Page 122 - Sick Drummer Magazine Issue 27 - March 2014

shalaty cntd.
It s a fun style to replicate and I try hard to create
parts that when played next to old material blend
well. I love blasting in Immolation. It kicks the
aggression and intensity levels up and Bob seems
to be enjoying the new flexibility in tempos when
writing. I use a lot of triplet bass drum ruffs, which
both Craig and Alex used, but I mix it with 16th
note triplets on the hands a lot like Alex Marquez
or even with groups of 4 s or 32nd notes with the
hands. It creates a nice smeary, smooth sound.
Kind of slithery. I like to mix the groove of Craig
with the drive of Alex Hernandez, but the thing that
really maintains the continuity of the Immolation
drum style is Bob s initial groove ideas. They
are many times very unconventional or even an
incorrect application of a technique over a certain
time signature. It s frustrating sometimes, but I ve
learned to trust in his vision and create
alongside it. Use the template he gives me and flow
with it.
SDM: When you first entered as Immolation s
drummer, how did you approach learning the
material? Any tips to those out there who want to
learn how to play this style?
When I first jumped in I had recently been playing
material that was pretty much near the top of the
death metal drumming scale at that time as far
as speed and stamina were concerned. I felt very
confident. I had done a few fill-in gigs for other
drummers at that point and I knew I could learn
parts quickly and I had spent countless hours
playing to all the death metal CD s I could get my
hands on so my ear was good. I just needed to
memorize a lot of songs fast. It was fairly clear
what was going on on most parts and Bob was
able to straighten me out on any questions I had.
I remember sitting in Ross garage after a long
day of practicing by myself to Immolation CD s, I
think it was my second day in Yonkers, and Bob
had stopped to pick me up for dinner. We were
discussing how it was going and I asked him
about the weird noise on the offbeat during the
chorus part on Father Your Not a Father . I had
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been playing straight double bass time over it and
assumed the noise was something added in, similar
to what they had done elsewhere on that album. I
thought he was nuts when he explained to me that
Alex was rocking back and forth from the hi-hat to
the china on the offbeat eighth notes. Needless to
say, we postponed dinner until I had worked it out
on the kit. That was a lesson that repeated itself
over time. You have to listen very carefully and
then listen again even closer. There is a ton of stuff
going on all the time. This is another reason that I
long for the time to write nice deep and complete
drum parts for Immolation. I m just trying to do it
justice. Those first sessions were what caused me
to drastically change my cymbal setup.
I had no idea how Alex had his kit configured when
I arrived at Ross . I was supposed to use his kit for
the tour so I just unpacked it and put it together in
such a way that I could play it comfortably. When I
started trying to play his parts I was getting a lot of
cross over sticking and was tying myself up trying
to reproduce what I was hearing. Then I realized
he was using a right side remote hi-hat. Once I
added that everything started to make sense.
Since joining, I have added three chinas, a hi-hat
and an extra crash cymbal. It s funny you asked
about tips for playing Immolation. When I first met
Alex Hernandez I asked him the same thing. I think
it was my third and final practice day in Yonkers
and we went to Alexs place to pick up extra drum
heads or something. I was pretty nervous. He was
really quiet and I immediately shook his hand and
thanked him for letting me use his kit, which he
kind of laughed off like it was no big deal. I felt
kind of awkward as those guys B.S d about this
and that and then it was time to leave. I shook his
hand again and asked if he had any tips for me. He
walked over and picked up a stick and a pad and
started to play single strokes with one hand. He
said Do this a lot . That s it. Is that great or what?
I love that. So, in addition to that, I would suggest
one of the exercises I learned from The Great One,
Derek Roddy. Play eighth notes continuously at X
bpm for two minutes. Play the downbeat with your
right hand and the offbeat with your left foot. You
can add bpm and change sticking and footing. In
other words, right hand over left foot, left foot over
right hand, left hand over right foot, right foot over
left hand, right hand over right foot, right foot over
right hand, left hand over left foot and then left foot
over left hand. This is good for all sorts of develop-
ment and in this case will help enable you to play
the stupid-fast ride beats or thrash beats and play
them for extended periods. Thank you Derek!
SDM: What was the hardest to learn of the old
material written by Craig Smilowski or Alex
Hernandez?
The hardest thing for me to get down is Alexs ridic-
ulous triplet beat . It s a hyper version of the basic
thrash ride beat with the snare on the downbeat
and two kick hits between. The proper right hand
sticking for this beat would double the left hand
snare downbeat on the ride or hats. There is a lot
of improper sticking on that beat throughout the
back catalogue and playing that beat with proper
strokes and keeping the same feel and tempo
of the original recordings has been my greatest
challenge. I always try to play the song as true to
the original recording as possible including all the
little inflections and subtleties used by the original
drummer. Whenever possible I also try to infuse
a little of Craig s style into Alexs songs and vice
versa. It s a blend that stays true to the Immo style.
I will always be a student of those two drummers.
It s been a huge part of my role as drummer for
this band to maintain their heritage. They both
know I have the greatest respect for them and their
achievements and they have been very cool and
helpful to me over the years.
SDM: Why do you use the bomb blast and
Suffocation blast? Will you in the future incorporate
any other styles of blast beats?
I use all blasts and am bound by none. On this
album I use the bomb, the Suffo, the one-foot
with the right, the one-foot with the left, and
the two-foot. I use some gravity and Deicide
bombs with my other project, but for my money
the standard bomb, which I grew up calling the
Cannibal Blast, is the most brutal, punishing
and intense mode of blasting there is. All limbs
whipping at the same tempo.
SDM: What makes you use the TD-6V for
monitoring your kick drums? Why this machine and
not others?
I used to use an Alesis unit and it seemed to me
that I was having to conform my playing to the
tolerances of the machine more than dialing it in
to my playing. With the Roland, it is still simple
enough for me to wrap my head around, but
versatile enough to adjust on the fly and you can
really customize the settings to fit your playing.
SDM: What kind of stick grip are you using on both
hands?
My grip is continuously evolving. That being said,
I would describe it as a pretty strict german with
a slight twist or wrist rotation. Similar to what I ve
seen Seth Davis demonstrate.
SDM: What kind of gear do you use these days?
I m endorsed by Sabian cymbals and I currently run
Mapex drums and hardware. For heads, I m a Remo
lover and I have always used Promark sticks. I am
still faithful to the Iron Cobra pedals as well, and
they are faithful to me.
SDM: Do you still use Remo Pinstripes?
Yes. They did great on this tour. Very good at
making big toms behave.
SDM: Most critics are saying that the new album is
great but the bass drums sound to click-ey. How
do you feel about that comment?
I felt the same way when I first heard it on the
computer speakers at home. When you play it on
good speakers or on some good headphones you
hear the depth and true shape of the kicks. They
are massive.
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