Heavy metal drumming is a style of rock music[1] drum kit playing that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United States and the United Kingdom.[2] With roots in blues rock and psychedelic/acid rock drum playing,[3] heavy metal drummers play with emphatic beats, and overall loudness using an aggressive performing style.[3] Heavy metal (or "metal") drumming is traditionally characterized by emphatic rhythms and dense bass guitar-and-drum sound.
A characteristic metal drumming technique is the cymbal choke, which consists of striking a cymbal and then immediately silencing it by grabbing it with the other hand (or, in some cases, the same striking hand), producing a burst of sound. The metal drum setup is generally much larger than those employed in other forms of rock music.[4] Black metal, death metal and some "mainstream metal" bands "all depend upon double-kicks and blast beats".[5]