How to Use Toontrack Modern Metal EZX for Huge Drums

Modern metal drums are a constant point of debate. We’ve all heard programmed drums that sound plastic, robotic, and totally devoid of life. The blast beats sound like a machine gun firing ticks, and the fills have zero groove. But we’ve also heard programmed drums, often built with powerful tools like the Toontrack Modern Metal EZX, that sound absolutely monstrous, real, and full of energy.

So what’s the difference? It’s not the samples themselves. It’s how you use them.

Modern Metal EZX is a beast of a library, produced and engineered by Will Putney (Fit For An Autopsy, The Acacia Strain, Thy Art Is Murder). It’s packed with five unique kits meticulously sampled to deliver the punch and clarity needed for today's metal. But just loading up a preset isn't enough to get a track that rips. You need to get under the hood and treat this virtual instrument like a real drummer.

Let’s break down how to take the raw power of the Modern Metal EZX and turn it into a final, mix-ready drum performance.

What's Inside the Toontrack Modern Metal EZX?

Before we start programming and mixing, it helps to know what you’re working with. The Modern Metal EZX isn't just a random collection of hits; it's a curated arsenal of drum tones built for aggression.

• The Drums: You get five full kits, including a Mapex Saturn, a Tama Starclassic, a C&C Custom, and more. This isn't just about different sounds; it's about different characters. The Mapex might have a tighter, more focused punch, while the C&C kit could offer more resonance and body.
• The Cymbals: A huge range of Sabian and Zildjian cymbals are included, giving you everything from cutting chinas to glassy rides.
• The Presets: Will Putney provides a ton of mix-ready presets that serve as fantastic starting points. They showcase how he would process these drums for different styles of metal.
• The MIDI: The EZX comes loaded with MIDI grooves performed by a real drummer. These are invaluable for studying how dynamics and feel are created.

The real power here is having access to raw, expertly recorded drum sounds. This gives you the control to shape them into something that fits your song, not just a generic metal track.

Making Programmed Drums Sound Human

The number one reason programmed drums sound fake is that they’re too perfect. No human drummer, not even the best in the world, hits the drum in the exact same spot with the exact same force every single time. Our brains are wired to pick up on these subtle imperfections. When we hear a sample that’s identical on every hit, quantized perfectly to the grid, our brains check out. It becomes noise.

The key is to inject that human imperfection back into the performance.

Velocity Is Your Secret Weapon

In your DAW's MIDI editor, velocity controls how hard a note is struck. In a multi-layered library like Modern Metal EZX, velocity does more than just control volume. A snare hit at a velocity of 127 (the maximum) will trigger a completely different sample than a hit at 90. The 127 hit is a full-on, rimshot crack, while the 90 might be a fatter, centered strike.

This is where you build dynamics.

• Vary Your Main Hits: Even on a straightforward beat, don’t set all your snare hits to 127. Try alternating between 120 and 127. It’s a subtle difference that your ear will perceive as more natural.
• Ghost Notes: Program light snare hits (velocities around 30-50) between the main backbeats to create groove and movement.
• Build Your Fills: A real drummer's fills naturally build and release energy. Start your fills with slightly lower velocities and ramp them up into the crash cymbal.

Don't just draw in notes; think like a drummer. Which hand is hitting which drum? How would their energy change throughout the phrase?

Taming the Grid: Smart Quantizing

The temptation to quantize everything to 100% is strong, but it’s a feel-killer. You want the precision of a modern metal performance, but with just enough human variation to make it breathe.

This is where partial quantizing comes in. Instead of snapping every hit perfectly to the grid, try quantizing at around 85-95%. This tightens up the performance significantly but preserves some of the original timing nuances.

For something extremely technical, like a bomb blast, you need to be precise. The interplay between the kick and snare is paramount. But even here, 100% quantization can sound sterile. Mixer Dave Otero (Cattle Decapitation, Archspire), for example, will often tighten blast sections to around 90%, getting them incredibly tight without making them sound robotic. It’s this tiny 10% of "feel" that makes all the difference.

Processing Your Modern Metal EZX Kit

Once you have a great-sounding MIDI performance, it’s time to mix. The raw samples in the EZX are fantastic, but they need shaping with EQ and compression to carve out their space in a dense wall of guitars and bass.

The Kick: Combining Click and Thump

The modern metal kick needs to do two things: provide a solid low-end foundation and cut through the mix with a sharp attack.

• EQ: Use a parametric EQ to shape the tone. A common approach is a boost around 60-80Hz for weight, a deep cut in the 300-500Hz range to remove boxiness, and a boost somewhere between 4kHz and 8kHz to accentuate the beater’s “click.”
• Compression: A fast-attack compressor, like a plugin modeled after a Distressor or an 1176, can emphasize the transient and add punch. Set a fast attack and release to shape the initial hit without squashing the drum's body. Getting this right is crucial, and understanding the fundamentals of a great metal compression strategy is a game-changer.

The Snare: Getting Crack and Body

Your snare needs to have a powerful "crack" to cut through the mix and enough "body" to sound weighty.

• EQ: Boost the fundamental frequency (usually 150-250Hz) for body. Find the "crack" of the snare, often between 5kHz and 8kHz, and give it a slight boost. If you hear any annoying ringing, use a narrow EQ cut to surgically remove it.
• Parallel Compression: Send your snare to an aux track and absolutely crush it with a compressor. Blend this heavily compressed signal back in underneath the main snare track. This adds thickness and aggression without destroying the natural transient of the original hit.
• Reverb: A touch of reverb gives the snare space. Use a plate or a short room reverb and send the snare to it. You can even gate the reverb so it cuts off quickly, giving you a sense of size without washing out the mix.

Cymbals and Overheads: Control the Fizz

Cymbals can quickly build up harsh, fizzy frequencies that make a mix painful to listen to. The goal is to make them sound bright and clear, not harsh.

• High-Pass Filter: The first move on your overheads track should almost always be a high-pass filter. Roll off everything below 300-500Hz to remove kick and snare bleed and clean up the low-end mud.
• Surgical EQ: Just like with guitars, cymbals have nasty frequencies. Use a narrow EQ band to sweep through the high end (3kHz-10kHz) and find any harsh, ringing tones. Pull those frequencies down. This is the key to a polished, professional sound. Learning how to properly apply EQ to modern metal guitars teaches you the same skills needed for taming cymbals.

Bringing It All Together

Using a tool like Toontrack Modern Metal EZX is about more than just finding a good sample. It’s a three-step process:

1. Choose the Right Voice: Select the kit and samples that match the vibe of your song.
2. Create a Human Performance: Use velocity, smart quantization, and musical phrasing to program a part that feels real.
3. Mix with Intention: Use EQ, compression, and effects to make the drums punch through and sit perfectly in your track.

These techniques are the foundation of a killer modern drum sound. But imagine watching the pros who created the albums you love—engineers like Will Putney, Kurt Ballou, and Jens Bogren—apply these concepts in a real session.

That's exactly what you get at Nail The Mix. Each month, you get the actual multi-tracks from a massive metal song and watch the original producer mix it from scratch, explaining every single decision. You're not just learning tips; you’re learning a complete workflow. See how these world-class instructors tackle everything from drum programming and sample replacement to dialing in the final master bus.

If you’re ready to go beyond the basics and see how these tools are used to create professional records, check out the full catalog of Nail The Mix sessions.