7 Underrated Mellow Songs from Metal Bands

When people think metal, most would think loud, head banging, and brutality. But some of your favourite heavy bands have laid down some soft, emotional tracks that you may not have heard of. So here’s a list of 7 softer tracks that we think deserve some lovin’.

If It Means A Lot To You – A Day To Remember

Kicking off the list is one that you probably know, but it’s still a beauty of a song. Featuring a sad, yet passionate tone, A Day To Remember really tug on the heart strings in this one. Both Jeremy McKinnon’s soft clean tone, and the feature of Sierra Kusterbeck’s silky, melodious vocal work, add a lot of depth to this track. There’s some beautiful acoustic guitar work that’s complimented by some tasty lead guitar and plenty of “la la la’s“. And it sounds even better live! So make sure to check A Day To Remember out on their upcoming tour!

All Fucked Up – The Amity Affliction

Although this track has only just dropped (check out our album review here), we reckon it won’t get the love it deserves. Amity finally let Ahren Stringer become the centre of a track in All Fucked Up, and he sounds better than ever. Backed by some killer acoustic work, calm drumming and background screams from Joel Birch, Ahren uses his soothing clean vocals to deliver a tender song. Of course it wouldn’t be an Amity track without the inclusion of a children’s choir too. We hope it gets played on their upcoming sold out national tour.

Vermillion Pt 2 – Slipknot

Throwing back to a classic heavy band, Slipknot dropped this touching song back in ’04 to contrast it’s heavier first part. Corey Taylor uses his baritone-style vocals along with atmospheric harmonies to convey the deep lyrical content on mental health. Vermillion Pt 2 features two acoustic guitars, a cello and a piano which carry on the melody from the first part. The track really shows the incredible songwriting abilities of Slipknot as a band, and they’re ability to switch from a heavy, fast-paced band to bunch of emotional softies. Check them out on their huge Aussie tour!

Heartburn – Architects

Heading over to the UK now, metalcore lads Architects dropped a sweet acoustic track Heartburn back in 2012. Trading Sam Carter’s brutal vocals and distorted guitars for a clean style and acoustic guitars, this track really shows off the diversity that Architects have. The verses are passionate and the choruses sound crisp and epic. The later parts of Heartburn are really impressive and emotional, before toning down for a tear-inducing finish. Make sure to catch them when they support Bring Me The Horizon next month!

Blue – Stepson

Giving the local Brisbane lads a shoutout, the melodic hardcore four-piece delivered a charming, slow track on their EP ‘Echoes In An Empty Room’. Blue has a clever mix of both clean and unclean vocals, and although the majority is screaming, it’s an emotional track that Stepson put a lot of thought into. Beginning with acoustic guitar, the tune adds other instruments as it goes on before turning the intensity up to 10 for a killer finish. Have a read of our review of their Foundry Records show here.

Lost In Hollywood – System Of A Down

Despite being a raucous band, and having plenty of intense tracks, System Of A Down stripped things back in this one. The first part of the track features purely the harmonising vocals of Daron Malakian and Serj Tankian and some skilled yet delicate guitar work. Some lead guitar and gentle drumming get introduced to round out the intricate tune. Lost In Hollywood explores the viciousness of trying to achieve fame in Hollywood and its repulsing issues that are covered by its extravagance. Much like Slipknot, System Of A Down are a classic band that know how to create emotive music with heavy music themes.

Wildflower – In Hearts Wake

Aussie hardcore heavyweights In Hearts Wake showed their softer side when they presented Wildflower at the back end of their breakthrough album ‘Earthwalker’. The track was written following the death of a close friend who was given 9 months to live due to cancer. Much like Stringer in All Fucked Up, Wildflower shows off the clean style of talented vocalist Kyle Erich. The atmospheric, solemn guitar strums are woven in beautifully throughout, along with some clever rhythm work in the second verse. Wildflower builds with emotion before the band explodes into a massive 30 second finish. We’ll admit, it got some waterworks from us when we heard it live.