Fleshgod Apocalypse-The Violation (Francesco Paoli)

[@Sickdrummermagazine]

He's an insane musician all around. Multi-instrumental. Yea... the feet.

[@Uzielsquibb]

“Show his feet!” You dirty man...

[@villings]

"Quentin Tarantino liked that. Kinda."

[@MrZhufor]

My thoughts exacly! :D

[@Boogity_Beat]

By far the fastest drummer I've ever seen live. I would never believe someone can play this fast expect feeling every single bass beat hit by chest. I've never ever seen an entire venue completely stop and stare at someones sound check either because he warm up was crazier than everyone else's show that night.

[@Tr0llmannen]

In case you're still interested: He is playing doubles with his feet using the heel-toe technique and leads with the right as far as I know. However, to even out the strokes he uses triggers set to a high sensitivity. Every stroke he plays gives an output of roughly the same volume on the trigger module. I don't really get "Is he playing diddles or is it triggers", as it's both. The triggers do not add strokes or anything, they just even out the volume of all his strokes. I hope this sheds some light on his technique. It is possible to play ~280bpm with singles, but it's extremely tiring. Heel-Toe is extremely efficient compared to singles. There is one guy (Wanja Gröger) who plays Heel-Toe with alternating singles. This way you don't have to rely on triggers as the volume of all your strokes are on one level. If you are interested in his technique: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qn_KkGyYbat1nqM If you are interested in extremely fast singles on the double bass: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nIfGnX2MnNpnerM

[@MrLextune]

Wow man, those links are absolutely mental, ha!

[@Tr0llmannen]

@@MrLextune Glad you enjoy them!

[@t3hgir]

Wanja's techniques are an absolute wonder. He has has great hand technique as well.

[@Tr0llmannen]

@@t3hgir The technique is absolutely flawless. Although I acknowledge the efficiency of the hand technique, I like the hits to have more punch. This seems to be very hard with push-pull, but some guys can deliver push-pull in a way I enjoy more. David Diepold for example: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gJOxl3qYqdqCo7c

[@TheWitchOvAgnesi]

Great post! I knew all this stuff already but it's great for those who don't. All very accurate too.

[@Timbo6669]

The trick is to lead with whatever foot makes you comfortable - Thomas Haake..

[@Gourmet_Goon80]

I've seen Fleshgod Apocalypse in concert. It is that brutal, and the drums are as much an integral part of the show as any other performer on stage. One of the most insane shows I've seen. Period.

[@Sickdrummermagazine]

Double strokes on the feet. Triggers matter not.

[@observer7555]

Francesco has been playing drums for around 10 years; he had only been playing drums for a year when he originally switched from guitar & vocals to the drums. That is unbelievable!

[@extirpatebabel]

I didn't expect Fleshgod Apocalypse. Awesomeness. Spencer from Archspire might be interesting. He is more "musical" along with the speed and technicality of the blast beats.

[@justincredible5414]

Yes! Spencer from Archspire needs to be a react

[@adammoore8203]

100% this

[@deathmetalchili6902]

Seen them twice! The whole band is PERFECT live. Great guys too. And I am proud to say they are Canadian!

[@PikkuNoita]

I'm just a simple woman, I see Francesco Paoli and I click.

[@Finkele1]

no niin :D

[@Compendyum]

...and upvote.

[@NoctumusTV]

I'm just a simple man, I see a woman who likes Francesco Paoli and I click like :P

[@PikkuNoita]

@@NoctumusTV Thank you ^^

[@NoctumusTV]

@@PikkuNoita :)

[@styrosynth3917]

jazz and metal drummers are on top of the food chain.

[@jeffeaster7404]

So true, it's funny some jazz guys look up to metal drummers and we look up to jazz guys and some guys can do both lol ooooh I have a request, severed savior, drummer is good af

[@bobbiesmith1812]

Gospel drummers as well

[@styrosynth3917]

@@bobbiesmith1812 True

[@TheHernanNoguera]

Don’t worry, I don’t think Lars can play Dyers Eve either

[@garrettmillerdrums]

Starts at 0:16

[@Bretinator92]

Please check Mgla - Exercises in Futility V drumcam from Brutal Assault for excellent cymbal work :)

[@csaoh42]

came here to say EXACTLY that. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZTWhX1no5edoac

[@chestbuster1987]

YEES!! I suggested that too on another video! Hopefully we will see a reaction to it

[@nkboz28]

I had the pleasure of meeting these guys in SC. It was in a tiny venue called Ground Zero and they were just hanging out in the crowd with us. They are all so nice and they signed my CDs as well as the drumsticks my best friend caught when he tossed them. Btw, the pianist is actually playing. The strings are recordings but everything else is live. I saw them when they added Veronica for the female opera vocals also. They shook the entire building XD Francesco is no joke.

[@thereverand15]

These guys are actually really cool, heard of them but never listened before seeing them live, the orchestrations and the opera singer they had just belting out her voice was pretty epic.

[@johnhurley4656]

This album was more straight speed than some of their later stuff. King and Labyrinth have my favorite drum work from them. BUT, what I think is most remarkable is that the drumming, in a band with orchestral work and opera singers/choruses and so many different layers, the drumming manages to elevate all of their songs. With so much else going on, they could get by with being competent or driving simpler rhythms with less variety and change-but they don’t. The drums contribute as much creativity to these songs as any other instrument or voice, and in my opinion, that is really saying something in a group this creative. Anyway, thanks for checking them out!

[@smokycovestudios]

Nils “Dominator” Fjellström of Dark Funeral

[@wolflairabyss5238]

GORELORD13 he’s a beast

[@KinnyAu828]

vobiscum satanas/hail murder live dudeeeee

[@Gourmet_Goon80]

That guy is a fucking beast!!

[@victorsupreme214]

Haven't even watched the video yet but can't believe you reacted to this, always keen to other drummers reactions to this band. A lot of channels react to stuff for views and just go with what's popular, it's good to see a reactor listening to his audience. Watching people play this on Guitar/Drum hero games is hilarious.

[@inkidu]

George Kollias! Nile drummer, hyper technical dude.

[@Sabatyr]

All the accents w/the orchestration...and the diddles w/ the feet @ the same time... That's amazing...

[@rodolfogalvao3610]

Hello mate. Im from Portugal and this was the best bands I saw live, Francesco Paoli was insane that night. Im loving this videos, with metal "reaction", your perspective is really great and Im glad you can see the glorious of metal music. Good luck and continue to do this amazing work!

[@felixarzuaga5805]

5:25 LMAOF!!! Hes looks so confused! 🤘🏼 love your videos bro 🤘🏼🔥

[@davelowman3574]

Following the orchestra with blistering speed and accuracy.

[@Terruhcutta]

Love it. Check out Anthony Barone from Shadow of Intent playing Gravesinger... so sick!

[@Unknownusername1004]

Anthony isn't in SoI (atleast as far as I know) he just did a cover

[@respectfulremastersbymetal8336]

I'm telling you man, Eloy Casagrande - "Resistant Parasites" (Sepultura) - Live at Codimuc Studio. The power here and the talent are just top notch.

[@danmarshall5895]

Eloy must buy new drum heads every week. He hits harder than anyone and he plays with tree trunks.

[@respectfulremastersbymetal8336]

@@danmarshall5895 It's crazy! I read that during the recording of the last album they replaced the snare head every single day.

[@danmarshall5895]

@@respectfulremastersbymetal8336 Thank god for sponsorships, I guess.

[@OG.PoshCat]

It's triggered for the consistency in volume, but the notes are all being played. I believe he does doubles (rrllrrll) for his playing, but these speeds are also achievable with single strokes (280bpm I think?) so the technique doesn't matter as much. If you're doing this dive into metal drumming you should probably check out just about anything from George Kollias of Nile. He's one of those household names in metal drumming that can't be glossed over

[@OG.PoshCat]

A good video of George: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mqG6domDrL-gepo

[@TheFreakmaster1999]

270bpm in this video

[@erichand7548]

Ryan Buckingham yes , the fuckin triggers with everyone these days Get a good sound and mic it

[@baulzzzzzzz2278]

You’re first statement about blast bears has me weak bro...you’re honesty is the best part of these videos

[@jeffeaster7404]

Blast bears 😂

[@sharpywilliam4513]

Its a Heel-Toe technique on steroids lmao. Glad you liked Franchesco.

[@uriel393]

Francesco was guitar in FA, then jumed behind the kit whe their previous drummer left; Decade later, when their one of their guitarists left, and he's back on guitar. I'm a guitarist of 35 years (Not a drummer), but remarking on you asking why/how his hands were doing different things (Left being a finger-control, right doing the push-pull, IIRC), guitar hands do different things, and perhaps he went into learning drums with guitar-brain? I know that my hands are connected-yet-different monsters. :D Also, I'm the Bar Manager at DNA Lounge, and was standing stageside for this show. Most humble dudes, this most insane of bands, one of my faves.

[@markb9159]

I’m new to your channel and I’m already in love with these metal reactions. For insanely stupid blast beats, react to Nils “dominator” Fjellström of Dark Funeral. The song Hail Murder is ridiculous.

[@xedgeforeverx]

I actually requested this on a different video! I said just pick a song from their drum cam catalog though because its all insane. Which has the crazy high hat fills? Vobiscum Succubi or The Arrival of Satans Empire? or The Secret of the Black Arts? fuck I don't remember I love it all.

[@shallowlord]

He's from my hometown.. ;)

[@meng6281]

this. dominator is disgusting on drums.

[@eduardoaraya3195]

thanks man ! is always a pleasure to see open minded people recognizing the abilities that this type of musician have. note: the double bass drum is real, this drums go so fast that triggers are required to "capture" every single note cuz just with a mic, is going to be not clear and defined. Cheers !

[@kutsumiru]

All triggers do is sense when the drum has been hit and play a bass drum sample to supplement the bass drum sound. At speeds like that, each hit is understandably weak, and bass drum runs end up sounding muddy and lost in the mix. So, the trigger allows a snappier, clickier sound to be applied to each hit, to help the bass drum cut through the mix and be more audible. Essentially it's like they're playing on an electronic kick drum. The pass senses the hit and plays the bass drum sound. No extra notes are added. The vast majority of metal drummers play live with that configuration.

[@ImDatOoz]

again : Eliott Hoffman from Car bomb, Chris Turner from Ocean Ate Alaska. mind blown for sure.

[@Ugunark]

I wanna watch him react to Car Bomb so bad.

[@remolanokennettea.8428]

Bro, Chris Turner's a fuckin robot octopus

[@Schatje79]

As a metal drummer of 26 years, I can tell you that he is indeed using triggers. He's also using heel-toe technique to produce double-bass of that speed. When you're playing at ludicrous speed, it's pretty much a requirement to use triggers. There's just not enough power produced to not utilize them at that speed. The fastest drummers I can recall off the top of my head that do not use triggers are Gene Hoglan and Dirk Verbeuren but they don't play quite as psychotically fast as this. Pretty damn fast, though. They're all killers

[@Unknownusername1004]

Kollias doesn't either he uses single stroke swivels. Also Derek Roddy uses single stroke flat foot

[@oscarstegland]

Chris Turner begs to differ... Insane speed and power. No triggers, live or in the studio

[@bon2bonn]

He is using heel toe technique which is where you hit two on the right and then two on the left in quick succession to save energy.

[@sg01993]

Great video. Been enjoying all of your reaction videos and have to say I agree with some other commenters recommending Shadow of Intent.

[@thanebear]

Btw it's both. It's a triggered bass drum and he's playing diddles. It's not any easier it just sounds better in that wall of sound they create.

[@MixYourWay]

Music is just ways to express and explore our inner universes. For some it's jazz, for others it's Rnb. For others is extreme gore epic metal. It is quite interesting how people who listen to extreme genres are able to listen and appreciate other softer more friendly music. It is not always the same the other way around.

[@davejradkins6564]

Yes triggers absolutely

[@Friduwulf]

Hey dude! For the double base technique, I’m pretty sure it’s heel-toe left foot, heel-toe right foot, to get those double taps in. Kind of how punk rock beats go, but with both feet and sped up.

[@Friduwulf]

@@nuts6991 yeah bro I grew up drumming! I love it!

[@SebastianCoDe]

Hello dude!! new suscriber here from Argentina, the foot thing he is making is a double stroke RR-LL etc and yes, the bass drum is triggered! Nice videos, keep on going!!

[@haydendillon-lloyd9304]

You need to do a video on Flo Mounier of Cryptopsy he is a great jazz drummer!

[@anonpelton5797]

I think it would be really cool to see you do analysis videos. Would be super interesting!

[@thorwulfx1]

In concert, Fleshgod is a phenomenon of staggering power. The entire building shakes. The maelstrom picks you up and throws you around like a rag doll.

[@jen.g.]

Oooh, this song is just nuts. Fun watch. 😊

[@OverlordOfChaos117]

He is using the heel-toe technique

[@Luvenhart]

Yes, double strokes heel-toe left, heel-toe right.

[@cristian6868]

Drums vs machine !!! 🤘🤘🤘

[@primordials0und]

Hell yeah! He really is that fast, the triggers just clarify the sound bc without them at that speed you couldn't discern each hit clearly enough. He actually stopped being their drummer, he plays guitar for them now, threw out his back if I remember correctly.

[@heyimgoingtoplaysomegames]

David Bruce If I remember correctly, that was one of the only criticisms that Marthyn has when he reviewed his video. He said persistent playing when he leans forward during the extremely fast doubles could lead to back issues, hopefully that didn’t happen!

[@yuvalwh]

When this video was filmed he was playing for 3 years. Insane

[@dcoprea3]

Check Darkside from Mgla, that's way more tehnical cymbal work than very fast blast beats/double bass.

[@GoodAlexanderVibes]

He is playing double strokes on his feet. He is using a trigger system, you can hear the sample come through the PA. Although triggers have a bad reputation in the drum world, it is still extremely hard to get that clean with them. If you arent clean with a trigger system, everyone can and will notice.

[@aronomaoileoin9603]

Chanson Westmoreland-The faceless -The spiralling void

[@BayAreaThrashDrummer]

Chason is sick

[@mathias1663]

they are doubles its like heal toe technique but you play with the arch of your foot and then your toes you can serach for phil dubois ex drummer of revocation he uses the same technique

[@JamesAhrens]

I love Francesco Paoli. I have watched Fleshgod since their "Mafia" ep and I fucking love this band. Thanks for the reaction. "I don't know anything!" Lol.

[@transmundanemusic]

Heel toe and/or swivel technique + triggers to even out consistency of the hits. You won't many, if any, drummers playing that fast double kick without triggers. Impressive any way you slice it.

[@Mrvegas6666]

He's not even the drummer for the band anymore, he's the guitarist and lead singer lol. The man is an unreal musician!

[@abhoegberg]

The feet can be legit, but at that speed you typically need a direct drive pedal that uses 100% of the rebound opposed to a chain drive that has diminished returns. If you want a break down into the technique, look into "swivel" double strokes that in a nut shell, use the left side of a foot to strike once and then the right side of a foot to strike in succession relying on the rebound

[@nadivlev2531]

These videos are awesome! You should try Blake Richardson drumming Augment of Rebirth

[@nazarf1884]

Nadiv Lev i love blake technique..wide array of style blend into his drumming

[@evilbunnysanta]

It is a trigger but it's still actually played. Only reason it's triggered is to get a louder tighter sound than an acoustic would give. Most of these high level drummers wouldn't quantize or fake it in some way. Also super high speeds triggers are needed just from the nature of the acoustics of the bass drum.

[@TheWitchOvAgnesi]

The foot work is a heel-toe double hit (so yes, basically LLRR). And of course he is using a trigger. But you know what a trigger does, right? Another great practitioner of the heel-toe stuff is Eric Morotti of Suffocation. Mind you there are plenty of other drummers than can hit this speed with single strokes.

[@dangoheen8050]

Also Mike Smith years with old school brutal death metal band Suffocation. Mike Smith is very unique for his early 90's era of death metal. Check him out

[@camw621]

Not sure which drummer for this band it was specifically, but there's footage of him performing one of their songs super f-ing sick, and towards the end he spews up like 3 or 4 times. Despite hurling, he continued drumming the whole way though. Dude's a fucking beast of a human.

[@nkboz28]

Suggestions for music, Fear Factory. They have multiple albums and a few changes to the line up but they have only really had 2 drummers, Raymond Herrera (founding member) and later Gene Hogland of Strapping Young Lad fame. Not as fast as this but on the mechanical/technical side would be Static-X. The only drummer I know my name is Nick Oshiro and he was in drumline so he would actually do snare solos when they played live.

[@c.m.9671]

Would love to see your reaction to the video “Derek Roddy feetview video” its for the band Hate Eternal, Victorious Reign.

[@danielfarre6994]

Left Heel - left toe - right heel - right toe. So double tap for each foot. And yeah only triggers live. no kick mic. Considering the beater distance for that speed and the technique, the volume of his hits would be all over the place. BUT. The purpose is not to be 100% equal hits. therefore the trigger. that is just the style. EVEN with a trigger, you still need to BE ON THE BEAT. There is no cheating in that. Some would say it is even more apparent, cause the trigger doesn't lie.

[@psyken_2321]

Generally the line of speed that's possible to play using feet without triggers is 210-225bpm, although it is possible to still get a clear sound up to 240. No, what you're hearing is not the actual sound from the bass drums, but a trigger: it is impossible to get a clear enough sound to cut through all the other instruments at such a speed, especially not using double strokes like he is.

[@infinite7501]

Ya he's an expert at the heel toe technique. You have to have be very efficient with motion when doing this over a whole concert or you'll burn out quick. He's got it down! Nice reaction.

[@drumlyfenation]

Yes it is legit double strokes/diddles with the feet which are doing all the work but a triggers give off the sound

[@jeffeaster7404]

Heeltoe technique on feet, double strokes, trigger helps even out the hits volume but some guys can get it pretty much perfect without trigger

[@TheJokesterSCR]

It's heel toe technique on the feet. Look it up. It is right right, left left. It IS triggered, but triggering doesn't do anything aside from amplify the sound. Think of it like an electric guitar. No matter how hard you pluck the strings, the sound is amplified to the same volume regardless of intensity of the strum or pluck. That's all a trigger does. It does not make somebody play faster. In fact, when using triggers, it makes your mistakes stand out a lot more, so you have to be even more precise than if you weren't using them. If your double bass is sloppy, triggers make that sloppiness blatantly obvious. It's really just a way for the bass drum to cut through the mix.

[@christophercory3650]

They all use triggers for consistency in volume level, but it's one-to-one (one hit = one trigger sound) so still very impressive. The down side is that you lose all volume dynamics for your kick, I guess that's why they don't play ballads. In terms of technique, many ways to do it but I've found that 3 are the most efficient: swivel (heel up and swivel the heel right & left), heel up singles, and heel-toe (this one uses double strokes vs singles). In all of them, IMO, all work better if you bury the beater into the head, maintain contact with the footboard and simply drop the heal to make the stroke. This way you can simply 'twitch' your legs to get the stroke (much faster & less muscularly taxing). By burying the beater you can control the stroke better so it doesn't rebound everywhere, delivering extra hits where you don't want them.

[@havokmusicinc]

In the past, some of the old black metal bands would set up a trigger so that when they hit the drumhead once with the beater, it would produce a sample of two hits. This has faded from popularity though - nowadays triggers are used for evenness in volume. Some bands trigger every drum on the kit, if dynamics aren't a part of their sound. Other bands trigger the snare and bass.

[@xXHCTKMilitiaXx]

You NEED to do one with the drummer from Archspire, Spencer

[@prettysweet5033]

There's clip of him throwing up mid track and playing the entire time. Boss moves.

[@mariofarias8745]

He recorded this album with only playing drums for 6 months. I think at this point only about a year into playing.

[@Jbur63]

You should check out Blake Richardson - The Ectopic Stroll and Aric Improta - Blur-lights in the Videodrome

[@JM-ll6hd]

Something that absolutely would blow you away. Lord Marco playing "Cenotes" or the newer Sleep Terror stuff. He plays with no triggers now on ANYTHING, and he is way faster all single strokes even with the feet... Fills played at speed Seriously check out Cenotes with him.

[@kchez5586]

Navene Koperweis from Entheos has a bunch of drum play throughs with great audio and clear video and crazy tasteful playing. Primal is way up there.

[@CarlGonzalesGuitar]

please do Dirk Verbeuren - Soilwork - Spectrum of Eternity

[@justinc.7742]

Thank you, Soilwork never comes up in any kind of reaction videos and they are such an amazing band. I listened to Stabbing the Drama for about a year and nothing else when it came out, blew my mind then and still a great album start to finish.

[@cheeselesscracker341]

Jamie St Merat from Ulcerate. Straight up

[@markschroeder2295]

My favorite drummer...

[@timetoshred2461]

Review Marco Pitruzella of Brain Drill/Anomalous

[@lorenzoragazzi6551]

So francesco uses “heel toe” or the rocking motion to get those 16ths at those insane tempos, he does use triggers (as most metal drummers these days do) but he is essentially using double strokes between his feet to achieve those speeds.

[@PurpleDreki]

Crazy shit!

[@marcobm2786]

"Let's see how sick this drummer is" Bruh you have no idea...

[@Nazgul667]

Do ABORTED@Cadaverous Banquet-Ken Bedene-live in Brutal Assault 2016

[@poolmaster18]

Great vid, I would suggest watching Mike Portnoy’s drum cam playing Dream Theater’s instrumedley.

[@failtoactdrummer]

Check out triviums sin and the sentence drumming is nuts he is so precise and had the album in 2 takes.

[@czdot]

And then you realize Francesco Paoli now plays a guitar and sings in the same band. :-D

[@jgulizia]

The good old double stroke roll with the feet. A technique that is so hard to master because head tension, pedal settings and trigger settings on the module must be in perfect balance.

[@eliasmarques5715]

Please check out MGLA - exercises in futility V, drumcam live at Brutal assalt

[@Weavaloid]

Italian hand gestures gets you be good at drumming.

[@aaronschilling1815]

He’s using double strokes. Heal/toe 2 hits left, 2 hits right. John longstreith from origin is probably the best at it, but paoli and dude from infant annihilation are other examples. Check out flo monier from cryptopsy for the absolute mastery of extreme metal drumming techniques

[@TheSadistNat1on]

My names Garrett too and I like you

[@beaubarnett9393]

Check our Away in the Canadian band VoiVod!!! The songs Killing Technology, Insect, the Unknown Knows, so much good material and he is a great drummer!

[@joelgillaspy9558]

David deipold...Dave Mcgraw... Lord Marko...Toni Merkel...John Longstreth ALL good drummers

[@lucaaganetti7931]

Fleshgooddd!!! Yeahhh

[@nou8968]

Archspire -Spencer Prewett

[@B0N3CA57L3]

FULL BLAST!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@joeyuzwa891]

Daniel Tracy of Deafheaven makes blast beats emotional somehow