Dance With The Dead "Hex" Serum Tutorial & Breakdown

We’re back with another breakdown, and this time we’re heading to the darker side of the genre. Dance With The Dead is a band from Los Angeles, California, known for a dynamic blend of dark electronic music that draws heavily on synthwave, darkwave and industrial. Where a lot of synthwave is all neon sunsets and nostalgia, their music feels more like the soundtrack to an 80s horror movie: heavy, intense and full of tension.

Together, Justin and Tony have built a signature sound that’s both nostalgic and forward-thinking. The retro synths and 80s influences are all there, but they’re pushed harder and hit with far more weight than you’d expect from the genre, which is a big part of why the band stands out.

“Hex” is a great example. It grabs your attention with its haunting atmosphere and relentless energy, and it never lets go. Every sound in the track has a clear role, from the low end that drives it forward to the layers on top that create the eerie mood, and that makes it a perfect track to remake if you want to learn how darker synthwave is put together.

In this tutorial, we remake its sound design in Serum and show you how to make each sound step by step:

RELATED BREAKDOWNS

• Carpenter Brut "Turbo Killer" Breakdown
• Gunship "Tech Noir" Breakdown
• The Weeknd "Open Hearts" Breakdown

The Bass

This track kicks off with a beautifully distorted bass that sets the tone. To recreate it, start with oscillator A using the ICanHasKick wavetable, pitched one octave down. For oscillator B, choose the Basic_Wrd wavetable and drop it two octaves. In the sub oscillator, go with a saw wave, also two octaves down. Next, set LFO 1 to a sixteenth-note rate and use it to modulate the levels of all oscillators as well as the filter cutoff. Now here's where the magic happens: in the FX tab, select the Diode 2 distortion type and set the drive to 50% and the mix to 70%. This is crucial for the gritty, powerful sound of this bass.

The Pad

Recreating this pad was no easy task. To nail the tone, we had to get creative with layering, blending two layers to capture the depth and richness of the original.

Layer 1

This layer has an almost vocal-like, ethereal quality. Start with the Dull_Toy wavetable in oscillator A and the Prime wavetable in oscillator B. Set envelope 1, which controls the overall volume, with an attack of 400 to 500 ms for a smooth swell. Then set the filter to cut everything above 5 kHz. Finally, in the FX tab, drench the sound in reverb and delay for a dreamy, atmospheric vibe.

Layer 2

This second layer brings back the high frequencies we cut in the first one. Start with the ICanHasKick wavetable in oscillator A, and in oscillator B use the SQR_SAW_Wrd wavetable pitched one octave up, with 8 voices on each oscillator. Again, set envelope 1 with an attack of 400 to 500 ms to keep the smooth swell. Then, in the FX tab, use an EQ to cut some of the lows, and add chorus and Hyper/Dimension for a wider stereo image.

The Synth

This synth comes in during the second part of the track and is pretty straightforward. Start with a triangle wave in oscillator A and a SawRounded wave in oscillator B, each with 8 voices. Use envelope 1 with a short decay of around 350 ms to modulate the filter cutoff. In the FX tab, add distortion in Zero-Square mode with the drive at around 70% and the mix at 50%, and that's all you need.

The Pluck

In the third section, we introduce a pluck that's all about precision. Start with the Basic Mg wavetable in oscillator A and the SQR_SAW_Wrd wavetable in oscillator B, both pitched one octave up, and add a square wave in the sub oscillator for extra depth. The pluck comes from the short decay: envelope 1 has a 470 ms decay and modulates the wavetable position of both oscillators, adding subtle movement and character.

The Arp

My favorite part of the track comes in at the end with this wonderfully resonant arp. Start with a Jno wavetable in oscillator A and a Basic_Mcb wavetable in oscillator B, both set to 7 voices. Then set the filter to cut everything above 2 kHz with the resonance at 45%. That's what gives the arp its distinct, resonant quality.

For the final touches, go to the FX tab and add the Formant 2 filter. Use an LFO set to a 1-bar rate to modulate both the cutoff and formant knobs. Finish it off with a compressor in multiband mode, and you're all set.