Learn to Master Metal Music - Complete Audio Mastering Guide

🎓 Mastering Basics

Understanding the fundamental concepts of audio mastering.

📏 LUFS (Loudness Units Full Scale)

What it is: The standard measurement for perceived loudness. Unlike dB which measures peaks, LUFS measures how loud your track actually sounds to human ears.

Why it matters: Streaming platforms normalize audio to specific LUFS targets. If your track is too loud, they'll turn it down - potentially losing quality.

Target Values:
• Spotify: -14 LUFS
• Apple Music: -16 LUFS
• YouTube: -14 LUFS
• SoundCloud: No normalization (louder = louder)

📈 True Peak (dBTP)

What it is: The absolute maximum level your audio reaches, including inter-sample peaks that can occur between measured samples.

Why it matters: If true peak exceeds 0 dBTP, distortion occurs. Streaming services require -1 dBTP to prevent encoding artifacts.

Don't exceed -1 dBTP! Even if it sounds fine on your system, it may distort when converted to MP3/AAC for streaming.

🎭 Dynamic Range

What it is: The difference between the quietest and loudest parts of your track, measured in dB.

Why it matters: Too little dynamic range (over-compressed) = fatiguing, lifeless sound. Too much = quiet parts disappear, loud parts hurt.

Sweet spots for metal:
• Death/Black Metal: 6-8 DR (more compressed, relentless)
• Power/Prog Metal: 8-10 DR (needs dynamics for contrast)
• Metalcore: 6-8 DR (punchy, controlled)

🎵 Frequency Spectrum

What it is: All the frequencies in your audio, from deep bass (20Hz) to highest treble (20kHz).

The bands:

Sub Bass (20-60Hz): Felt more than heard. Kick drum thump.
Bass (60-250Hz): Bass guitar, kick body, low guitars.
Low Mids (250-500Hz): Warmth OR muddiness lives here.
Mids (500Hz-2kHz): Guitar body, vocal presence, snare tone.
High Mids (2-4kHz): Attack, presence, clarity OR harshness.
Highs (4-8kHz): Cymbals, air, brightness.
Air (8-20kHz): Sparkle, openness.

🎛️ Metal Master Tools Explained

What each control in the app actually does.

🎚️ Input Gain

Adjusts the level going INTO the mastering chain. Use this to hit the sweet spot of your processors.

Recommended: Adjust so peaks hit around -6dB to -3dB before processing.

🎚️ Output Gain

Final volume adjustment AFTER all processing. Use to hit your target LUFS.

Recommended: Set to achieve -14 LUFS for streaming, -10 to -8 LUFS for max loudness.

🔥 Saturation/Warmth

Adds harmonic distortion that makes audio sound warmer, fuller, and more "analog". Simulates tape/tube saturation.

Metal Sweet Spot: 10-30% for warmth without mush. Higher for intentionally dirty sound.

Don't overdo it! Too much saturation = muddy, undefined low end and harsh highs.

🌐 Stereo Width

Expands or narrows the stereo image. Wider = more immersive. Narrower = more focused/mono-compatible.

Metal Sweet Spot: 100-120% for guitars, keep bass/kick centered.

Warning: Over 130% can cause phase issues and sound thin on mono systems.

📊 EQ & Frequency Shaping

How to shape the tonal balance of your metal tracks.

📉 Low Cut (High-Pass Filter)

Removes frequencies BELOW the set point. Cleans up rumble and sub-bass mud.

Metal: 30-40Hz for most tracks. Don't cut too high or you lose bass guitar weight.

🔊 Low Shelf (Bass)

Boosts or cuts all frequencies below a point. Use for overall bass weight.

Boost: +1 to +3dB for heavier low end

Cut: -1 to -2dB if muddy or boomy

🎸 Mid EQ (Parametric)

Surgical control over the midrange - where guitars and vocals live.

Common Metal EQ Moves:
• Cut 250-400Hz to reduce "boxiness"
• Boost 800Hz-1kHz for guitar body/punch
• Cut 2-4kHz if harsh/fatiguing
• Boost 3-5kHz for vocal clarity

✨ High Shelf (Treble)

Boosts or cuts all frequencies above a point. Controls brightness and air.

Boost: +1 to +2dB for sparkle and clarity

Cut: -1 to -3dB if too harsh or sibilant

🔊 Compression

Controlling dynamics for punch and power.

📊 Threshold

The level at which compression starts working. Signals above this get compressed.

Lower threshold = more compression (more signals affected)

Higher threshold = less compression (only peaks affected)

📐 Ratio

How much compression is applied. 4:1 means for every 4dB over threshold, only 1dB comes out.

2:1 - 4:1: Gentle, transparent compression

4:1 - 8:1: Moderate, noticeable control

8:1+: Heavy limiting territory

⏱️ Attack

How fast the compressor responds to signals crossing threshold.

Fast (1-10ms): Catches transients, controls peaks, can reduce punch

Slow (30-100ms): Lets transients through, preserves punch, controls sustain

For Metal: Medium-slow attack (20-50ms) preserves drum transients and guitar attack while controlling overall level.

⏱️ Release

How fast the compressor lets go after signal drops below threshold.

Fast (50-100ms): Pumping effect, can sound unnatural

Medium (100-300ms): Natural, musical

Slow (300ms+): Smooth, can reduce dynamics too much

🎛️ Multiband Compression

Compresses different frequency ranges independently. This is POWERFUL for metal because you can:

Tighten the bass without affecting guitars
Control harsh highs without dulling everything
Add punch to mids independently

Metal Multiband Tips:
• Low band: Tighter compression (4:1-6:1) for controlled bass
• Mid band: Moderate (3:1-4:1) to glue guitars
• High band: Gentle (2:1-3:1) to tame cymbals

⚡ Limiting & Loudness

The final stage - achieving competitive loudness without destroying your mix.

🧱 Limiter Ceiling

The absolute maximum level your audio can reach. Set to -1 dBTP for streaming safety.

Never set ceiling to 0 dBTP! You need headroom for encoding. -1 dBTP is industry standard.

🔊 Limiter Drive / Input

How hard you push into the limiter. More drive = more loudness but less dynamics.

Light (1-3dB reduction): Transparent, dynamic

Medium (3-6dB reduction): Loud, punchy, still dynamic

Heavy (6dB+ reduction): Very loud, squashed, fatiguing

The Loudness War is over. With streaming normalization, there's no benefit to crushing your master. Aim for 3-6dB of limiting maximum.

🎯 Target LUFS for Metal

Platform	Target	Notes
Spotify	-14 LUFS	Will turn down louder tracks
Apple Music	-16 LUFS	More conservative target
YouTube	-14 LUFS	Normalizes to -14
CD/Download	-10 to -8 LUFS	No normalization, go louder if desired

🎸 Metal Presets Guide

What each preset is optimized for and how to choose.

Preset	Character	Best For
💀 Death Metal	Crushing lows, scooped mids, tight attack	Brutal DM, tech death, slam
🎸 Melodic Death	Balanced, clear harmonies, controlled aggression	Gothenburg style, melodeath, modern death
⚡ Thrash Metal	Punchy, tight, aggressive mids	Classic thrash, crossover, speed metal
🏔️ Black Metal	Cold, atmospheric, raw highs	Black metal, atmospheric black, DSBM
👑 Power Metal	Epic, soaring, clear vocals	EUPM, symphonic, epic metal
🎭 Progressive	Dynamic, detailed, wide stereo	Prog metal, djent, technical
🎪 Metalcore	Modern, punchy breakdowns, clear screams	Metalcore, deathcore, modern metal
🏭 Industrial	Aggressive, electronic elements, driving	Industrial metal, cyber metal

Not sure which to use? Start with the preset closest to your subgenre, listen critically, then tweak. Most AI-generated metal works well with Thrash or Melodic Death presets.

💡 Pro Mastering Tips

Advice from experience - avoid common mistakes.

✅ DO

Reference against professional releases in your genre
Take breaks - ear fatigue leads to bad decisions
Check on multiple systems (headphones, speakers, phone)
Use presets as starting points, then tweak
Trust the meters - if LUFS says -14, it's -14
Export and listen the next day before releasing

❌ DON'T

Over-compress - loudness isn't everything
Add too much bass - it eats headroom fast
Master at high volume - you'll miss problems
Expect mastering to fix a bad mix
Use heavy EQ boosts - cut instead of boost
Rush - spend time getting it right

🎯 Quick Workflow

Load & Analyze - Check current LUFS, peaks, issues
Choose Preset - Pick closest to your genre
EQ First - Shape the tone, fix problems
Compress - Control dynamics, add glue
Limit - Achieve target loudness
A/B Compare - Toggle before/after
Export - WAV for quality, MP3 for sharing

Learn to Master