10 Music Mixing Apps Every Metal Producer Needs in 2025

Forget what you heard about needing a million-dollar studio and a major label deal to make a killer metal record. That’s the old-school gatekeeper mentality, and it’s dead. We’re in a golden age for metal musicians, and it’s all thanks to the insane power packed into the software sitting on your computer right now.

The barrier to entry has been obliterated. You don’t need anyone’s permission. You just need a computer, a decent interface, and the drive to learn. The tech that was once exclusively in the hands of top-tier producers is now accessible to anyone. Modern metal production isn’t about having the most expensive gear; it’s about having the right tools and, more importantly, knowing how to use them to craft a sound that’s brutal, clear, and competitive.

These aren’t just "apps" in the mobile game sense. These are the workhorses—the DAWs and plugins that the pros are using to mix chart-topping records from their own studios. Here are 10 music mixing apps you absolutely need to know about.

1. Reaper: The DIY Powerhouse

If there’s one Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) that embodies the modern metal producer’s spirit, it’s Reaper. It’s ridiculously affordable, endlessly customizable, and light on your CPU, which means you can throw massive sessions at it without your computer melting. For metal, its power lies in its workflow. You can build custom actions and macros for tedious tasks like editing multi-tracked drums, saving you hours of mind-numbing clicks. It doesn’t hold your hand, but it gives you the raw power to build a workflow that’s perfectly tailored to you.

2. Superior Drummer 3: The End of Bad Drum Sounds

Let’s be real. A lot of bands say they want a "natural" drum sound, then they show you a reference track where the drums are 100% sample-replaced and sound like cannons. That’s the sound of modern metal, and Toontrack’s Superior Drummer 3 is the king of creating it. It’s more than a sample library; it’s a complete drum production studio. You can use it to augment a live kit, completely replace poorly recorded drums, or write earth-shattering drum parts from scratch with its built-in grid editor and groove library. The level of detail, from bleed control to microphone selection, is just insane.

3. Neural DSP Archetypes: The Amp Locker In Your Laptop

Remember the days when you’d spend hours dialing in a guitar tone with a real amp and cab, only to have a mic get bumped or realize the tone doesn’t fit the mix a week later? The Kemper Profiling Amp helped solve that, but Neural DSP took it to the next level for in-the-box production. Their Archetype plugins (Gojira, Petrucci, Plini, etc.) aren’t just amp sims; they’re entire signal chains curated by the artists themselves. The ability to get a mix-ready, world-class guitar tone instantly—and change it at any point in the process—is a complete game-changer. No more committing to a tone and being stuck with it forever.

4. FabFilter Pro-Q 3: The Surgical EQ

Every metal mix is a battle for frequencies. You need guitars that are huge but don’t mask the vocals, a bass that’s felt but doesn’t muddy the kick, and cymbals that sizzle without tearing your head off. FabFilter Pro-Q 3 is the ultimate tool for this fight. Its visual interface lets you see exactly what you’re doing, and its dynamic EQ function is a lifesaver. Got a nasty, piercing frequency in the guitars that only pops out on certain palm mutes? Don’t scoop the life out of your tone—use Pro-Q 3’s dynamic band to clamp down on it only when it appears. This is how you surgically remove harshness and create space in a dense mix.

For a deeper dive into these techniques, learn how to make Pro-Q your secret weapon for aggressive metal mixes.

5. FabFilter Pro-C 2: The Modern Dynamics Toolkit

Compression in metal is about more than just controlling volume; it’s about shaping aggression and creating punch. FabFilter’s Pro-C 2 is a Swiss Army knife for dynamics. It has multiple "styles" that emulate different classic compressor types. Use the "Punch" style to make a snare drum explode, the "Bus" style for gluing your drum group together, or the "Vocal" style for transparently leveling a screaming performance. Its sidechain EQ makes it incredibly easy to, for example, have the kick drum duck the bass guitar at 60Hz to give each its own space.

Want to master these concepts? We’ve got you covered with our guide to the secrets of using an audio compressor.

6. Melodyne: The Secret Weapon for Vocals (and Bass)

Tuning technology gets a bad rap from people who don’t understand it. In modern metal, it’s not about making a bad singer sound good; it’s about achieving a level of tightness and perfection that the genre demands. Melodyne is the industry standard. Use it to subtly tighten up a pitchy scream, create perfect vocal harmonies, or—a pro trick—to tune the sub-frequencies of a bass guitar DI. We’ve seen legacy bands from the 90s get their minds blown when they hear their bass locked perfectly in tune with the guitars for the first time. This is one of those technologies that, when used right, makes everything sound more powerful.

7. Soundtoys Decapitator: Aggression and Vibe on Tap

Sometimes a clean, digital mix can feel a little sterile. It needs grit. It needs attitude. Decapitator is the go-to plugin for adding analog-style saturation and harmonic distortion. Slap it on a bass track to help it cut through on small speakers, put it on a drum bus to add cohesive glue and aggression, or even use it subtly on a master bus to give the whole track a bit more character. It’s like the digital version of running your signal through a cranked mixing console, and it’s an essential tool for adding that "vibey" character to your mixes.

8. Logic Pro X: The All-In-One Creative Suite

For Mac users, Logic Pro X is an incredible value. It comes packed with a massive library of high-quality stock plugins, virtual instruments, and loops that are more than capable of producing a professional-sounding record. Its workflow is intuitive for musicians, making it a fantastic platform for writing, recording, and mixing. While many producers eventually expand their toolkit with third-party plugins like the ones on this list, you can get unbelievably far with just what’s inside Logic.

9. Pro Tools: The (Former) Industry Standard

You can’t talk about mixing without mentioning Pro Tools. For decades, it was the DAW you’d find in every major studio. Its editing and mixing workflows are still considered top-tier by many old-school engineers. While its subscription model and hardware requirements have made DAWs like Reaper and Logic far more popular for the home studio producer, it’s still important to know what it is and why it dominated for so long.

10. FabFilter Pro-L 2: The Final Gatekeeper

You’ve finished your mix, and it sounds awesome. But when you compare it to a commercial release from a band like Periphery or Gojira, it’s just… quieter. That’s where a mastering limiter comes in. FabFilter’s Pro-L 2 is one of the best in the business for getting your track loud and competitive without completely crushing the life out of it. Its various limiting algorithms and true peak limiting make it an indispensable final step to ensure your music translates across all platforms, from Spotify to Bandcamp.

Putting It All Together… Where Skill Meets The Tools

Having these music mixing apps is one thing. Knowing how to wield them like a pro is something else entirely. The bar for musicianship has skyrocketed because everyone has access to the tools and education. It’s an amazing time to be a creator, but it also means that the only thing holding you back is your own skill.

You can have the best plugins in the world, but if you don’t know how the top producers get that skull-crushing guitar tone, that punchy kick drum, or that crystal-clear vocal, you’re just guessing.

That’s where Nail The Mix comes in. We give you the multitracks from massive metal songs and let you watch the original producer—people like Will Putney, Jens Bogren, and Joey Sturgis—mix them from scratch, explaining every plugin, every setting, and every decision along the way. It’s the ultimate shortcut to learning how to use these tools to create pro-level mixes.

Ready to stop guessing and start mixing with confidence? Unlock your sound and see how the pros do it, step-by-step.