Welcome back for entry number three in my “Drummers I Love” series, where I talk about my past or current drum influences and how they have shaped my playing. Today’s drummer will deviate from the progressive rock/metal trend I have started and dive into some faster and heavier stuff. In recent years, death/speed-based metal has really grown on me. I have been very intrigued by the different techniques drummers use to play so fast for so long with seemingly little effort. One of my favourite examples of this can be seen in this post’s featured drummer. His name is…
Dan Presland – Drummer for Ne Obliviscaris, Vipassi, A Million Dead Birds Laughing
Taken from https://remo.com/team/member/dan-presland/bio/
To begin, I would like to talk briefly about Ne Obliviscaris as a band. As I will be talking about in an upcoming podcast, symphonic metal has largely overtaken progressive rock/metal as my current favourite genre of music, at least for the time being. NeO is a fantastic example of a very high quality symphonic death metal band. There is a little less orchestral emphasis than some other bands I have grown to listen to, but the violin (played by clean vocalist Tim Charles) makes for some very atmospheric and ethereal sections. The band as a whole is very clean and produce a big sound, but Dan Presland is a huge factor in their rhythmic intensity.
I used to think speed-based drumming was just a “flex” or “gimmick” until I heard drum parts like what Dan Presland produces. I do not want to label him solely as a speed-based drummer, however; Presland is a master at writing with a song rather than for a song, just as I mentioned Baard Kolstad is an expert at. I first would like to make note about Presland’s speed and endurance, as it has had a massive impact on my practice routines as of late. Presland writes some parts that feature non-stop double bass with the use of ankle motion and swivel techniques between 200-240bpm for multiple minutes at a time. There are a number of drummers that write similar parts, but they usually use the heel-toe method which generally requires triggers and less effort. Not only does Presland use only single-stroke techniques, but he plays with a lot of power and precision. Watching him do this is absolutely inspiring for me, as it shows me how far extensive practice can truly get someone. Below shows one of the best examples of how long Presland can play for. Not only does he play 200bpm double bass for almost a minute and a half straight starting at 3:30, but then he immediately speeds up to 226bpm for another full minute. The rest of the song is littered with long sections at this speed. Here is “As Icicles Fall” by Ne Obliviscaris:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HrfG5IeARw
Along with the double bass, Presland also plays with a lot of power behind his blasts. He switches between either wrist motion or French grip (finger motion) depending on the speed and length of a blast, and also to give different muscle groups a rest which allows him to play for longer. I really appreciate his use of blasts in his writing; despite his ability to play them for a very long time, he only uses them when it makes sense for the song during an intense section. He also sometimes switches his left hand off of the snare and onto a tom which is not a common practice for blast beats but adds a very unique sound to some sections. Everything I have listed above can be seen around the 2:07 mark in the video below of Presland’s playthrough of “Xenoflux” by Ne Obliviscaris:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjToVyG75tE
Insane endurance aside, I would also like to comment on some very interesting ideas Presland uses that I do not see from many other drummers. Presland likes to write some very melodic tom beats that highlight or accent the current melody, along with throwing some smart embellishments in to the mix. A great example of this can be seen in the intro of “And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope” by Ne Obliviscaris. His foot pattern is very smart, as he is playing a constant alternating beat but with each foot switching back and forth between the bass drum and their respective hi-hat pedals (since he uses a right hi-hat setup as many metal drummers do). He actually uses the opening and closing of each hi-hat with his hand hits to produce a panned effect rather than just playing on one hi-hat. All of this is done while playing a tom rhythm that matches the other rhythm instruments. This is the kind of writing I aspire to come up with myself someday. Here is the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB2JJFRlwN4
With insane foot and hand endurance as well as creative section writing, Dan Presland has quickly become one of my favourite drummers. Just watching him play inspires me to want to practice for hours on end until I can come even somewhat close to what he is capable of. Any time I feel I am in a rut, I find myself scrolling through his playthroughs on YouTube to give me the inspiration I need to get back on my feet. Thank you for your amazing drumming Dan, and I am anxiously awaiting your new releases with NeO and Vipassi. I will leave you all with two videos of me drumming to Presland’s playthroughs of Lit and CROWN by A Million Dead Birds Laughing. Thanks for reading!
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