A few questions for Dirk

[Jared]

Hey thanks for the quick response man, I really appreciate it! I would like to say that I am a really big fan of your incredible drumming and that I am very inspired by your work. I am thinking of adding a second hi-hat on the right and I was wondering if I should get the same hi-hats as I have on the left? Should it matter if they are the same or different? What is your opinion? I have A Custom Mastersounds on the left. Another thing I am really wanting to ask you is about blast beats . I really struggle with them and I was wondering if you had any tips or secrets on how you play them????? As I said before I am going to get the extra hi-hat on the right....mainly because I am very inspired by the blast beats that you and others play switching between the hi-hat and the ride and also the accents you add on the on the splashes, the hi-hat, the and ride while blasting! It would really help if you could help me out especially on blast beats!! Thanks

[napalmdirk]

Hey Jared, no problem man !

The two hi-hats I use are different because I find it interesting to combine their sounds. Using the same on the left as on the right reduces the possibilities... I mean, if you're going to add an extra element, it might as well have a unique sound. But of course, it's all a matter of personal taste.

Concerning the blastbeats, I practiced a lot of snare rudiments, independance and endurance exercices over the years. The most important is to be as supple as possible, even when you play very fast. Practicing an hour or two every day will definitely help to develop your muscles. Try working at a tempo that's manageable for you, and then turn it up slowly (2 by 2) every two or three days.

Good luck !

[Jared]

Do you mostly play your hi-hat blast beats on your right hi-hat? I find it a lot easier than playing it cross handed on the left. Also I checked the tama site to see what drums you play and they don't have you on there! You need to get on them to get you on the site! So do you play starclassics or what? Thanks for your time man

[napalmdirk]

I use both hi-hats almost equally, but since I've only been using the second one for 4 years or so (after Guillaume gave me a second hi-hat stand and suggested to use it), most of the older songs are mainly played cross handed.

Concerning Tama, I work directly with their distributor in France (Mogar Music), which probably explains why I'm not listed on their international website even though they do get me drums for international tours.

Yes, I use the Starclassic Maple in the following configuration :
Kick : 22’’x18’’
Floor toms : 16’’x16’’, 18’’x16’’
Tom-toms : 12’’x11", 13’’x11"
Snare : Starclassic Premium Maple, 14’’x4’’

My rack is a Power Tower with one extension, my double pedal an Iron Cobra Power Glide and the rest of my hardware is Tama as well. And I use Tama 216B sticks.

[Invité]

My rack is a Power Tower with one extension, my double pedal an Iron Cobra Power Glide and the rest of my hardware is Tama as well. And I use Tama 216B sticks.

In the Metalurgie interview pictures it looked like you had Pearl hardware? Do you sometimes just borrow other bands stuff?

[Wayreth]

Hi Jared,

I must admit that Dirk indeed is a great inspiration. For me too.

Let me know how the second Hi-Hat works out.

Until now I haven't found any difficulties in playing blast cross sticked. Once you master the cross stick blast (which is just a matter of little practice) and you start doing quick changes between cross sticked (on hihat) and to you're ride (not cross sticked), you can do everything. From that moment on you can put you're right hand everywhere at anytime while playing blast with you're left.

The dangour with a second hi-hat is that you're right hand becomes sloppy. Only true great drummers are equally fast (Dirk is off course one of em). But I know a lot of drummers who are very fast with left, but enourmously sloppy with right. Train them both equally fast.

A good thing is just to take two pillows, one on the left, one on the right and start blasting away.

But off course for me it's also a question of practicing every day (and because of my daytime job, it's sometimes difficult). But the practice is a fun way and an enourmous great path to take.

I would just want to thank you, it's guys like you that give me inspiration to keep practicing (although I have a VERy VERY long way to go).

Thanks Jared, thanks Dirk,

Keep blasting in a free world!!!

[Wayreth]

Another Question;

When you play Blast. What are you exactly doing.

Are you playing snare and (for example) Ride at the same time. And you bass drum, does it coïncide with the Ride and Snare??

Or, do you play snare and ride not at the same time and your bassdrum goes together with the snare???

I especially like the silent blast from Irradiant, for me it's the most amazing thing I've ever experience (my friends had to listen to it one by one). The dynamics, my god, perfectly. Especially with the little accents in the middle of that part and of course the snare roll to the brake which explodes into a rolling double bass thing.
PURE FUCKING MAGIC.

Lovely, but how do you do it, simulaneously snare and ride or not????

[cyanhist]

Ouat do yu mine baï a blast cross and I have tou tell zat you play verri admirabeul mystère Dirk

(It 's just a very bad joke Jared, please forgive my bad taste...lol)

I'm really impressed by drummers..do they have several brains???

(tout ça pour dire: je suis vraiment impressionné par les batteurs...ils ont plusieurs cerveaux???)

[napalmdirk]

In the Metalurgie interview pictures it looked like you had Pearl hardware? Do you sometimes just borrow other bands stuff?

It happens in some rare cases, but I mostly use my own drumkit or a similar one from Tama (on tours outside Europe for example).

[napalmdirk]

Another Question;

When you play Blast. What are you exactly doing.

Are you playing snare and (for example) Ride at the same time. And you bass drum, does it coïncide with the Ride and Snare??

Or, do you play snare and ride not at the same time and your bassdrum goes together with the snare???

I especially like the silent blast from Irradiant, for me it's the most amazing thing I've ever experience (my friends had to listen to it one by one). The dynamics, my god, perfectly. Especially with the little accents in the middle of that part and of course the snare roll to the brake which explodes into a rolling double bass thing.
PURE FUCKING MAGIC.

Lovely, but how do you do it, simulaneously snare and ride or not????

Hey man, thanks a lot for the nice comments!!

I use different types of blast-beats. The one I use most frequenty is the classic one (kick and hi-hat/ride together, snare in between), such as in "Mirthless Perspectives" and "Molten Scars" for example. Then there's the bomb-blast such as in "Irradiant" or "FireProven" (kick, snare and hi-hat/ride together and another kickdrum hit in between - which means the kick is here twice as fast). There are a lot of other variations, including patterns on the kick ("An Emptier Void", "Molten Scars") or on the snare ("Infertile Ways"). And I also use my own type of blast ("HyperConscience" for example) which is based on a simple flam rudiment.

Concerning the "silent" blast in "Irradiant", it was actually Pierrick who said "you should try to use this in a song" when I was just playing along at low volume to a riff we were working on!