Re-Creating the Balrog Roar – Creature Sound Design Breakdown
In this post I break down the design process of recreating the iconic Balrog roar from The Lord of the Rings. I’ll cover recording techniques, source material, layering, and the sound design tools used to build the creature from scratch.
For me, the Balrog has one of the most iconic monster roars in Middle-earth. I grew up watching the films and it massively influenced me as a creative, eventually setting me on the path to becoming a sound artist.
If you haven’t already watched the main YouTube video for this project, check it out here:
Key Sound Design Techniques Used
- Field recording rocks and brick scrapes
- Vocal creature performances
- Hydrophone recordings for texture
- White noise, clothes iron sizzles and fire layers
- Pitch shifting and time stretching
- Layering and group compression
- Saturation and distortion for grit
Project Setup – Why I Recorded at 96kHz
Before recording anything, set your project and recorder to 96kHz.
I did a lot of pitch shifting for this redesign, and recording at 96kHz or higher is essential if you want usable recordings.
Higher sample rates help because they:
- preserve high-frequency detail
- reduce aliasing
- prevent harsh digital artefacts
This becomes especially important when pitching sounds down, which is a big part of creature sound design.
Audio Recorder
I used the Zoom H5studio for the majority of this re-design and trialed out the SSH-6e capsule. The capsule allows you to record in my favourite format: Mid Side.
Mid Side or M/S is a microphone technique made up of 2 mics to create a stereo signal.
- The Mid Microphone, usually cardioid or hypercardioid faces the center of the sound source.
- While The Side figure-8 microphone is positioned 90 degrees off-axis from the sound source.
Mid side is great for Sound Effects because you can expand or reduce the stereo image and even turn it into a pure mono signal. Allowing you to get a lot more flexibility out of your recordings.
The Secret Ingredient: The Red Brick
There were actually a few recordings I didn’t mention in the video.
I experimented with metal scrapes, dragging a metal shelf and toolbox across the ground to capture some extra textures. They sounded cool, but they didn’t quite match the character of the original Balrog sound.
One or two of those toolbox scrapes made it into the final design — but they’re very, very quiet.
For the most part, the red brick did the heavy lifting.
Honestly, that was a cracking find.
Recording the Red Brick
Why I Used a Propped-Up OSB Board
In the video I mention using “a propped up piece of OSB board”, but I didn’t really explain why.
By propping the board up slightly, it created a small air gap between the board and the floor. That gap allowed the board to vibrate and resonate more freely.
Because the OSB board could shake around slightly, it naturally produced a low rumbling resonance, which worked perfectly for the Balrog’s fiery presence.
Porous Rocks Matter
One of the key things I discovered is that the type of rock really matters.
The breeze block I first tried had been sitting outside in the rain, so it was slightly damp. That meant it slid more easily across the board.
But what I actually needed was friction.
That’s where the dry red brick came in.
It was:
- very dry
- slightly porous
- crumbly
Little pieces of brick were actually breaking off while I scraped it — and weirdly enough, that made it sound waaay better.
Those tiny fragments created a gritty bouncing effect, which resulted in this fiery furnace-like rumble.
Thinking about it now, these recordings would probably work brilliantly for earthquake rumbles or environmental shudders too.
Getting the Best Performance from the Brick
Performance is a huge part of sound design.
You don’t want five identical recordings.
You want five recordings that are similar but slightly different.
I experimented with:
- different scrape speeds
- varying pressure on the brick
- different movement patterns
- different surfaces
One interesting technique was dragging the brick with a long piece of rope across the entire OSB board.
This produced a much longer drag and created a natural rise in pitch, which ended up working really well for the creature movement.
These recordings were mainly used for the first part of the roar, when the Balrog is approaching the camera and you hear that intense sizzle and rumble texture.
Testing Other Surfaces
I also tested a few other materials:
- the workbench surface
- the underside of a chopped-up wooden desk
They both sounded decent, but neither had the same grit and character as the OSB board.
Sometimes the simplest surface ends up being the best one.
Slate, Granite & The Importance of Source Material
I also tried slate and granite, which sounded interesting but didn’t quite match the energy of the Balrog roar.
Here’s an early version using those materials before I discovered the red brick:
Early Re-Design
This is where I’ll stress something that every sound designer learns eventually:
Good source material beats heavy processing every time.
I tried loads of plug-ins and effects on the slate recordings to try and force them into sounding like the film version.
But the truth is, I was trying to change the recordings too much.
The red brick recordings that made it into the final version have barely any processing at all — mainly just EQ and a little saturation.
Because the source was already right, everything fit naturally into the scene.
Final Re-Design
The Crunchy Sizzle Layer
Floral Foam
You can hear the layer mixed in on the video but i'd like to briefly touch on this.
Floral foam can be picked up at garden centers for cheap in a big brick and its used for floral arrangements. It's a fantastic prop for recording sizzles as its super brittle and it crushes easily.
For the Balrog re-design I used some old samples recorded with the LOM Usi Pro microphones. I had a handful of small pieces which I squished and moved around in my hands.
Floral Foam
Hydrophone Recordings
One layer I didn’t mention in the video was from a DIY hydrophone recording.
I had a hydrophone being dragged, tumbled and smashed around by pebbles in the sea.
Normally hydrophone recordings sound very watery and sloshy, but because the pebble impacts were so loud, it created more of a crackly, crunchy texture.
That ended up working perfectly as an extra sizzle layer.
Hydrophone Recording
Vocalisations – Using Your Own Voice
Your own voice is one of the best tools for creature sound design.
It’s extremely performative, and you can create loads of material just by experimenting.
Things I recorded included:
- growls
- breaths
- grunts
- screams
- clicks
In the video I show a Predator-style clicking sound.
I also tried recording it through a toilet roll and cardboard kitchen roll tube. The tube works a bit like the body of an acoustic guitar, resonating and colouring the sound.
Honestly, the tube version was probably better and easier to perform.
I actually used a similar clicking technique previously for a creature redesign of the Clickers from The Last of Us and for this old TikTok video (watch here).
White Noise for Fire Movement
I also used a white noise layer in a free synth called Vital.
By adding tremolo, I was able to create movement within the noise. The tremolo speed gradually increases as the roar intensifies.
At the same time, a low-pass filter removes low frequencies, which helped the sound feel like it was heating up.
It almost works like a riser effect.
The Clothes Iron Recording
Another unexpected sound came from a clothes iron.
After recording some air bursts from the iron, I flipped it upside down. The remaining water began to sizzle and fry on the hot surface.
That created a really nice crackling fire texture.
Clothes Iron Sizzles
Processing the Final Roar
Because the source recordings were strong, the processing stage was actually pretty simple.
The roar mostly came together by layering the different elements and balancing them in the mix.
The main effects used were:
- EQ
- compression
- panning
- tremolo
- pitch shifting
- time stretching
- saturation
- distortion
Nothing too crazy. Just solid fundamentals used well.
EQ
EQ was used heavily on the red brick layers.
By cutting different frequency ranges on each recording, I was able to create contrast between the layers and introduce subtle movement.
The roar also rises in pitch over time.
Think about how a person shouts loudly. The sound starts deep in the chest and gradually moves higher as the breath runs out.
I tried to mimic that behaviour.
Red Brick Re-Design Layers
Compression
Compression was mainly applied to group tracks.
Each category of sound (Red Brick, Fire, Vocals, etc.) was routed into its own group bus.
For example:
All Red Brick recordings → one stereo group track (bus)
That’s where compression was applied.
Music producers often call compression “glue”, and that’s exactly how it works here. By compressing the sounds together, they respond to the same gain reduction and start to feel like part of the same sonic world.
Panning
The panning simply follows the Balrog’s movement on screen.
The roar starts panned right, moves toward the centre, and then pans left as the Balrog walks across the frame.
Tremolo
Tremolo was only used on the white noise layer.
By automating the rate so it increases over time, the tremolo helps create a rising intensity within the roar.
Pitch Shifting
Pitch shifting was used mainly on the vocal layers.
I typically shifted my voice:
- 4-6 semitones down, or
- 1 octave down
Four to six semitones is a great starting point because it still sounds natural and avoids the overly artificial sound that heavy pitch shifting can create.
Again, recording at 96kHz helps preserve high-frequency detail when doing this.
Time Stretching
Time stretching was only used lightly.
I mainly used it on the vocal and brick layers to help match the timing of the Balrog’s movements on screen.
Saturation & Distortion
These were used sparingly because too much quickly muddied the mix.
A bit of saturation was added to a couple of brick layers to emphasise the sizzle character.
Distortion was also used lightly to add a bit of extra grit, crunch and weight, helping the redesign feel as powerful as the original sound.
Final Thoughts
That’s the full breakdown of how I recreated the Balrog roar.
It was a really fun sound to work on, and honestly one I’ll probably still love for years to come.
If this post has inspired you to try building the roar yourself, you can download the free Fire Monster Toolkit library and purchase the Rock Movements - Concrete Granite Slate library on the site.
Both are packed with great source material for creature sound design and are linked below:
Anyway, as always — peace out and big loves everyone.
Cheers for reading.
Watch the full video here:
Disclaimer: None of the links in this blog post are affiliate links