put a chorus on a parallel aux track and your DAW’s delay compensation isn’t perfect, you can create a phase nightmare that thins out your sound. This is why it’s critical to listen for phase issues (a hollow, weak, or "comb-filtered" sound) whenever you're using time-based effects in parallel. Sometimes, it's safer to use the chorus as an insert on the track itself.

Signal Chain is Everything

Where you place the chorus matters immensely.

• Chorus before high-gain creates that chewy, aggressive, almost phasey sound you hear on Nirvana's Come As You Are.
• Chorus after high-gain gives you a cleaner, more distinct stereo widening effect, classic for Zakk Wylde or '80s rock leads.

Don’t forget about EQ. Smartly EQing your metal guitars before the chorus can prevent a build-up of mud. A high-pass filter is your best friend here.

Taking It From "Good" to "Pro"

Downloading a great free plugin is easy. Knowing exactly when to use it, how to EQ it so it doesn't clash with the vocals, and how to use it with compression to make it sit perfectly in a dense, aggressive mix? That's a different skill entirely.

This is exactly where Nail The Mix comes in. Imagine watching producers like Will Putney, Jens Bogren, or Nolly Getgood mix a real song from bands like Gojira or Architects from scratch. You get the raw multitracks to mix alongside them and watch as they apply these very effects, explaining every single decision along the way. You don’t just learn what they did; you learn why they did it.

If you’re ready to move beyond just collecting plugins and start mastering the techniques that pro mixers use every day, check out the full catalog of NTM sessions and see for yourself how the best in the business build world-class tones.