Pete Sandoval
Encyclopedia
Pete Sandoval is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 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....

 drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

. Born in Santa Ana, El Salvador
Santa Ana, El Salvador
Santa Ana is the second largest city in El Salvador, located 64 kilometers west of San Salvador, the capital city. Santa Ana has approximately 274,830 inhabitants and serves both as the capital of the department of Santa Ana and...

, he is known for his accomplishments in the world of extreme metal drumming. His first significant stint as a drummer was for the 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....

 band Terrorizer
Terrorizer
Terrorizer is an American grindcore and death metal band formed in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. After disbanding, its members gained recognition by playing in influential extreme metal bands, such as Morbid Angel , Napalm Death and Nausea...

, formed in 1986, where he began to demonstrate some of his talent. Heavily influenced by the 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....

 music around him, Sandoval quickly developed his abilities as a drummer with little formal training or musical education.

In 1988, Sandoval was invited to join the 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....

 band Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida. UK music magazine Terrorizer ranked one Morbid Angel album in its “Top 40 greatest death metal albums”, with their 1989 debut Altars of Madness appearing at number 1...

. Concurrently, the original lineup of Terrorizer
Terrorizer
Terrorizer is an American grindcore and death metal band formed in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. After disbanding, its members gained recognition by playing in influential extreme metal bands, such as Morbid Angel , Napalm Death and Nausea...

 was dissolved after the departures of Sandoval and guitarist Jesse Pintado
Jesse Pintado
Jesse Pintado was a lead guitar player born in Mexico who at an early age moved to the US. He started in the band Terrorizer where he recorded the grindcore album World Downfall, the first album to feature Pete Sandoval who would later leave the band to join Morbid Angel...

 (who subsequently joined Napalm Death
Napalm Death
Napalm Death are a death metal band formed in Birmingham, England in 1981. While none of its original members remain in the group, the lineup of vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway, bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch Harris and drummer Danny Herrera has remained consistent for most of the band's ...

).

Some cite Sandoval as the drummer most responsible for introducing rhythmically precise blast beats (i.e. definitive 2-note patterns of alternating bass drum / snare drum hits with cymbal-based ride patterns) into common use. While variations of blast beats had been around for decades, Sandoval built upon the idea with his own approach and quickly championed the concept's use in the music of Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida. UK music magazine Terrorizer ranked one Morbid Angel album in its “Top 40 greatest death metal albums”, with their 1989 debut Altars of Madness appearing at number 1...

.

Sandoval is also among the first extreme metal drummers. Terms coined for him have included "Pete the Feet" and "The Commando".

Interestingly, Sandoval had never used two bass drums before joining Morbid Angel. He had to practice frequently in order to get his feet up to speed, and recorded the Altars of Madness
Altars of Madness
Altars of Madness is Florida-based death metal band Morbid Angel's debut album. Bonus tracks were included on the CD version as well as the remastered 2003 release. These are remixed versions of songs from the album...

album within only a couple of months of joining Morbid Angel. According to Morbid Angel guitarist Trey Azagthoth
Trey Azagthoth
Trey Azagthoth is an American musician best known as founder and guitarist of the Florida death metal band Morbid Angel. Azagthoth began playing at the age of 16...

, the band would occasionally walk in on Sandoval passed out on the floor in a pool of sweat. After being woken up, he would immediately say, "Time to get back to work!" After mastering double-bass usage in Morbid Angel, Sandoval also implemented them in Terrorizer
Terrorizer
Terrorizer is an American grindcore and death metal band formed in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. After disbanding, its members gained recognition by playing in influential extreme metal bands, such as Morbid Angel , Napalm Death and Nausea...

's World Downfall
World Downfall
World Downfall is the debut album by the American grindcore band Terrorizer. It was released on Earache Records in 1989.-Album information:...

album when the band briefly re-united to record it.

According to singer David Vincent, the band once played a prank on Sandoval by making him listen to a band that used a preprogrammed drum machine, and pretending it was a real drummer who could play faster than he could. Sandoval was gutted, and went on to practice until he managed to play faster than the machine.

In 2010, he had to undergo surgery after a disc prolapse. Not being able to play painlessly for an extended period for up to a year, he was replaced by Tim Yeung
Tim Yeung
Tim Yeung is a prominent extreme metal drummer. He was born on November 27, 1978 in Rochester, New York and currently resides in Los Angeles, California. Tim started playing drums when he was 11 years old.-Biography:...

 for the recording and touring of Morbid Angel's 2011 album Illud Divinum Insanus
Illud Divinum Insanus
Illud Divinum Insanus is the eighth studio album by American death metal band Morbid Angel, released on June 7, 2011 by independent French record label Season of Mist...

.
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