What makes a good rock / metal song ?

Claire Abe — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 14:50:51 +0000

Hey !

Today, we meet to discuss a topic that I find very interesting: What makes a good rock/metal song?

A few days before, I was on YouTube and I came across the video of Nik Nocturnal whose title is ” How to write the best metal riffs in 8 minutes“

Following this video, I asked myself the question above.

So I decided to take my computer, and share my thoughts with you! Or rather try to arrange my ideas on this subject and present them to you.

So let’s go

MUSIC

You know that when your head or your foot moves by itself to the rhythm of the music you are listening to, there is something gained. Let’s call it physics or whatever, but the fact is : something in this music, whether it be the cadence? or the chords used have an effect (unconscious or not) on your body when you listen to it.

Speaking of which, are you one of the people (like me) who get chills listening to certain songs? That too, is an indication that the music you are listening to is causing something in you, evoking some kind of emotion.

Besides, we call it the skin orgasm ! (which is more fun than the French version that we can translate as musical shiver)

Anyway, the physical side, whether it is by moving his body or feeling this now famous skin orgasm, is for me a beginning of the answer on what makes a rock/metal song good.

LYRICS

Ah lyrics! There are those who don’t care, and those who attach importance to them.

I agree that lyrics have an effect on the success of a song. I like to know what the artist expresses through it, even if it is by devious ways such as poetry or metaphors. Let’s take a typical example: Bob Dylan doesn’t have what we call hyper-dancing songs, etc. But there is a certain emotion and a real message behind his songs that engages people to appreciate his work.

But I can also understand, at the other end, that you just want to be able to have fun listening to a song without getting bogged down in understanding the lyrics. If you don’t speak the language and everything, it’s a double puzzle. For example, the few times I listened to BabyMetal, I didn’t understand anything they were saying but, actually, I didn’t care.

So, there’s always been this debate and, for me, it always comes down to the same thing: it depends on the people.

But one thing is certain: music has no language!

which brings me to the last point…

CONNECTION TO THE SONG / AUTHENTICITY

This third point is for me the MOST IMPORTANT!

Everything I mentioned above brings us back to this point. The connection you have with the song and the artist’s authenticity in his work.

I could ask you, who is reading this article right now, what are your favorite songs (why do you have to choose only one? it’s atrocious!) and there will be a great chance that they will be different from your friends, close people, etc. because they speak to you personally.

Whether it’s the theme, the way the chords go together or the way the singer sings. All this is deeper than you think. An artist will be adored by some while others do not recognize themselves in the values, themes associated with the song or artist.

So what makes a good rock / metal song ?

In my opinion, there’s not one answer to this question, there are billions. In the end, it all depends on what everyone decides is good or bad, their reaction to it.

It will result in you agreeing with a group of people who more or less share the same ideas. And this is what the media and other statistics base themselves on to find out what the public likes or doesn’t like.

This is my view on the subject! If you have comments or see things differently, I invite you to express yourself (with respect) . I don’t pretend to know everything, and maybe I’m wrong. I just tried to be objective, and this is what came out.

You can also like and share the article if you liked it.

Before leaving, I officially announce that if you like the caricatures on the blog, you can now order your OWN DRAWINGS on the Claire Abe Company website!

If you want to watch, you can click on the button below!

Claire Abe Company

See you soon !

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