Monomyth Polyrhythmic Groove — Matt Garstka (Animals as Leaders) Drum Lick | MetalForge
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Learn the Monomyth Polyrhythmic Groove drum lick by Matt Garstka of Animals as Leaders. From Monomyth (The Joy of Motion (2014)). "Monomyth" is the centerpiece of Animals as Leaders' 2014 record The Joy of Motion, and Matt Garstka...
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1. Matt Garstka's Signature Licks — "Monomyth" is the centerpiece of Animals as Leaders' 2014 record The Joy of Motion, and Matt Garstka's drumming on it is one of the clearest modern examples of how to make polyrhythm feel like groove rather than a math exercise. Over Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes' eight-string riffing, Garstka superimposes phrases grouped in fives and sevens on top of a steady quarter-note pulse, so the kick and snare keep landing in surprising-but-locked places against the guitars. What makes it work musically is his ghost-note vocabulary: the space between the loud backbeats is filled with quiet left-hand strokes and buzzed accents that he learned from jazz and gospel-chops players, which keeps the polyrhythmic figures sounding fluid and human instead of robotic. Drummers who internalise even a single section come away with a sharper sense of subdivision and a more confident relationship to the click, because the song forces you to keep an unwavering pulse while your accents roam freely on top of it — a skill that pays off across every style, not just progressive metal. The track moves through several feels, opening with a syncopated linear pattern that shares notes between hands and feet, settling into the main groove where the displaced backbeat lives, and then opening up into more ambient, dynamic sections where Garstka pulls right back to brushes-and-whispers volume before slamming back in. For developing drummers it is a masterclass in independence and dynamic control: the limbs are doing four different things, yet the overall feel is relaxed and danceable. Learning even four bars of it forces you to internalise odd groupings, count a stable pulse underneath shifting accents, and play ghost notes cleanly at speed. It is also the perfect bridge between the worlds of progressive metal and jazz fusion, which is exactly why Garstka is regarded as one of the most influential drummers of his generation.2. Matt Garstka Profile — Lock a steady quarter-note pulse with the hi-hat foot or ride so the superimposed groupings have a reference Group the main figure in fives against the quarter-note pulse, counting "1-2-3-4-5" out loud until it resolves Drop quiet ghost notes between the accented backbeats to keep the groove fluid rather than mechanical Pull the dynamics right back in the ambient sections, then re-enter at full volume on the downbeat Only add the displaced kick pattern once hands and pulse are locked together
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