Blast beat

Last updated

Blast beat
Hammer Blast beat drum pattern
The most common and simple blast beat pattern is found in "Scum" by Napalm Death in 1987 at 1:18 Play Blast beat drum pattern most common and simple.png
The most common and simple blast beat pattern is found in "Scum" by Napalm Death in 1987 at 1:18 Play

A blast beat is a type of drum beat that originated in hardcore punk and grindcore, and is often associated with certain styles of extreme metal, namely black metal and death metal, [2] and occasionally in metalcore. In Adam MacGregor's definition, "the blast-beat generally comprises a repeated, sixteenth-note figure played at a very fast tempo, and divided uniformly among the bass drum, snare, and ride, crash, or hi-hat cymbal." [2] Blast beats have been described by PopMatters contributor Whitney Strub as, "maniacal percussive explosions, less about rhythm per se than sheer sonic violence". [3]

Contents

"The 'original' or traditional blastbeat is a single-stroke roll played between your cymbal and snare, with your kick playing simultaneously with every cymbal hit." [1]

Napalm Death is said to have coined the term, though this style of drumming had previously been used by others for its characteristically chaotic sound.[ citation needed ]

History

Antecedents in jazz and rock

Although most commonly associated with hardcore punk and extreme metal, the earliest forms of what would later become the blast beat are noted to have appeared in jazz music. A commonly cited early example that somewhat resembles the modern technique is a brief section of Sam Woodyard's drum solo during a 1962 rendition of "Kinda Dukish" with the Duke Ellington orchestra, [4] with a clip of the performance under the title "The first blast beat in the world" having since garnered almost one million views on YouTube (this example, however, lacks the modern inclusion of kick drum and cymbal work into the beat). Another early instance can be heard in Sunny Murray's performance on the live recording "Holy Ghost", although this did not receive an official release until the 1998 reissue of Albert Ayler in Greenwich Village. [5] Prior to these two examples resurfacing and receiving the attention of the metal and grindcore communities in the 2010's, AllMusic contributor Thom Jurek credited Tony Williams as the "true inventor of the blastbeat" for his frenetic performance on "Dark Prince" for Trio of Doom in 1979, officially released only in 2007. [6]

Some early antecedents of blast beats have also been identified in rock music, four of which are all from 1970: King Crimson's "The Devil's Triangle" off their sophomore release In the Wake of Poseidon includes proto-blastbeats in the later half of the song; Mike Fouracre of Marsupilami performs many blast beats throughout their self-tited album, most notably on "And the Eagle Chased the Dove to It's Ruin"; Emerson, Lake & Palmer's track "The Barbarian" contains a very brief blast beat in the outro; [7] Bill Ward, drummer of pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, played a few blast beats on a live performance of their song "War Pigs" (e.g. at timestamps 3:52 and 6:38). [8]

Modern hardcore and metal blast beats

The blast beat as it is known today originated in the hardcore punk and grindcore scenes of the 1980s. Contrary to popular belief, blast beats originated from punk and hardcore music, not metal music. [9] In the UK punk and hardcore scene of the early 1980s there were many bands attempting to play as fast as possible. English band Napalm Death coined the term "blast beat", [10] although this style of drumming had previously been practiced by others. Daniel Ekeroth argues that the [hardcore] blast beat was first performed by the Swedish group Asocial on their 1982 demo. [11] D.R.I. (1983, "No Sense"), [2] Beastie Boys (1982, track 5, "Riot Fight"), Sepultura (1985, track 11, "Antichrist"), S.O.D. (1985, track 11, "Milk"), Sarcófago (1986, track 10, "Satanas"), and Repulsion [12] also included the technique prior to Napalm Death's emergence. Rockdetector contributor Garry Sharpe-Young credits D.R.I.'s Eric Brecht as the first on their 1983 debut but credits Napalm Death with making it better known. [13]

In 1985, Napalm Death, then an emerging grindcore band, replaced their former drummer Miles "Rat" Ratledge with Mick Harris, who brought to the band a whole new level of speed. Harris is credited with developing the term "blast beat", describing the fast notes played on the kick and snare. [14] Harris started using the blast beat as a fundamental aspect of Napalm Death's early musical compositions. It was finally with Napalm Death's first full-length album Scum (1987) that blast beat started to evolve into a distinct musical expression of its own. Blast beats became popular in extreme music from the mid to late 1980s . [15] The blast beat evolved into its modern form as it was developed in the American death metal and grindcore scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Pete Sandoval, drummer of Terrorizer (1986–1989) and later Morbid Angel (1984–2013), purportedly was the first to use blast beats in metronomic time (and not as arhythmic or non-metric white noise) and thus gave it a more useful musical characteristic for timekeeping. [15]

Blast beats eventually appeared in commercially successful metal music, beginning with Fear Factory's album Demanufacture (1995) and Slipknot's album Iowa (2001). [16]

Characteristics

Blast beat
Traditional blast beat drum pattern

A blast beat is traditionally played as an alternating single-stroke roll broken up between the kick drum and the snare drum. Blast beats are counted in 32nd or 16th notes. In a modern musical context blast beats are usually regarded as such when played at a minimum of above 90 beats per minute 32nd notes, or 180 bpm 16th notes. [17] Early blast beats were generally quite slow and less precise compared to today's standards. Nowadays, a blast beat is normally played from 180 bpm 16th notes up to such high tempos as in the range of 250-280 bpm 16th notes (or even higher). There is also the "gravity blast", not to be confused with the one-handed gravity roll (see below). This technique uses the rim of the snare drum as a fulcrum, allowing two snare hits with one downward motion (essentially doing the work of two hands with only one).

Typical blast beats consist of 8th-note patterns between both the bass and snare drum alternately, with the hi-hat or the ride synced. Variations exist such as displacing hi-hat/ride, snare and bass drum hits and/or using other cymbals such as splashes, crashes, chinas and even tambourines for accenting, for example when using odd time or playing progressively. While playing 8th or 8th note triplets some drummers choose to play in sync with one foot while others split the 8th notes between both feet. In blast beats in general, the notes on the kick drum can be played either with one foot only or by alternating both feet, referred to as a "two-foot" or "economy" blast. [9]

Variations

As blast beats have evolved, different types and interpretations have emerged. There are four main variations of the blast beat: the traditional blast, the bomb blast, the hammer blast and the freehand blast. [18]

The traditional blast beat is a single-stroke roll alternating between the snare drum and kick drum. The ride hand is usually playing in unison with the kick drum. [9] The traditional blast beat is structurally very similar to the skank beat, which can be regarded as a predecessor and a half time variation of the traditional blast beat. The skank beat originated in the early punk and thrash metal scene as a drum beat for extreme music. The skank beat is similar to the blast beat as it alternates between the kick and the snare, with the difference that the ride hand plays notes in unison with both kick and snare. A skank beat is in other words a sped up 2/4 rock or polka beat. In the US the skank beat was early on also referred to as the "Slayer" or "thrash" beat due to its popularity among thrash metal bands such as Slayer. [19]

The bomb blast is essentially a combination of blast beat and double bass drumming. When measured in 16th notes a bomb blast consists of 8th notes on the snare played above a 16th notes kick drum line. Most drummers play this beat by leading with the snare, while the traditional blast beat is usually led with the kick. The bomb blast became popular among 1990s death metal bands such as Cannibal Corpse, which is why the bomb blast is also referred to as the "Cannibal" blast. [20]

The hammer blast is played with the kick and snare in unison. Instead of playing 8th notes kick and snare in alternation and thus creating a 16th notes roll, the hammer blast is played as a straight 8th notes roll on the kick and snare simultaneously. The advantage of the hammer blast is that only one fast hand is needed, which usually is the drummer's leading hand (right for right-handed and left for left-handed). If the weaker hand can't keep up with the 8th notes snare line, it can play quarter notes. The kick drum line can be played with one foot as well as a two-footed economy blast. When played at an extremely fast tempo, the hammer blast can be referred to as a "hyper blast". The hammer blast became popular in death metal music of the early 1990s. [21]

The freehand blast, also known as the gravity blast, utilizes the gravity roll technique in a blast beat context. Of all the main blast beat variations, this one is the most recent to have emerged. The snare line is played as a 16th notes single stroke roll, also known as a gravity roll or single handed roll. The roll is played with an up and down motion in which you push and pull the drumstick on and off the snare drum. By using the snare rim as a fulcrum you create a stroke each time you push and pull the drumstick up and down. In this way, the player can double the output of notes to match the amount of notes produced by two feet on the bass drum. It usually presents similarly to a unison hammer blast, but at double the tempo of what would be possible with normal techniques. One drawback is that this blast has a limited volume. The concept behind the gravity roll is not new, but is noted for being brought into modern music by drummer Johhny Rabb. Rabb has published the book The Official Freehand Technique, which covers the gravity roll technique. [22] The term "gravity roll" or "gravity blast," while common and accepted usage, is less correct than "freehand roll" or "fulcrum roll" in that the technique does not rely on gravity and can be played sideways, inverted, or in a zero gravity environment. [23] A combination of the gravity blast and the bomb blast (i.e. both the kick and the snare is playing 16th notes in unison) is called a gravity bomb.

Examples

Examples of the four main blast beat variations in drum tab:

 C- x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-|   C- x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-|   C- x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-|   C- x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-|  S- o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-|   S- -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o|   S- o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-|   S- oooooooooooooooo|  B- o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-|   B- o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-|   B- oooooooooooooooo|   B- o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-|

The first example is a hammer blast. The second example shows a traditional blast beat - essentially a skank beat played at a high tempo (this particular one leads with the bass drum, but the snare can lead as well). Example #3 shows a blast beat with double bass, known as a bomb blast. Example #4 illustrates a freehand blast, also known as a gravity blast and is the only one that showcases the proper speed of a modern blast beat.

Gnome-mime-sound-openclipart.svg
Listen to Example 1
Listen to Example 2
Listen to Example 3
Listen to Example 4
Problems playing these files? See media help.

See also

Related Research Articles

Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. Grindcore is considered a more noise-filled style of hardcore punk while using hardcore's trademark characteristics such as heavily distorted, down-tuned guitars, grinding overdriven bass, high-speed tempo, blast beats, and vocals which consist of growls, shouts and high-pitched shrieks. Early groups such as England's Napalm Death are credited with laying the groundwork for the style. It is most prevalent today in North America and Europe, with popular contributors such as Brutal Truth and Nasum. Lyrical themes range from a primary focus on social and political concerns, to gory subject matter and black humor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hi-hat</span> Percussion instrument

A hi-hat is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock, pop, jazz, and blues. Hi-hats consist of a matching pair of small to medium-sized cymbals mounted on a stand, with the two cymbals facing each other. The bottom cymbal is fixed and the top is mounted on a rod which moves the top cymbal toward the bottom one when the pedal is depressed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snare drum</span> Type of percussion instrument

The snare drum is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used in orchestras, concert bands, marching bands, parades, drumlines, drum corps, and more. It is one of the central pieces in a drum set, a collection of percussion instruments designed to be played by a seated drummer and used in many genres of music. Because basic rhythms are very easy to learn to play on a snare drum even for children, the instrument is also suitable for the music education for young children and a rhythm band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bass drum</span> Drum that produces a low or indefinite pitch

The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The heads may be made of calfskin or plastic and there is normally a means of adjusting the tension either by threaded taps or by strings. Bass drums are built in a variety of sizes, but size does not dictate the volume produced by the drum. The pitch and the sound can vary much with different sizes, but the size is also chosen based on convenience and aesthetics. Bass drums are percussion instruments and vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Napalm Death</span> English grindcore band

Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in Meriden, West Midlands in 1981. None of the band's original members have been in the group since 1986, but since Utopia Banished (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch Harris, drummer Danny Herrera and lead vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway has remained consistent through most of the band's career. From 1989 to 2004, Napalm Death were a five-piece band after they added Jesse Pintado and Mitch Harris as replacements for guitarist Bill Steer. Following Pintado's departure, the band reverted to a four-piece.

<i>Scum</i> (Napalm Death album) 1987 studio album by Napalm Death

Scum is the debut studio album by English grindcore band Napalm Death, released on 1 July 1987 by Earache Records. The two sides of the record were recorded by two different lineups in sessions separated by about a year; the only musician in both incarnations was drummer Mick Harris. The two sides are very different, and the two taken together serve to bridge stylistic elements of heavy metal and punk rock. While the songs on the A-side are influenced heavily by hardcore punk and anarcho-punk, the vocals and lower-tuned electric guitars on the B-side anticipate subsequent developments in extreme metal. Loudwire put it in the list of the best 10 metal albums of 1987.

A number of heavy metal genres have developed since the emergence of heavy metal during the late 1960s and early 1970s. At times, heavy metal genres may overlap or are difficult to distinguish, but they can be identified by a number of traits. They may differ in terms of instrumentation, tempo, song structure, vocal style, lyrics, guitar playing style, drumming style, and so on.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drum roll</span> Percussion technique

A drum roll is a technique used by percussionists to produce a sustained sound for the duration of a written note.

All drum figures are based upon three fundamental beats, technically called roll, single stroke, and flam...Sustentation is accomplished upon wind instruments by blowing into the instrument; it is accomplished upon the violin and the allied instruments by drawing the bow across the string; it is accomplished upon the drum and allied percussion instruments by the roll.

THE SNARE DRUM ROLL.

The roll consists of an even reiteration of beats sufficiently rapid to prohibit rhythmic analysis. To produce an impression of sustentation, these beats must be absolutely even both in power and in sequence. Uneven beats in a roll destroy the impression of sustentation. Evenness is then the primary quality to strive for in roll; speed is the secondary quality to strive for.

There are two possible ways of producing an absolutely even sequence: (1) hand alternation of single stroke and (2) hand alternation of double strokes...The snare drum roll is produced by hand alternation of double strokes.

The "open roll" is produced by [initially] slow hand alternation. Two strokes in each hand alternately are produced by wrist movement and each beat should follow its predecessor in clock-like precision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thrashcore</span> Fast-tempo subgenre of hardcore punk

Thrashcore is a fast-tempo subgenre of hardcore punk that emerged in the early 1980s. Thrashcore is essentially sped-up hardcore, adopting a slightly more extreme style by means of its vocals, dissonance, and occasional use of blast beats. Songs are usually very brief, and thrashcore is in many ways a less dissonant, minimally metallic forerunner of grindcore. The genre is sometimes associated with the skateboarder subculture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extreme Noise Terror</span> British crust punk and extreme metal band

Extreme Noise Terror are a British extreme metal band formed in Ipswich, England in 1985 and one of the earliest and most influential crust bands. Noted for one of the earliest uses of dual vocalists in hardcore, and for recording a number of sessions for BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, the band started as crust punks and helped characterise the early, archetypal grindcore sound with highly political lyrics, fast guitars and tempos, and often very short songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pungent Stench</span> Austrian death metal band

Pungent Stench is a death metal band from Vienna, Austria, formed in 1988. Their current lineup consists of Martin Schirenc (vocals/guitar), Jacek Perkowski (bass), and Mike G. Mayhem (drums). Pungent Stench achieved prominence in the death metal scene due to their unique style of extreme metal and controversial lyrics, a blend of gore, paraphilia, and black comedy. They dissolved in 1995, re-formed in 1999, then split up again 2007 after recording a final studio album, eventually released in 2018, and re-formed again in 2013 as “The Church Of Pungent Stench” and renamed themselves again as “Schirenc Plays Pungent Stench” in 2014”

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D-beat</span> Genre of hardcore punk

D-beat is a style of hardcore punk, developed in the early 1980s by imitators of Discharge, after whom the genre is named, as well as a drum beat characteristic of this subgenre. D-beat is known for its "grinding, distorted and brutally political" sound. Discharge may have themselves inherited the beat from Motörhead and the Buzzcocks. D-beat is closely associated with crust punk, which is a heavier, more complex variation. The style was particularly popular in Sweden, and developed there by groups such as Crude SS, Anti Cimex, Mob 47, and Driller Killer. Other D-beat groups include Doom and the Varukers from the UK; Disclose from Japan; Crucifix and Final Conflict from the U.S.; Ratos de Porão from Brazil; and MG15 from Spain. While the style initially developed in the early 1980s, a number of new groups working within the subgenre emerged in the mid-1990s. These include the Swedish groups Wolfbrigade, Totalitär, Avskum, Skitsystem, and Disfear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mick Harris</span> British drummer

Michael John Harris is an English musician from Birmingham. He was the drummer for Napalm Death between 1985 and 1991, and is credited for coining the term "grindcore". After Napalm Death, Harris joined Painkiller with John Zorn and Bill Laswell. Since the mid-1990s, Harris has worked primarily in electronic and ambient music, his main projects being Scorn and Lull. He has also collaborated with musicians including James Plotkin and Extreme Noise Terror. According to AllMusic, Harris's "genre-spanning activities have done much to jar the minds, expectations, and record collections of audiences previously kept aggressively opposed."

Drum tablature, commonly known as a drum tab, is a form of simplified percussion notation, or tablature for percussion instruments. Instead of the durational notes normally seen on a piece of sheet music, drum tab uses proportional horizontal placement to indicate rhythm and vertical placement on a series of lines to represent which drum from the drum kit to stroke. Drum tabs frequently depict drum patterns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Repulsion (band)</span> American grindcore band

Repulsion is an American grindcore band from Flint, Michigan, founded in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Adler</span> American drummer

Christopher James Adler is an American musician, best known as the founder and longtime drummer of heavy metal band Lamb of God from 1994 to 2019, and Grammy Award winning member of Megadeth.

Cartland Blake Richardson is the drummer for American progressive metal band Between the Buried and Me, as well as the drummer for Glass Casket. Joining in early 2005, Richardson replaced Between the Buried and Me's former drummer Jason Roe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Yeung</span> American drummer (born 1978)

Tim Yeung is an American extreme metal drummer. He has previously performed with Morbid Angel and I Am Morbid alongside former Morbid Angel vocalist/bassist David Vincent.

In music, a drum stroke is a movement which produces a single or multiple notes on drums or other percussion instruments such as cymbals. There are several types of strokes: five basic single strokes, double strokes, and other multiple strokes such as triples, quadruples, or buzzes of indeterminate number.

Heavy metal drumming is a style of rock music drum kit playing that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United States and the United Kingdom. With roots in blues rock and psychedelic/acid rock drum playing, heavy metal drummers play with emphatic beats, and overall loudness using an aggressive performing style. Heavy metal drumming is traditionally characterized by emphatic rhythms and dense bass guitar-and-drum sound.

References

  1. 1 2 Schlueter, Brad (2016). "11 Blastbeats To Master: Improve Your Technique With This Extreme Chops Challenge", DrumMagazine.com.
  2. 1 2 3 Adam MacGregor, PCP Torpedo by Agoraphobic Nosebleed review, Dusted, 11 June 2006. Archived 21 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine Access date: 2 October 2008. "There is one uniformly present attribute in all examples of 'grindcore', that being the so-called 'blast-beat.'"
  3. ↑ Strub, Whitney (11 May 2006). ""Behind the Key Club: An Interview with Mark 'Barney' Greenway of Napalm Death", PopMatters". Archived from the original on 30 October 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ↑ "Duke Ellington and His Orchestra - Kinda Dukish (Goodyear 1962)". YouTube . Storyville Records.
  5. ↑ "Albert Ayler – Live In Greenwich Village - The Complete Impulse Recordings". Discogs .
  6. ↑ Review of The Trio of Doom Live by Thom Jurek, AllMusic. "On 'Dark Prince' and elsewhere, it's obvious that Williams is the true inventor of the blastbeat, not some generic heavy metal drummer."
  7. ↑ "Emerson, Lake & Palmer - The Barbarian (Official Audio)". YouTube . Emerson, Lake & Palmer. 1970.
  8. ↑ "BLACK SABBATH - "War Pigs" (Live Video)". YouTube . Black Sabbath. 20 December 1970.
  9. 1 2 3 Roddy, Derek (2007). The Evolution of Blast Beats. p. 22. ISBN   978-1423460169. DVD: ASIN: B002UD475Y.
  10. ↑ Strub, Whitney. "Behind the Key Club: An Interview with Mark 'Barney' Greenway of Napalm Death". PopMatters, 11 May 2006. Accessed on 17 September 2008.
  11. ↑ Ekeroth, Daniel (2008). Swedish Death Metal, p. 22. Bazillion Points Books. ISBN   9780979616310.
  12. ↑ Matthew Widener, "Scared to Death: The Making of Repulsion's Horrified", Decibel no. 46, August 2008, p. 63-69.
  13. ↑ Sharpe-Young, Garry (2007). Metal: The Definitive Guide, p.436 (and 162). Jawbone. ISBN   9781906002015. "The concept of this deadly device, a 200bpm-plus staccato barrage of kick and snare-drum."
  14. ↑ Mudrian, Albert (2004). Choosing Death - The Improbable History of Death Metal & Grindcore. Los Angeles, CA: Feral House. pp. 30–37. ISBN   1-932595-04-X.
  15. 1 2 Roddy (2007). The Evolution of Blast Beats. p. 10. ISBN   978-1423460169.
  16. ↑ Ellis, Graham, "Decade of Horror," Terrorizer issue 184, June 2009, p. 25.
  17. ↑ Roddy (2007). p. 10–11, 101.
  18. ↑ Roddy (2007). p. 18.
  19. ↑ Roddy (2007). p. 14.
  20. ↑ Roddy (2007). p. 26.
  21. ↑ Roddy (2007). p. 28.
  22. ↑ Roddy (2007), p. 30.
  23. ↑ Bloom, Ryan Alexander. Live Drum & Bass. New York: Hudson Music, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.