From Tourniquet: A thank you, drummer talk, and more...

There's something terrible going on in today's world of metal drumming.

I don't know what causes it, but today's metal drums almost always sound HORRIBLE.

I don't know if it is the newer drum kits themselves, drum triggers, sound replacement, the way kits are miked, digital recording but at some point drummers decided their tone didn't matter at all and the thinner and clickier the better.

Even some of the greatest metal drummers around (like Gene Hoglan) who should know better have succumbed to it.  Maybe in the name of expediency and sounding "modern"?

I say all this to ask Ted what his opinion on this is because he has not succumbed to it.

Speaking of heel/toe technique, I remember when many death metal drummers considered it cheating to blast using two feet (folks like Pete Sandoval pretty much used one and it sounds very tight and percussive).  Now I think pretty much everyone uses two feet for blasting.

Temple of Blood wrote:There's something terrible going on in today's world of metal drumming.

I don't know what causes it, but today's metal drums almost always sound HORRIBLE.

I don't know if it is the newer drum kits themselves, drum triggers, sound replacement, the way kits are miked, digital recording but at some point drummers decided their tone didn't matter at all and the thinner and clickier the better.

Even some of the greatest metal drummers around (like Gene Hoglan) who should know better have succumbed to it.  Maybe in the name of expediency and sounding "modern"?

I say all this to ask Ted what his opinion on this is because he has not succumbed to it.

Out of curiosity, what drum tone do you like? Is there a particular album?

Temple of Blood wrote:There's something terrible going on in today's world of metal drumming.

I don't know what causes it, but today's metal drums almost always sound HORRIBLE.

I don't know if it is the newer drum kits themselves, drum triggers, sound replacement, the way kits are miked, digital recording but at some point drummers decided their tone didn't matter at all and the thinner and clickier the better.

Even some of the greatest metal drummers around (like Gene Hoglan) who should know better have succumbed to it.  Maybe in the name of expediency and sounding "modern"?

I say all this to ask Ted what his opinion on this is because he has not succumbed to it.

This! I hate that processed “clicky” sound. (The Andy Sneap sound, for example).

Temple of Blood wrote:There's something terrible going on in today's world of metal drumming.

I don't know what causes it, but today's metal drums almost always sound HORRIBLE.

I don't know if it is the newer drum kits themselves, drum triggers, sound replacement, the way kits are miked, digital recording but at some point drummers decided their tone didn't matter at all and the thinner and clickier the better.

Even some of the greatest metal drummers around (like Gene Hoglan) who should know better have succumbed to it.  Maybe in the name of expediency and sounding "modern"?

I say all this to ask Ted what his opinion on this is because he has not succumbed to it.

Thank you. One thing is as metal got faster and faster - (remember when "Ace of Spades" was considered fast? Or "Battery"? ) Well now you have ultra fast music. So... as a result - in order to be able to hear the drums cleanly - something had to give. You can't use the kick drum from say Metallica's Black album - and expect to get a clear drum sound if the music is super fast. The drums will come out too mushy sounding and the mix will be too muddy. So the tradeoff is drums sounding clickier and probably a bit thinner. Of course you can make them as "loud" as you want in the mix. Just one thought on it...

Ted Kirkpatrick wrote:

Temple of Blood wrote:There's something terrible going on in today's world of metal drumming.

I don't know what causes it, but today's metal drums almost always sound HORRIBLE.

I don't know if it is the newer drum kits themselves, drum triggers, sound replacement, the way kits are miked, digital recording but at some point drummers decided their tone didn't matter at all and the thinner and clickier the better.

Even some of the greatest metal drummers around (like Gene Hoglan) who should know better have succumbed to it.  Maybe in the name of expediency and sounding "modern"?

I say all this to ask Ted what his opinion on this is because he has not succumbed to it.

Thank you. One thing is as metal got faster and faster - (remember when "Ace of Spades" was considered fast? Or "Battery"? ) Well now you have ultra fast music. So... as a result - in order to be able to hear the drums cleanly - something had to give. You can't use the kick drum from say Metallica's Black album - and expect to get a clear drum sound if the music is super fast. The drums will come out too mushy sounding and the mix will be too muddy. So the tradeoff is drums sounding clickier and probably a bit thinner. Of course you can make them as "loud" as you want in the mix. Just one thought on it...

Listen to how horrible the triggered drums sound on Metal Church’s “The Dark” album. You can’t have the fat Def Leppard snare when playing fast.

I love your drumming Ted!  I just wish the original band got back together, even if one last time, cause life is short anyways.  Know prob wont happen but I l love love love your drumming!

Tourniquet had a live singer fill in a few years ago, a guy from a band calked Wrath of Typhon. 

 Is WoT a Christian band?

Ted informs us that there will probably be 10 tracks of material, and he and the band will be forging onward with matters they haven't previously covered.

I randomly stumbled on this interview on YouTube. I’m not sure if it’s his last, but it’s definitely one of the more recent ones. It’s from 2020 (sometime after “The Slow Cosmic Voyage to Wisdom” was released). Ted and the interviewer cover a lot of topics. It almost chokes me up because he’s no longer with us… but it’s really nice to hear his voice.