Hansha — Polyrhythmic Metalcore Architecture — Chris Turner (Oceans Ate Alaska) Drum Lick | MetalForge
VIDEO
Learn the Hansha — Polyrhythmic Metalcore Architecture drum lick by Chris Turner of Oceans Ate Alaska. From Hansha (Hikari (2017)). "Hansha" from Oceans Ate Alaska's Hikari (2017) is the track that brought Chris Turner's technically...
Gear Deep Dives & Articles
1. Chris Turner's Signature Licks — "Hansha" from Oceans Ate Alaska's Hikari (2017) is the track that brought Chris Turner's technically sophisticated drumming to its widest audience. Hikari was the album where Oceans Ate Alaska most deliberately blended progressive metalcore with Japanese musical influences, and Turner's drumming underpins that ambition with a performance that is technically exacting without losing its drive or groove. "Hansha" operates around 165 BPM and features one of Turner's most identifiable techniques: polyrhythmic superimposition over a driving metalcore pulse. Rather than playing straightforward metalcore patterns against the riff, Turner layers three-against-four or five-against-four subdivisions over the backbeat, creating a sensation of rhythmic multiplicity — as if the kit is playing in two different times simultaneously — while the overall feel remains locked and purposeful. What makes Turner's approach immediately recognisable is that these polyrhythms are never abstract or academic. They emerge from the musical context of the track — the kick patterns beneath the chorus groove specifically emphasise the same polyrhythmic contour as the melodic content above, creating a compositional unity between drums and arrangement. Turner has cited Matt Halpern and Matt Garstka as his primary influences, and both of these rhythmic sensibilities are audible in "Hansha": Halpern's locked groove foundation and Garstka's willingness to superimpose independent rhythmic layers without destabilising the pulse. The blast sections in "Hansha" are typical of Turner's approach to that technique in metalcore: fast and controlled, but deployed as punctuation rather than sustained texture, entering and exiting with a precision that gives the blasts compositional weight rather than the generic impact blast beats can carry in less considered arrangements. The hand-foot independence required to sustain the polyrhythmic kick layer while playing a compositionally independent hand pattern above it is the central technical challenge of this track. For drummers, this is the ideal entry point into Turner's vocabulary: it demands polyrhythm independence, controlled blast placement, and the discipline to keep complex rhythmic layers serving the song rather than displaying themselves.2. Chris Turner Profile — Superimpose three-against-four or five-against-four kick patterns over the backbeat without disrupting the underlying pulse Maintain the groove foundation at all times — the polyrhythms should add rhythmic depth, not undermine the metalcore drive Deploy blast beats as compositional punctuation, entering and exiting precisely at phrase boundaries Align the kick polyrhythm contour with the melodic content of the track for compositional unity between drums and arrangement Practise each rhythmic layer — straight backbeat, kick superimposition, blast entries — in isolation before combining them at tempo
Visit MetalForge →