As part of my IDS project, I’m creating a complete song to display all the techniques I have learned. My song generally fits into the metalcore genre, and that means aside from hard distorted guitars and fast riffing, one of the key features of this genre is the drums.

This is the first post in a series of 2 where I will go through the drum part of ‘Machine Hell’ and the process of composing said parts.

Most metalcore songs either begin with an explosive, solo-like drum part (like Pariah) or with a guitar riff that doesn’t have any real drumbeat at all (like Two Weeks). Since my song was based around a guitar riff, and since I’m more of a guitarist than a drummer, I decided to go with the second option. However, I still threw in some drum hits at the important notes to add texture, accentuation, and generally make the part heavier.

After the first 16 bars with the rhythm guitar and bass introduced, it was time for the drums to really be brought in. I decided the best way to do that was with my own spin on one of the most popular, and most energetic beats in the genre: the blast beat.

The blast beat in its most basic form has the drummer alternate between hitting the bass and snare drum at an eighth-note pace, usually while also spamming the hi-hats. For my beat I decided to spice things up more by adding in extra bass sixteenth notes, that would be played in real life using a double bass pedal, which is common for metal drummers. I also of course added a fill in between the section to create motion.

After another 16 bars of intro, I then progressed onto the verse. For this, I looked to Eye Of The Storm as inspiration since that song, and the drums in particular, is really evocative of what I want my song to sound like. This is the verse drumbeat that was inspired from them, preceded by a low fill to end the intro section:

(This post is part of a series of entries into my Learning Journey for my IDS project in Music Composition.)