Gateways — Technical Blast in Orchestral Context — Daray (Dimmu Borgir) Drum Lick | MetalForge
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Learn the Gateways — Technical Blast in Orchestral Context drum lick by Daray of Dimmu Borgir. From Gateways (Abrahadabra (2010)). "Gateways" from Dimmu Borgir's Abrahadabra (2010) is one of the most demanding drum performances in ...
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1. Daray's Signature Licks — "Gateways" from Dimmu Borgir's Abrahadabra (2010) is one of the most demanding drum performances in symphonic black metal — and the track on which Daray first demonstrated to the worldwide audience that the choice to replace Hellhammer, one of the most celebrated drummers in the genre's history, was not merely bold but correct. Abrahadabra was recorded with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and a full choir, making it the most elaborately produced album in Dimmu Borgir's catalogue, and the demands on Daray as drummer were correspondingly extreme: he needed to provide blast beats and technical extreme metal drumming at the tempo and precision required by the orchestral arrangement, where the drums lock to written notation rather than responding to bandmates in real time. "Gateways" operates at approximately 200 BPM during its blasting passages and features one of the technical challenges unique to orchestral metal drumming: the blast beat must maintain its internal tempo precisely because the orchestra has no capacity to adjust to rhythmic drift the way a band of rock musicians can. Daray's blast beat on this track is therefore not merely fast — it is metronomically exact. Every stroke is in the same place at the same weight, and the transition from the orchestral tutti sections into the drum-heavy blast passages happens at the written tempo without deviation. The track also showcases Daray's ability to navigate the sudden dynamic shifts that characterise symphonic black metal arrangements: sections of full-force blasting give way to quiet orchestral passages with no drums or minimal percussion, and Daray must re-enter after these silences at exactly the same tempo he left. This is a particular skill — maintaining internal tempo awareness through extended periods of inactivity — that is rarely required in conventional rock or metal drumming but is essential in orchestral contexts. Daray has spoken in interviews about the process of recording with orchestra and the precision demands it imposed on his technique, and "Gateways" is the clearest audio evidence of how those demands were met. The double bass work beneath the blasting periods keeps pace with the orchestral lower strings and brass, creating a unified low-frequency attack that gives the track its massive, cinematic power. For drummers, "Gateways" develops the ability to blast with metronomic exactness rather than feel-based tempo, the internal tempo discipline to re-enter after rests at the written speed, and the orchestral awareness to treat the drum part as one voice in a large ensemble rather than the rhythm section anchor of a conventional band. Recording with a metronome and studying the precise relationship between your blast tempo and the orchestral elements is essential preparation for understanding what Daray achieves on this track.2. Daray Profile — Maintain metronomic exactness throughout the blast — the orchestra cannot adjust to rhythmic drift the way a band can Match double bass runs to the orchestral lower strings to create unified low-frequency attack Re-enter after orchestral silences at exactly the same tempo with no rushing or dragging — internal tempo discipline is essential Treat the drum part as one voice in a large ensemble, listening to the orchestral writing rather than anchoring independently Practice the transitions into and out of blast sections specifically — these are the highest-precision moments in the performance
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