Heavy music, where did the ride go?

Diet Kirk

Silver Member
I've just replied to another thread and then realised something.

When did metal/heavy music drummers stop using the ride during double kick parts. Everything is always on stacks or soft fast crash cymbals these days.
 
I noticed this personally while playing a gig recently. when I went to my ride, it was quieter than my hats and seemed to lose the feel on the heavier tunes. maybe its just for volume, but the washy hats seem to really drive some beats better.
 
In my case it is a matter of volume and feel. I actually think it was you that posted the roundtable discussion about how the bass drum used to the be the time keeping device. That time keeping device has changed to the hi-hats in most heavy music. That constant notes on the hats are what most of the bass players I have played with are timing off of. I also feel that coming off the hats or crashes causes a dynamic change that must fit the music. Playing the ride for a heavy breakdown just doesn't work for me.

It may also be that my first drumming influences were thrash drummers who rarely use their rides (hell, I don't even think Lars has one on his kit). My ride is almost a effect cymbal in my setup.
 
Lots of extreme drummers have 2 rides in their setup.Mostly mega/power bells,Gene Hoglan style.
 
For the metal and hard rock stuff I use a heavier ride (K Custom) and 13" hats on the right and a zilbel on the left - basically you have to figure out what sound will cut through and drive the parts appropriately.

I personally could not even think of playing without a ride, but guys like Tomas H. have paved a new road, and of course, many have followed.
 
ONLY use my ride but get all manner of different feel and vibe out of it (24" Sabian APX).

Only use my high hat on left foot...hardly every strike it....and have started not even taking it to gigs where I'm travelling lighter.
 
For the metal and hard rock stuff I use a heavier ride (K Custom) and 13" hats on the right and a zilbel on the left - basically you have to figure out what sound will cut through and drive the parts appropriately.

I personally could not even think of playing without a ride, but guys like Tomas H. have paved a new road, and of course, many have followed.

Actually, Terry Bozzio was the guy who stopped using a ride cymbal back in the early days of Missing Persons. So people like Tomas H. are following in that guys footsteps ;) In fact, Bozzio was one of the first guys to use another sets of hats in the ride position on a double bass kit too. And that started, well, you know.
 
What you're describing makes me think primarily of recordings by younger drummers in the metalcore/deathcore/djent subgenres. Stacks of trash can lids playing steady over some huge lumbering stop-start breakdown the band probably molds the rest of the song around.

A big part of that sound came (in blunt honesty) directly from people biting off of Tomas Haake.

I dunno. I hear all sorts of other current doom bands or neo-thrash bands like Skeletonwitch that still go to the bow or bell of the ride in choruses or lead passages.
 
A long time ago.

Lars Ulrich did not use a ride on "And Justice For All" or the so-called Black Album, nor either the subsequent tours. He only used a ride for a one small section on one song on "Master of Puppets". And while his ride made a appearance in the mid-late 90's, it went away again one or two albums ago.

Love him or hate him, Lars and Metlallica is none the less an influence on heavy music.

And as mentioned, it really comes from Terry Bozzio. In addition his time with Frank Zappa and Missing persons, Terry has several high profile video tapes in the late 80's and early 90's where he really pushed the stack concept. Which was a big influence on Mike Portnoy, who used stacks a lot with Dream Theater, which in turn has influenced a ton of other drummers, and it just keeps going from there.
 
Actually, Terry Bozzio was the guy who stopped using a ride cymbal back in the early days of Missing Persons. So people like Tomas H. are following in that guys footsteps ;) In fact, Bozzio was one of the first guys to use another sets of hats in the ride position on a double bass kit too. And that started, well, you know.

Thanks man, almost forgot about that - now I remember his instructional vid back in the 90's.
 
Phil Rudd never had a ride in his setup. The music doesnt miss it but most genres of music can benefit from it IMO.
 
Actually, Terry Bozzio was the guy who stopped using a ride cymbal back in the early days of Missing Persons. So people like Tomas H. are following in that guys footsteps ;) In fact, Bozzio was one of the first guys to use another sets of hats in the ride position on a double bass kit too. And that started, well, you know.

Indeed.

Back when we used to have this thing called VHS:

51B0XiQK-tL.jpg
 
Indeed.

Back when we used to have this thing called VHS:

51B0XiQK-tL.jpg

Terry also tried to be cutting edge on that video by using May EA miss on his toms. Of course, they sounded like he was playing tubes ;)

And of course, you couldn't watch that video unless your hair was just as big!
 
I personally use my ride a lot being inspired by The Rev who used it as much as his hats and other cymbals. I have a 21" AAX Stadium ride that I love for it's volume, cut and extremely loud bell. It easily cuts through the mix and doesn't get washed out, (very pingy) so it's a good metal ride.

I'm unsure why some drummers are abandoning their ride cymbals. Maybe they think a ride isn't "metal" enough? To me there's nothing like a blast beat with a sweet ride pattern.
 
I used an 18 inch Zildjian ride for many years. I recently purchased a 20 inch Zildjian "sweet Ride".
The new 20 inch sounds great. But for loud rock music it does not sound very loud.
It takes a couple of strokes to get it going. But the bell sounds great, better than the 18 inch.

So I can see why metal and rock drummers would prefer to ride their crashes.

.
 
I'm a metal drummer but it's my hats and ride that get the most use cymbal wise. I tend to use all of the ride too, bell, bow and crashing it, i just love the sound and playing some jazzy or fun ride patterns over double pedal rolls, just makes it a bit more interesting... Or also using the bell over blast beats to add some rhythm to them, a bit like opening and closing hats whilst blasting actually.

A progressive/blackened death metal band called Voices (a few of the members were in Akercocke) have a song on their new album which has some ridiculously rhythmic drumming before going into a fast and drawn out blast section:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-tN8z4YB2E
 
The ride cymbal is for dynamic, tasteful music.

I agree 100%.

Last week while playing on stage, my band (one guitar player and one bass player) played Ticket to Ride by the Beatles. My 20" sweet ride sounded beautiful.

A few songs later I was jamming with three loud guitar players and a bass player. We played Gimme' Three Steps by Lynyrd Skynyrd. My sweet ride was useless.

.
 
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