Metal Gallop Kick drum pattern
A two-bar metal gallop: the kick plays an eighth and two 16ths on every beat, the snare hits 2 and 4, the ride plays eighths and a crash marks the top of the phrase. Press Play to hear it with a sampled drum kit at 160 BPM, change the tempo or swing, and follow every hit on the grid.
How to count the Metal Gallop 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 straight 16th-note gallop).
The Metal Gallop 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 | X-XX X-XX X-XX X-XX | X-XX X-XX X-XX X-XX |
| Snare | ---- X--- ---- X--- | ---- X--- ---- X--- |
| Open hat | X--- ---- ---- ---- | ---- ---- ---- ---- |
| Ride | --x- x-x- x-x- x-x- | x-x- x-x- x-x- x-x- |
Tempo and feel
Driving and even. Every gallop is the same length and the same level; the backbeat rides on top without pushing the feet. The default tempo is 160 BPM. Slow it down until every hit is controlled, then raise the tempo a few BPM at a time.
How to practise the Metal Gallop Kick
Say the gallop aloud, one and-a, two and-a, and play it on the kick alone at 100 BPM. Use right, right-left on each gallop so the left foot only plays the a. Add the snare on 2 and 4, then the ride eighths, and raise the tempo only while the gallops stay even.
Variations to try next
Play a reverse gallop, two 16ths and an eighth, on each beat. Keep the gallop on beats 1 and 3 only and play single kicks on 2 and 4. Move the ride to a crash on every quarter note for a chorus.
Where to hear this feel
Records in this family include British heavy metal, power metal and thrash gallop riffs. A practice study of the heavy metal gallop, the eighth-and-two-sixteenths rhythm of British heavy metal riffs, doubled on the kick drum under a backbeat on 2 and 4 and an eighth-note ride. The foot pattern is right on the beat and the and, left on the a, so neither foot plays two 16ths in a row; drummers also play it on a single pedal at lower tempos. The open hi-hat stands in for the crash at the top of the phrase, and the one kick sample stands in for a double pedal or two bass drums. The foot sticking and the ride are informed choices. It is authored for practice, not transcribed.