Blast beats

A blast beat is a drum beat that originated in hardcore punk and grindcore, and is often associated with certain styles of extreme metal, namely black metal and death metal. In Adam MacGregor's definition, "the blast-beat generally comprises a repeated, sixteenth-note figure played at a very fast tempo, and divided uniformly among the bass drum, snare, and ride, crash, or hi-hat cymbal." Blast beats have been described as, "maniacal percussive explosions, less about rhythm per se than sheer sonic violence".

Napalm Death is said to have coined the term, though this style of drumming had previously been practiced by D.R.I.,Repulsion and others.

The English band Napalm Death coined the term "blast beat", though this style of drumming had previously been practiced by others. Daniel Ekeroth argues that the blast beat was first performed by the Swedish group Asocial on their 1982 demo.D.R.I. ("No Sense"),Sepultura ("Antichrist"),S.O.D. ("Milk"),Sarcófago ("Satanas"), and Repulsion also included the technique prior to Napalm Death's emergence. AllMusic contributor Thom Jurek credits Williams as the "true inventor of the blastbeat" in 1979.

The blast beat as we know it today originated in the European hardcore and grindcore scenes in the 1980s. Contrary to popular belief, blast beats originated from punk and hardcore music, not metal music. In the UK punk and hardcore scene of the early 1980s there were many bands attempting to play as fast as possible. In 1985 emerging grindcore band Napalm Death replaced their former drummer Miles "Rat" Ratledge with Mick Harris, who brought to the band a whole new level of speed. Harris became the official drummer of Napalm Death and is credited for developing the term "blast beat", describing the fast notes played on the kick and snare. Harris started using the blast beat as a fundamental aspect of Napalm Death's early musical compositions. It was finally with Napalm Deaths first full-length album Scum (1987) that blast beat started to evolve into a distinct musical expression of its own. Blast beats became music from the mid to late 1980s popular in extreme music.The blast beat evolved into its modern form as it was developed in the American death metal and grindcore scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Pete Sandoval, drummer of Terrorizer and later Morbid Angel, gave the blast beat a solid time signature and thus gave it a musical characteristic.

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