Metal fuses in semiconductor devices may be formed on the basis of additional mechanisms for obtaining superior electromigration in the fuse bodies. To this end, the compressive stress caused by the current-induced metal diffusion may be restricted or reduced in the fuse body, for instance, by providing a stress buffer region and/or by providing a dedicated metal agglomeration region. The concept may be applied to the metallization system and may also be used in the device level, when fabricating the metal fuse in combination with high-k metal gate electrode structures.