Colony of Birchmen Funky Groove — Brann Dailor (Mastodon) Drum Lick | MetalForge
Learn the Colony of Birchmen Funky Groove drum lick by Brann Dailor of Mastodon. From Colony of Birchmen (Blood Mountain (2006)). Colony of Birchmen from Mastodon's Blood Mountain (2006) reveals a side of Brann Dailor's playing th...
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1. Brann Dailor's Signature Licks — Colony of Birchmen from Mastodon's Blood Mountain (2006) reveals a side of Brann Dailor's playing that surprises listeners who know him primarily from the blast-and-fill vocabulary of Leviathan: a deeply funky pocket groove that owes as much to soul and R&B drumming as to metal. The track's main groove sits at a comfortable mid-tempo that lets Dailor breathe and place every note with intention, creating a feel that is tight, elastic, and full of the subtle ghost notes and hi-hat ornamentation that define classic funk drumming. Rather than filling every available sixteenth-note with something, he leans back into the pocket, letting the kick and snare interact with the riff in a call-and-response conversation that gives the song a swagger most metal drummers never attempt. The funk influence is most audible in Dailor's ghost-note work: soft, barely-audible snare taps that fill the space between the main beats and give the groove a rolling, continuous texture without adding weight or cluttering the riff. His hi-hat technique here is characteristically loose — slightly open strokes mixed with tight closed hits to create a nuanced rhythmic surface beneath the main pattern. Colony of Birchmen is one of the most important tracks for understanding how Dailor built his vocabulary: by drawing from sources far outside the metal genre and integrating those influences into a style that sounds completely organic in a heavy context. For drummers developing their own voices, this groove is an invitation to investigate funk drumming seriously — not as a genre exercise but as a way to develop the pocket, ghost-note sensitivity, and dynamic control that separates good groove drumming from great groove drumming. Start by learning the kick and snare pattern at tempo, then layer in the ghost notes before adding hi-hat nuances, listening carefully to how each addition contributes to the overall feel. Related licks: [Blood and Thunder Lead Groove](/drummers/brann-dailor/licks/brann-dailor-blood-and-thunder-groove) and [Blood and Thunder Shuffle](/drummers/brann-dailor/licks/brann-dailor-blood-and-thunder-shuffle).2. Brann Dailor Profile — Lock in the kick and snare pattern first at ~120 BPM before adding any ornamentation Add ghost notes on the snare between main hits — keep them barely audible to maintain pocket Mix slightly open and closed hi-hat strokes to create rhythmic texture beneath the groove Lean back into the beat rather than rushing — the funk pocket lives slightly behind the pulse Let the kick and snare interact with the guitar riff in a call-and-response conversation
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