Gravity roll
Encyclopedia
In drumming
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...

, a gravity roll is performed by resting the shaft of the drumstick on the rim of the snare drum
Snare drum
The snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...

, while holding the butt. The hand is moved up and down, causing the head of the stick to strike the drum's head once per stroke
Drum stroke
In music, a drum stroke is a note performed on percussion instruments known as a drum. There are four basic strokes.The Full Stroke begins with the tip of the drumstick held 8-12" above the striking surface...

 and the shaft of the drumstick will strike the rim of the drum on the way down (similar to a seesaw
Seesaw
A seesaw is a long, narrow board pivoted in the middle so that, as one end goes up, the other goes down.-Mechanics:Mechanically a seesaw is a lever and fulcrum....

). The spot on the drumstick is different for everyone, as this technique requires considerable forearm precision. It helps to press down fairly hard and also following a slow to fast to slow pattern in order to gain more control. Although its origin is unknown, this technique is believed to have been used by jazz drummers such as Buddy Rich
Buddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.-Early life:...

 in the past.

The gravity roll can also be extended into a gravity blast, where bass drum and cymbals are added to make a blast beat
Blast beat
A blast beat is a drum beat often associated with extreme metal and grindcore, although its usage predates the genres, and is utilised by many different styles of metal...

.
Currently there are at least three instructional videos on the market that cover the unique method. They are "The One Handed Drum Roll Training Pack" by Jared Falk, "Extreme Metal Drumming 101" by Flo Mounier of Cryptopsy
Cryptopsy
Cryptopsy is a Canadian technical death metal band from Montreal, Quebec, formed in 1988. The band has sold over 300,000 records.-Necrosis :...

 , and a "Various Drum Techniques" video by Johhny Rabb.

When implemented in death metal the gravity roll is applied as 16th notes to the snare - typically with the right hand - and the left hand plays 8th notes on the hi-hat. The feet usually divide the beat as 16th notes, essentially matching the strokes of the right hand. In other words, the right hand is playing the same speed as the feet with the left hand keeping time with 8th notes on the hi-hats. However many variations exist, for example playing eighth notes with the feet instead of 16th notes or 32nd note kicks. Whatever the variation used, it is typically referred to as a gravity blast, a term which references the blast beat
Blast beat
A blast beat is a drum beat often associated with extreme metal and grindcore, although its usage predates the genres, and is utilised by many different styles of metal...

.

While the gravity roll has seen occasional use for many years by jazz drummers, the gravity blast is a relatively recent development in extreme metal. The technical death metal
Technical death metal
Technical death metal is a musical subgenre of death metal that focuses on complex rhythms, riffs and song structures. Technical experimentation in death metal began in the late '80s and early '90s by bands such as Death, Atheist and Cynic...

 band Origin
Origin (band)
Origin is an American death metal band from Topeka, Kansas, founded in 1998. They have been recognized by music critics and metal fans alike for combining a harsh sound with a high level of technical skill....

 is generally credited with introducing the beat to the genre. Origin's first drummer George Fluke perfected the technique and taught it to Origin's next drummer, John Longstreth, who popularized the technique and brought it to a much wider audience. Today the gravity blast is found in a variety of bands in the more extreme forms heavy metal music (especially death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....

, grindcore
Grindcore
Grindcore is an extreme genre of music that started in the early- to mid-1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk....

) and some forms of punk rock, though its usage is comparatively small compared to the more traditional forms of the blast beat
Blast beat
A blast beat is a drum beat often associated with extreme metal and grindcore, although its usage predates the genres, and is utilised by many different styles of metal...

. Drummers known for their use of the technique include Flo Mounier, John Longstreth, Marco Pitruzzella, Dave Haley
Dave Haley
Dave Haley is the drummer with Australian death metal band Psycroptic. Haley formed the band in 1999 with his brother Joe, bass guitarist Cameron Grant and vocalist Matthew Chalk. Chalk was subsequently replaced by Jason Peppiatt. Previously, the Haleys were members of Disseminate.Haley has...

, Mauro Mercurio, Dave McGraw, Fabio Ramirez, RJ Whitmer, Max Duhamel, Justin Rousselle, Alex Pelletier, Eric Park, Keith Roylance, Ron Casey and Lille Gruber.

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