Blast beat

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Blast beat is a drum beat consisting of rapid alternating or coinciding strokes on the snare and hi-hat or cymbal. The snare drum and hi-hat/cymbal forms the focus of such a beat, with bass drum often played beneath the snare to create a 'wall of sound'. The hi-hat or a ride cymbal is often played simultaneously with the bass drum or with the snare drum; however, crash cymbal or china cymbals can often be featured as well. Bell accents on the ride cymbal are often employed in the same manner as accents in funkier drumming styles in order to give the beat an emphasised 'push'. Diverse patterns and timings are also frequently used by more technical players, such as Alex Hernandez or Flo Mounier. Alternative styles of blast beats include using a two strokes on bass drum followed by one stroke of the snare drum, such as played by Pete Sandoval, or using scarce strokes on the bass drum, which are frequently played by Max Duhamel.

1 History
2 Characteristics
3 Key artists
4 Media

[edit] History

Blast beats have their roots in hardcore punk most notably D.R.I's "Makes no Sense" on their first LP (1983). Another example is the hardcore punk band Neon Christ. Thrash metal also has some credits towards the blast beat, however in modern standards the snare work is frequently comparable to established snare patterns in jazz. Blast beats are a prominent feature of death metal, black metal and grindcore, although they make appearances in other genres from time to time, to increase the speed, density, and percussiveness.

The original use in metal music is generally attributed to Charlie Benante of SOD and Mick Harris of Napalm Death. The former showcased the technique by a double-handed blast beat in the track "Milk" on the album Speak English or Die, later it was played properly single-handed on the live album Live at Budokan. Harris started using it as a fundament of Napalm Death's musical compositions.

[edit] Characteristics

Typical blast beats consist of a 16th note pattern alternating between bass and snare drum with hi-hat or crash synced up with the bass drum hit. Variations exist. Some people maintain the bass drum should be played with one foot for the best effect in blasts using 8th note bass drum strokes; however, some drummers choose to split the 8th notes between both feet.

One of the most common blast beats, used extensively in extreme metal, is one where single stroke 16th notes are played between the hi-hats and snare drum, and on every 8th note, a bass drum is hit.

Early blast beats were generally quite slow and less precise compared to today's standards. Nowadays, a blast beat is normally played in tempos from 180 beats per minute upwards, with so-called "hyperblast beats" existing in the range of 260-340 bpm (there are records of just over 400 bpm). There is also what is called a "gravity blast" which implements a one-handed roll, called a gravity roll, a relatively recent invention which uses the rim of the snare as a fulcrum on which the stick is rocked back and forth, allowing two snare hits with each full arm motion (one on the down motion, and another coming up, essentially doing the work of two hands with only one).