Change Minimalist Alt-Metal Groove — Abe Cunningham (Deftones) Drum Lick | MetalForge
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Learn the Change Minimalist Alt-Metal Groove drum lick by Abe Cunningham of Deftones. From Change (In the House of Flies) (White Pony (2000)). "Change (In the House of Flies)" from Deftones' White Pony (2000) is the song that most completely d...
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1. Abe Cunningham's Signature Licks — "Change (In the House of Flies)" from Deftones' White Pony (2000) is the song that most completely defines Abe Cunningham's approach to minimalist alt-metal drumming, and it is one of the most studied drum performances in the alternative metal genre for exactly the reasons that initially seem counterintuitive: the less he plays, the more powerful the track becomes. The song's near-ambient verse sections feature drumming so sparse it barely registers as drumming at all — a soft hi-hat pulse, ghost-note whispers on the snare, and a kick placed with surgical care to mark key moments in the vocal and guitar melody. The restraint here is extraordinary: what Cunningham demonstrates throughout the track is that the function of the drums in this context is atmospheric, to create space, to support mood, and to wait for the exact moment when intensity is demanded. That moment arrives when the song builds through its mid-section and eventually breaks into a heavier passage — where Cunningham's snare suddenly hits with full authority and his cymbal choices open the sonic space from intimate to arena-scale. The contrast between those quiet sections and the loud ones is the entire emotional architecture of the song, and the drummer is the instrument that controls when the listener feels safe and when the floor drops out from under them. The simplicity of the patterns throughout also contains a hidden complexity: playing quietly in time without rushing, maintaining consistent ghost-note weight, and holding a fragile pocket without collapsing it or over-playing are among the most demanding disciplines in drumming. Cunningham's cymbal voicing through the transitions is particularly instructive — he uses the tonal difference between closed and half-open hi-hats, between ride and crash, to colour the changing emotional states without adding rhythmic content, which is a compositional approach to drumming rather than a purely technical one. For drummers, "Change (In the House of Flies)" is a transformative study in purposeful minimalism and dynamic architecture: it teaches you that restraint and authority are not opposites, that the most impactful snare hit is the one preceded by the longest silence, and that the drummer's greatest power in an atmospheric arrangement is the power of choosing not to play. Learning this part reshapes your understanding of what drumming is for.2. Abe Cunningham Profile — Hold a ghost-quiet verse hi-hat pulse to preserve the song's ambient atmosphere Place the kick with surgical precision on melodic cue points rather than a standard pattern Maintain perfectly even ghost-note weight on the snare — any spike disrupts the fragile dynamic Voice the cymbal changes (closed → half-open → crash) to colour emotional transitions without adding rhythm Deliver the loud-section snare with full authority after maximum restraint to maximise the dynamic impact
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