Thrash Metal Drumming - Skank Beats / Double Time

[@xPussyWhistlex]

I've been playing drums for 23 years and this style continues to be the hardest for me to count and play cleanly. This video is very helpful!

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

It’s simple but deceptive. I’ve met dozens of people who thought they could play thrash and couldn’t. It’s harder than it looks. Everyone assumes it’s stupidly easy because the rhythm is often fairly repetitive but that’s not the hard part...

[@calebcomrie7984]

Well I've been playing drums for approximately five minutes and I agree

[@OddManMC]

Ive been practicing programming drums for demos to send to my band and this made SOOO MUCH more sense. Thank you!

[@deeomayall]

The "slow traditional blast" is basically groovy goregrind and it's lovely ❤️

[@_sikaztitiez_1291]

Damn might go buy the book

[@BackyardRonin]

Very informative thank you. the middle section where you inform on correct placement of meter drums kinda seems like a distinction for bread and butter blasts between thrash and black metal

[@ChrisplayZ45]

Hell yeah! What's up, Ryan! I didn't know you put this book out but I'm ordering it tomorrow. Just started writing some thrash metal / hardcore punk crossover songs and needed a crash course in thrash drumming. Didn't think I'd see you doing a video on exactly what I wanted! Thank my lucky stars! Couldn't have asked for a better video and book to go along with it.

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Nice. Sounds like this is what you need. It’s not complicated but that doesn’t make it easy.

[@Davepacheco1986]

I don't even play drums and I want this book! That rules you wrote a drum book(s)! So cool.

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

If you buy them all and work on them you probably will be able to play the drums eventually.

[@Lchipotle]

The sound of that snare alone makes me want to THRASH!!!!!

[@gdansk12349]

Skanking is a way to dance. Also upbeat/offbeat rythm guitar/drumming in reggae/ska. Originated from Jamaica, later used in the british punk/ska scene.

[@EngelbertHumperdinck86]

It originates from"Ska beat" later used by fast punk bands and yet even later used by most contemporary hard rock and metal.

[@lucatjoe]

Your kit sounds so sick, everything just sounds right

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Thanks I think I just got lucky on the mic placement for once.

[@lucatjoe]

@@RyanAlexanderBloom can definitely relate

[@Kshep84]

Very nice explanations.

[@williamkoonrad7930]

I so needed this video in 2004 when I joined a thrash metal band dam im old and I miss the workout of mind and limbs creating original thrash and my guitar player trying to teach me Lombardo style between this video and 1st slayer album show no mercy u could learn these skills quick it took forever to get my right hand smoking

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

I don't think I could play like this in 2004 either. My first attempt came in 2007, even though I had been playing drums for 10 years at that point, I hadn't really ever learned thrash.

[@aztlangrooverecordz]

Great teaching bro ... just the perfect way to introduce my young drummer kid into some metal basics :) .... thanx a lot keep rockin¨

[@javierpey6680]

Excellent! I really learnt alot from your vids :D

[@nickcollins9893]

5:40 isn't that what Flo Mounier does at 280+ bpm parts in Cryptopsy though? I know it is literally a traditional blast, but tempo-wise, it is a skank-beat with twice less hihat.

[@midinerd]

3:09 one-handsied snaresies 5:12 single-handsy-daisies basssies 5:31 family-photo 6:24 bassy pillowfight 9:02 slipknot (sic) 10:04

[@ianhowell4015]

Hey! Going to pick up this book soon. Great video.

[@itz_vortex7341]

how tf did you get that snare sound it sounds amazing!

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Tuned it, put a tiny piece of tape on the old worn out head. It’s a nice snare to start with. Black Panther Sledgehammer. I’m using a $12 57 clone.

[@itz_vortex7341]

@@RyanAlexanderBloom $12 57 clone?

[@Epd3mik]

@@itz_vortex7341 The microphone. :)

[@ThomaspridgenTV]

You sound good bro

[@Charles-mv7sv]

Thumbs Up: Entry level patterns that sound great.

[@Cheshireagusta]

Great vid! thanks.

[@guitarforall]

9:00 IS EXACTLY WHAT I LOVE!!! is that a skank beat?

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

It sure is

[@dagmerrie]

d-beat

[@Flight_Pattern]

awesome explanation and lesson

[@littlebear2477]

Book sounds great ! I don’t believe a “skank beat “ should ever be played without the proper double time leading hand hit as you said it’s incorrect it is a traditional blast no if’s and or butts

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

I always avoided the slow blast in my thrash playing. It is funny though, sometimes in black or death metal you want to blast in a slower riff and it ends up sort of sounding like a fast bad skank... the line is blurry.

[@ginger3d]

this is one of the hardest rytm i play. I try many many times to count on tempo, but i always cross and made mistakes.

[@G0atR1d3r]

Very nice!😝 🖤

[@Jnanabase]

Clean!

[@AK47_414]

are these the beats scott raynor used in dude ranch

[@chrismaille3478]

Dude, the beat in the beginning example that you represent as thumbs down and not correct is something that I've been using here and there for 20ish years, never got a complaint! Yeah, fast, and in small amounts, I think it sounds cool ...so did everyone else...but I'm not a successful famous drummer either! What do I know? No disrespect. The book looks really good. Good vid.

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

You’ll find every variation on successful recordings, even the one I caution against, but the main reason I dissuade people from using it is that lots of people use it because they’re being lazy, not because they’ve made the artistic choice to go with that sound. I’d rather that aspiring drummers thought of it as lesser so that there is more motivation to learn the other 2 hi hat placements first... even though they’re more challenging to play.

[@DropB]

The Finnish "humppa" music has the same. So it's really funny beat for us Finnish people.

[@thrasher1730]

I wish you were my drum teacher

[@straightbrutality9264]

Its interesting how a-lot of drummers tongue will stick out during difficult parts that require a lot of focus. Its almost like the just peaks its head out to watch whats going on lol. I do it too haha

[@zinzermunch]

Do you have this book on PDF or any digital format? I would like to buy it.

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Yes, if you visit Hudson Music it’s available for download. hudsonmusic.com/product/thrash-metal-drumming/

[@maxlhetvxhywxvxbm7645]

My English isn't great. Any tips on how to get the right wrist to play like that? I get e snare and kick right but not my wrist, I want to hit hihat faster with my right hand but cant physical do it

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Look up Moeller technique. I have a video on my channel about it.

[@Davepacheco1986]

Maybe "skank" after the skanking style of dancing seen in circle pits?

[@davidalarcon6541]

Love the snare drum ! Which model and which skin is used please ? Thanks very much, good educational video

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Black Panther Sledgehammer with probably a coated ambassador on it.

[@davidalarcon6541]

@@RyanAlexanderBloom thanks for your answer !

[@OscarWithC]

My leading hand starts to hurt when playing fast on ride and hi hat any tips on how to fix this?

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Relax. Try to use Moeller strokes or push/pull or some other version of a multiple fulcrum stroke to spread the tension out. Relax. Use the rebound of the cymbal. And practice more.

[@nigelproctor]

Do you rimshot for every backbeat? At higher tempos say 220-240 I just start to dead hit the center instead of rimshot. It just starts to sound annoying to me when it’s that fast and loud

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

I never dead hit. I also don’t always rimshot. Depends on what I’m doing. I’m usually not playing rimshots while playing blasts or skank beats.

[@dopocc]

Hi and thank you for this. couldn't find the book on amazon, is it out yet?

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

No, sorry, Hudson pushed back the release date to "September or October" in the week it was supposed to come out originally. I was planning on July but they threw me a bit of a curve ball. I'll post another related video when its out, which is hopefully in the next month.

[@dopocc]

@@RyanAlexanderBloom awesome, looking fwd, thanks!

[@balrogDCLXVI]

I had thought you're gonna mention playing triplets on the HH when tempo is just too fast - I think Paul Mazurkiewicz does that a lot

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

I’m not sure I know who Paul is, or at least I can’t place the name right now, but I don’t really play triplets unless the beat is in triplets specifically. If the tempo gets too fast the go-to solution is to just play hi hat when you play the snare. Never the opposite. But you can get away with snare/hat combo only if you’re playing a fast enough speed.

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Ok I just figured out who that is. Gotcha.

[@diegoiha8553]

SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

[@Larz1000000]

Hey, this wasn't an awful video or anything but you could have done way more with it. Try checking out Jason Bittner's DVD, also from Hudson, for a more overall approach to the skank beat. Also, you seemed to make way to much out of what is just basically a quarter note beat, for a basic idea you can shift parts of the beat to the 'and' to change the feel.

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Well, typically this is thought of as an 8th note beat, so I don’t quite know what you mean by shift to the “and” of the beat. I’m familiar with some of Jason’s playing and yes there are many other variations. This is just a start. I’ve got 18 variations and 8 transcribed phrases in the book. Plus a whole section on punk and d-beat, not addressed in this video, which is also similarly played in double time, but uses more variations in bass drum placement. Obviously I’m not covering everything in 11 minutes.

[@HazeAnderson]

SOLD! 😅 where's my copy ...

[@tihirvi4200]

How to play fast on hat on high tempos?

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Moeller strokes basically.

[@DandoGuerraCanals]

AUDIOS EXAMPLE?PLEAS

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Sent the link to your email.

[@ShadowSamba]

It does sound kinda slower if you start the beat with snare. Huh. Interesting

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Yeah it must be totally psychological because it logically makes no sense.

[@Trahzy]

It's called the skank beat because in thrash the specific type of mosh they do it called "skanking". D.R.I.s logo is a guy skanking.

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Interesting. There's also a "skanking" related to ska-punk and Ihave no idea if that is related... I would assume that it is. I have really never heard anyone talk about it in a thrash context, but maybe I'm just not old enough.

[@Trahzy]

@@RyanAlexanderBloom well it was used a lot in crossover thrash bands that incorporated punk to their sound too. Ironic how lots of the thrashers and punks despised eachother but ended up realizing how similar their music was, thrash was just punk with the more technical and heavy ingredients of metal mixed in. Very confusing history but ultimately the genre's conjoined and accepted eachother. I'm only 23 I just do my research lol. Check out Cryptic Slaughter's song "lowlife" and DRIs song "thrashard". Perfect examples and cs actually may have been the fastest at the time.

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

Yeah punk and metal have evolved very similarly through time. Lots of people still can’t distinguish deathcore from death metal even though it’s glaringly obvious to those who are truly familiar with the historical sound of ether one.a lot of kids these days lump all of the modern punk/core with metal and make no distinction at all, even dudes playing in bands of one type will refer to it erroneously as the other, not being able to mentally or aurally separate the punk influence from the metal. But crossover aside, hardcore punks and old school metal heads still don’t enjoy one another’s company or their bands.

[@robertwalker3357]

Polka

[@rgr5340]

No Skank beats o hi hat é dobrado, nunca é junto com o bumbo. Muitos bateristas erram nisso

[@mikeonis]

I've always considered the skank beat to be different than the "straight up" thrash beat, i.e. check out "slayer angel of death drums only" and compare that with Venom "witching hour" You'll see the skank has a bit of swing to it, maybe because of the "late" kick drum hit?

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

A lot of people do consider them the same exact thing. It’s very common to use that term in Europe. Less over here, but it still happens a lot. The late kick here is more called a D beat or something like that.

[@mikeonis]

@@RyanAlexanderBloom I remember "d beat" basically being a slow blast beat. Like punk rock style. Whenever I asked my drummer to use a "skank" it always meant the riff had a punk/grindcore feel to it ;)

[@ldepression3198]

love it but can't like it as I don't wanna change the number of the beast...

[@croctear3185]

lol put that tongue back in 😂

[@Cheshireagusta]

Not news. Drummers do not care if guitar players like them. tee hee. But playing good drums is still a good idea.

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

If you’re trying to join a band run by a guitar player you might care if they like you. That’s one time where it matters a little bit.

[@Mikemcjr]

That’s pretty dang skanky if I said so myself

[@bungadesa597]

Play metal from the book? Are you serious?

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

I’m pretty serious, yeah. Virgil Donati, Derek Roddy, Marco Minneman, and many other metal drummers have books, but they all start at insanely hard and get harder. There are also about 1 billion beginner rock books. I thought someone might appreciate something in the middle. Dead serious.

[@tricky92x]

Bro, put your tongue in.

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

You say that like I control what it does while I’m playing.

[@tricky92x]

@@RyanAlexanderBloom😂