Death Metal Half-Time Kick drum pattern
A two-bar death metal half-time groove: nonstop 16th-note double kick, one snare on beat 3, quarter notes on the ride bell and a crash at the top of the phrase. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 150 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Death Metal Half-Time Kick
Count it as: 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a · two bars. The pattern is a 2-bar phrase in 4/4 (two-bar 16th-note double kick under a half-time snare).
The Death Metal Half-Time Kick pattern, hit by hit
Each character is one step of the grid and each group is one beat. X is an accented hit, x a normal hit, o a quiet or ghost note and - a rest.
| Voice | Bar 1 | Bar 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Kick | XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX | XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX |
| Snare | ---- ---- X--- ---- | ---- ---- X--- ---- |
| Open hat | X--- ---- ---- ---- | ---- ---- ---- ---- |
| Ride bell | ---- x--- x--- x--- | x--- x--- x--- x--- |
Tempo and feel
Heavy and churning. The feet keep a dense roll going while the snare on 3 makes the bar feel half as fast. The default tempo is 150 BPM. Slow it down until every hit is controlled, then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time.
How to practise the Death Metal Half-Time Kick
Play 16ths on the kick, right-left, at 100 BPM. Add the snare on beat 3 only and count the full bar under it. Add the ride bell on each beat, then raise the tempo.
Variations to try next
Move the snare to 2 and 4 for a full-time backbeat. Play the quarters on a crash for the heaviest part of the riff. Stop the feet on beat 4 of bar two to leave a gap before the next phrase.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include Death metal mid-tempo sections over continuous double kick. A practice study of the half-time double-kick groove of death metal: unbroken 16th notes on the kick, right and left foot alternating, under a single snare on beat 3 and quarter notes on the ride bell. The one kick sample stands in for a double pedal or two bass drums, and the open hi-hat stands in for the crash at the top of the phrase. The ride bell is an informed choice; drummers also play these quarters on a china or a crash. It differs from the library's Power Metal Double Kick by its half-time snare. It is authored for practice, not transcribed.