How to Make Metal Music: Riffs, Double Kicks and Big Vocals From One Prompt (2026)

TL;DR

Learning how to make metal music the traditional way means a down-tuned guitar, a drummer with two fast feet and a singer who can hit the high notes or scream on cue. With AI you describe those parts instead: open the AI metal generator, and the Prompt box already holds a complete power metal idea, knights, a dragon, operatic vocals and double bass drums. Tap one of the six "Start from a vibe" tiles to hear a finished example and load the exact prompt behind it, then press Generate Music for Free. One run costs 10 credits, takes about a minute and returns two songs.

In this guide

• What makes metal music sound like metal
• Step by step with the AI metal generator
• Writing a metal prompt that works
• The six metal vibes on the page
• Common metal mistakes
• Choosing a model
• After the song is made
• FAQ
• Final take

What makes metal music sound like metal

Metal music is a family, not one sound, but the members share a handful of ingredients. Each one below is something you can write into the prompt.

• The subgenre comes first. Heavy metal, power metal, metalcore, symphonic metal, djent and doom differ more from each other than pop differs from rock. Naming the subgenre is the single most useful word you can type.
• Guitar tone and tuning. Distorted, palm-muted and often tuned down. Galloping riffs, twin guitar harmonies, chugging drop-tuned guitars, eight-string palm-muted riffs and crushing down-tuned riffs each point the model at a different era.
• Drums. Fast double bass drums drive power metal; metalcore adds half-time breakdowns; djent wants tight, syncopated kicks that follow the riff; doom crawls. Write fast double bass drums, heavy breakdowns or massive slow drums.
• Tempo. Doom can sit around 60 BPM, djent often around 120, classic and power metal run much faster. Put the number in the prompt. The model follows it roughly, not to the exact beat.
• Vocal style. Metal has the widest vocal range of any genre: soaring high male vocals, operatic female vocals, clean choruses, screams and growls. Say which one, and whether it changes between verse and chorus.
• Extras. Keyboards, choirs and full orchestras belong to power and symphonic metal. Guitar solos belong almost everywhere. Name them if you want them.
• The story. Metal lyrics lean on big themes: riding into the horizon, oaths and dragons, surviving hard times, ice queens. A clear theme gives the model something to shout about.

Step by step with the AI metal generator

1. Open the AI metal generator. It is the same form as the main AI music generator, pre-set for metal. The Prompt tab is selected and the model picker in the top right shows v6 Mini, the free tier.
2. Read the preset. The Prompt box already says: An epic power metal song about knights swearing an oath to protect their kingdom from a dragon, operatic high male vocal, fast double bass drums, keyboard fanfares and a huge choir chorus. Instrumental Only is off, so the result will be sung. Under the box sit the chips (library, + Lyrics, Image, Video, Audio, Instrumental Only), the Inspiration genre row, the Number of Songs to Generate stepper set to 2 and the Public switch.

3. Tap a vibe to hear it. One tap on a "Start from a vibe" tile plays that vibe's example song and copies its prompt into the Prompt box, and it sets Instrumental Only to match. Tap Classic heavy metal and the prompt changes to the 80s anthem about riding toward the horizon, while the player bar at the bottom starts Iron Horizon: Classic Heavy Metal.

4. Browse the examples. Further down the page, all six examples are listed with their length and tags. Each was made on v6 from exactly the prompt on its tile, so you know what a prompt can do before you spend credits on it.

5. Open an example's song page if you want to read along. Iron Horizon has its cover, a play button, Share, its tags and the full lyrics, starting with "The highway thins beneath the morning sun".

6. Press Generate Music for Free. The note underneath says Sign up free and get 16 credits — no credit card required. A run costs 10 credits and returns two songs from the same prompt. They will be new songs in that style, not a copy of the example.
7. Listen to both takes. The two will differ in riffs, melody and arrangement. Keep the heavier one, or both.

Writing a metal prompt that works

The six presets all follow the same pattern, and it is worth copying: subgenre + story + voice + band + one special ingredient.

• Open with the subgenre and era. A classic 80s heavy metal anthem or djent progressive metal instrumental. Early words carry the most weight.
• Give it a story in one clause. about surviving hard times and coming back stronger. The model writes lyrics from this, so be specific. If you would rather write the words yourself, switch to the Own Lyrics tab (lyrics up to 5,000 characters, a style box up to 1,000 characters and a title up to 80), or draft them first in the AI lyrics generator.
• Describe the voice, and where it changes. screamed verses and a soaring clean sung chorus tells the model exactly how metalcore is structured.
• Name the guitars and drums in metal words. galloping twin guitar harmonies, chugging drop-tuned guitars, fast double bass drums.
• Add one extra. A blazing solo, keyboard fanfares, a huge choir chorus or a full orchestra. More than two extras and the mix gets crowded.
• Instrumentals: say so and switch it on. Write instrumental in the prompt and turn on Instrumental Only, as the djent and doom presets do. Then add a tempo: 60 BPM, 120 BPM.
• Stay within the limit. The Prompt box takes up to 500 characters. The presets use about 200, which is plenty.

For a broader list of words that reliably change the sound, see our Suno prompts guide.

The six metal vibes on the page

These are the six tiles on the AI metal generator, with the exact prompt behind each example. Tap the tile to load it, or paste the prompt yourself.

The metalcore example shows the verse-to-chorus switch working: its chorus opens with "I'm still here, with my whole heart beating", sung clean after screamed verses.

Two more ideas of our own, untested, built on the same pattern:

• Thrash metal song about a city waking up to a storm, fast aggressive shouted male vocal, 180 BPM, rapid palm-muted riffs, snare-heavy drums, two trading guitar solos
• melodic death metal instrumental, 150 BPM, harmonized lead guitar melodies, blast beats in the verses, cold wintry atmosphere

Common metal mistakes

• Just writing "metal". "Metal music" is not a style the model can pin down. The model has to guess between six very different sounds. Name the subgenre.
• No vocal direction. Without it you may get clean singing where you wanted screams, or the opposite. Say growls, screams, operatic or clean.
• Forgetting Instrumental Only. Writing "instrumental" helps, but the switch is what makes sure nothing is sung.
• Too many extras. Orchestra, choir, keyboards, solo, acoustic intro and a string quartet in one prompt turn into mush. Pick one or two.
• Asking for a band. Describe the era, tuning and vocal style instead of naming an artist. You get an original song in that spirit.
• Judging from one take. Each run gives two. If both miss the same way, change the prompt. If only one does, keep the other.

Choosing a model

The picker at the top right of the form offers three models. v6 Mini is the free tier, "Fast drafts, high volume", and it is what new accounts use. v6 ("Most powerful, for any song") and v6 Wild ("Best for experimental ideas") need a paid plan. The six examples above were made on v6. Metal is dense music, with fast drums, layered guitars and sometimes an orchestra on top, so a sensible routine is to draft on v6 Mini and then run a prompt you like on v6. Every run costs 10 credits on any model; see pricing for plans.

After the song is made

• Make it longer. Want a second solo or a longer outro? Extend Song continues a track from any point. Our guide to extending a song explains where to cut.
• Fix one part. If the bridge is weak but the rest is great, Replace Section regenerates just that stretch.
• Try a different style. Cover Song re-performs the song in another style, handy for turning a metal track into an acoustic version.
• Split the vocal off. The vocal remover separates the song into two stems, vocals and instrumental, so you can play guitar or drums along with the band.
• Add pictures. The AI music video tool turns the song into a video.
• Download. Downloads come with a plan; see pricing.

Heavy music has close neighbours on the site: the AI rock generator for classic and hard rock, the AI punk generator for short and fast songs, and the game music maker or AI instrumental generator when you need an instrumental for a scene.

FAQ

Can AI metal music have screaming and growling vocals?

Yes. Ask for screamed verses, growls or harsh vocals in the prompt, and combine them with a clean chorus if you want, as the metalcore preset does.

Can I make instrumental metal?

Yes. Turn on Instrumental Only and write "instrumental" in the prompt. The djent and doom tiles on the AI metal generator are both instrumental, at 3:43 and 4:04.

How do I control tempo and tuning?

Write them into the prompt: 120 BPM, drop-tuned, down-tuned, eight-string. There is no separate BPM or key field. The model usually honours the numbers roughly rather than exactly.

How long are the songs?

Usually three to five minutes. The six examples range from 3:43 to 5:36. Use Extend Song for more.

Is it free?

New accounts get 16 free credits with no card, enough for one run of 10 credits and two songs on v6 Mini. More credits come from a plan or a credit pack.

Can I use AI metal commercially, on YouTube or on Spotify?

Commercial use is included only on the Standard plan and above, the 2,500+ credit packs, and Team plans. Songs made with free credits, the Starter plan or the Mini credit pack are for personal use only. Check pricing before you monetize a video or release a track.

Can I keep my songs private?

Yes, on a paid plan: switch Public off before you generate. On the free tier songs are public.

Final take

Knowing how to make metal music with AI comes down to naming the right parts: the subgenre, the guitars, the drums, the voice and a story worth shouting. The six vibes on the AI metal generator give you six proven prompts, from a 5:36 heavy metal anthem to a 60 BPM doom crawl. Tap one, listen, change one detail, and generate your own.