No. 247, January 2017

Special Blastbeats Issue! Testament’s Gene Hoglan traces the evolution of blastbeat drumming along with that of his own career and reveals critical aspects of the techniques that made him a master blastbeat drummer. Then, take on Drum’s extreme chops challenge and woodshed 11 essential blastbeats, from the traditional to the swiveling foot bomb blast. Feed your need for speed with sticking grips and pedaling techniques designed to build ominous chops; check out ten longboard bass drum pedals designed with blasting in mind; and for your listening pleasure, Drum offers 10 Blastbeat Albums You Must Hear. Beyond blastbeats, we catch up with Mark Colenburg of Robert Glasper Experiment and Nada Surf’s Ira Elliot; help you to build your dream hybrid acoustic/electronic kit; and road-test Stone Custom Drum’s Verry Cherry Kit.