Metal Drumming: An Introduction

Okay, so now we're going to start thinking about metal drumming.

Origin of Metal Drumming

Metal drumming originated as a sort of extension of rock. In the 1970s, many rock bands began to develop a heavier style. Bands like:

• Led Zeppelin
• Black Sabbath

These groups were essentially rock bands, but they took the genre to a slightly different level. Later, other bands like Metallica and Slayer took it even further. Music is always developing, and today, genres are perhaps a little more blurred.

The Excitement of Blended Genres

This blending of influences is exciting, as it allows for a variety of sounds and styles. One song I often mention to my students when discussing heavier rock is:

"Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin

The reason I bring this up is that it includes quite a lot of fast bass drum patterns, making it great for developing bass drum technique.

Heel Up vs. Heel Down

I talked a little bit about heel-up versus heel-down techniques, as well as the heel-toe method, where you combine both. For me, playing this type of groove, I definitely prefer the heel-up position to achieve speed and maintain a more even volume in all those bass drum notes.

However, some may successfully use the heel-down technique—it's ultimately up to you.

Sound Dynamics in Metal Drumming

Other elements that affect the sound we aim to achieve include:

• Loud music: You might want to have the hi-hat slightly open.
• Snare technique: Play the snare harder and louder. You might even want to turn the stick over, as discussed previously. A lot of rock players use this for a very consistent backbeat.

The snare drums typically land on beats two and four.

John Bonham: A Drumming Legend

Now, about this Led Zeppelin groove—I'll do my best to do it justice. John Bonham was a brilliant drummer, and we owe a lot to him. Here’s my little version of it:

• Hit the hi-hats with a bit more attack.
• Play the snare louder.
• Keep the bass drums consistent.

Naturally, when playing multiple 16th note bass drums in a row, the volume may vary slightly. However, with this style of music, we want to keep everything as even as possible—both in volume and in power.

Developing Coordination

We're going to focus on developing coordination by playing different voices in unison, which we haven't done yet. It’s important to ensure that when we play a hi-hat and bass drum together, they really land together—avoiding any flams.

What is a Flam?

A flam is a rudiment where we play intentionally slightly out of time. For grooves like this, we want to maintain a solid pulse. So, let’s make sure everything is landing together.

Now, let's get on with the examples!