Hey Leon (Mithras)

[zim]

I'd like to ask you a few questions about your drumming if you don't mind, I'm a big fan of your drumming.



I think I read somewhere that you started drumming when you were 19? Are you self taught or did you have a teacher? Inspirations outside of death metal (and dm as well)?



How long were you drumming before you were able to play some death-metal stuff pretty well? And would you have any tips for a beginner? I'm probably going to get my first set(electronic) in a few months and I can't wait to blast.

[L Macey]

Hi Zim, no problem

I think I read somewhere that you started drumming when you were 19? Are you self taught or did you have a teacher? Inspirations outside of death metal (and dm as well)?

Yeah that's about right, I started drumming in Mithras in 2000 and I started actually drumming right at the end of 1999, which is when I was just 20. Before that I'd only sat behind a kit about 10 times just to try and explain a beat to a drummer, or to annoy everyone at rehearsal :D



I was self taught bar learning from our old drummer by watching him play, most of the stuff I figured out using trial and error as this was before the proliferation of extreme drumming info on the net. When I was in Throne Of Nails playing guitar their drummer Mark Smith showed me some cool stuff like how to do doubles and triples properly.



My biggest dm drum influences are probably Sandoval and Mounier, outside dm, Neil Peart, Lombardo, I used to really dig Virgil Donati but I can't play like him haha.

How long were you drumming before you were able to play some death-metal stuff pretty well? And would you have any tips for a beginner? I'm probably going to get my first set(electronic) in a few months and I can't wait to blast.

Well in 1997 in a band before Mithras our drummer was trying to play the blastsection from 'Chapel Of Ghouls' and he couldn't do it, he wasn't fast enough. I was a bit perplexed so had a go and to my surprise did it easily (I didn't play it that great but the speed of it was a non-issue for me), so when I started drumming properly I was drumming along to Cryptopsy, Mortician, Angel Corpse right away, which I guess is unusual (and probably a bit stupid in hindsight as it lead to me getting bad habits).



So I started out playing extremely fast all the time, and this (somewhat childish) mentality kinda peaked around the recording of 'Legions' when I could actually play 380bpm hyperblasts with my left hand. But once that album was in the can we had new material with much harder foot work (Worlds...), so the hyperblasting took a back seat, but I did start actually practing proper drumming techniques, rudiments and learning to play slow!



For someone starting out, getting a metronome is key really, just play to the damn thing as much as possible and try various tempo ranges from ultra slow to as fast as you can, record it and see how tight you actually are (normally a horrible experience for a beginner). It's worth getting some lessons from a (preferably metal) drummer if you don't know anything about how to play drums just so you know how to set the kit up right, hold the sticks etc, but I guess you can find most of this out online now. It's probably a bit limiting to just play dm stuff, and worth doing some rock and metal, no point being able to blast if you can't do a 4 beat tight.



If you're using an ekit, the triggering settings are going to be crucial regarding whether you'll find it really enjoyable to play or extremely frustrating, I recommend getting a decent one with mesh pads if you are serious, maybe a Roland. I have had quite a few ekits over the years but I sold them all, I just prefer hitting real drums with real skins on them. I don't even like practicing on ekits anymore.

[L Macey]

I just did an int with Noel from Sickdrummer re: my drumming, so hopefully that'll make it into the magazine soon

[zim]

Thanks a ton, I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.



[quote name="L Macey"]For someone starting out, getting a metronome is key really, just play to the damn thing as much as possible and try various tempo ranges from ultra slow to as fast as you can, record it and see how tight you actually are (normally a horrible experience for a beginner). It's worth getting some lessons from a (preferably metal) drummer if you don't know anything about how to play drums just so you know how to set the kit up right, hold the sticks etc, but I guess you can find most of this out online now. It's probably a bit limiting to just play dm stuff, and worth doing some rock and metal, no point being able to blast if you can't do a 4 beat tight.[/quote]



I have a buddy who was a pretty decent dm drummer. He taught me quite a bit, e,g, how to hold the sticks, some foot techniques, how to perform some blasts, etc.



These are the drum pads that are coming with the set - (It also includes 1 Axis Longboard Bass Drum Pedal)





I'd prefer to have an acoustic kit but I only have to pay $400 for this so I'm not passing it up.

[L Macey]

Pintech stuff is meant to be pretty ok, and at least it's mesh heads :D Even if you do get an acoustic kit one day this makes a good practice set.



Make sure you get your axis pedals set up decently, don't have the beaters too far from the heads if you're planning on playing fast for a long time.

[Hugo.]

Beaters medium distance. Spring tension full.

[L Macey]

are you getting a double pedal or is it a single? (if it's a single you can get a kit to convert it to a double). anyway the longboard a is a great pedal and thats what i use.



but i wouldn't recommend going to full tension on the heavy spring, as it makes the pedal feel like it's got a pillow under it imo, half way-2/3 is tight enough. If it's the "normal" spring tho, go full tension.



15-18 cm from the heads to the beater faces is a good distance imo, unless you're trying to impress dickheads on youtube with how big you "stroke is" :D, which is basically immaterial if you trigger.

[Uni777]

Leon,



I think it is very cool of you sharing your insightst and stuff. Would you mind doing a guitar rig rundown if you have some time to spare in the future?



Thanks,

Marco

[M.Bison]

:topsecret:

[Conservative_Heretic]

This is truly the greatest thing to me about being a member of this board and having found this family.

Damn cool thread this is

[L Macey]

[quote name="uni777"]Leon,



I think it is very cool of you sharing your insightst and stuff. Would you mind doing a guitar rig rundown if you have some time to spare in the future?



Thanks,

Marco[/quote]



[quote name="M.Bison"]:topsecret:[/quote]



Hi Marco, M.Bison is right, I don't go into details about what's in my guitar rig as it is indeed topsecret. sorry if this is disappointing.

[Hugo.]

You got some good sounds.

[Abzu]

[quote name="Conservative_Heretic"]This is truly the greatest thing to me about being a member of this board and having found this family.

Damn cool thread this is [/quote]

[Those Insane Gods]

Cool thread. I finally got my shit together and gave Behind The Shadows a proper listen. I really liked what I heard.

[RitesOfPossession]

[quote name="WhereTheSlimeLives"]Cool thread. I finally got my shit together and gave Behind The Shadows a proper listen. I really liked what I heard.[/quote]

Make sure you check out the other stuff as well! Worlds Beyond The Veil is

[deckard]

His guitar rig is great, wish I could talk about it more!