Does this sound familiar – You start writing a song, you come up with some different riffs, maybe program some dope ass grooves but have no idea what to really do with them and how they will come together as a song.

This is probably because you did not start writing with a vision in mind.

Now don’t get me wrong – having a vision does not mean you will be boxed in, and it will kill your creativity. When you think about a song structure you think of something definitive, but that is not my intention at all. It’s only to help you write with more focused intent.

If you are writing Metalcore, don’t just start writing a bunch of disconnected riffs. Open Spotify/Youtube or whatever and listen to what the top metalcore bands are doing. Listen to the top charts, the newest bands, and create a vision for your song.

If you want literally anyone other than your friends to listen to your music, then spend time understanding what is working and define your songs vision based on that.

You might enjoy the big open riffs from Erra and the prog-metal violent drums from Monuments so study both and see how you could combine the two. 

And a major part of this process, see how the songs are structured. How many breakdowns do these bands typically have in a song, how many times is the chorus repeated, how long are the verses, and so on.

This is not to get you to stuck in a box but to help get an idea of how and why the top bands are writing the way they do.

But this process can be a pain, so I have made it much easier. Below is a link to a Google Sheet where I have broken down the structures of 100 songs from 20 different metal bands.

Use the song structures from these metal giants and use them to take inspiration for your own songs. And it’s completely free!