None So Vile Gravity Blast — Crown of Horns — Flo Mounier (Cryptopsy) Drum Lick | MetalForge
Learn the None So Vile Gravity Blast — Crown of Horns drum lick by Flo Mounier of Cryptopsy. From Crown of Horns (None So Vile (1996)). "Crown of Horns" is the ferocious opener of Cryptopsy's landmark None So Vile (1996), and Flo Mounie...
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1. Flo Mounier's Signature Licks — "Crown of Horns" is the ferocious opener of Cryptopsy's landmark None So Vile (1996), and Flo Mounier uses it to immediately announce the gravity-blast technique that would come to define an era of extreme drumming. The gravity blast — where one hand pivots in a see-saw motion between the snare head and rim to produce two articulate strokes per arm movement — allows Mounier to achieve staggering blast-beat velocities that single-hand alternation cannot match. On "Crown of Horns" the technique appears at its most raw and concentrated: the song erupts from its first bar with gravity blasts running beneath Lord Worm's atonal vocals and the band's chaotic, chromatic riffing, creating a wall of controlled extremity that remains one of the most intense opening statements in death metal. What makes Mounier's gravity blast on this track so instructive is how consistently clean it remains even at tempos that push above 240 BPM. Many players achieve occasional gravity-blast speed in short bursts; Mounier sustains it across entire song sections, never collapsing into a smear of strokes. The key is in the setup: the snare is typically angled slightly to allow the hand's natural pivot arc to produce equally spaced rebounds, and the grip remains light — a stranglehold on the stick defeats the rebound that makes the technique work. For drummers approaching this track as a study, the correct method is to first practise the gravity blast pivot in complete isolation at a tempo where each stroke sounds clean and separated, then gradually increase speed only when the rebound pattern is consistent and both strokes are dynamically even. Mounier has explained in clinic settings that the mistake most players make is trying to force speed before the motion is comfortable, which locks up the wrist and destroys the rebound. None So Vile as an album is the defining document of the gravity blast in an extreme metal context, and "Crown of Horns" is the moment listeners first encounter it in full force. Working through this track develops the gravity-blast motion, gravity-to-conventional blast transitions, and the stamina to sustain hyper-fast blasting across complete song sections. It is an essential study for any drummer serious about technical death metal.2. Flo Mounier Profile — Angle the snare slightly to allow the natural pivot arc of the hand to produce even strokes Keep the grip light — a tight grip kills the rebound that makes gravity blast work Practise the pivot in isolation at slow tempo before adding any speed Ensure both strokes in each pivot are dynamically even before raising the tempo Transition cleanly between gravity blasts and conventional blasts mid-section
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