Metal Mastering Guide
Guitar density, drum separation, brick-wall power
Exact LUFS targets, EQ profiles, and compression settings for mastering Metal music on every major streaming platform. From Spotify and Apple Music to Beatport and Audiomack.
Metal LUFS Targets. All Platforms
| Platform | LUFS Target | True Peak | Dynamic Range | Full Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
🟢Spotify | -14 LUFS | -1 dBTP | 4-7 LU | Full spec → |
🍎Apple Music | -16 LUFS | -1 dBTP | 4-7 LU | Full spec → |
▶️YouTube | -14 LUFS | -1 dBTP | 4-7 LU | Full spec → |
🌊Tidal | -14 LUFS | -1 dBTP | 4-7 LU | Full spec → |
☁️SoundCloud | -11 LUFS | -0.5 dBTP | 4-7 LU | Full spec → |
🎵TikTok | -14 LUFS | -1 dBTP | 4-7 LU | Full spec → |
🎧Audiomack | -13 LUFS | -0.5 dBTP | 4-7 LU | Full spec → |
🎛️Beatport | -9 LUFS | -0.3 dBTP | 4-7 LU | Full spec → |
🎨Bandcamp | -14 LUFS | -1 dBTP | 4-7 LU | Full spec → |
📸Instagram / Reels | -14 LUFS | -1 dBTP | 4-7 LU | Full spec → |
📦Amazon Music | -14 LUFS | -1 dBTP | 4-7 LU | Full spec → |
🎶Deezer | -15 LUFS | -1 dBTP | 4-7 LU | Full spec → |
Metal EQ Profile Overview
Core EQ principles for Metal mastering. Platform-specific adjustments are in each guide below.
Guitar density: Scoop 200–400 Hz slightly to reduce muddiness from heavy downtuned guitars.
Presence: Boost 2–5 kHz for guitar presence and vocal intelligibility through the density.
Kick clarity: High-pass kick at 50 Hz. Boost 60–80 Hz body and 2–4 kHz click for punch.
Bass clarity: Cut 200–300 Hz from bass guitar to separate it from the guitar low-mid density.
Metal AI Track Fixers
Generated your Metal track with Suno, Udio, or another AI? Fix the specific artifacts.
Fix 5 common artifacts
Fix 5 common artifacts
Fix 5 common artifacts
Fix 5 common artifacts
Fix 5 common artifacts
Fix 5 common artifacts
Metal Mastering. Platform Guides
Metal Mastering FAQ
What LUFS for metal on Spotify?
-14 LUFS integrated. Metal can push hard. A 4–7 LU dynamic range at -14 LUFS is competitive and powerful. Over-limiting at -8 LUFS will be normalized down anyway.
How do I prevent the mix from sounding muddy in the master?
Cut 200–400 Hz with a multiband compressor or EQ to clear guitar mud. This is the most common metal mastering problem. Also ensure bass guitar has its own frequency space by cutting its 200–300 Hz slightly.
How does heavily compressed metal sound on Spotify?
Spotify normalizes to -14 LUFS, so an over-limited -8 LUFS metal master gets turned down to the same volume as a well-mastered -14 LUFS version, while sounding squashed and fatiguing. Master at the target LUFS with maximum 7 LU dynamic range.
Other Genre Mastering Guides
Upload a track to
instantly master
Choose a file or drag it here
Supports WAV · FLAC · MP3 · M4A · AIFF