Lay Your Ghosts to Rest — Double Bass Ostinato — Blake Richardson (Between the Buried and Me) Drum Lick | MetalForge
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Learn the Lay Your Ghosts to Rest — Double Bass Ostinato drum lick by Blake Richardson of Between the Buried and Me. From Lay Your Ghosts to Rest (The Parallax II: Future Sequence (2012)). "Lay Your Ghosts to Rest" from Between the Buried and Me's The Parallax II: Future Sequence (2012) i...
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1. Blake Richardson's Signature Licks — "Lay Your Ghosts to Rest" from Between the Buried and Me's The Parallax II: Future Sequence (2012) is the track that best demonstrates Blake Richardson's approach to double bass within a progressive context — an approach that is fundamentally different from the constant-roll model that dominates extreme metal drumming. Where many technically demanding drummers use sustained double-bass patterns as a default mode, Richardson treats the kick drums as a compositional tool, deploying them to answer, accent, and counterpoint what is happening in the guitars and vocals rather than simply providing a constant rhythmic floor. The result is a double-bass performance that feels dynamic rather than relentless, and that contributes to the song's emotional architecture instead of running beneath it unchanged. At 155 BPM the double-bass demands real speed and endurance, but the challenge is not purely physical. Richardson's ostinato patterns shift in density across sections — denser during high-intensity passages, sparser during the more melodic and introspective moments — and these density changes are not random but follow the song's compositional logic with the precision of an arranger. The syncopations he introduces within the kick patterns create forward pull and rhythmic tension that complements the guitar's syncopated riff language, and the alignment between these two layers is one of the most studied elements of the performance. His ability to sustain this compositionally-driven approach across a long and demanding song without defaulting to simpler patterns when the going gets difficult is a testament to how deeply the material is internalised. Richardson's hands through this track are equally impressive — ghost notes, accents, and cymbal choices are all calibrated to the energy level of each section, and the independence between upper and lower body is a model of how complex arrangements should feel: not like two separate musicians but like one. For drummers, "Lay Your Ghosts to Rest" develops double-bass control and endurance in a context that demands musical intelligence alongside raw speed. Learning it builds the ability to vary kick density intentionally, to use double-bass syncopations to answer melodic events, and to sustain a compositionally-rich performance across a full-length progressive metal track.2. Blake Richardson Profile — Vary kick drum density across sections to follow the song's emotional arc rather than running a constant eighth-note roll Align double-bass syncopations with guitar accent points to create a unified low-end rhythmic statement Maintain ghost-note activity and cymbal calibration with the hands independently from the double-bass work below Deploy denser kick patterns at high-intensity sections and sparser patterns at melodic passages — treat density as a dynamic tool Build endurance through sustained double-bass practice at sub-tempo before attempting the song at full speed
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