How to Mix Modern Metal for Beginners

So, you want to learn how to mix music. Specifically, you want to mix modern metal that sounds absolutely crushing. Good. You’ve come to the right place.

Let’s be real: the bar for production quality in metal has never been higher. Back in the day, a local band could get away with a demo that sounded like it was recorded in a trash can. Today, even unsigned bands are dropping tracks that sound polished, massive, and pro-level. The gap between a bedroom producer and a top-tier metal producer is smaller than ever, but that also means the expectations are through the roof.

The good news? The tools and knowledge to achieve this are more accessible than ever. With a laptop, a few key plugins, and the right workflow, you can produce a legitimately pro-quality mix in your bedroom. This isn’t a guide on basic EQ scoops. This is a no-BS roadmap to mixing modern metal that slaps.

Your Bedroom Battle Station: Gear You Actually Need

Before we touch a single fader, let’s talk gear. You don’t need a multi-million dollar studio, but you do need a solid, reliable setup. Here are a couple of tiers to get you started.

The “I’m Broke But Serious” Setup (~$500)

You can get dangerously good results with a surprisingly modest budget. The key is to invest in the right places.

• DAW: Reaper ($60). It’s insanely powerful, customizable, and light on your CPU. The price is unbeatable for what you get.
• Interface: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. It’s the industry standard for a reason. Clean preamps, reliable drivers, and gets the job done.
• Headphones: Audio-Technica ATH-M40x. They’re flatter and more honest than their M50x cousins, which is what you want for mixing. You need to hear the truth, not a hyped version of your mix.
• Essential Plugins: Start with your DAW’s stock plugins—they’re more powerful than you think. Your first major purchase should be a modern guitar amp sim like one of the Neural DSP Archetypes. The value is insane and it solves the biggest hurdle for home-recorded metal.

The “Ready to Level Up” Setup (~$1500+)

When you’re ready to get more serious and invest in your sound, here’s where to put your money.

• DAW: Stick with Reaper, or move to an industry standard like Pro Tools or Logic Pro X.
• Interface: Universal Audio Apollo Twin. The preamps are a step up, and you get access to the UAD plugin ecosystem, which is full of killer analog emulations.
• Monitors: Kali Audio LP-6 or Yamaha HS5. Mixing on headphones is a great start, but studio monitors will give you a much more accurate picture of your stereo field and low-end.
• Drums: A professional drum library is non-negotiable for modern metal. GetGood Drums and Toontrack Superior Drummer 3 are the kings of the castle.
• Must-Have Plugins: FabFilter Pro-Q 3 (EQ), FabFilter Pro-C 2 (Compressor), and Slate Trigger 2 (Drum Sample Replacement). These three tools will appear in almost every professional metal mix session.

The Foundational Workflow: A Step-by-Step Mixing Guide

Got your gear? Fired up your DAW? Let’s get to work. This is a battle-tested workflow for building a modern metal mix from the ground up.

Step 1: Gain Staging and Organization – Don’t Skip This

This is the boring-but-critical first step. Before you add a single plugin, organize your session.

1. Color-Code & Group: Color your drum tracks blue, bass green, guitars red, vocals yellow, etc. Route them to corresponding buses (Drum Bus, Guitar Bus, etc.). This makes navigating a 100+ track session manageable.
2. Gain Stage: Pull all your faders down. Adjust the clip gain on each individual track so that it’s peaking around -12dBFS and averaging around -18dBFS. This gives you tons of headroom and ensures your plugins aren’t getting slammed into oblivion.

Step 2: Building the Foundation with Drums

Modern metal is built on a foundation of punchy, aggressive drums. In many cases, this means sample replacement and enhancement.

• Kick & Snare First: Get your kick and snare sounding powerful on their own. This is where a tool like Slate Trigger 2 is your best friend. Blend in samples like the popular “Z_Snare_Top” or a punchy kick from a GGD library to add consistency and impact.
• Parallel Compression: Create a new aux track and send your entire drum bus to it. On this aux track, slap a compressor and absolutely nuke it. Think a fast attack, fast release, and 10-20dB of gain reduction. A FET-style compressor like a software 1176 works great here. Then, slowly blend that crushed signal back in underneath your main drum bus. This adds insane punch and fatness without sacrificing the natural dynamics. If you want to dive deeper, we have a whole guide on Parallel Compression.

Step 3: Taming the Low-End Chaos (Bass & Guitars)

With 8-string guitars tuned to Drop F# and five-string basses, the low-end is a warzone. Your job is to be the referee.

• The Bass and Kick Relationship: The kick drum and bass guitar can’t occupy the same space. Pick one to own the sub-bass (usually the kick) and one to own the low-mids. A classic trick is to sidechain a multi-band compressor on the bass to the kick drum. Set it so that every time the kick hits, it ducks the bass frequencies around 60-80Hz just a tiny bit. This creates space and makes both elements hit harder.
• High-Pass Your Guitars: This feels wrong at first, but it’s essential. Use an EQ to cut the low-end from your rhythm guitars. You might be cutting everything below 80Hz, 100Hz, or even higher. This lets the bass guitar have its own space and prevents your mix from turning into a muddy mess. The “chug” you love from guitars is often higher up in the frequency spectrum than you think.

Step 4: Carving Space with Surgical EQ

EQ isn’t just about making things sound “good”; it’s about making everything fit together. Think of it like a puzzle.

• Cut, Don’t Just Boost: Your first instinct should be to cut frequencies to solve problems. Guitars sound muddy? Find the boxy frequencies around 300-500Hz and pull them down with a narrow Q on your FabFilter Pro-Q 3.
• Kill the Fizz: You know that nasty, harsh, “bees in a can” sound on heavily distorted guitars? That’s high-frequency fizz. Use a narrow EQ band to find it (often somewhere between 5kHz-10kHz) and surgically remove it. This cleans up the tone without making it sound dark.
• Create Pockets: If the guitars and vocals are fighting for space in the midrange, decide which one wins. Carve a little bit out of the guitars around 1-3kHz to make a pocket for the vocals to sit in.

Every move should have a purpose. For a masterclass on this, check out our guide on EQ strategies for modern metal.

Step 5: Vocals That Cut Through the Wall of Sound

Getting a screaming or singing vocal to sit on top of a dense metal mix is a challenge. It requires aggressive compression and smart enhancement.

• Compression Stacking: Instead of one compressor doing 10dB of work, use two or three in a row each doing 2-3dB of work. For example, start with an 1176-style plugin for fast peak control, followed by an LA-2A-style plugin for smooth, overall leveling.
• Saturation: Use a saturation plugin like FabFilter Saturn 2 or Soundtoys Decapitator to add harmonic distortion. This helps the vocal cut through the mix on smaller speakers and adds perceived loudness and aggression without actually turning up the volume.

Step 6: The Magic of Bus Processing & Automation

Your mix is sounding good, but it doesn’t sound like a cohesive record yet. This is where bus processing comes in.

• The “Glue”: On your main mix bus, add a stereo compressor. The goal isn’t to crush the mix, but to “glue” it together. A VCA-style compressor like a software SSL G-Bus Compressor is a go-to. Aim for a slow attack, auto-release, and just 1-2dB of gain reduction on the loudest parts. It’s a subtle move that makes a huge difference.
• Automate Everything: A static mix is a boring mix. Automate the volume of your guitars to come up slightly in a heavy riff and dip during a verse. Automate the delay throws on the last word of a vocal line. Automation is what brings your mix to life and gives it professional dynamics and excitement.

Where Do You Go From Here?

This guide gives you the fundamentals. You now have a solid framework to start mixing your own tracks and getting them 90% of the way there.

But what about that last 10%? The secret sauce that separates a great mix from a legendary one?

That comes from watching the pros do it. From seeing exactly which kick sample Joey Sturgis chose for a breakdown, how Will Putney dialed in the EQ on a guitar bus, or the specific reverb settings Nolly Getgood used on a clean section.

Reading about it is one thing. Seeing it happen, with the real multitracks from bands like Periphery, Gojira, and Lamb of God right in front of you, is a complete game-changer. That’s what Nail The Mix is. Every month, you get to be a fly on the wall as a world-class producer mixes a hit song from scratch, explaining every single decision.

If you’re ready to stop guessing and start learning the exact techniques the pros use to craft killer modern metal mixes, it’s time to go beyond the presets.

Unlock Your Sound: See How the Pros Mix Modern Metal with Nail The Mix