Anyone here been playing metal drumming for a while?

R

Revdrum

Junior Member
I'm just curious, I'm having creativity problems. Not so great at drum fills and adding new rhythms and whatnot. I think if i could have someone just explain some things to me I'd feel comfortable, because I can't afford any drum lessons... thanks for your time.
 
Well if your not going to take lessons I recommend you just expand your musical tastes to sub genres you might not be familiar with and try to mimic the drumming styles. Try not to close your mind to styles your not a big fan of.

Some bands you might want to check out if you haven't already.

Mastodon
Converge (actually hardcore)
Ensiferum
Kylesa
Baroness
High on Fire

Those are bands that all represent very different ends of the spectrum than most metal. I'm kind of a hypocrite because I dont listen to any of the heavy grind stuff which is why I didn't post any. But in my own opinion those are some of the most creative metal bands around right now.
 
Someone else just recently posted a similar thread. Good suggestion, to listen to a lot of different styles of music, sub-genres, whatever you want to call it. As a metal (ish) drummer myself, what really opened up my creativity was moving even beyond the metal genre entirely and listening to some of the old classic greats like Bonham, Copeland, Keith Moon, etc. In my opinion, creativity isn't something you just turn on when you need to - even in metal type music, you'll hear some drummers who still manage to infuse a certain feeling or emotion into the playing, and you know it's coming from the heart. You have to be able to feel where the music is going, anticipate changes and work them to your advantage. It takes a much more involved approach to the act of writing a song, than merely providing a solid beat and great fills. A person can have great chops, but if they're not deeply centered in the music itself it's going to stifle true creativity.

I'll add to the below great list of bands to take a listen to, of metal drummers who I think seem to really understand the concept I'm speaking of..

Tool (newer stuff especially - the inventiveness of Danny Carey seems to have no bounds!)
The Melvins
Dillinger Escape Plan (Chris Pennie or Gil Sharone, either one) - highly technical to the point of absurd at times, but there is a true emotion underneath it all - I wish I could play as well as either one of them
Neurosis
Turmoil (also, more of a hardcore band)
Starkweather

Either way, best of luck to you man - what you seek doesn't come easily, but the more you practice, and the more you play you'll find that you're doing things you wouldn't have though of in a million years!
 
i suggest listening to more then just metal drummers to be good at metal drums. SAME FOR ANY OTHER GENRE! If you want to be a good drummer, listen to jazz drummers, metal drummers, funk drummers, latin drummers, JUST LEARN EVERYTHING! trust me. you will be become so creative and full of ideas you wouldnt even know what to do with yourself........ok i might be exaggerating that last sentence BUT YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!
 
why pay for lessons? You have a computer and the power of the internet at your fingers. Go explore lessons online, Drummerworld is a great place to start! Man i wish i had all this when i was like 18...
 
Hello mate, I've been in a metal band for about five years. If you've got any questions drop me a message and I'll try my best to answer them.

Cheers
 
pretty recently i have discovered that my very favorite metal bands and drummers are not really 100% METAL. metal i think only means playing fast and with a lot of power. the really interesting things come outside and with thinking outside of the box. listening is really important. listen to metal bands that combine other stuff. tool (not really metal though), cynic, atheist, meshuggah, some mastodon and a few things by porcupine tree (gavin is amazing, check his releases with 05ric too) for me at the moment are pretty inspiring.
also try listening to not so metal stuff
its the best way to get creative
 
playing other things of course is a good way to help with creativity but what it really takes is time listen to a lot of metal and not casually i mean really listen and figure out y that drummer played what he played what it comes down to is understanding the music and the proper placement of things the second thing is just like how u start with rudiments every style has its own set of "rudiments" so to speak in metal dont worry bout being creative till u can play a single stroke roll on your kick and around your set learn the basic double time and blast beats and listen to where the genre started ie metallica, slayer, judas preist, death, and the such
 
youtube and the internet are your friends, not to mention your mp3 player - listen to the genre as much as your ears will allow, and imho Chris Adler ( Lamb Of God ) is one of the most creative metal drummers today - he really plays to the song and does'nt just constantly blast away, more guys that hav'nt been mentioned - Derek Roddy is just incredible, Jason Bittner - the definition of powerhouse, Brann Dailor of Mastadon - not a big fan of the band, but some very different metal beats here and the drummer for The Sword, Trevvit Wingo, not traditional metal but really knows how to play for the music, again - not just mindless blasting...

good luck!
 
Ainulindale said:
youtube and the internet are your friends, not to mention your mp3 player - listen to the genre as much as your ears will allow, and imho Chris Adler ( Lamb Of God ) is one of the most creative metal drummers today - he really plays to the song and does'nt just constantly blast away, more guys that hav'nt been mentioned - Derek Roddy is just incredible, Jason Bittner - the definition of powerhouse, Brann Dailor of Mastadon - not a big fan of the band, but some very different metal beats here and the drummer for The Sword, Trevvit Wingo, not traditional metal but really knows how to play for the music, again - not just mindless blasting...

good luck!
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I have to agree with you there about Chris his beats and fills are spot on most of the time, how does he do it. I can say that i have been practicing playing metal for a good few years but actually playing it in a band only just less than a year, when it comes to doing different fills and stuff i just get a mental block and end up repeating myself, it does my head in. I posted a thread about this a while back, it's very difficult doing something in metal drumming that isn't cliched or unique. I have often relied on imrov for songs although certain things become a trademark in my playing which won't change. The grooves are obviously solid but when it comes to fills i don't think improv is he best way to go maybe i should plan out my fills where i want them to go and learn them, then that might help, this could be somewhere for you to start too Revdrum.
 
Great advice guys, but I'm a little surprised no one has recommended listening to some classic metal to broaden ones playing.

Led Zeppelin: I through IV (John Bonham)
Black Sabbath: Paranoid (Bill Ward)
AC/DC: Back in Black (Phil Rudd)
Judas Priest: Sin After Sin (Simon Phillips) or Unleashed in the East (Les Binks)
Iron Maiden: Number of the Beast (Clive Burr) or Piece of Mind (Nicko McBrain)
Metallica: Master of Puppets (Lars Ulrich)
Megadeth: Peace Sells (Gar Samuelson) or Rust in Peace (Nick Menza)
Anthrax: Among The Living (Charlie Benante)
Pantera: Vulgar Display of Power (Vinnie Paul)

Just a few picks that showcase a bunch of different styles and may appeal to drummers of different abilities.


One question for the group though.

Brann Dailor, don't get it. I own every Mastodon CD and two of their videos, but just can't wrap my hands around his playing. I read about him in every magazine and all over this forum but can't quite figure out what all the accolades are for. I'm not a music snob, I love all Metal and can see uniqueness and ability in the playing of Adler, Bittner, Roddy, Hoglan, Yeung, Kolias etc. I just don't consider this guy in the same league. His playing sounds very immature to me, with a bunch of poorly placed, super-fast, single stroke rolls around the kit being his only move. Thoughts?
 
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For everyone's information ACDC is NOT a heavy metal band, it's hard rock.

The drumming in ACDC is really simple and no-where near metal...

...and drummerworld people...Jason Bittner (like awesome drummer from Shadows Fall) has this DVD called "What Drives the Beat", it is basically meant to teach beginner metal drummers the basics, grooves, fills, double-kick work and solo ideas. Looks cool.
 
It seems like a lot of metal & hardcore drummers stick fast double pedal everywhere in the song these days. My advice: listen to the song and your band mates play the double pedal when necessary and when it fits the song and moment. I love double pedal work and appreciate when the drummer is aware of the color of the song. I started playing jazz and funk, have been playing metal (hardcore) for about a year and I can say there is many things to incorporate from other styles of music.

My personal recommendations:

Lamb of god
Unearth
The human abstract
Between the buried and me
 
BassDriver said:
For everyone's information ACDC is NOT a heavy metal band, it's hard rock.

The drumming in ACDC is really simple and no-where near metal...

...and drummerworld people...Jason Bittner (like awesome drummer from Shadows Fall) has this DVD called "What Drives the Beat", it is basically meant to teach beginner metal drummers the basics, grooves, fills, double-kick work and solo ideas. Looks cool.
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While obviously subjective, I think most people would agree with you there. However, don't forget that Lars Ulrich stated Phil Rudd's drumming as his primary inspiration for his one drumming on the Black Album, so it's probable that Phil's influence is still being felt in metal somewhere.
 
grivan said:
It seems like a lot of metal & hardcore drummers stick fast double pedal everywhere in the song these days. My advice: listen to the song and your band mates play the double pedal when necessary and when it fits the song and moment. I love double pedal work and appreciate when the drummer is aware of the color of the song. I started playing jazz and funk, have been playing metal (hardcore) for about a year and I can say there is many things to incorporate from other styles of music.

My personal recommendations:

Lamb of god
Unearth
The human abstract
Between the buried and me
Click to expand...

I'm SHOCKED it took this long for someone to mentioned Between the Buried and Me.

Blake's drumming is absolutely awesome, and he's far from the blast-happy metal drummer nowadays.... His drumming on Colors and (their new album) The Great Misdirect is phenomenal, with more of the melodic, progressive stuff on Colors. His playing is fast, tight, and creative.... more so on their new album I think. He's a bit closer to the tried and true metal drumming on Colors, and Alaska as well. Their music before that either didn't have Blake behind the kit or wasn't particularly inventive.

Although I wouldn't call them metal, if it's the style of drumming you're looking for I can't find anyone better really. If you're looking for ridiculously fast blasting and such that isn't extremely uninspired and boring, Inferno from Behemoth, Flo Mounier from Cryptopsy (oh for the love of god only their first two albums, and maybe the next two or three if you're just listening to the musicianship), and Dennis Rodnum from Spawn of Possession will serve you very well.
 
Chaos_Inferno said:
I'm SHOCKED it took this long for someone to mentioned Between the Buried and Me.

Blake's drumming is absolutely awesome, and he's far from the blast-happy metal drummer nowadays.... His drumming on Colors and (their new album) The Great Misdirect
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track 3 on that album is so sick
 
Even though I'm a metalhead and focus on the drumming ALOT, when listening to my music, I cannot for the life of me get into blast beats unless it has a very good riff behind it.

I prefer the playing that matches the drumming to the guitar, Lamb of God, Slipknot (flame if you must), Opeth, Gojira, and lots of melodic metal bands
 
ive been playing metal/death metal/power metal for almost a decade now and to be honest the genre thats given me the most tools to excel in metal is jazz. before i was all about speed and frankly pretty ham handed but fast, jazz opened up my eyes to not only dynamics but amazing fill and beat ideas that you dont typically find in metal.
 
joeysnare said:
ive been playing metal/death metal/power metal for almost a decade now and to be honest the genre thats given me the most tools to excel in metal is jazz. before i was all about speed and frankly pretty ham handed but fast, jazz opened up my eyes to not only dynamics but amazing fill and beat ideas that you dont typically find in metal.
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Word.

  1. If you have a 'mental block' while trying to make a fill then try writing one out.
  2. Make sure you go through 'Stick Control' & get to grips with the rudiments too.
  3. There is also a book by Pete Riley called 'Double Trouble' which is pretty good if you want to practice some double bass.
In terms of listening to bands.. well 'metal' is such a large genre that the stylistic elements can be varied between each subgenre, and what is accepted in one niche may be shunned in another. I can't really say I listen to much 'true metal', I mainly spend my time with death/black/core genres.

That said.. some bands to check out;
Opeth, Meshuggah, Nile, Death, Strapping Young Lad, Dimmu Borgir, The Black Dahlia Murder, The Faceless, Despised Icon, Suffocation, Hate Eternal, Necrophagist, Morbid Angel, Between The Buried And Me, Malevolent Creation, Gojira, Cannibal Corpse, Origin, Brain Drill, Angra, Cynic, Psycroptic.

@Chaos_Inferno - I don't think all of the stuff before Alaska is uninventive/lacking creativity. Mordecai live (especially the ending) was truly a thing of beauty.
 
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