Re: The Blast Beat
Before you judge what I'm about to say, keep in mind that I'm a metal fan as well.
In some cases, the blast beat fits with the music very well and is a very appropriate groove to play in that situation.
For example, in "Rose of Sharyn" by Killswitch Engage, drummer Justin Foley plays a blast beat with a syncopated guitar melody. The bass guitar is on the down beat (which is mimicked by the bass drum) and the guitars play the melody on the upbeat (snare drum), thus creating a very complimentary blast beat pattern.
However, sometimes I feel like blast beats are metal dummers copping out of a cool groove that could be there by just bashing away.
I'll pick on Justin Foley of KsE again so I don't seem biased in any way.
In the song "A Bid Farewell," once the second guitar riff is going (after the first verse) Foley plays a blast that seems very out of place to me. That song is an example of where blast beats aren't quite the most apporpriate groove for the application.
Don't get me wrong, I love metal and KsE is probably one of my top ten bands. I just think that the blast beat should only be used to compliment music, not take away from it.