Heaviness in
Metal Music
Production

'Heaviness in Metal Music Production' (HiMMP) explores heaviness as the metal genre's central quality feature. Our aim is to show how heaviness is created sonically, how leading metal producers define it, and how they meticulously control its various aspects when mixing recordings.

About HiMMP

Ever since Black Sabbath released their self-titled debut album in 1970, metal music has been on a quest for greater heaviness. This pursuit has led to increasingly extreme performances and specialised recording techniques. But it is not just about pushing the limits of human performance; advancements in music production, such as layering guitar sounds, enhancing drums, and digital editing, have played a crucial role in creating hyperreal performances and powerful, 'heavy' sounds. Our aim is to gain a better understanding of what defines 'heaviness', exploring how it is captured and conveyed in the production process.

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Our Approach

Heaviness in metal music results from a complex interplay of genre, composition, performance, and mixing techniques. We explore this intricate relationship to understand how these elements shape the producer's personal style, aesthetic vision, and adherence to genre conventions. By collaborating with eight producers on a single song, 'In Solitude', we study the diverse approaches to mixing the track and creating heaviness.

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The Researchers

Our research team comprises two experts in popular music and music technology, both with extensive experience in performing, producing, and studying music and audio engineering. They are joined by an international advisory board of music and music production specialists from Australia to Germany. More importantly, the project relies on the collaboration of eight world-renowned metal music producers, whose involvement is key to broadening our understanding of 'heaviness'.

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Access the Dataset

The dataset comprises the raw multi-track recording for own mixing experiments, the mixes and mixing stems of the producers, the video interviews, and many other things.

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