The Metal voice is a composition created in 1992 in collaboration with percussionist Arnold Marinissen, and it unfolds as a polyphonic "conversation"—perhaps evoking a dark night—between various, predominantly metallic voices. The piece explores the fusion of live-played sounds with modified percussion sounds emanating from tape. These sounds have been manipulated and modulated in their overtone structure using custom-developed computer programs. The pitches derive from five primary chords and a small melody that recurs in fragments throughout the work, while the five seamlessly connected sections evoke distinctly different moods within this "conversation." The speakers are positioned behind the instruments to ensure that the blending of tape sounds and live instruments remains uninterrupted by spatial separation.