Overkill Thrash Double Bass Run — Jason Bittner (Overkill) Drum Lick | MetalForge
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Learn the Overkill Thrash Double Bass Run drum lick by Jason Bittner of Overkill. From Goddamn Trouble (The Grinding Wheel (2017)). Jason Bittner joined Overkill in 2017, taking the drum seat for one of thrash metal's longest-runnin...
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1. Jason Bittner's Signature Licks — Jason Bittner joined Overkill in 2017, taking the drum seat for one of thrash metal's longest-running and most respected bands, and his debut album with the band, *The Grinding Wheel* (2017), introduced a new precision and double bass density to Overkill's rhythmic foundation. "Goddamn Trouble" is among the best showcases of his thrash double bass approach in the Overkill context: a driving, 190 BPM thrash groove where the double kick operates in rhythmically varied patterns that differ from the pure speed of his Shadows Fall work, demonstrating a mature, thrash-specific application of double bass technique that serves the song's classic-thrash riff architecture. Where metalcore double bass tends toward continuous density and groove-metal double bass toward syncopated power, Bittner's thrash double bass with Overkill is conversational — the kick interacts with the riff's rhythmic profile, firing in bursts that accent the guitar's accented notes and pulling back in passages where the riff breathes, creating a dynamic double bass vocabulary rather than a static one. The main groove operates with a ride-driving thrash feel rather than the hi-hat-centred metalcore approach Bittner used in Shadows Fall, reflecting his stylistic adaptability — he found the appropriate rhythmic language for Overkill's heritage and committed to it fully. His double bass runs in the song's accelerating passages are characterised by the transition from groove-supporting kick patterns into extended double-bass runs that build kinetic energy before a section change, a technique that has been central to Overkill's recorded drum vocabulary since the band's 1980s catalogue. Bittner executes these runs with the same evenness and dynamic consistency that characterises his Shadows Fall work, demonstrating that his technical precision is style-agnostic — it applies equally to metalcore and classic thrash. His hi-hat work during double bass passages is particularly instructive: rather than simply riding through the runs, he applies accent patterns on the hi-hat that give the double bass section a layered rhythmic texture, making the passage feel composed rather than purely physical. For drummers, this track is an essential study in contextual double bass application: it teaches you to shape double bass patterns to interact with a riff's rhythmic profile rather than play at maximum speed regardless of context, the ride-driving thrash groove feel distinct from metalcore hi-hat technique, and how professional drummers adapt their vocabulary to the tradition of the band they join without losing their personal technical identity.2. Jason Bittner Profile — Deploy double bass in conversational bursts that accent the guitar riff's rhythmic profile rather than continuous streams at maximum speed Drive the thrash groove from the ride cymbal rather than hi-hat — a classic-thrash feel distinct from Bittner's Shadows Fall metalcore approach Build kinetic energy through extended double-bass runs in acceleration passages that resolve onto section-change crashes with precision Apply hi-hat accent patterns during double bass runs to add compositional texture above the kick ostinato Adapt kick dynamics to the riff's breathing points — less kick when the riff breathes, more density when it locks into its tightest rhythmic figures
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