As one of the people who requested this drummer, thanks for checking him out! I'm glad you enjoyed it! That video is from about a decade ago; he's actually even better now than back then, but he, like me, is on the wrong side of 40 now, so I'm not sure if he is going to push himself even harder for the next album they're currently working on. As for switching which hand he is blasting with, it is less about "showing off" and more about trying to make sure his one arm doesn't get terrible cramps or give out on him during touring, playing sets of 45 minutes to an hour nightly filled with songs as fast and difficult, if not faster and even more difficult, than this one. He's not the only modern death metal drummer that uses this technique, either, but Spencer is all about trying to use as many different muscle groups as he can for his drumming to eek out a little bit of extra stamina and speed. If you take the time to watch the video again you can see him do this with his feet as well; for mid paced and "slow" ("slow" for Spencer at least) bass drum hits he keeps his feet covering the entire bass pedal, but when he wants to go extra fast he only uses the tips of his feet at the bottom of the pedal to use a different muscle group. You were quite observant to notice Oli's vocal style is very rhythmic. Spencer actually helped him develop his style in the beginning; they took inspiration from speed rappers like Tech N9ne, Busta Rhymes, Eminem, etc... but also from death metal bands like Spawn of Possession, Cryptopsy (whose drummer you just reacted to, Flo Mounier!) and Deicide, who also used quick, rhythmic death metal vocals as more of a percussive element. There's a few lyric videos and a vocal play through that they've released on RU-vid that shows how incredibly fast Oli is; the guy is writing science horror fiction novels in poetic verse and spitting them out hundreds of words at a time per song. It's quite impressive, but given that you could probably write a thesis on a deep dive of any of the musician's performances in Archspire, it is kind of "par for the course" for them... Which is pretty awesome; the Vancouver, BC metal scene seems to be really awesome these days!
Dude that was so interesting! I feel like learned so much about metal from these couple of paragraphs. Seriously thank u. I forget sometime just how physically demanding playing this type of music is, it like you're a legit Olympic level athlete. Also to know that the vocalist think that much about what they are doing is illuminating to say the least. I alway thought the vocals were an after thought in death metal but to hear that guys are writing deep science horror fiction and slaying hundreds of words in a song is epic! I now have so much more to watch out for. Thanks!
Haha just straight up "I'm never gonna try to play anything like that". Fair enough dude. I'm primarily a bass player and felt the same watching this band.
I am so happy to see you discover Spencer Prewett. It's one hell of a rabbit hole. He switches his hands during the gravity blasts to preserve his energy but also to enable him more access to the rest of the kit. Now, the live session of "40 roll - Chris Turner" is a must. It is right up your alley. Be well!
Ya a couple of people schooled me on the hand switching and the more I watch the more it makes sense. Also that Chris turner thing I saw a while back, Chris is so heavy, top tier drummer for sure.
The hand switching is actually a technique used to maintain incredibly fast speed without sacrificing too much consistency. Great reaction, keep them coming!
Great video! Just a note though, that blast beat he's doing where he's switching hands, its definitely not him showing off. Its called a Dirk blast, named after Dirk Verbeuren (now of Megadeth) and is based on the flam tap rudiment (or is at least heavily inspired by it). He's switching hands to be able to play the right accents at those high speeds and to keep time easier, as it would be incredibly difficult to make those accents at that speed without switching hands like that. Dirk has a great video here on youtube explaining it perfectly that is pretty popular in the blast beaten genre side of metal, called 'The "Dirk Blast" by Dirk Verbeuren'
George Kollias - “ Shall Rise Shall Be Dead “ George is a drummer from the death metal band Nile. He does some very cool solo work and he writes all of the instruments, vocals, lyrics, etc.
I'm sure its possible to actually ask the drummer this, but as someone who plays drums at these faster speeds, I dont think hes switching which hand he blasts with as a "show off" thing, its more likely a thing to save a single wrist from moving so much at these high speeds. Like I said, ask the drummer who played it though, not me...
Hey Matt greetings from Argentina! Been following your metal progress since your Slayer video! Glad to see your channel slowly growing! P.S. watching you try the blast beats and stuff you see is more entertaining than just the reaction.
Said it on the previous vid, I'll happily say it again: Jamie Saint Merat - Everything is Fire (Relapse Records video) by Ulcerate for jazzy death metal octopus drumming. John Longstreth - Saligia (Meinl video) by Origin for -the- technical death metal playthrough to rule them all. Honorable mention of another John Longstreth video is 'Origin (John Longstreth Drum cam ) 9/15/15 San Diego CA -Staring & Aftermath' by YT channel cosmicj
Couple of crazy drummers to check out: Elliot Hoffman of Car Bomb, Jamie St. Merat of Ulcerate, and Lille Gruber from Defeated Sanity. They're all jazzy in different ways.
when he's "showing off and switching hands" that's actually a technique that allows you to get a snare hit on EVERY 16th note, and it can be sustained for longer periods of time than gravity blasts. its called a "switch blast" i think
"It-s too late for this" hahahah nice...Thanks to whomever requested this, I don't think I knew this band but aside from the "scream the guitar line" vocals, band s pretty awesome. Will check their other stuff. Cheers and keep up with the good work. Vader has a special place in my heart so check out their current drummer, Michał Andrzejczyk (good luck in pronouncing his last name, lol). Check out the drum cam at the song Crucified Ones, Live in Poland 2023.
Saw Spencer live and my god is he tight. Please check out Bobby Jarzombek - School he is one of my fave drummers and his brother Ron is an insane guitar player, they were in a band back in the 90's called Spastik Inc which you should also check out.
I’m loving your kit; mine are 1961 Camco Ambassadors in burgundy sparkle, with a 60’s era Steward snare with an orange sparkle wrap. Cymbals: Sabian Manhattan Jazz 22” Two Sabian HHX crashes, 17” Hi hats are 14” Sabian symphony crash cymbals with the leather straps removed. Heads: REMO FOREVER
A good one would be Lord Marco, he played drums for hundreds of bands. A good song that would have both speed and groove would probably his playthrough of Rings of Saturn - The Husk
Love watching people of other genres reacting to metal! Check out Bryce Butler from Shadow of Intent. They aren't as crazy fast as Archspire but the writing is top tier.
You're definitely gonna like Lord Marco if you liked this one. Search "SONIVINOS - "Incomprehensibly Evolved" (310bpm) DRUM POV PLAYTHROUGH by Lord Marco - 2023" and it'll be a fun time for sure.
I've seen some Lord Marco before..but holy fuck balls dude LOL he has to be the undisputed master of tech death drumming without triggers. x_x; That's some superhuman shit!
I love Spencer and he just gets better with every album release. Check out David Diepold’s COGNIZANCE playthrough of “Existential Battle” and his push-pull blasting technique Matt.
Blake Richardson with Between the Buried and Me, "Telos" drum cam. Phil Dubois with Revocation, "Scorched Earth Policy" Thomas Pridgen with The Mars Volta, "Wax Simulacra" Hannes Grossman with Alkaloid Sebastian Lanser with Obscura
That switching thing, I'm sure there's some showing off in it as well, but what he says in a video here on YT is that he does it because when there are longer such parts, just doing it with one hand, that one hand can get too spazzy from the strain and then that limits what parts he can do after these parts. He says this switching also allows him to use both sides of the kit, as opposed to doing it with one hand and being only able to reach the opposing side of the kit.
Dude… it turns out that if it’s metal and your name is Spencer, you’re likely to be a beast on the drums :) Spencer Moore of Inferi! Someone already said Ulcerate. Stortregn doesn’t get enough love: super tasteful and elevates their songs every time.
Thanks so much my friend. I’ll definitely check them out. Love to hear about these jazz influenced metal guys. I’m definitely gonna do Sean Rienhart from death soon.
I'm a fan forever and ever, like a forever spinning fidget spinner 🤘 A suggestion as well! Nick Thurl Mavromatis' new song is on a whole other level. You should react to his new song! 🔥
Dave McGraw from Cattle Decapitation has some nice new drum cams out. Beyond Creation mighy be up youre alley. Definitely jazz players on a death metal band
@@yarpyarp85 Pig Destroyer basically beat you to the punch, haha Cattle Decap are amazing dudes. They're lyrics, while very dark and brutal, are all about preserving earth and the life on it. Some members are even vegan.
I'm not a drummer but I'm pretty sure the technique he's using where he's switching hands during the blast beat is called the dirk blast. Dirk Verbeuren, the guy who invented it, has a video that explains how it works.
I'm so used to jazz musicians being super dismissive of metal, even though they do similar things. Time changes, key changes, and just super virtuoso difficult stuff. Anyway, long way of saying thanks for being both open and not a jerk. Cheers
4:40 - iirc in an interview he mentioned that switching back and forth is easier for him than maintaining it with a single hand, I can't recall if it was a mechanical thing, endurance or both. But Spencer really has his technique down to a science.
Yesss I’ve been learning a lot about this. Someone sent a link where he’s explaining it and ya it both. Mechanical and endurance oriented. 🤘🤘 thanks for the comment!
They kill it live. Always on point. They embody the concept of Tech Death as good as or better than anyone. I'd only put First Fragment above them. Necrophagist is right there but the two aformentioned have progressed beyond the master.
@@yarpyarp85 check out Eugene Ryabchenko from Fleshgod Apocalypse. The Violation, Egoism, or Thru Our Scars would all be good choices. They’re on his RU-vid page.
@@yarpyarp85 Hey man, if you're looking for new stuff you should check out "ULCERATE-Stare Into Death And Be Still-J. Saint Merat. Live in Sweden 2022 (Drum Cam)", I've been hearing great things about this particular video lol..
@@yarpyarp85 just my 2 cents, but peak performance Ulcerate drumming is on the older albums, such as "Everything is Fire", which I suggested in a different comment (among others). Way more going on, which I assume for a blind reaction would be a hell of a lot of fun.
